Trial 2-1: Turnabout Declaration
COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!
"I take it none of you need me to explain who died?" Monokuma lapped at a pot of what was labelled 'HUNNY'.
I didn't think robotic bears could even eat honey. The more you know, I guess.
"Are you even sure that is real honey? He has proven to be proficient in the use of holograms," Tien observed.
"Yeah, but why'd he ever bloody do that?" Eric asked.
"To psych us out, maybe," suggested Sasha, "But I agree. There's no reason for him to do that."
"You people are so far off track you're going perpendicular to it," Maya said. "We're trying to catch a murderer here."
"Hey! That's my line." Matthew frowned. "The perpendicular part, that is."
"I think all of us have taken eighth grade math, and thus know about perpendicularity," offered Sasha.
"As Maya said. Off-track." Hideki adjusted his eyepatch slightly. "Xiang is dead. I'd think you of all people would want to catch the perpetrator, wouldn't you?"
Sasha looked taken aback. "Yeah. I do. Can we just get this trial underway, then? Get this over with?"
"You seem awfully eager to send another person to zheir death!" said Lucille.
"We have no other choice," Tien pointed out. "It's either them or the rest of us."
"This is a useless conversation," said Johan.
"He's right," said Sasha. "Let's get this debate under way, shall we?"
"...For the record, it's fourth-grade math."
==Nonstop Debate!==
Weak points are in italics, break points are in both bold and italics.
==Begin!==
Ammunition loaded: Monokuma File #2, State of Xiang's Door, Knife, Motive
Maya: Okay, where do we start?
Matthew: I, for one, wonder about the state of the door!
Eric: It was bloody shut, wasn't it?
Matthew: Well, yes, but that means that the killer would need to lock the door after them.
Johan: As much as I hate to suggest this, could it have been a suicide? Xiang's secret seemed grave, after all…
Nico: You think he poisoned and stabbed himself?
Johan: I don't see any other way around it. I mean, the door was locked from the outside, and only Xiang's Electro-ID could open it….
Tien: So Xiang committed suicide in a closed room?
Jackie: You'd think he'd at least want us to find his body…
Lucille: Perhaps-
==Counter!==
Ashley: Wait! That's not correct! (Fired: State of Xiang's Door)
BREAK!
"Oh, um, sorry for cutting you off, Lucille." I apologized.
"Non, non, it's okay, go on." She shrugged. "Share your point."
"Alright, then." I turned my attention back to my truth bullet, which began to unfold itself as a transcript of a voice recording, in addition to a picture of the outside of Xiang's room.
"This door was somehow blockaded. But it wasn't strong - took one kick to get it open. Any real barricade would take three, minimum. It wasn't locked, either - I checked. Besides, locks look strong - if it was locked, a kick wouldn't've done much good."
When it ended, I elaborated. "The door hadn't been locked at all, meaning that the murderer could have entered Xiang's room, killed him, and fabricated a way to make sure it looked like it was locked. We don't have to rule the possibility of suicide out yet, but it certainly isn't the only route that could have led to Xiang's death."
"Fair enough." Johan agreed to my left. "How did the door seem locked, though? There's only one lock on the doors themselves, so there's nothing else that could have prevented the door from being opened."
"...On the door itself." Faen zoomed in on the door frame. "Maybe an outside influence was preventing the door from being kicked open?"
"If so, zhen what?" Jackie wondered
Hideki crossed his arms. "Perhaps we should take this to a Nonstop Debate. There should be a perfectly good reason as to why it happened."
"If it did happen." Maya added.
==Nonstop Debate!==
Weak points are in italics, break points are in both bold and italics.
==Begin!==
Ammunition loaded: Piece of Wood, No Innocents, Xiang's Diary
Eric: Maybe the murderer was behind the door?
Tien: Behind? You mean whoever killed Xiang was still in the room when Sasha broke the door down?
Lucille: Zhat couldn't be...When we ran into the room, only Sasha was there with us.
Hideki: Is it possible the murderer slipped out as you entered?
Johan: No one could have passed by us in the hallways!
Jackie: Perhaps whoever it was hid, and zhen left later?
Ashley: No...I don't think the murderer was in the room then.
Nico: What's your line of thought, Ashie?
Ashley: I don't really know...I just think the murderer might have used something to jam the door.
Maya: You can't really jam a door from the outside, you know. Trust me, I've tried - and failed.
Sasha: Well, we're back to square one, aren't we?
==Assent!==
Matthew: That just about sums up my point! (Fired: Piece of Wood)
BREAK!
"Actually...I think there was a way to jam the door from the outside."
Matthew brought up the splinter of wood, and I gasped in recognition. "Ashley found this piece of wood in the interior of Xiang's room. Maybe it had been part of something bigger that was leaning against the door?"
Murmuring broke out. "Well, if that's part of something, where's the rest of it?" Nico inquired.
