After what felt twice as long as the previous trip down, the Elevator came to a stop, the fenced gate opening into the Courtroom. However, as Ichijou Mitsuzi stepped out, he quickly realized it wasn't the same room as before. The polished wooden podiums with the screens and Monokuma's throne remained the same, but the walls and floors had been changed, now looking like rusted iron bars checked with black bricks, bits of what might have been mold in between them, the whole place feeling kind of dank.

From his chair, Monokuma waved, ordering, "Alright everyone, please find the podium with your name on it and take your spot, so that we can begin!" There was no dissent as everyone made their way to the podiums, spreading out as normal. As Ichijou headed to his own, which remained unchanged, he passed yet more portraits on their stands. Once he could, he gave them a good look. In between Kirigiri Kasumi and Mikage Naoki was a portrait of Tamura, marked with a bloody cross. Not far from Ichijou, in between Sanada and Furugori were two. One was Yokozuna's, which was also marked in a cross, but Kobayashi Nagisa's had a different mark. From top to bottom seemed to run a wide length of track drawn in blood colored paint (or at least, Ichijou still hoped), the top and bottom lines being horizontal, but the other two being crossed over Kobayashi's face.

Once everyone had settled into their spots, Monokuma began, "Welcome back, Students of Hope's Peak Academy, to the Class Trial! Allow me to explain the rules. Now that the investigation is concluded, you must use what you have learned to uncover the Culprit. When deemed appropriate, you will all vote on who you believe the 'Black' Culprit is. If you are correct, the Culprit will be Punished. If you are wrong, and vote a 'White', innocent Student guilty, the Culprit will Graduate and be allowed to leave, while everyone else Flunks, and is Punished."

Sanada mumbled, "Must we go over this again?"

Monokuma snarled, "It's tradition!"

Ishihara grumbled, "I don't like the idea of Class Trials being any kind of tradition."

Monokuma chided, "Well tough! It is your reality now, so shut up and start arguing!"

Ichijou scoffed, "Hey, we can't do both!"

Monokuma nodded, "Yes, keep it up!" Ichijou's mouth hung open for a second, before he stopped, not wanting to reply. Monokuma laughed, "Yes, good!"

"Ignoring the bear..." Uzatei interjected. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Where do we begin?"

Monokuma laughed, "Let's begin with why you came to the Trial armed and dangerous! Are the peasants revolting? Yes, but are they gonna try and fight me too?"

No one said anything until Saruta began, "I have a thought; perhaps we can discuss the weapons we were instructed to bring?" At this there were a few nods of compliance. Monokuma didn't react, sitting in his chair quietly to no one's displeasure.

Kirigiri started, reaching into her blazer and pulling out a hatchet, wrapped in plastic, placing it down on her podium as she asked, "Would everyone please place any weapons they have on their podiums? Like so." Ichijou complied, not complaining about putting his knife down, as everyone began to do the same.

Pulling out her own hatchet, which seemed small relatively, Minami asked, "Is there a good reason as to why?"

Kirigiri stepped in front of her podium, nodding, "Yes, in fact. I think that figuring out which weapons were used in the murder should be the first step. But before I consider that..." Raising her finger suddenly, she pointed at Ishihara Jouji standing next to her, nearly poking him with her outstretching finger. "Ishihara-kun, would you kindly tell everyone the results of the task I entrusted to you?" she asked.

Ichijou leaned in curiously as the Aeronaut nodded, explaining, "She asked me to give the Kitchen a look as I spent the most time in there. As far as I could tell though, no knives were taken except for the one that was always missing."

Ganaha, still a bit muddy, raised an eyebrow, asking, "Huh? One was always missing?"

Sanada explained, "Nagasaki-san took it ages ago. It's right over there." He pointed over to the Survivalist, who still clutched the black handled knife, her hand resting on the podium. Her grip seemed to tighten as attention shifted over to her, and she bit her lip.

Kirigiri nodded, "Exactly: aside from Nagasaki's hatchet, which I had no chance to ask her to bring, and the tools from the Gardening Shed, all of the possible weapons are here. Excuse me one moment." Starting from Ishihara, she began to walk a circle around the room counterclockwise, quickly examining the weapons, going from Ishihara to Ichijou to Sanada and so forth. She stopped for a little while longer at Nagasaki, who was reluctant to share her weapon. Ichijou leaned a bit closer, trying to make eye contact and give her a silent plea to comply. She was clearly nervous about it, but she placed her weapon down before backing away from the podium, setting her stance as if to dodge, as perhaps if Kirigiri was going to take the knife and charge her. The girl did no such thing, naturally, taking the knife and looking at it very closely, bringing her eye to the grooves between blade and handle, and the spots where the screws held it together. She even held it under her nose, and took a breath to smell it.

Finally satisfied, Kirigiri moved on, Nagasaki quickly taking the chance to return to her podium and grab her knife again. Kirigiri continued around the room until she finished with Mikage, before passing Tamura's podium and returning to her own. She noted, "So, from what I could tell, none of us here have used the standard hatchets or knives given to us: they are all still covered in their original plastic. So in other words, the only weapons that could have been used in the killing are the trowel Yasuo-kun had, the hoe that Sanada-san found by the Lake, and Nagasaki-san's knife...which smells far too much of blood for me to be comfortable."

Nagasaki's eyes widened, and she examined her blade with a bit of panic. Kirigiri couldn't help but smirk as she noted, "Even if you had gotten rid of the scent, I think your reaction was suspicious enough."

Nagasaki bared her teeth, hissing, "You..."

Stepping a little to the side, putting a bit of distance between himself and the Survivalist, Furugori muttered, "Wait, so...she killed Yokozuna-san!?"

Mikage blinked, shaking his head, "Hey, call me a moron, but I'm having trouble buying it."

Sanada began, "We have numerous stab wounds, but only two Victims. Given the status of Tamura, the only one she could have stabbed was Yokozuna."

Minami shook her head, "I'm of the same mind as Furugori-san: why would Nagasaki do such a thing?"

Saruta asked, "Was Yokozuna-san perhaps not quite as nice as she seemed?"

Uzatei nodded, "Oh, I think I see." Glancing at Nagasaki, he speculated, "Perhaps she tried to kill you, and you were simply defending yourself? Of course, you'd have to lie about it to ensure you escape. Not that I blame you."

Ichijou boldly interrupted, "No way!" If there was one thing he was sure of, it was this, "Sure, she had her moments, like that prank in the Library, but I don't think they would ever hurt each other!"

Ganaha asked accusingly, "And how do you know that? I mean, for sure?"

Looking around, Ichijou answered, "After the body discovery announcements, we found Nagasaki-san in the Greenhouse, right? Well, that was because she wanted to watch over the plants she potted with Yokozuna." Sadly, he pointed out, "That's all she has left."

Kirigiri lit up, saying, "I see." Turning to the Producer, she mentioned, "You should recall that, no, Ganaha-san? Did we not see them just before they decided to do some gardening?"

The pink haired girl looked aside, before mumbling with a bit of embarrassment, "Well, now that you mention it..."

"What makes you so sure?" Furugori wondered.

Ichijou elaborated, "When I bumped into the shelf, I knocked one down, but managed to catch it. She freaked a little when it started to fall. I'm kinda lucky I caught it, actually."

Kirigiri raised an eyebrow, "Lucky? How did you fall in the first place?"

Ichijou answered, "I slipped on some dirt."

