Act 2-7: Death Warrant

I fell onto my knees. Oh no...Xiang!

"Okay, who is it this time?"

Maya strolled in, hands in her pockets. Seeing Xiang's body, she shrugged. "Funny, I pegged him to be the murderer type-"

She narrowly dodged Sasha's punch. "Ugh, please tell me you at least punch better when you aren't an emotional wreck." She waved them off and moved to stand against the back wall. Sasha rushed at her, preparing a punch. Maya unsheathed her sword.

"Both of you, stop at once!"

Footsteps echoed outside the door, as Hideki rushed into the room. He probably should have chosen a better time to do so, however - both the sword and fist collided with his head, though he recovered quite quickly, and pushed both sides back.

"Urgh. Why the hell do you people resort to physical violence at the earliest opportunity?" he grumbled, "It's things like these that'll get more of us killed."

"Don't talk about saving lives to me of all people. I gave up my deepest, darkest secret so I could save lives. Don't tell me what to do, Kenta," Sasha finished.

He shrugged. "If you weren't so irresponsible I wouldn't have to."

"I-"

Sasha was cut off by a shriek. "Xiang!" Matthew gasped, falling to his knees. Behind him, Jackie narrowly avoided collapsing to the ground by holding onto the wall.

Tien and Faen brought up the rear, whereupon Faen fell into Johan's arms, looking faint, as Tien did the same onto Maya - who dropped her onto the floor.

"Ow...That hurt," she whined, rubbing her posterior, before her face twisted in confusion. "Wait, haven't we done this gag before?"

"Yeah, and again," Maya sniffed derisively, "I'm a failure, not a walking stick."

"Who's-"

Nico's voice trailed off as she walked in, and saw Xiang's corpse. "Oh."

She blinked once, before storming into the bathroom - Xiang's bathroom - and I could hear the sounds of retching moments later.

"So, it looks like someone offed the Soldier, huh?"

Oh god why.

Monokuma hopped into the room around the people who were blocking the hallway. Hopping onto the bed, he sat down, before addressing all of us. "Technically, since we've already explained the class trial and all, you bastards can just start investigating! Still, I guess we have to play nice hosts, so, give us a moment to draft up a Monokuma File for you nincompoops. Ciao!"

He snapped his fingers, and the lights blinked out for a moment. When they came back on, he was gone.

Sasha crawled over to Xiang's body and reached for his scarf. The blood from his wounds stained their coat and the bottom of their shirt. With one swift motion, they tore the scarf off of his neck, and wrapped it tightly around their own.

Hideki stared at the light red line that appeared on his neck. "How...did that get there?" He shook his head, and leaned in for a closer look. "Hmm...why such a small scratch? It doesn't seem to serve a purpose."

Tien got up, stepped over Matthew, and probed the area around it. "Not nearly deep enough to pierce the jugular or cartroid...If anything, the injury appears to be superficial and nothing more."

Hideki reached into Xiang's pocket and pulled out a small object - was that an Electro-ID? He put it off to the side and waved the rest of us off. "Unless you want to see the details of an autopsy, I'd recommend you move out."

Sasha, who had finished photographing the index card near Xiang, scooped up the Electro-ID, and left wordlessly.

I grimaced. Their behavior was more than just off, it was downright uncharacteristic.

I peeked my head out of the room, and could see Sasha's retreating back as they turned and headed into what must have been their room. I tiptoed after them, hoping that they wouldn't notice me. Luckily, they didn't appear to.

It's now or never, Ashley, I thought to myself, There's no telling what they'll do if I come in right now, but there's no telling what they'll do if I don't...Lesser of two evils.

With a sigh, I jiggled the doorknob.

It was locked.

"Sasha!" I yelled into the room.

I could hear an angry sigh coming from inside the room. "The hell do you want, Jung?"

"I just want to talk…"

"And why should I talk to you?"

"I want to help you, Sasha. Please just trust me."

I heard what sounded like laughter from inside. "Trust you? That's a hilarious idea."

"Look, just let me in-"

"Fine!"

I heard the sound of someone angrily stamping towards the door, which then opened towards me, practically slapping me in the face. An angry-looking Sasha stood before me.

"Well? Come in, if you're gonna be like that."

Sasha's room was as messy as expected, with assorted items lining the ground. On top of their bed, which was unmade and looked as though it had been sat on, sat their computer. On the table were assorted stacks of paper, assorted stacks of books - I saw The Devil in the White City on the top of the pile closest to me, and the books it was on top of all had sticky notes sticking out of them. Leaned against the nearest stack was a manila folder identical to the one Hideki had had reading "A. Sasha Oryolov, SHSL Political Activist - Records".

What drew my attention, however, were the four photographs on their table. The first had a kind-looking old couple holding hands and smiling in front of what looked like the Hermitage - their grandparents, perhaps?

The second featured a blue eyed girl with her dark blue hair in a low ponytail, who despite looking sleep-deprived (as further evidenced by the thermos in her hand) radiated an aura of confidence and was mid-laugh. She wore a leather jacket over a white dress shirt, and there was what looked like an ID pinned to her lapel - I couldn't read it, but I could see a photograph. She held a chocolate bar in her other hand, and a snake curled around her shoulder almost sleepily. In stark contrast, the other girl in the photo looked like she was terrified of the camera. Her eyes, which were mostly obscured by the bangs of her mid-chest length chestnut hair, were a dull shade of blue-grey. She wore a grey skirt, white dress shirt and light blue cardigan. The girl looked like she was being crushed by the arm of her blue-eyed companion, but still managed to smile.