"I...don't know," was his response. "I didn't see anything that could have been where the wood came from, so either it was removed before I got to Xiang's room, or there isn't such a thing."
"Still, the wood had to come from somewhere…right?"
Everyone looked around at each other, and I found myself concentrating on Jackie, who looked deep in thought. She seemed to be mumbling under her breath.
"Where on zis airship could we find ze wood…?"
==Epiphany Anagram!==
_/_/_/_/_/_/_
…
B/_/_/_/_/_/_
…
B/_/_/_/_/_/F
…
B/_/S/_/_/_/F
…
B/_/S/_/_/F/F
…
B/_/S/_/A/F/F
…
B/_ STAFF
…
BO STAFF
...
Jackie: Impressionnant! I know what it is!
Break!
"The wood probably had to come from Xiang's staff!" she exclaimed.
"God damn! How did I miss that?" Sasha was lightly tugging on the ends of their hair. "It's obvious! The staff - of course!"
Maya raised an eyebrow. "You seem oblivious for someone who's supposed to be the dead guy's best friend."
Sasha just continued ranting as though they hadn't heard her. "The staff! It was right there in front of my face! How did it get by me? Me of all people!"
"..." Hideki was silent, but I could see the gears turning in his head.
He coughed, before speaking. "Well, since we've established that Xiang's murderer had gone into his room...Can we discuss how the murderer had gotten into his room to begin with?"
"Into his room?" Nico echoed. "Well…"
Tien adjusted her glasses, as another plane in the background exploded behind her. "Let's do so, then."
==Nonstop Debate!==
Weak points are in italics, break points are in both bold and italics.
==Begin!==
Ammunition loaded: Motive, Xiang's Diary, Monokuma File #1, State of Xiang's Door
Hideki: Did the murderer get in by force?
Johan: I don't think so...There aren't any signs to indicate Xiang's door was forced open.
Johan: Except...you know. Sasha's bootprints.
Faen: And Mx. Oryolov was kicking it down only after the murder.
Hideki: So we can rule out force - that means Xiang willingly opened the door…
Hideki: And let the murderer in.
Sasha: Xiang wouldn't have allowed anyone into his room.
Sasha: He was smart - he wouldn't have allowed anyone to come in, especially not under these circumstances.
Nico: Then what other choice do we have?
==Counter!==
Tien: I'm pretty sure that's wrong! (Fired: Xiang's Diary)
BREAK!
Oh no…
I watched as Tien brought up the diary.
"There was, in fact, someone who Xiang almost certainly wouldn't have been wary of. Other than drawing rather flattering images of them in his journal, he also said, and I quote, 'I shall have to talk to Sasha about this. Later today. In private.'" She adjusted. "What's to say he didn't invite his killer in himself?"
An image flashed through my mind of Sasha standing outside Xiang's room, kitchen knife in their hand, face full of murderous intent.
No, Sasha wouldn't. That's not the Sasha I know.
I stared at Tien. "Are you sure you want t-"
Sasha: There's no use Stalin, and I'll show you why!
Tien looked up. "Yes, what is it?"
"I didn't kill Xiang!" Sasha screamed. "I'll prove it!"
"..." Tien shook her head. "I was afraid that it would have to come to this."
The orange light bathed them in a harsh glow, as an overhead plane blew up, the fuselage tumbling off into the distance.
==Cross Swords!==
Usable Swords: State of Xiang's Door, Xiang's Diary, Kitchen Knife File
Sasha: Why on Earth ==/== would I kill Xiang?
Sasha: He's my only ==/== friend!
Sasha: I had no motive! ==/== I confessed my secret!
Sasha: And there's nothing other than that diary ==/== tying me to the crime!
Progression!
Tien: I have my reasons to believe ==/== that you are very capable of such a crime!
Tien: While I cannot account for your choice of target ==/== the fact that you are the culprit is obvious.
Tien: At this point there's no ==/== one else that could have done it!
Sasha: No one else? ==/== And you think I did it?!
Sasha: How can you convict me? ==/== You have no real evidence!
Tien: It ain't rocket science, buster! (Chosen sword: Kitchen Knife File)
"You want real evidence? You'll be getting some." Tien tapped her ElectroID. "The stab wounds on Xiang's corpse are eerily similar to those found on the victims of the Kitchen Knife Killer, Matthew Cavendish. However, anyone with access to CNN or basic internet could have known that. There is one part of his modus operandi, however, which was never made public."
"And what would that be?" Hideki asked, although the expression on his face told me he probably already knew the answer.
==Select!==
1. Dishwasher
2. Lipstick
3. Calling Card
4. Murder Weapon
Tien: Logically speaking, it was this.
"He left a calling card. A white index card identical to the one found on Xiang's corpse, saying 'case open'. Only one person here could have known about this."