Mikage gave him a disbelieving look, saying, "How the hell do you slip on dirt?" Ichijou could only shrug helplessly.

Getting back on topic, Minami said, "But reasoning aside, how did your knife come to smell like blood, Nagasaki?" The Survivalist didn't respond, keeping her eyes locked on the ground.

Sanada sighed, "Well, excluding the possibility of today, she has yet to actually stab anyone, though there have been a few close calls. Where else could the stench of blood come from?"

Saruta noted, "An animal, perhaps? Such as the bears in the woods?"

Ichijou shook his head, "No, she didn't stab anything when we went out."

Kirigiri pointed out, "And if she did, say, kill something else, the corpse should be readily available, no?" Once again, Nagasaki said nothing, simply averting her gaze nervously.

Thinking to the scene, Ichijou wondered, "Maybe she dropped it in the blood?"

Thinking on it, Ishihara nodded, "Maybe. I mean, I can't think of how else it happened."

Nagasaki nodded, "Yeah, I dropped it."

"But when?" Sanada Shinji asked.

Nagasaki explained, "I found her..."

Ichijou jumped in, elaborating, "She found the body before Ganaha and I did. Didn't I say something?" Sanada shook his head, and Ichijou replied, "Oh, okay. Well, that's what she told me. That was why the announcement rang out when it was just Ganaha and I. Normally it needs three people. That's what it says in the rules, I think."

Kirigiri nodded, "You would be correct."

Furugori gasped, "Ah!" After a moment more of thought, he shook his head, saying, "No, that doesn't make any sense." Seeing a few curious eyes turn him way, he said, "Well, I thought that maybe Monokuma was giving us a hint as to who the Culprit was, but for some reason, that doesn't seem likely."

There was a round of agreement. Ichijou noted, "Yeah, I agree."

Kirigiri nodded, "That would seem rather out of character."

Monokuma's head sank, and the bear muttered, "I'm bearly getting any respect over here."

Minami snorted quietly, "I'm surprised you're getting any."

Monokuma hopped to his feet, roaring, "Well, you're right! No way I would help you guys beyond some rule explanations and the Monokuma File."

Ichijou asked, "So, what's up with the announcements then?"

Monokuma seemed to hesitate, before answering, "It's simple, when three or more people stumble across a body, the announcement rings out."

"Including the Culprit?" Uzatei asked.

Monokuma shrugged, "Maybe?"

Getting a bit frustrated, Sanada hissed, "How so?"

Monokuma waved his paws, explaining, "Well, let's say I didn't count the Culprit, then they and two others stumbled across a body at the same time. It'd be obvious one of those three was the Culprit! But other than a situation like that, I have no reason to count the Culprit. I mean, what if one of you offed yourself? Normally, a Culprit would always be a third person, so you'd really only need two people, but the announcement for a suicide wouldn't ring up until all three were there if that were the case, so everyone would know what happened." The bear snarled, "It depends! How many times to I have to say it?"

Kirigiri asked quickly, "But, discounting the Culprit, must you count everyone else who walks by?"

Monokuma didn't answer, but after a period of silence, he bowed his head, groaning, "Yes."

Flashing a quick, smug smile, Kirigiri nodded, "I see." The girl turned to Nagasaki, before saying, "It seems you are cleared, unless anyone else would like to claim they are the first person to come across the body after the Culprit." There was no response immediately. Kirigiri began to look around, asking, "Yasuo-kun? Sanada-san?"

Furugori shook his head as Sanada shrugged, "True or not, it would be unwise." Looking around, the Debater noted, "But now, a different question arises: if Nagasaki's knife wasn't used to stab Yokozuna Hina, what was? The hoe? That would be awkward, though admittedly, not impossible."

Ichijou couldn't disagree, but he proposed, "Well, what if the Culprit used something we didn't find? Like, if he threw it farther into the Lake, or into the forest?"

Sanada thought for a moment, before sighing, "Not implausible, but I refuse to accept that as an answer."

Uzatei nodded, "We weren't asking you too, we've just hit a dead end."

Minami admitted, "Then we should change subjects. Perhaps we should follow things from the perspectives of the Mock Culprit?"

Furugori swallowed audibly, before saying, "I gave my testimony." Glancing over at Nagasaki, he scratched his head, mumbling, "I guess it would hurt to give it again..." Once more, he told his side of the story, from obtaining the trowel, to 'killing' Kirigiri, to getting knocked out by Nagasaki. Before he finished, however, there was a voice raised in dissent.

Nagasaki glared, interrupting, "No, you...liar!" Furugori gave a squeal of shock, before running past the two empty podiums of Yokozuna and Kobayashi, standing behind Sanada. Nagasaki waved her knife around a bit as she shouted, "I didn't touch you!"

Furugori swallowed, before stuttering out, "Th-then how d-did I get blood on my head?"

Nagasaki bared her teeth again, growling, "How would I know?"

Narrowing his eyes, Uzatei adjusted his glasses as he suggested, "If you were the Culprit, you would have had plenty of blood available. It would have just been the matter of getting from Yokozuna's corpse to Tamura's without being spotted, which would have been no trouble by going through the forest."

Ishihara gasped, "So the trowel was the weapon used for Yokozuna too!"

Ichijou glanced over to Kirigiri, whom was keeping silent as Furugori began to sweat. If he had a counter argument, he was too nervous to say it. Trying to summarize, Ichijou said, "So, Furugori went from the Library to the Gardening Shed, then went back to the Library, then went to the exit slope and killed Yokozuna, then back to the Shed to kill Tamura and left the trowel there, then knocked himself out by the sign..."

Catching on, Mikage nodded, "Yeah, and no one saw him except Kasumi-chan, right?"

Minami concurred, "It does seem rather unlikely. Crossing a path five times, more or less."

Uzatei nodded, "And without being heard or spotted once?"

Sanada shook his head, "Avoiding detection isn't so hard, simply wait in cover until the coast is clear."

Starting to understand, Ishihara said, "Oh! I get it! You can't do that if you're in a hurry, can you?"

Saruta shook his head, "Would he have a choice?"

Thinking for another moment, Ichijou asked, "Kasumi-chan: which way did he come and go again?"

Kirigiri answered quickly, as if she'd been waiting for the question, "He came noisily from the Greenhouse area, before leaving from the same direction."

Ishihara nodded, "Oh, now I see. If he couldn't go through the forest quietly, there's no way he'd be able to sneak up on Hina and Ryunosuke."

Sanada shook his head, "Of course he wouldn't have to worry about sneaking up on someone he never planned to kill."

Kirigiri interrupted, "And yet, he wouldn't have aroused any suspicion going the other way to the Shed. If I were to skulk around the forest for Victims, I wouldn't take more time than I need, yet Furugori crossed the entire length of the Second Level perhaps more than twice. If he were really going to kill, he would have prepared things beforehand: no reason to go to the Gardening Shed in the first place, for starters."

Sanada conceded, "Oh, a good point!"

Ganaha grumbled, "How'd the Culprit even get those two apart anyways? Yokozuna and Nagasaki are always together."

Kirigiri interrupted, "We'll arrive at that subject when we come to it. For now, Yasuo-kun is not quite out of the woods yet."

Uzatei blinked, "Er, figuratively? Or if literally; in what timeframe?"

Ganaha shook her head, moaning, "What kind of question is that!?"

Minami smirked, "A fairly dumb one."

As Uzatei shrugged, Furugori looked at Kirigiri, asking a bit fearfully, "What d-do I need to p-prove, K-K-Kasumi-chan?"