The third picture featured the shy girl standing on a stage, holding what looked like a packet of paper in one hand and a microphone in the other, as though she was being questioned. The edges of the image were torn, as though it had been ripped from another, larger picture.

The final image featured the same girl standing on another stage, holding a large trophy. She was barely recognizable as the same person - her dark red hair was tied back, she wore a black leather jacket and her mouth was drawn back in a cocky smirk. And she seemed oddly…

Sasha. It was Sasha.

I stared. That person in the first photo, crushed under the blue girl's arm, couldn't be more different from the Sasha I knew.

"Quit staring, Jung," Sasha said, "I know I'm a slob, but c'mon."

"No, It's…" I changed the subject, "Uh, your clothes are bloody."

"Yes, I know." They sighed and unbuttoned their shirt, revealing another black t-shirt underneath.

"You wear two shirts at once?"

"Of course, don't you?"

"Not exactly..."

They turned towards me, and I let out a noticeable gasp.

"Your neck! Oh my god, your neck!" I pointed at it,

"Well, yeah, I know I need some sun, but-"

"No, it's not that! Your neck has a huge gash in it!"

Sasha glanced into the mirror. "...So it does."

I was miffed. "You seem oddly calm for someone who's just likely been grievously injured."

"If it's any consolation, I'm freaking out internally. Body appears to be taking a while to catch up. Think I might be in shock..."

"Look, here, I have bandages!" I pulled the roll out from my daypack, and reached in to bandage their neck.

"What caused that, anyway?" I asked, after finishing the work.

"Hell if I know," muttered Sasha, glaring at the ground, fingering Xiang's scarf, before stopping at something with a quizzical expression on their face. "Oh. There's something like a tear in the scarf."

I glimpsed something on the ground, and bent down to retrieve it. Picking it up, I held it up to the light. "Maybe it came from this glass shard?"

Sasha exhaled. "Probably it, then."

They adjusted their black tie and moved into their closet, before pulling out a black duster coat and putting it on.

"Simple, black and businesslike. Not exactly your usual style."

"My old coat is covered in blood and this is the only real alternative." Sasha gave a grim smile. "Let's face it, the black duster is here to stay. As is the black tie." They adjusted it once more. "I rather like the black tie."

"Okay then-"

They continued, as though they'd never heard me speak. "After all, I can't possibly wear colorful clothing now that someone is dead."

"You didn't wear black for JJ's death…"

"Well JJ was a borderline-stalker piece of shit who tried to pass himself off as a paragon of justice and his death meant very little to me!" They stopped, as though realizing what they'd just said - er, yelled. "N-Not that he deserved to die or anything, of course."

Something's up - that much is clear. Sadly, I don't think there is much I can do at this point. I suppose I'll just wait until after the trial. Assuming...no, it can't be. There's no way Sasha's the killer.

Having not-so-thoroughly reassured myself of Sasha's innocence, I calculated my words. "Either way, you look practically like a new person."

"Yeah. Almost do. Just need to shorten my hair and I'll look totally new."

"After the trial I can help you cut your hair," I offered.

"R-Really? That'd be-"

"I do hope that I am not interrupting anything, but your door was ajar."

Sasha looked at the door. "Oh...hi, Lam. We...didn't find anything much, just this glass shard that was in the scarf." And with that, they swung said scarf over their shoulder, wrapping it very loosely around their neck.

"Fascinating. I may have to redirect your attention, however." Tien murmured. "Especially yours, Mx. Oryolov. We have...quite some things to discuss."

Investigation Time! Acquire Truth Bullets!

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Monokuma File #2==

Victim: Xiang Li. Estimated Time of Death: 1130 hours. Cause of Death: ...Unknown? Again?

Why am I strangely not surprised? It seems like Monokuma- no, the pilots, are being unhelpful. At least Hideki's still doing an autopsy...Still can't forgive him for what he tried to pull, though.

Atrium

Passenger Cabins

Dining Area - Ballroom

Dining Area - Kitchen

Storage Room

Medical Room

Janitor's Closet

Casino and Bar

Luxury Sitting Room

Mysterious Room

Selected Area: Passenger Cabins

"Hmm...interesting. I could have sworn we would be in script format by now, actually."

"What was that?" Sasha inquired.

"Nothing." Tien hastily replied.

The last place I'd ever expect to re-enter was JJ's room. But Sasha swiped what I later realized was JJ's ElectroID over the handle, and voila, we were in.

By then, the papers that had been haphazardly strewn throughout his desk had been reorganized into a neat pile, along with a couple of manila folders. Stepping into the room, Tien picked up the topmost folder, and checked its contents.

"Ah, here it is." She passed the entire thing towards me. "Ashie, you might be interested in taking a look at this too."

I flipped open the top. Taking out the papers within, I struggled to read the name at the top. "Ca-Cave-"

A hand snatched the file away.

"Lam!" Sasha growled, "What did I say about sharing the details of that case?!"

"Don't unless there's a good reason to." Tien intoned. "And I'm pretty sure Xiang's death is certainly a good reason to, especially when you consider the state of his body."

"I will figure this out myself, Lam-"

"You're acting as though you have something to hide."

Sasha froze like a deer in the headlights. "I...I…"

"Yes, good." Tien turned to me, opening the file. "Take a look at this."

I stared at it. "It's...a corpse. A bunch of corpses, actually."

"Yes, but look closer at exactly how the victims in this case were killed."

I looked closer at the images. "Well, it looks like she was stabbed in the chest and the stomach. She's laid out really stiffly, and there's a white card on her...wait, you don't think-"

"No, I don't think." Sasha was practically shaking with anger. "None of us are serial killers, Lam."