Sasha froze like a deer in the headlights. "Y-you can't seriously be accusing me of killing my only friend! I have my misgivings, but I'd never-"
Ashley: Can't anyone see the contradiction?
...Was I surprised I did that? Probably.
But I can't stand around doing nothing. Not now.
Tien looked at me. "Ashley? What is it?"
"Tien, no offense, but I can't exactly believe that Sasha could or would kill Xiang in cold blood." I gulped. "There's...There's just no way!"
Sasha glared. "That's a flimsy-"
"Do you want me to defend you or not?" I asked angrily.
Their eyes widened. "I...yeah."
Tien shook her head. "You are making a huge mistake, Ashley. Please, stand down."
"Sorry, Tien. Not this time."
The orange light engulfed us both.
==Cross Swords!==
Usable Swords: Knife, Kitchen Knife File, Sasha Oryolov Profile
Ashley: Sasha may not be the friendliest of people, sure ==/== but they're no murderer!
Ashley: Especially not of their closest friend ==/== Besides, what reason would they have to kill?
Ashley: They literally had the least ==/== motive to kill of anyone!
Duel!
How strong is your will? Fight for your point!
! /) | (\ !
! /) | (\ !
! == /) ==!
Progression!
Tien: Ah, but ==/== you're sadly mistaken.
Tien: The activist has hid their true nature quite well ==/== but the time has come for me to expose them!
Tien: Sasha Oryolov is not ==/== who you think they are!
Ashley: But Sasha would never ==/== kill Xiang!
Tien: It's not rocket science, buster! (Chosen sword: Sasha Oryolov Profile)
Break!
You can't be serious!
"Oh yes, I am." Tien triumphantly held up her Electro-ID. "Sasha Oryolov is a violent paranoid schizophrenic with violent tendencies that have resulted in injuries of others in the past, persistent paranoid delusion, auditory hallucinations, and psychopathic tendencies. They feel no remorse. They do not see reality the same way that most do."
Sasha's face was showing a clear picture - a mixture of shock, fear, and despair. Nowhere in their expression was their characteristic rage. "N-None of that is true!"
Tien shrugged. "Your word against the best profiler to ever grace the FBI. Charlotte Crawford isn't a name to take lightly, you know."
"Charlotte? Crawford?" Sasha muttered, their eyes growing ever wider as tears began to stream down their cheeks. "Agent Crawford would never say that!"
Tien held out her Electro-ID. "That's what the profile says - you can see if you want."
"Charlie. Wouldn't. Say. That." They glared at Tien. "Charlie. Is. Smarter. Than. That."
"What do you mean, 'smarter'?" asked Hideki. "Wording on this looks professional enough."
"A REAL DOCTOR WOULD KNOW THAT A PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIC IS MORE LIKELY TO KILL THEMSELF THAN COMMIT MURDER!" Sasha screamed, leaning forward and banging their hands down on their podium. "YOU'RE INCOMPETENT AND I FEEL SORRY FOR ALL OF YOUR PATIENTS!"
Tien sighed. "You're no ordinary schizophrenic. I agree - on its own, schizophrenia is rather unthreatening. However, couple that with a psychopath, and you've got the perfect mindset for murder."
Faen looked torn. "Do you perhaps think you're being too rash?"
"Even with all of that, I just can't believe Sash would kill Xiang!" agreed Nico.
"I just don't buy it."
"The 'science' of profiling is iffy at best," pointed out Matthew.
"Yes, but this is more than just profiling. It's a proper evaluation of our...what's the term that the FBI uses? UnSub, that's it." Tien smiled ruefully. "It's a shame, really - I enjoyed collaborating with Sasha."
"Perhaps we should further debate this, then-"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
I gasped in shock, and turned towards the source of the laughter. It was maniacal, and seemed to fill the courtroom. As I turned, I saw Monokuma swap his honey for popcorn, but that wasn't what was preoccupying me.
The laughter abruptly ceased, and the source of it smiled. "Case...open."
A/N: Dun. Dun. DUN.
Welp. That happened. Vote for the killer on my profile.
Another thing. AFoFD is officially second most reviewed among Dangan Ronpa fics on this website! *shoots confetti*. And we just got our 10,000th hit! So, as a reward, we're doing a huge bonus chapter, along with the bonus Q&A and bonus Cards Against Humanity game, at the end of this Act. This bonus chapter will feature ships of your choosing. One rule I have is don't go against sexual orientation. That's it. Other than that go wild. So yeah. All the pairings that you would want in an ideal scenario, co-existing (meaning unless it's an OT3, each person only once). There's a link to a poll on my profile.
Also, poll results:
Jackie - 2
Sasha - 2
Tien - 2
Nico - 1
Hideki - 1
Faen - 1
Eric - 1
AAAAND QOTC! If the pilots weren't an item, who'd you ship them with. Feel free to disregard orientation, as none of this will ever be remotely canon anyway.