Kirigiri tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, before pointing, "Why didn't you kill me!?"

Furugori gawked for a moment, before squawking out an "Eh?"

Kirigiri insisted, "I was a ripe, unwitting target, and you had a sharp implement. I even closed my eyes so you could do the deed without having to feel as much empathy for a fellow human being, yet you only poked me."

Minami grumbled, "Stop being melodramatic."

Kirigiri cleared her throat, before saying, "The point still stands. Surely, you want to get out of here, don't you, Yasuo-kun? And it's not as though I'm not a viable target. My being alive gives everyone else less chance to escape without being discovered, and my possible desire to regain my memories make the risk of me becoming a Culprit fairly high." Suddenly a bit reflective, she frowned, "That is...more reasons than I expected. I hadn't really thought about it before..." Looking back at Furugori, she added, "Well, thank you for not killing me."

"Y-you're welcome?" Furugori said uncertainly.

Kirigiri added, "I mean: I'd probably have killed me."

Furugori gave an uneasy laugh as Uzatei did a poor job of hiding his amusement, turning his head and letting out a few muffled snorts.

Sanada took a moment to move Kobayashi's portrait into Furugori's empty spot, allowing the Computer Engineer to stand a little further from Nagasaki. When he returned to his own podium, he said, "So, the question is: despite being given ample opportunity, why didn't Furugori Yasuo kill Kirigiri Kasumi?"

Ichijou said cheerily, "Because you're friends, right?"

Ishihara noted, "Well, if he was the Mock Culprit, he might have been thinking more about going through with the Mock Game than the real one."

Minami asked, "Was there anyone nearby who he might have seen? Perhaps he didn't want Kirigiri to scream out?"

Ichijou answered, "Well, I was the first to show up. He might have seen me."

Furugori answered, "Er, it was little bit of both." Looking over at Ishihara and Ichijou, he said, "Kirigiri's my friend, and Tamura-san came to me for help, so I didn't want to let him down. I never even thought about actually killing anyone."

Sanada nodded, before saying, "If that's your explanation, we'll have to buy it, unless..." Crossing his arms over his chest, he shot Furugori a look out of his right eye, saying forcefully, "You had already completed the murders by the time you found Kirigiri!"

Kirigiri's face hardened in thought as she shook her head, saying, "He was already strapped for time as it was. To kill Yokozuna and Tamura in such a small timeframe, I can't see it." Raising her head, she explained, "Once the game started, he would have had to grab the trowel and find Yokozuna near the exit slope. Then, he would have had to..." She trailed of, suddenly gasping. She looked away, eyes wide as they darted around as she tried to think. After a moment, she turned back to the others, "Excuse me, but did I ever share anything that happened before my false murder?"

Ichijou shook his head, "No, was there anything important?"

Kirigiri explained, "The first thing I noticed on my way to the Library was the switched signposts. The purple one that was previously by the Library path had been swapped with the light blue one by the Shed. I went to the Library, and once we split up, I waited for a minute or so before going to check out the signs again. I noticed that the dirt was disturbed around the base of the blue one near the Library. After checking the purple one again, I went to the one by the Greenhouse, which was red, having been moved from its spot by the exit slope. However, before I could go check the green sign, there was a rustling in the bushes. I guess I got a little frightened, because I left and went back to the Library. A short while later, Yasuo-kun came out of the woods from the Greenhouse. Was that you, Yasuo-kun? Did you follow me after killing Yokozuna Hina? Then circle around to deal with Tamura?"

Furugori shook his head vigorously, "N-no! Of course not!"

Ichijou scratched his head, "He would have bumped into me, wouldn't he?"

Uzatei mumbled, "He could have waited for you to pass, no?"

Ichijou thought on it for a moment, before saying, "The next people I found on my way to the Greenhouse and slope area were Ishihara and Minami..." After something popped into his head, he exclaimed, "Ah!" With a smile, he said proudly, "How did he get to the red sign near the Greenhouse from the Shed without running into Minami or Ishihara, and knock himself out? He was by the Lake too, there would have been the possibility Ganaha heard him."

Ganaha nodded, "I might have! There was definitely someone near the red sign who didn't answer when I called for help!"

Nagasaki mumbled something as Furugori said, "I didn't hear anything!"

Uzatei noted, "He could have hid in the foliage, but to think he could notice so many people before they notice him and hide his large form quietly is a bit convenient for him."

"But not impossible," Sanada noted.

Mikage shrugged, "Let's just have him prove how sneaky he is or isn't."

Kirigiri let out an exasperated sigh as she asked, "How?"

Mikage opened his mouth, before shrugging, "How am I supposed to know?" Getting frustrated at him, Kirigiri turned away, not answering.

Uzatei shrugged, "But the point stands: it doesn't really seem likely for him to be so stealthy."

Sanada shook his head, "At the same time, we can't ignore the possibility. So, unless-"

Nagasaki muttered something again, and Sanada stopped, looking over. He asked, "Did you have something to add, Nagasaki-san?"

Ayumi swallowed, before saying, "That was...me. I saw you by the red sign, Kirigiri-san."

A bit surprised, Ichijou asked, "Eh? Why?"

Nagasaki mumbled, "Hina...wanted to meet at the green sign. I knew it was the one by the Greenhouse, so I waited there, because I thought that's what she meant. No one showed, but when people started to walk by, I hid. When Kirigiri looked at the sign, I thought she had seen me, or might, so I backed up."

Ganaha's eyes widened in realization as she asked, "You didn't help me up either, did you!?"

Nagasaki shook her head nervously, "Y-you scared me, so I left."

Ganaha shrieked, "What's so scary about me!?" Even though they were nearly on opposite sides of the Courtroom, Nagasaki took a defensive step back.

Mikage put a hand on her shoulder as the other dug at his ear, suggesting, "Hey, calm down a bit. I kinda wanna keep my eardrums."

Ishihara mumbled, "So if Nagasaki-san was hiding near the sign..."

Ichijou lit up, explaining, "Then she would have seen Furugori if he'd gone by! He couldn't hide from her, could he?"

Kirigiri gave a sigh of relief, saying to Furugori, "It looks like you're cleared once again. I'm sure Nagasaki-san would have said something if she'd seen you." Turning to the Survivalist, she said almost accusingly, "Right?"

Nagasaki nodded, "I...didn't see him."

"Yes you di-" Furugori began to argue, but stopped himself, turning away instead, a tad disgruntled.

Ichijou tried to reassure him, "We'll figure everything out. Don't worry!"

Ganaha grumbled in thought, "Hmmm. There's one thing I can't figure out though."

The nearby Saruta asked, "What is it?"

The Producer grumbled uneasily, "It's just..." Glaring, she pointed, "I just don't see why Tamura would choose you of all people as the Mock Culprit!"

Furugori blinked, "Huh?"

Ganaha asked, "I mean, is there any evidence? Did Tamura slip you a note? Maybe...you didn't kill Kasumi because you needed someone who would say 'He's the Mock Culprit'. And come on, we'd believe her!"

Looking at Ichijou and Ishihara, Minami noted, "There's some truth to that. In fact...who do you think would be the best choice for the Mock Culprit?"

Uzatei speculated, "Someone clever enough to fabricate a fake crime, while also trustworthy enough not to go through with it, no?"

Kirigiri muttered, "That seems contradictory. The fact that someone is clever enough alone means that all it would take for Monokuma to create a Trial would be to given that person a motive suited for him. But if we could guess the Culprit based on motive, things wouldn't have gone this far."