Tien adjusted her glasses with a confident smirk. "I wasn't implying that, although it would certainly be an interesting development. No, what I think is that we have a copycat killer on our hands - someone intimately familiar with the modus operandi, possibly fascinated with the person who committed the original crime, even to the point of fixation. But there can't be someone on this airship like that, now can there?" She stared pointedly at Sasha.

The latter was red with anger. "I'm going to go. I'll be examining the body if you need me."

I wanted to interject, but decided against it. All I could do was stare hopelessly at their retreating back.

I glared at Tien. "What was that for?"

She looked sadly at the papers in her hand. "Sadly, Sasha Oryolov is more than they say they are. There's something more sinister about our activist friend." She handed me the folder. "This case file is on a certain serial killer, whose modus operandi was simple, yet distinctive. Red-headed women in their early twenties stabbed twice - once in the stomach, and then again in the chest. The bodies were laid out flat with a laminated white index card reading 'case open' on them. Wait..." She leaned in. "Hm. Well, I did not know that last part. Certainly news to me."

"You didn't know it?"

She shrugged. "The authorities often don't make the killer's methods entirely public. Perhaps they just didn't feel the need to release this."

"And this serial killer is Ca...Cave…"

"The Kitchen Knife Killer. Matthew Cavendish."

I stared at Tien. "And you think Sasha imitated their father?"

Tien sighed. "As much as I don't want to, Sasha was the only one who could have known the modus operandi. Plus, they seemed almost proud, admitting to being Cavendish's child."

"They did read a book about a serial killer…" I reluctantly agreed.

"You see?" Tien looked saddened. "Sasha fits the profile of a copycat killer."

"I guess so…"

"The file on Cavendish says several things about his psychological state. He's a sadist with no real motives, and appears to be a textbook psychopath - narcissistic, paranoid and most of all incapable of feeling remorse. He had no real motive, no stresser - he killed because he got off on it." Tien shook her head. "Terrible stuff."

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Kitchen Knife File==

The victims of the Kitchen Knife Killer, Matthew Cavendish, were all red-headed women in their early twenties. They were stabbed once in the stomach, then again in the chest, and left with a laminated index card saying 'case open'. The killings were the result of pure sadism, with no ulterior motive.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Tien's Suspicions==

Tien believes that Sasha, due to being the only one with prior knowledge of Cavendish's MO as well as having a perceived fascination with his killings, may be a copycat killer.

I sighed. "Look, I just have a hard time imagining Sasha killing someone."

"I would have too - before I read this profile." She held up yet another folder, which she then slid towards me.

I looked at it. "What's this supposed to be?"

"A psychological profile created by the same BAU Agent who-"

"BAU?" I asked.

"FBI behavioral analysis unit." She looked at me strangely. "Profilers."

"Ah."

"Regardless, this profile was compiled by the same profiler who created the profile that lead to the suspect's capture. The subject is the sole witness brought to the stand by the prosecution - a child who discovered the fifth and penultimate victim's corpse."

"Sasha?"

Tien adjusted her glasses once more. "Yes. It says, and I quote, 'The witness is of very unsound mind. She appears to be largely asocial, avoiding those she sees as authority figures with a sort of rare zeal. When confronted she is openly defiant and spiteful. She exhibits no sort of trauma or even emotional change as a result of the sight, and if anything can be described as having a similar anti-social tendency to the common psychopath. In addition, she appears to exhibit symptoms of some form of acute psychosis, including but not limited to excessive paranoia resulting in episodic angry outbursts that have at least once resulted in the hospitalization of her mother, and very deliberately hidden hallucinations, mostly of the auditory form. Although no concrete conjectures can be made at this time, this pattern of behavior is closest to that of a paranoid schizophrenic. Signed, SSA Charlotte Crawford.'"

"Paranoid...schizophrenic?"

"Yes." Tien sighed. "I told you that Sasha was not of sound mind."

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Sasha Oryolov Profile==

According to the profile that Tien showed me, Sasha not only exhibits a lack of remorse, but also psychotic episodes and paranoid delusions.

I sighed. "I'm going to go check on the body and Hideki, okay?"

Tien shrugged. "I understand. I will just tidy up here and then meet you there."

Atrium

Passenger Cabins

Dining Area - Ballroom

Dining Area - Kitchen

Storage Room

Medical Room

Janitor's Closet

Casino and Bar

Luxury Sitting Room

Mysterious Room

Selected Area: Passenger Cabins

"I haven't finished the autopsy yet," Hideki remarked the moment I stepped into the room.

"I...didn't ask."

He turned and eyed me with his one good eye. "Let's face it, you're not here to talk about what happened yesterday, so you can only be here for one purpose."

I crossed my arms. "Fine. Can you at least tell me what you've garnered so far?"

He motioned for me to come closer, which I reluctantly did. Xiang's expression was not that of agony, but that of peace - not that it stopped his face from being a deathly pale white.

"As you can see, there is relatively little blood in the surrounding area." Hideki pointed at the two wounds on his chest. "It leads me to believe one of two things - either the blood splatter ended up on the murderer, who likely took it with them as they left, or, the likelier option, the wounds were made post-mortem. I'll have Tien check upon them later - did she say she was coming back here?"

"Yeah. She mentioned she would be coming around here later on." I recalled.

"Good." He turned back. "Now make yourself useful and go investigate something. Preferably upstairs since I sent most of the others downstairs."

I frowned. "...We are never going to be able to talk this through, are we?"

If Hideki said anything, it was quiet and under his breath.

"...Your loss." I sighed as I walked out of the room, pressing the 'Record' button to end the recording.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Hideki's Autopsy==

The lack of blood in Xiang's bedroom indicates that the stab wounds on Xiang's body may have been done post-mortem, or the blood splatter from said wounds ended up on the murderer, who took it with them as they left. To be confirmed after Tien has gotten her gloves on the case.