Saruta added, "Furugori wouldn't be a bad bet. He certainly has, or had, trust from many of us."

Sanada pointed a finger at the Surgical Assistant, "But wouldn't you be the ideal Mock Culprit? You took an oath to do no harm, yet you are in a position only attainable by doctors normally without the degrees to match."

Saruta smiled, "I opted out of participation, remember?"

Sanada blinked, before rubbing his forehead, nodding, "Right, right. How silly of me."

Ichijou wondered, "Who else might Tamura have chosen then? Minami?"

Kirigiri grumbled, "I believe cleverness was a factor in his choice, so no." Minami gave a glare, making Kirigiri sweat a little and avert her gaze.

Ichijou mumbled, "Then that leaves..."

Minami grunted, "Don't just ignore what she said."

Uzatei said nervously, "Er, well, your physique might have made him a bit wary about choosing you. For both trust reasons and in executing the fake murder."

Minami sighed, "I suppose I can accept that."

Ichijou looked at the Aeronaut, saying inquisitively, "Jouji-kun? What about you?"

Ishihara shook his head, "I thought he might, but he didn't. Maybe he thought that might be too predictable? Then again, I'm not exactly the most clever either..."

Kirigiri asked, "So that leaves...Furugori Yasuo."

Ganaha puffed out a cheek, mumbling, "I guess."

Uzatei pouted, "Am I on the untrustworthy side or in the non-clever domain?"

Sanada shrugged, "I don't think I need to ask regarding myself, not that I'm surprised."

Ichijou gave a slightly awkward smile as he offered, "Er, no offense."

Mikage shrugged, "But so what? I mean, why would Furugori-san pretend to be the Mock Culprit?"

Kirigiri suggested, "So that any of his unusual actions wouldn't be seen as suspicious."

Ishihara shook his head, "But what if he got called out by the real Mock Culprit?"

Kirigiri thought for a moment, before answering, "Then we'd have no clue, unless one of the two potential Mock Culprits faked evidence that they were chosen, like a note, but we don't know if there was any such thing."

Kirigiri looked over to Furugori, who shook his head, explaining, "He told me he loitered around outside the Lodges for a while before coming to mine. He made it quick too. He only said, 'You're the Mock Culprit. Good luck.' Then he gave me a bit of advice and left."

Sanada shook his head, "Very well. It's not as though it's important anyway. Even if you were lying, the Mock Culprit would have spoken up by now."

Minami pointed out, "Unless the Mock Culprit is dead."

At the chilling thought, Ichijou gasped, "Hina?"

Nagasaki shook her head, "No, she would've told me."

Kirigiri countered, "Not if she wanted to actually go through with the Mock Killing Game."

Saruta nodded, "She did separate from you."

Nagasaki said shakily, "We...you g-guys said we had too."

Mikage asked, "Is there anything we have to go on? We've been speculating and speculating for like, five hours!"

Ganaha grumbled, "What clock are you running on?"

Thinking about the scene, Ichijou pointed out, "Well, we haven't gone over the scenes of the murder yet." Thinking back to Yokozuna, he started, "Okay, once the game started Hina went with Nagasaki for a little while, and they eventually split up. If she was the Mock Culprit, she would have brought some kind of a weapon. Maybe that hoe?"

Furugori mumbled, "We'd have probably bumped into each other, since we'd have been going to the same place."

Kirigiri shook her head, "Ignore that for now: let's pretend you didn't see each other and both of you got your things at separate times. Let's say Yokozuna got it first somehow. Keep going, Mitsuzi-kun."

Ichijou nodded, explaining, "Okay, so Mock Culprit Yokozuna with her weapon waited by the green sign...maybe she wanted to pretend to kill Nagasaki when they met up later? She swapped the signs to make sure they ended up farther away, but it backfired."

"Or maybe..." Kirigiri mumbled. She spoke up, suggesting, "It's also possible that the real Culprit switched the signs earlier, hoping to confuse and ambush anyone they could. It worked: Nagasaki-san assumed the meeting place was near the Greenhouse path, while Yokozuna went to the green colored sign without thinking which path it was near, allowing herself to get isolated and killed."

Ichijou nodded, continuing, "So, the real Culprit, maybe Furugori-san, maybe someone else, led her away from the path. Maybe she tried to pretend to kill them with the hoe, and they really killed her?"

Nagasaki muttered angrily, "This is...none of this..." She raised a finger, pointing it at Ichijou, yelling, "You're stupid!"

Ichijou gasped, "No I'm not! ...Am I?"

Ishihara shook his head, "You're just free spirited."

Ganaha said bluntly, "But you do come off as an idiot sometimes." Ichijou frowned as the pot called him black.

Kirigiri looked at Nagasaki, asking, "Do you have something to say, Nagasaki-san? There's no need to be rude." Her ponytail swung as she turned her head to Ganaha, saying, "That goes for you too."

"Hypocrite..." Minami mumbled. Kirigiri looked away without responding once more. Minami grumbled accusingly, "Don't you deny it?"

Kirigiri shifted in her spot, saying innocently, "Did I?" As Minami crossed her arms over her chest, Kirigiri turned back to Nagasaki, asking, "Well?"

Nagasaki shook her head, "She didn't...she wasn't the Mock Culprit! Neither of us would have been chosen! She's not the brightest, and neither am I! I'm not trustworthy either: just look at what happened. I couldn't protect her..." Her gaze fell to the floor as she became downcast.

Changing subjects, Sanada noted, "Well, regardless of whether or not she's the Mock Culprit, we still have something we need to explain: how did Hina lose her hat? She had it before, when we were at the Library, but when I got to the crime scene, it was even farther from the path, stuck on some branches." Looking at the Survivalist, he asked, "And I wonder, did you notice anything, Nagasaki-san?"

Nagasaki blinked a few times, before shaking her head, "No, I was too..." She couldn't finish, but Ichijou could think of a few words to fill in the blanks.

Ichijou shook his head, before wondering, "There has to be a reason it was left there."

Mikage suggested, "I didn't see it. Was it covered in blood?"

Sanada shook his head, "No. A good question though: I think the material may have been good for absorbing liquid, but of course, who would think to check?"

"Maybe it fell off?" Minami wondered.

Uzatei disagreed, "Then why was she closer to the path where she was found?"

Blinking, Ichijou thought, before suggesting, "Maybe the Culprit tried to bring her even farther in, and she dropped it? Or no, wait."

"The other way?" Ganaha asked, "She dropped it while going farther in, then left and...uh."

Ishihara asked, "Which way was the branch facing?"

Sanada shrugged, "I'm afraid I didn't notice. You think the branch caught her hat as she walked? Or ran?"

Trying to go over the possibilities in his head, one thing Ichijou settled on was, "She had to pass the branches at least twice. I doubt she'd notice her hat getting taken, so I think she maybe lost it while heading toward the path."

Kirigiri nodded, suggesting, "And she'd likely be in a hurry, else she should have stopped to retrieve it."

She looked at Ichijou expectantly, allowing him to continue, "So, the Culprit led her away and tried to kill her. She tried to run, losing her hat, then got caught and the Culprit...finished the job."

Minami asked, "So, we know how the murder happened, but what does that do?"

Kirigiri postulated, "For starters, how did the Culprit lead Yokozuna-san away? Was there anything in the direction they headed?"

Furugori realized, "The Stream?"