1st Floor Aft

2nd Floor Aft

Selected Level: 2nd Floor Aft

Swimming Pool

Changing Rooms

Arcade

Gym

Fast Food Place

Laundry Room

Selected Area: Swimming Pool

I kicked the water as I walked by the pool. Staring into the water didn't help my mood, but at least it helped me to clear my mind.

This doesn't make any sense...How did Xiang let himself get killed so easily? No, that's not it…

How could Xiang let himself get killed so easily?

How long had I been walking now?

I shook my head. It was time to move on, or was it?

Step.

Huh. Something feels...different about that step.

I lifted my leg, and examined my foot.

Sticking to the underside was a piece of paper. I removed it, and it almost fell apart. Setting it to a pool chair by the side, I resolved to come back for it later when it was dry and readable. But now what?

"Hm? Oh, hi there, Ashley!"

I turned towards the source of the voice. Matthew had stepped out of the Male Changing Rooms, and was waving at me.

"Hey, Matthew. How's investigation going?" I queried.

He shrugged. "Nothing much as of yet. The Male Changing Rooms are free of any solid evidence. Sad - I had a gut feeling it could have been the location of the murder too, but oh well."

"You think a guy killed Xiang?" I ventured a guess.

"Very likely." He adjusted his glasses. "Xiang is one of, if not the, most muscular and stout students on this ship. I doubt anyone but another guy could have overpowered him like this."

"Ava killed JJ," I offered, "And Lucille managed to punch Monokuma's head clean off, not to mention how many times both Sasha and Maya have beaten up Eric."

Matthew sighed. "Good point." He adjusted his glasses again - looked like he'd picked up Tien's habit. "Hmm...Am I seeing things, or is that something in the water?"

I looked out over the expanse of, well, pool. I wasn't sure what he was referring to.

"That, over there." Matthew pointed at what I saw as-

"Huh. Are those papers?"

"I think so..." He looked closer. "What are those doing there?"

"I dunno...You think we can get someone to get them?"

He shook his head. "All of our swimsuits are still in the laundry. And besides, the papers look like they're blank."

"Probably should at least take a photo of them, then. They could prove useful." Click!

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Papers in the Pool==

What appears to be a mess of papers have been strewn about the bottom of the swimming pool. The papers appear to be blank, however...Or is it just a trick of the eye?

Not long after I circulated the Truth Bullet, my ElectroID beeped. Inside was a Truth Bullet from...Jackie?

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Knife==

Another kitchen knife. This one was found inside the Female Changing Rooms, wrapped in a towel. There appears to be no trace of blood on it.

Before I could even look up, Matthew was off, back in the direction of the changing rooms.

Typical, I snorted, Matthew goes running as soon as Jackie calls.

I paused, and shook my head. Wait, why am I so skittish about that?

Confused, I nevertheless headed for their location as well.

Swimming Pool

Changing Rooms

Arcade

Gym

Fast Food Place

Laundry Room

Selected Area: Changing Rooms

"Ah, Ashley, I didn't know you were also in ze vicinity."

Jackie was standing off to the side, next to a towel, looking down at a gleaming kitchen knife. "In any case, zhat is what I have photographed. I theorize it may have been ze weapon used to stab poor Xiang."

"Looks clean, though," Matthew bent down to analyze it further, "Then again, if it's this shiny, it must have been washed, somehow."

"In ze pool, perhaps?"

"Yeah." I agreed. "Seems like it could have been washed in the swimming pool - that's a huge body of water, and any blood would have been diluted greatly inside it."

"Who would do something like zhis?" Jackie asked. "After seeing what happened to poor Ava, too."

"Well, probably someone who thought risking execution was worth saving their secret," Matthew said.

"So it was someone who kept zheir secret a secret?" Jackie asked.

"Not necessarily." Matthew adjusted his glasses. "While those that didn't share are the prime suspects, it's very possible one of us is a liar."

"So...Whoever did this must have hidden their secret?"

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Motive==

Sasha's speech got most people to reveal their secrets, but some abstained. Hideki, Xiang, Maya and Nico neglected to reveal their secrets to everyone. There is also the possibility that someone lied about their secret.

"Zhen who do you suspect?" Jackie thumbed her chin. "I do not know whose secret may be false, although…"

"Although?" I looked up.

"Zhere are some secrets zhat strike me as...rather mundane. Faen's, for instance." She shook her head. "Not zhat I would accuse Faen of his murder - I am sure he could not have been ze perpetrator in this case."

"I would think Johan's secret would also be rather lacking, but…" Matthew turned to me. "He was one of three people to have found the body, and thus, declared innocent, right?

"Well, if Sasha was already there, then there isn't anyone who has immunity," I muttered, as my mind rewound to the moment of time I found the body, "Assuming Johan, Eric and Lucille arrived at once, and Sasha was already there - no one is viable for the 'three-innocents' immunity this time around."

"So, Sasha already was in the room when the other three arrived?" Matthew took out a notepad, and began scribbling something. "Does anyone remember if Xiang's door was locked?"

…

Was it locked? I actually don't know...But it's best I note that down for later.

"Well, at least we know zhat no one amongst us can be declared innocent as of yet." Jackie recorded down.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==No Innocents==

Due to the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body, none of its four discoverers can be declared innocent as of yet.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==State of Xiang's Door==

Was Xiang's door open? Locked? If so, how was it entered?

No sooner had I shared that last Truth Bullet than an update came back my way.