Sanada nodded, "Perhaps, but why would such a location be interesting?"

Ganaha pointed out, "Well, I was interested when Ichijou-san mentioned it."

Swallowing, Kirigiri said grimly, "Perhaps she thought she was being led into the Mock Culprit's trap, but it turned out to be the trap of the real Culprit. She realized what was going on, and tried to escape, but didn't make it."

The mood sunk at the idea, so simple it was hard to refute. The tension seemed to mount. Ichijou realized that whoever had done this had done more than take the lives of Tamura and Yokozuna: they'd taken advantage of their trust, using the excuse of the Mock Killing Game to do what they desired. Ichijou's resolve began to burn...

Clearing his throat, he suggested, "Shall we move on to Ryunosuke-kun's murder?"

Kirigiri nodded, asking, "Did anyone see him after we split up?"

Uzatei recalled, "He went towards the slope from the First Level. He didn't seem too worried about anything though."

Nagasaki asked, "Why would he go that way?"

Ishihara suggested, "Maybe he wanted to double check and see if anyone was coming? Like Ganaha-san or Mikage-san?"

Ganaha shook her head, "I didn't see him. I don't know when you started though." She thought about it for a moment, before saying, "It must have been a little while after it started though: I mean, my attention span isn't that short."

Uzatei wondered aloud, "Was he loitering around the Shed just to pass time? If no one passed by that area, he might have just been waiting to hear about the Mock Victim or Culprit."

Ichijou began, "So, the first person to arrive was the Culprit. Tamura would have been standing about halfway down the path."

Mikage nodded, "Yeah, the bloodstain." Looking around, the Farmer elaborated, "It was about halfway down the path."

Ganaha blinked, "...Ichijou literally just said that."

Mikage sputtered, "I-I know that. I just meant he crawled a bit, there was blood in-between the big spot and the Shed."

Furugori mumbled, "But why the Shed? Wouldn't it have been better to go towards the path? Someone might have come to help."

Kirigiri noted, "He also had that gardening tool lodged in him. Why he didn't take it out immediately, I couldn't guess."

Ichijou nodded, remembering, "Then there was the towel."

Saruta leaned in, asking, "Towel?"

Mikage said proudly, "Yup. Found it when we were looking through the Shed. It was folded on top of the others, but it wasn't folded as tightly, it was looser. I gave it a look, and it had blood on the inside. Like, in an uneven ring in the middle."

Sanada asked, "And do you have any idea why?"

Mikage looked around for a moment, before muttering, "Cut me some slack, okay?" Giving the Debater an accusing look, he asked, "Do you?"

Sanada suggested, "I believe the Culprit used it to get some of the blood off of themselves. Tamura may have attempted to give chase, but lost strength partway."

Ichijou nodded, "That's better than anything I could come up with."

Kirigiri nodded, saying, "That also raises an interesting point. Tamura's murder was bloody, facilitating that the Culprit clean themselves, but where is the evidence of such a cleanup from Yokozuna's far bloodier murder?"

The Courtroom was quiet as the though sunk in. Ichijou tried to think 'how could someone keep the blood off of themselves?' He raised his finger, pointing at the person several spots away: Ganaha Eriko. "Ganaha-san, you didn't pretend to need help so you could wash the blood off in the Lake, did you?" he asked accusingly.

Ganaha blinked, "Huh? No." Looking around, she saw more than a few accusatory glances. Starting to become panicked, she asked, "Y-you guys aren't suspecting me or anything, are you?" She gave a short, awkward laugh, before moaning, "Noooooo!"

Minami grunted threateningly, "How about you quit whining and give some explanation!?"

Ganaha nodded, "Y-yes ma'am." Biting her thumbnail, she mumbled, "Hmm, uh."

Kirigiri began, "You may have been able to find a weapon on the First Level we hadn't considered, and used in on Yokozuna, then taken the trowel from Furugori."

Ganaha growled, "What weapon!? You had Ishihara check the knives!"

Kirigiri noted, "After he finished his investigation, before he got his own knife from his room. It was one of the last things I asked of him. You would have had more than enough time."

Ishihara nodded grimly, "I didn't actually check the blades: you'd only have needed to wipe the handle off."

Ganaha whined, "You're all ganging up on me!"

Nagasaki furrowed her brow, before mumbling, "Then why..." The others quieted down, focusing on the quiet girl as she asked, "Why would you call to me? If you'd just killed Hina..."

Ichijou's eyes widened as he noted, "That's right! She wouldn't want to attract any attention!"

Kirigiri mumbled, "But is that a good enough excuse?"

Uzatei wondered, "But if she traveled the edge of the Lake instead of going through the forest, why didn't she run into Sanada-san?"

Furugori suggested, "It might have been like you guys guessed with me: she stayed out of sight until he was gone."

Ganaha cried, "I didn't see that guy!"

Ishihara looked over, asking Sanada, "How did you get back up anyway?"

Sanada explained, "I climbed: I was just tall enough to reach a tree root. Ganaha..." His face took on a look of surprise and skepticism as he pointed out, "She wouldn't have been tall enough to get out on her own. She'd have needed an accomplice."

Ichijou noted, "Tamura might have helped her." He swallowed, grimly stating, "Taking even more advantage of his trust..."

Kirigiri noted, "And the trowel?" She looked over to Nagasaki as she said, "If it is unlikely that Furugori is the Culprit, it is unlikely he's lying about being knocked out by Nagasaki-san either."

Nagasaki swallowed, looking around fearfully, before finally admitting, "I was...panicking. I'm sorry."

Kirigiri asked, "Did you touch the trowel?" Nagasaki shook her head. Kirigiri speculated to herself, "So, if Ganaha get up alone, then she couldn't get ahold of the trowel..."

Ichijou nodded with a smile, "She couldn't have murdered Ryunosuke!"

Kirigiri added, "It's also unlikely that Yokozuna would follow her: Ganaha's presence would have been called into question first, as she wasn't participating."

Ganaha froze, before blowing out a loud sigh of relief, her arms holding onto the podium as her legs gave out beneath her and she dropped to her knees. She moaned, "Thank god..."

Minami noted, "To be fair, a bundle of nerves like her probably isn't the best liar." Ganaha didn't seem to hear, as she didn't respond.

Thinking over things again, Ichijou began to consider the other option. Looked over at the other on with mud on their person, Ichijou asked, "You just said you could have gotten out, Sanada-san. You didn't..."

Rather than become panicked, the Debater smirked, "What? You think I cleaned myself off in the Lake?"

Feeling a bit challenged, Ichijou replied harshly, "Maybe..."

Kirigiri noted, "Your excuse was shaky at best. Chasing after a weapon no one else had even seen?"

"Yes, and?" Sanada replied.

Kirigiri frowned, shrugging, "It's just rather suspicious. No one had any reason to grab it, except the Culprit, to use it as an excuse as to how they cleaned themselves off."

Sanada snorted, "You seem bitter. Embarrassed that you aren't sleuth enough to crawl through mud to find the truth?"

Kirigiri gave him and angry look, and was about too retort, when Sanada interrupted, "Oh, did I frustrate you? I'm sorry I challenged you on your own playing field. Fine, fine, if you're the better sleuth, tell me, what secret piece of evidence do you have to incriminate me? What weapon could I possibly have used?"

Kirigiri said, "I think it's quite clear. Need I explain every detail to you? Very well."