==Truth Bullet Updated!==

==State of Xiang's Door==

While Xiang's door wasn't locked, it was somehow fastened or barricaded shut, as I had to kick it open. It wasn't a very strong fastener, as I was able to open it in one kick - a locked door typically takes two to three.

Sasha…

"Well, that settles it." Matthew read the updated truth bullet. "I suppose that means we've cleared out all possible pieces of evidence in the surrounding area. Shall we be off?"

"We shall." Jackie placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Take care, Ashley. And take care of Sasha for us."

"I will."

The two left, as I picked up the knife. The wooden handle still felt wet to the touch, meaning that it must have been soaked in the water for some time-

Oh, right, speaking of things being soaked in the water...

I retraced my steps, back to the pool chair. I picked up the piece of paper, which was now dry enough to read, although it only had the fragments of a few words on it.

'-andra Oryolova-Cavendish, is suffe-' beyond that was another unreadable patch, "-st-traumatic stress-" and even further, "-unfit to testif-" and one last, which read, "-A Ch-".

Hold on. Why does that sound eerily familiar?

Stuffing the piece of paper into a pocket, I pressed on.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Piece of Paper==

A piece of paper with fragments of words still legible. It almost seems familiar, but I can't quite place it...

Swimming Pool

Changing Rooms

Arcade

Gym

Fast Food Place

Laundry Room

Selected Area: Laundry Room

To say I expected Maya to be in here was an understatement.

Walking in, I saw her lower body peeking out of one of the other washing machines.

"What...are you doing?" I asked, even though I probably wasn't going to get a direct answer.

She didn't even make any effort to pull her head out before calling out. "Sabotaging this washing machine, that's what."

Okay, now, I've heard everything.

"Why would you do such a thing?!" I half-asked, half-plain yelled.

"Probably because I'm a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence."

To say I was shocked was yet another understatement, to the point I could only mutter out, "...Oh."

To this, Maya pulled herself out at last, clutching a handful of gears and wires. "I don't understand how you keep forgetting that."

Stuffing the menagerie of items into a pocket, Maya stood up, and put her hands behind her head. "So, what'cha looking for?"

"...You seem awfully calm for someone who should be looking for evidence." I muttered, glancing around the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Well, I'm not dead, I'm sure as hell I didn't kill Xiang - plus, my secret's no longer gonna be revealed, so bite me." She snarked back, leaning back and reclining on one of the benches.

I ignored her comments, and began looking inside the washing machines in case people could have stuffed evidence into it. It wasn't long before I came to the washing machine Maya had just ducked out of.

Well. It's not working.

"What else do you want me to say? I broke it."

"Well, when did you even break it?"

"Last night? I was spending this morning trying to fix it, but of course, I failed."

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Broken Washing Machine==

Maya broke the Washing Machine sometime last night. She attempted - and failed - to fix it this morning, so it's not working.

As with anything she ends up touching.

"I take offense to that."

Shush.

As I looked inside, I noticed something white and pink lying in the interior of the washing machine.

Pink? Now that's definitely a cause for concern.

Removing it, I held it out at arms' length to see what it was.

...It's a labcoat.

"Maya...?" I selected my next words carefully. "Are you aware that you were working over a bloody labcoat?"

"Language- wait, what?"

Nailed it.

Maya flipped her legs over and got up, before looking at the object in my hands. "Huh. How did that get there?"

I was completely bewildered by how oblivious she was. "Maya, you were literally less than a foot away from it. How did you not notice it?"

"What's my talent again?"

"...Failure."

"Exactly, so sue me. Or get JJ to do it for you." She chuckled cruelly. "Oh wait, he's dead. Deal with it yourself."

...I'm starting to think Maya's doing this to celebrate not being a suspect. Or is she using reverse psychology on me? I dunno.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Bloody Labcoat==

This labcoat appears to have blood all over its torso and sleeves. Whose blood it is, I can't say for sure, but there appears to be quite some amount on it.

Nothing on it suggests who it belongs to...but the size...

I grimaced. It looked exactly like the labcoat Hideki had been wearing a few days ago.

"No shit," she raised an eyebrow, "Why, worried that your boyfriend's the one who offed Xiang?"

I crossed my arms. "First off, Hideki's not my boyfriend. As for whether he's guilty…"

It was then my words caught me by the throat.

"Whether he's guilty…" I restated uncertainly.

Urp. She's called my bluff.

"You do know that being an accomplice won't save you when he graduates, right?" she bent in closer, staring at me hauntingly with those black eyes. "If you know something, you better spit it out before we force it out of you during trial."

Tch. Damn you, Hideki. If only you hadn't called me over, I wouldn't be doubting you like this!

"Well, whatever." Maya got up. "Just be careful who you try to support this time round. I may fail at investigations, but I have a gut feeling our murderer's craftier than they look."

And with that, she was out the door.

…

I agree with her, and that's a scary notion.

Since there didn't appear to be anything else of note, I moved on.

Swimming Pool

Changing Rooms

Arcade

Gym

Fast Food Place

Laundry Room

Selected Area: Fast Food Place

I stepped into the fast food place and chanced upon a familiar duo. "Hey there, Faen, Johan."

"Ah, Ms. Ju- Ashley." Faen corrected himself, and smiled. "It is wonderful to see you here."

"Yeah…" Johan scratched his head. "I never really did quite thank you for helping us get together so...Thanks a lot, I guess, Ashley."

"Oh, you're totally welcome!" I hardened my expression. "Still, let's get serious. Have you guys found anything here so far?"

Faen looked around. "Um, no, Ashley. The two of us have just entered this room as well. We were planning to search it posthaste."

"I'll join you guys then." I began to check the fridge.

We searched in silence for some time until Johan called us over suddenly.

"This was inside the trash along with the rest of the other paper cups." He pointed inside. "But look what's at the bottom!"

I peered. There was a black, glossy dot the bottom, then separated this cup for everyone else's. It was almost like...it had been marked in advance.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Marked Cup==

Johan found this disposable cup in the trash can. It has a large, black dot at the bottom of it, in what appears to be either black marker or black ink. What could this mean? Did someone put this mark here on purpose?

"I doubt we'll find much else around here," Johan said, scratching his head, "Shall we search somewhere else, then?"

"Sure." Faen walked towards the door. "Ashley? Are you coming with us?"

"Su-" I paused. That's right - I still haven't gotten the updated autopsy from Hideki.

"Sorry, guys. I think I have to talk to Hideki first."

"Oh, I see." Johan nodded. "Please share it with the rest of us once you got it, kay?"

I nodded back. "Sure."

"Then we shall take our leave. Farewell, Ashley."

1st Floor Aft

2nd Floor Aft

Selected Level: 1st Floor Aft

Atrium

Passenger Cabins

Dining Area - Ballroom

Dining Area - Kitchen

Storage Room

Medical Room

Janitor's Closet

Casino and Bar

Luxury Sitting Room

Mysterious Room

Selected Area: Passenger Cabins

I stepped back into Xiang's room, and my foot brushed against something hard.

"Huh, what's this?"

I bent down, and picked up what I figured was a small piece of wood. It was very thin, but wide in width - it was almost the size of our ElectroID, though about half as thick.

"Mind if I take a look?"

Hideki placed a gloved hand upon mine, before taking the piece of wood away. "That's strange...This piece of wood is too small to be a door-stopper, but too big to be just a mere wood shaving. It must have been here for some purpose, but what?"

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Piece of Wood==

A small piece of wood, probably whittled or taken from either the storage room or an outside source. What could be its purpose?

"I dunno." I hand my shoulders and shrug. "Hideki, have you finished doing your autopsy?"

His good eye stared at me. "Yes...and no."

"What d'you mean?"

"Come with me. I'll explain."

He held up a brown leather-bound journal. "I found this in Xiang's hand." In his other hand, he held up a white index card. "And this on top of him."

"'Case open', right?" I asked.

He froze and gasped. "H-How did you?"

"Tien told me."

"Tien? How did-never mind." He put it onto the ground. "Yep, it says 'case open'."

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Calling Card==

A piece of paper found on top of Xiang's body, absolutely identical to the Kitchen Knife Killer's calling card.

"On the other hand, this should be Xiang's journal. The name on the front validates it, while the writings in the journal certainly match up with Xiang's usual mannerisms."

I held it up to read its contents. It certainly was Xiang's journal, alright - the first few pages were dated a few years back, and were all in Mandarin Chinese as well, so it was indubitably his. Flipping through the top of the pages, I stopped at one at random and saw a variety of beautiful sketches, from Hope's Peak Academy, the scenery atop the Despairship, to a scene from the pool party two days ago, to an individual one of…

Sasha. And they were smiling.

I noticed that he had a bookmark set to a certain page further on in the book - it might have been the events of yesterday. What stopped me, however, was privacy issues - even if Xiang was dead, rifling through his journal had to be very rude.

Aw...this choice was way too hard!

Sorry, Xiang, but at this stage everything's a clue.

I flipped to the bookmarked page, and chanced across a few diary entries, earmarked for what I thought was yesterday. They read:

June 20XX.

I know I've shared the details of this secret many times before, but today, it needs to be restated, just so I know why I'm not going to fall for Monokuma's ploy.

I...am a coward. Plain and simple.

I can't wage wars. I won't wage wars. Send me into a battlefield, and I will lay down my weapons and pray no one sees me die a pitiful weakling.

Why do I bring it up again, now? Because after tomorrow, this secret will no longer remain a secret. It will be broadcasted to the world, and I shall never be able to face my father again.

Perhaps it is time I found myself a new career. A legal assistant sounds promising…

I shall have to talk to Sasha about this. Later today. In private.

For now, I hope I may yet be able to stand on my own two feet. Something feels...off.

Xiang Li

I paused. There was no next entry.

This was the last thing he wrote, then… I sighed. I supposed I'd have to use it as evidence, as much as my heart told me that would be a violation of Xiang's privacy.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Xiang's Diary==

Xiang's personal journal. He's chronicled the events up to yesterday, and it appears as if he wanted to talk to Sasha in private.

Then...why was he avoiding them?

None of this makes any sense...If he wanted to talk to Sasha in private, then why would he go out of his way to evade them? Or maybe he wrote this after he decided to stop avoiding them?

"Well, I guess I've gleaned all I can from his diary." I turned back. "What's the updated autopsy?"

Hideki looked away. "..."

...What's with his nervousness…?

"...Xiang didn't die from blood loss."

Is he still angsty about not being able to poison me? Is he-

Wait. Say what?

"Details." I said, putting my hands on his shoulders and staring at him. "Now."

He couldn't even look at me - he kept his eyepatched eye turned towards me. "Ashley, hands off. Please."

No. Not this time.

"...Xiang has a total of two exterior puncture wounds. He was stabbed once in the chest, once in the stomach. Sharp object. Three millimeters."

"And?"

"That didn't kill him."

That didn't? "So what did?"

"Fluid buildup in lungs. Massive and severe organ damage. Signs of nausea and diarrhea buildup." He visibly gulped. "Xiang was poisoned. And that was what he died of."

==Truth Bullet Updated!==

==Hideki's Autopsy==

Xiang was stabbed once in the chest, and once in the stomach with a sharp object, about 3 millimeters - most likely some sort of knife. However, it appears as if he was also poisoned, and he died to said poison and not blood loss.