The girl cleared her throat, but Sanada interrupted, "Yes, I stabbed Yokozuna with the hoe. Of course not! Could you imagine? Or maybe the trowel, which was still in Furugori's possession? Perhaps I used my knife, still covered in plastic?" Turning his head, he changed to a mocking tone, speaking to himself, "Oh, it must have been the hoe." Turning back, he replied, "Yes, a hoe for a 'ho'? No. Preforming the arcing swings required would risk getting caught on the branch and ruining everything. And to do that multiple times? You must be joking." Turning back, he ignored Nagasaki's bared teeth as he countered, "The trowel? You could have taken it and killed the two." Sanada answered, "No, Nagasaki only knocked out Furugori after Yokozuna's death, I wouldn't have had the chance." Not tired of hearing his own voice quite yet, he continued, "But the knife, surely the knife?" Sanada shook his head, "Absolutely not! Stab a thing with this plastic covering? Do we even have plastic wrap in the Kitchen that can match this exquisite factory sealing?" Ichijou felt his heart skip a beat as something clicked.

Smiling Sanada opened his mouth again, when Ichijou interrupted, "You didn't need to remove the plastic!"

At the sudden sound, Sanada gagged, biting his tongue. Holding his hand over his mouth, he spat, "What!?"

Ichijou held up his knife, saying, "Earlier, when I was getting my knife, like Kasumi asked, I poked myself, even though it was wrapped in plastic." Lifting his knife, he poked himself roughly in the finger, letting out a hiss of pain, before showing the wound, now starting to drip blood, the plastic unmoved.

Stunned, Sanada didn't respond, even as Kirigiri stormed from her podium, crossing over to his podium, reaching for the knife just as he snapped back to his senses, grabbing it. Her gloved hand held the blade as Sanada grabbed the handle, the two glaring into each other's eyes.

Kirigiri said plainly, "It's already over, you might as well go down with pride." Sanada bared his teeth, but conceded, letting go. Kirigiri looked over the blade again, this time, holding it very closely to her eye, and getting a scent from it. She confirmed, "Blood. It's faint, but I can smell it."

Nagasaki stepped away from her podium, killing intent almost tangible as she hissed, "You..." Fearful of getting caught in the crossfire, Furugori stepped to the other side of Kobayashi's podium, standing closer to the middle of the room.

Minami stepped past Uzatei, carefully grabbing Nagasaki by the shoulder, saying with more than a bit of venom, "He'll get his due. Calm down." Nagasaki didn't move, forwards or back.

Returning to her podium, Kirigiri began, "Well, if only to drive the point home..." Taking a breath, she began, "Everything started with Tamura Ryunosuke mentioning the Mock Mutual Killing Game. The Culprit, seeing opportunity, decided to get a head start, swapping around several of the signposts on the Second Level where the Mock Game was meant to take place well before it began. It started with the participants unaware of the switch, spreading out across the Level without thought as they waited for the Mock Culprit to make their move. Tamura had chosen Furugori Yasuo to take the role. His first act was to sneak through the forests to the Greenhouse area and take a digging trowel from the Gardening Shed. He then went back through the forest, encountering me, pretending to kill me so that we could begin the game, before heading back to blend in."

"Meanwhile, Yokozuna Hina and Nagasaki Ayumi had split up, agreeing to later meet at the green signpost. Uncaring that it had changed places, Nagasaki waited in hiding at the red one at the Greenhouse path intersection, where the green one had been, while Yokozuna waited by the green signpost, which was now closer to the slope to the Third Level. The Culprit acted, approaching Yokozuna, likely engaging in friendly conversation, leading her away. Yokozuna, believing them to be the Mock Culprit, unwittingly followed. When they showed their true colors, bringing out their knife, still coated in plastic, Yokozuna attempted to flee, losing her beanie, but was caught moments after that, and stabbed repeatedly."

"The Culprit, now covered in blood, had to clean themselves off, quickly took to the Lake, washing the blood off of themselves and the knife. While the Culprit was away, Nagasaki, investigating Yokozuna, who hadn't shown yet, found the corpse, entering a state of shock and panic. At about the same time, Ganaha Eriko, bored, arrived at the Second Level, falling down to the Lake edge. Nagasaki ran down the path, encountering Furugori, still in possession of the trowel, knocking him out due to her fear, and fleeing, even when Ganaha called out to her. Ganaha continued down the path as the Culprit arrived, taking the trowel and hiding Furugori's unconscious body in the foliage."

"The Culprit continued, heading to the Shed, encountering Tamura. Once he was within reach, the Culprit used the trowel to stab Tamura in the chest. They then went to the Shed to clean the blood off of themselves once more, while Tamura angrily gave pursuit, not making it farther than the edge of the Shed. On the other side of the Level, Ichijou Mitsuzi found and helped Ganaha up from the Lake edge, and the two came across Yokozuna's corpse, triggering the first body discovery announcement, while the Culprit made their clean getaway."

Kirigiri locked eyes with the Culprit again as she finished, "Sound accurate, Sanada Shinji?"

Sanada's visible eye twitched as he leaned on the podium, his hair a bit ruffled. Taking a deep breath and exhaling in frustration, he tossed his bangs, realigning them over his left eye, before giving a tired laugh, muttering, "Not bad, not bad at all. Not that I see much point to telling us what we already know, except to revel in your status as a sleuth. But it got a bit messy in the second half, when you presumed what you could to fill in the blanks." Face stretching into a manic smile, he laughed, "But I admit it! I lured Yokozuna Hina away into the woods! Chased her down and did the dirty work myself. She cried, oh you'd better believe it." His voice rose in pitch as he mimed, "Ayumi-chan, Ayumi-chan, help!" He groaned, "Don't ask me to do the screams; I'd tear my throat apart trying."

Ichijou felt his anger bubble, but it subsided a bit with pity as he saw Nagasaki, clutching her podium and knife so hard her knuckles were white, her eyes streaming tears as her teeth grinded against each other. Right behind her, Minami's breath seemed to steam, the large girl boiling mad.

Sanada continued, ignoring them as he said, "But Tamura? Did I kill Tamura Ryunosuke? Surely you must have noticed, Kirigiri Kasumi."

Ichijou's eyes widened as he turned to the girl, who seemed to be a bit nervous. A bit fearfully, the Luckster asked, "Kasumi-chan: what's he talking about?"

Kirigiri swallowed anxiously, before admitting, "There were a couple things we didn't go over in enough detail. Think back to Nagasaki panicking. She knocked out Yasuo-kun, then went in the direction of the Shed, passing Uzatei, Ishihara, and I, before Minami came along. Who was at the Shed?"

Ichijou blinked, saying with confused certainty, "Ryunosuke-kun..."

Kirigiri nodded, saying, "The second point: the Monokuma File. The first thing I noticed, even before the missing time of death, was the wording. When describing Yokozuna's stab wounds, it said she had 'a puncture wound on the side of her neck and several on her torso'. But with Tamura, it said he 'was punctured'."

Ichijou tried to think about what that meant, But Ishihara found the answer first, opening his mouth and gasping, "It doesn't say how many times he was stabbed..."

Sanada let out a burst of laughter, "Can you imagine the state he was in when I found him? Leaning against the Shed, blood everywhere: needless to say, I was surprised. I imagined he went to get some towels to stem the bleeding until help arrived. There was no way he would have made his way to the First Level and made it there alive if he was unlucky enough to not find anyone."

Understanding, Ichijou said, "That means..." Looking over at Nagasaki, her expression of rage had turned to one of shock and fear, her tears not stopping, though this time they were shed for a different reason.