No other wounds, or even bruises, were found on his body- wait.

My blood froze. Poisoned?! But the only person I know who could have poison on this airship is-

I stepped back. Oh no. I see where this is going. Hideki couldn't poison me, so he went the second-best route and poisoned Xiang-

THEN WHY WOULD HE TELL YOU THAT XIANG DIED OF POISON?!

Loud as it was, my conscience was right in screaming back at me. If Hideki had really killed Xiang, why would he tell me that Xiang was poisoned in the first place?

Unless he's trying to fake me out...no, Ashley, don't make this more complicated than it needs to be.

"Okay, what can you tell me about the poison?"

Hideki turned around and strode back to Xiang's body, motioning me to come closer. I did so, and was greeted by the sight of him prodding open Xiang's mouth.

"I did a quick test with Tien's assistance on his teeth. There are trace amounts of the poison on his gums, meaning that he'd have to have swallowed or drank the poison in question yesterday." With his free hand, he gestured to the rest of the body. "The lack of any syringe marks or other orifices he could have taken in the poison suggests that he'd taken it willingly, if unknowingly."

"So, why did the killer stab Xiang, then?"

"Probably to fake out how he died, like Ava did with JJ."

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Poison==

Whatever Xiang was killed with, Hideki suspects it was administered orally,. That would mean that he'd have to have ingested the poison sometime during the day, or just before he died.

The question, really, is when?

Before he could continue any further, the speakers cracked to life.

"Will all of you bastards report back to outside the Casino and Bar? It's time to start the second heart-throbbing class trial! And don't keep me waiting too long, or I'll be forced to drag you there by any means necessary! Cheerio!"

Hideki grimaced as he stood up. "That's just great. Tien's probably not done with her experiments yet."

"Unfortunately, that is so."

Tien walked into Xiang's room, knocking on the door as she did so. "I was going to come back here to collect samples of Xiang's spit, but it looks like that point is moot now."

"Distressingly so." Hideki got up, and dusted his coat off. "Do you have any theories of who might be the killer?"

"Only one." She pushed the bridge of her glasses against her nose. "But I think you both know as well as I do who I suspect."

Sasha… I gulped. "Anyone else seem like a possibility?"

"Well, it might be suicide." Tien pulled a sheaf of paper from her coat pocket. "If Xiang had wilfully consumed the poison, then it's possible someone else merely desecrated his body after he had died, explaining the state of his body as-is. Otherwise, I have nothing concrete."

Hideki grunted. "That will have to do. C'mon, let's go to the Casino."

I made to move after them, but a nagging voice at the back of my head stopped me. You've forgotten something.

What? And who are you?

I'm just one of the voices in your head. Anyways, didn't you, like, you know, write something of very grave importance?

Oh!

I paused mid-step down the hallway. Hideki stopped in his tracks and turned around. "You okay, Ashley?"

"Yeah, I am," I lied, "Just, uh, gotta go to the bathroom first. Can't go into trial with a full bladder."

"Alright then. We'll go ahead first. See you at the Casino and Bar." With that, he turned a corner, and was gone.

I stepped into my room. To be fair, I was only half-lying - I really did need to go to the bathroom. But afterwards, I made my way to my table, and lifted my badge.

There. That note I wrote yesterday. So the events of last night really weren't a dream.

==Truth Bullet Acquired!==

==Note==

I wrote this note to myself if ever in case Hideki was actually going to kill me the night before. It reads: I was invited to Hideki's room at...11.25p.m. If you find this and I am no longer alive, you know where to look.

I hesitated. Should I share this Truth Bullet with everyone else?

My finger hovered over the 'send' button, before I decided otherwise.

Let's make this my ace in the hole. It'll either absolve Hideki of all his guilt…

Or sink him in one shot.

We gathered outside the Casino and Bar. I winced - the last time we'd done this, there were two more of us.

I found myself supporting a bleary-eyed Nico. She was clearly not feeling any better from earlier, but at least some of the colour was returning to her face, and she wasn't crying.

"I can hear you, you know, Ashie."

Sorry.

My mind turned elsewhere as Nico let go of me and leaned against the wall, trying to keep her breathing steady.

Maya...Hideki...Sasha.

Is one of you the culprit? Or is someone else pulling a fast one on us?

"You can come in now. Just watch your step."

I walked in, still pondering my options.

The casino looked vastly different than it had been the other times I had stepped into it. This time, the walls had been reprinted with olive green, black, and brown swirling designs, reflective of a soldier's camouflage. Shelves and holsters decorated the room, each holding on to an assorted medley of items, such as guns, rations, water bottles, binoculars, and the like. What appeared to be a modified tank, crashing into the wall, took up most of the other side of the room, though the roulette remained untouched. It certainly looked reminiscent of any army bunker I've been to, save for one thing.

In the same vein as last trial, a large statue stood straight in the middle of the room. The statue had in its hands two fairly heavy-duty guns, dual-wielding them with what looked like expert efficiency, and strapped to the vest and trousers were knives, grenades, walkie-talkies, and every kind of equipment necessary for a field specialist. A very familiar scarf was the only thing out of place from the combat get-up - and his hair and coat could only mean one thing.

Just like JJ before him, Xiang was keeping watch over his own murder trial.

"Do you guys redecorate every time someone dies?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Maya walked over, and held up one of the rifles. "Are these...real?"

Turning around, she fired one of them at Nico, who screamed, until she realized that what hit her was only water. "C-Cold! Maya, what did you that for?"