She babbled, "I didn't mean...I didn't want...I was trying to get to safety, and I ran into him. I wanted to run, and he came after me. He probably wanted to help, but...I...I" She looked down at her knife, which shook with her hands as she muttered, "I didn't mean too... He came up behind me and I..." Repressing a shudder, Nagasaki continued, "I didn't help, or apologize, I just ran. He called after me, but I didn't answer! I just hid: wiped my knife off on the back of my shirt and hid."

Kirigiri help a fist to her motuh as she noted, "You didn't drop your knife in Yokozuna's blood at all, did you?" Blinked, the girl wondered, "But...the bloody towel?"

Sanada shrugged, "Oh, right. That was me. I didn't want to get any more blood on me when I drove Furugori's trowel into the wound, you see? I knew it would come in handy. Picked it up on the way to get something from the Gardening Shed to feign an excuse as to why I was muddy. I hid Furugori too, as you thought. But none of that matters, does it?" Sanada laughed, "I'm the only one who knows whether or not Tamura was alive when I jammed that implement into him. Did he die before or after?" Letting out another vile laugh, he added, "I'm as good as dead, but the rest of you live or die by my whims. Even if I told the truth, would you think me a liar? Even if I lied, would you be fool enough to believe me?" He flashed a smile at Monokuma, saying, "I must thank you for the opportunity, I can't imagine a situation like this being possible in the outside world. This is really something else..."

After a moment of tense, uneasy silence, it was broken by one of the least expected. Uzatei Kotetsu said, "Is it really impossible to figure it out, I wonder?"

Sanada's face fell, but he proceeded to shake his head, "There's no evidence! None in the least! You only have my testimony. Suck up to me enough, and I might give you a hand in figuring it out."

Minami snorted, "Strangely enough, I can't picture you helping us."

Ishihara suddenly blurted, "I got it!" Looking at Sanada with an intense look, he asked, "Saruta-san, if a person as fit and healthy as Tamura Ryunosuke, someone who was able to pass the Astronaut screening process younger than anyone before, was stabbed by a kitchen knife...there's no way he died that fast."

Saruta thought for a moment, before saying, "The trowel makes things tricky, but Tamura would have passed out before dying, most certainly." He nodded, "I think you're right: it wouldn't have been a quick death. He crawled away, after all, and Nagasaki claimed to hear him calling for help."

Kirigiri quickly added, "Nagasaki ran by a few minutes before Yokozuna was discovered. That was a little more than fifteen minutes before Tamura was discovered, which means..."

Sanada froze, before baring his teeth, snarling, "You..." Looking around disbelievingly, he laughed, "So, I stabbed him to death too!? I looked into his eyes as he begged me not too!?" He slammed his fist down on his podium, sending his knife clattering to the ground as he yelled, "Is that what you wanted to hear!?" Swinging his arm in front of him, he spat, "Well, I refuse to confess! You can cast your votes if you damn well please, but the fact is-"

Ignoring him, Kirigiri turned to Monokuma, leaning on her podium as she said, "Well, you heard him, didn't you?"

Monokuma grinned, saying, "Yup, that'll do nicely! Go ahead and cast your votes! At your own podium: that means you, chubby. Remember, no abstaining."

Sanada gritted his teeth as Furugori sidled over to his podium, as did Minami, as Nagasaki, face still wet with tears, cast her vote. Almost forgetting too himself, Ichijou looked down, pressing his finger against Sanada's little mugshot. The rest of the votes were cast in mere moments, punctuated by the multicolored wheel on a telescoping rod rising above the throne, displaying the names, before spinning once again. It came to a stop, the arrow pointing at the name written in white, 'Sanada Shinji' on the black slice. Monokuma laughed, "Well, the streak continues! Another unanimous vote, and another correct one! Sanada is our Culprit today. Guess not even a Super arguer could make anyone believe he was innocent. Makes you wonder why Hope's Peak was interested in him, huh?"

Sanada's eye twitched as he looked around, before the Debater gave a hollow laugh, "I'm not sure what I expected, honestly. If they'd know the truth, they'd never have been interested in me. Hard work and familiarity should never be confused with Talent. No, the real Talent was elsewhere, and if I could leave this place and enter a world without him-"

Monokuma suddenly growled, "Oh no you don't! It's Punishment time!"

SANADA SHINJI HAS BEEN DECLARED GUILTY OF MURDER

PREPARING EXECUTION...

Before Sanada could even finish his sentence, a chain lashed out from the Execution Chamber, which had just creaked open. In began to slowly pull him by the leg as the door widened. Sanada helplessly attempted to hold onto his podium before being dragged against the floor, his speed being increased as the door widened further. The chain dragged him onto a polished wood floor, dodging and weaving as piles of books poured down from above. He was finally dropped off in the center, surrounded by rows and rows of shelves and books, towering sky high.

Shiritori Word Game: Nightmare Difficulty

Mystified and confused, Sanada Shinji began to cautiously walk through the library, eyes locked upward. As more books slowly began to fall, he kept snapping toward the noise, fearful of his eventual Punishment. However, when something landed hard on the wood nearby, he realized that the books were no longer falling, now he had to deal with large, stone kanji. One blow to the head with any character would be the end of him.

Trying to find cover, he stomped up a staircase of books, the kicks as he ascended tearing it down behind him, ripped pages beginning to fly everywhere. Reaching the top, he discovered he was at a dead end, the nearest point being another pile a good jump away. Looking up at the descending blocks, he risked it, bounding off his pile as another stone kanji (or was it a katakana? He didn't get a good look) smashed the book staircase behind him. Being forced to continue his momentum, he hopped off of several more tall piles, sending them crashing to the ground, until he grabbed hold of a freakishly tall bookshelf, clinging to its shelves for dear life. Looking down at the nasty drop, he gave a manic smile: if he was going out, he was going to have at least a shred of dignity.

Climbing the bookshelf, Sanada attempted to reach the top, taking the shelves like they were a ladder, despite it rattling as more kanji bricks slammed against it in increasing frequency. To his surprise, there was an end to it, and he found himself crawling onto its dented top. Looking around in his last moments, he only felt disappointment as he saw even taller peaks of bookshelves and piles of books. He didn't even react as a brick flew by him, grazing his head, only feeling his senses leave him as he began to fall, slipping off the edge of the bookshelf. He plummeted for seconds before landing on a flattened pile of books and papers, blood from his head staining the pure white page as chaos continued to rage around him.

The door to the Execution Chamber closed once more, as Monokuma laughed, "Didn't even need to jump in there this time! But come on; tell me you didn't enjoy that. It's not as though you liked him."

Ichijou looked away: he was ashamed to admit it, but he didn't feel nearly as bad for Sanada as he did for Kobayashi. The Park Tycoon unwittingly threw her life away, but Sanada almost seemed to embrace his death. Ichijou swallowed the bitter bile that rose in his throat: he had no respect for those who threw their lives away, only pity.

Kirigiri scoffed, "If they stay grisly, let's hope that serves as a deterrent."

Monokuma shrugged, "Oh come on; it isn't as bad as you think! Just close your eyes and believe you won't die, and you'll live!" Kirigiri looked at him skeptically before he admitted, "Well, probably not. I mean, no one who's ever tried it has lived to tell the tale."