"Eh. You were expendable," she shrugged in return, before placing what I now recognized as our water guns from two days before back on the shelf.

Sasha stared blankly up at the statue. "Xiang…" they said, placing a hand to the matching scarf wrapped around their own neck.

They grabbed a rifle - identical to the one he'd used during the water fight - and held it in their hands. "I wonder if Nishiyima would punish me for keeping this."

"Try me." Ataru's more benevolent tone was suddenly replaced by none other than the Pilot herself. "We have REAL guns with us, and I'm a better shot than you'll ever be."

Sasha looked at the gun as though they were weighing their options. "I had to learn how to shoot a while back. But fine. I'll desist." They placed the gun down, put their hands in their pockets, and glared at the floor.

Tien looked around her in wonder. "A courtroom is one thing, but replicating a battlefield in its entirety! Incredible!"

"Uh…" Hideki said, "Perhaps praising our captors isn't the best idea right now."

"No, go on!" Monokuma giggled. "If you think this is impressive, wait till you see what we have for you downstairs!"

Matthew seemed to cower in fear. "D-Downstairs?"

"Yeah, the glass chamber. We were there last time, remember?" Johan replied.

Faen nodded. "Guess we shall have to take our spots, as it were."

We walked towards the roulette, whereupon I glimpsed our...new additions.

Xiang's podium, in between Lucille and Nico, now featured his stand. His mugshot was framed by a large pink 'X', similar to JJ's.

Ava's still had the 'X', but instead of it merely being a large uppercase letter, her 'X' was formed by a pair of hockey sticks.

Lucille looked at the latter sadly. "I'm sorry, Ava...we could not prevent Xiang from joining you in ze heavens above. May you two find happiness where I did not."

"And may we find your killer and subject them to the closest thing aboard this Goddamn airship to justice," Sasha added.

"Alright then." Hideki tightened his eyepatch. "Shall we begin, then?"

We all took our spots at the roulette. I looked around. One of these people had killed Xiang. One of these people was going to die for their crimes.

Or the alternative, which I didn't even want to think about.

With a familiar clank, it began to spin. I turned from Hideki, to Sasha to Maya as we spun down into the antechamber.

The roulette clicked into place. This time Eric, Sasha, Lucille and Johan remained standing. The first sight that met me was an endless sea of blue dotted with clouds. I had landed on my face.

Then a large plane came barrelling underneath me, before a missile caught up to it, and both exploded mid-air.

I screamed, causing Faen to look incredibly concerned and Nico to cry out "Ashie!" I put a hand on the roulette and very shakily stood up.

We were in a war zone.

Everywhere around us fighter jets swooped and dived, bullets flying everywhere. I ducked and began to pray for my life, before realizing that they weren't shooting at us. Or at least, the chamber somehow managed to deflect all of their bullets .

"A very good holographic projection," Tien explained, more fascinated than I'd ever seen her. "Practically photo-realistic."

"Oh, that rush of fear when you believed those planes were real must have filled you with so much despair!"

We all gasped as Monokuma appeared, despite the fact that realistically speaking we should have been desensitized to all of this by now.

He grinned. "I see you're all at a loss for words, upupupupu. Regardless, it's time! Let the second heart-throbbing class trial...begin!"

Act 2-7 FIN

12 Students Remaining

A/N: Ok, so standard things.

Vote for killer on my profile, please and thank you.

Leave all speculation in the reviews and forum.

If you want clarification, the forum or tumblr are your best bet.

Yes, Sasha has been permanently redesigned.

Yes, we are changing the trial room for each murder victim.

Yes, people are being incredibly suspicious this time around.

Yes , this is probably going to be the most convoluted trial in the entire story.

Poll results:

Sasha - 2

Nico - 2

Maya - 2

Eric - 1

Hideki - 1

Todd - 1

Tien - 1

Also, sorry for the slow updates. School has restarted for SD so we barely ever have time to get shit done. We'll try to get stuff up faster in the future, though. - Lime

...Don't count on it. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm a student first and a writer second. I'll strive to perform as well as I normally can, but...Aw, damn, there's way too much homework, and it's just first week! And f*ck me, concert recitals are coming up…*disgruntled sigh* - SD

Next chapter will be JJ's bonus with the full evidence list, and then the trial will begin. For now, review replies.

Unicorn819: Todd's creator is the fabulous Emosewa-13 aka Emo aka Homie Batmal the Emo Cow Goddess, a fellow member of the Farquaad Star Squaad. He was certainly...creative this time around.

No, you're a great reviewer! And you don't want anybody to die? Anyone?

Hmm...who do you think killed Xiang now?

emosewa-13: Yes. Feed me, my minion.

Yeah, agreed. Hideki is being a major dick right about now.

...or will they?

Let'sTalkAboutMurder: Well, who do you think decided to kill him?

ezmonee6: Yep.

PowerPlayer: Yeah, Ashley's anger is more reasonable than Hideki's entire character at this point.

...Not a poisoning, you say?

Penumbro: Your suffering fuels me.

A Dingus With Sweet Shades: Yep. *pours one out for the fallen soldier* Honestly, as much as I love killing off characters, I like people's reactions way more. Yours was hands down the funniest.

Khronovision: Hmm...thoughts on the evidence? And how's Sasha holding up to your predictions.

dashunterman: *shrugs* Did you expect any less from the SHSL Flamboyant Anime Villain and SHSL Flamboyant Movie Villain?

HeroinOfDarkness: That's good! I'm really glad we haven't turned you off from the story...Ava and JJ's creators have both stopped reviewing so I'm happy we'll at least keep you.

Alright, we're done here, back to work (for me) and school (for SD). We'll see you around. Sometime. Enjoy theorizing.