Ignoring the bear, a few began to head for the Elevator as Ichijou looked over to the portraits of the Victims again. Seeing Tamura's, he felt bad for the Astronaut Candidate: his attempt to get everyone prepared for an investigation went so poorly for him. But though his attempts to get everyone closer to each other hadn't gone well, they weren't wrong. Now that Tamura was gone, Ichijou felt like he needed to step up in that department.

As Ichijou made his way to the elevator, he noticed that Nagasaki still hadn't moved from her podium, knife hanging limply in her hand, head bowed. Approaching carefully, Ichijou asked, "Nagasaki-chan?"

"Go away..." Nagasaki muttered.

Frowning, Ichijou insisted, "Naga-"

"Just go!" the girl snarled, taking a few steps away as the grip on her knife tightened.

Not understanding her anger, Ichijou asked, "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Nagasaki shuddered, before turning to him, her eyes already showing irritation from her crying, and she seemed to be about to cry again. She muttered, "Just leave me here. I can't...I can't even function normally. It's only a matter of time before..." She looked down at her shaking hand, knowing that it was stained with blood. Even if she hadn't been the one finish the job, Tamura may have lived if not for her.

Trying to reassure her, Ichijou said, "We don't know that you'll hurt someone again."

Nagasaki swallowed, staying quiet for a moment, before saying, "It still a risk...a big one."

Taking a breath, Ichijou shook his head, "You're a Survivalist aren't you? You can't kill anyone, you'd die! Kasumi and I are an invincible pair! Why are you getting worried!?"

Nagasaki gave him a shocked look, letting out a strangled, wet, laugh, "You...you're...an idiot."

Ichijou gave one of his trademark, carefree smiles, glad she seemed to have relaxed a bit. Looking at her knife, he suggested, "You might be able to lower that risk a bit by keeping that in the Kitchen where it belongs."

Nagasaki's face sunk as she looked intently at the knife. She held it out, and Ichijou put his hand under hers to take it, but she didn't drop it. After a few moments, she retracted her hand, looking closely at the knife again. Seeing Ichijou's dejectedness, she admitted, "It...calms me down. To have this, I mean. It was the same when...Hina-chan was with me."

Remembering the Greenhouse, Ichijou asked, "And the plants too?"

Nagasaki nodded, "I don't know why. She helped me when we first got here, maybe. She also gives me a...nostalgic feeling, like someone else I knew before the...incident."

Ichijou knew full well she was talking about the one that left her stranded in the wilderness, but he was more interested in the person she knew, asking, "Do you think you met her when you were really little?"

Nagasaki shook her head, "No, it was...a woman, I think. I was young, I don't remember. Not my mom though. A friend of hers, maybe?"

Looking around, Ichijou noted the Courtroom was empty, the others standing on the elevator. Looking at Ayumi, Ichijou said, "Let's go, Nagasaki-chan."

She swallowed anxiously, but nodded, following. The Elevator finally began to rumble up, the trip silent as the Students desired food and rest after the long Trial. There was audible relief as the Elevator came to a stop, opening, fresh air rushing in.

Furugori noted, looking at his watch, "It's only nine."

Ishihara rushed out the door, "I'm going to get something whipped up real quick, if you're hungry." The mood rose a bit at that, most everyone walking after him as he bolted away.

Ichijou watched for a moment with a feeling he couldn't place at first, but eventually settled on Hopeful: Hope that they could get through this ordeal, Hope that they could weather the storm and become stronger for it.

Nagasaki began to leave, and Ichijou asked, "See you at dinner?" The girl turned to him, and nodded curtly, before walking off, her knife returned to her pocket.

Ichijou began to stretch, and nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning to see Kirigiri, she asked, "Is something wrong, Mitsuzi-kun?"

Ichijou blinked, before shaking his head, "No, no, I'm okay."

Kirigiri studied him, before nodding, adding with a smile, "You did an excellent job today. I was impressed. I think he would have argued me into a corner if you didn't interrupt. He flustered me and..." Kirigiri looked away, clearing her throat, before asking, "Is your finger okay?"

Ichijou looked, seeing that although blood had stained his yukata a bit, it had stopped bleeding. Kirigiri suggested, "You should have Saruta-san clean that out before we call it a night." She bowed her head, before saying, "And I apologize for earlier."

Ichijou gave her a quizzical look, asking, "What do you mean?"

Kirigiri explained, "The signposts, the Monokuma File's description of the number of stab wounds: there were a number of times I could have helped you, but I didn't say anything, even though I tried." She gave a weak giggle, saying, "Perhaps I have both the pros and cons of being a sleuth? The ability to investigate and deduce, but the inability to give important information until it's most dramatic... Aren't I pathetic?"

Ichijou's look hardened, "Don't say that! So what if it's late? You know what they say, 'better late than never'. Sure, it's a bit scary, but as long as we get out of it alright, it's fine."

Kirigiri gave another smile, noting, "Minami-san doesn't seem to think so." Letting out a sigh, she looked over to Nagasaki trailing the pack, before saying, "Thanks again, Mitsuzi-kun. Keep it up." She gave another sly smile as she headed down the path as well, leaving Ichijou blinking in confusion.

The last hour seemed to go by quickly and quietly, though far better than many could have hoped after the devastating incidents earlier. Ichijou was relieved, feeling that the Despair Monokuma wanted was getting less likely, not more likely. And to the Luckster, that was all he could ask for.

In a sweet home, the sunlight bled through plain white curtains, warming the blue carpeted floor of one of the bedrooms. Scattered about on the floor, in between the nearly empty bed with purple sheets, white painted cabinets, brown bookshelf, and white dresser, a number of toys, of both eastern and western origin, were scattered around. Standing in front of a mirror on the door of the closet, Kirigiri Kasumi could see herself. However, she could not move, or otherwise control anything other than her thoughts: it was like watching the world through someone else's eyes, and feeling what they felt. But that someone else in the mirror was her: it could have only been her. She looked at herself in the closet mirror, her hair still long and pale purple, but the rest of her body miniature in her knee length blue skirt, white blouse, and white sock covered feet. She must have been little more than eight or nine years old.

As she stared at the mirror, hand on her chin contemplatively, through it, she could see the toys scattered on the ground. It wasn't random: it was premeditated, they were placed with purpose. The small black teddy bear underneath a block, the larger one sitting nearby, arms down, as if slumping in Despair, another toy above on the bed with a number of other blocks, some a bit shinier than the others. As the young Kasumi pointed at one of the toys, she realized what was going on. She could feel it: it was a game. Not a Killing Game, but a Detective Game. Kasumi followed the trail, the shiny blocks leading to a group of brown teddy bears with many more shiny blocks. The younger Kasumi had created a bribery that led to a murder of the child bear, and she was on the case.

As the one dubbed Kirigiri wondered where this plotline was going, there was a call from outside, muffled slightly by the door, "Kasumi! Lunch!" The girl happily ran for the door, opening it, Kirigiri felt a lurch, as it only opened into blackness. Kirigiri tried to stop her younger self, but Kasumi plunged in, and there was nothing but dark.

But then there was light. Covered in a layer of sweat, Kirigiri's eyes shot open. She looked around her empty lodge, feeling her breath come in short breaths. "What...what was that?" she wondered as she tried to get up, her muscles stiff.

"Upupu," came a laugh that chilled her blood.

Kirigiri sat up as quickly as she could, loose hair moving about as her eyes locked on the half black, half white bear, half of him cloaked in shadow, half of him standing in the moonlight filtering from the window. She demanded, "What...what did you do?"

Monokuma laughed, "Upupupu, just a little taster! Who knew you had such sympathy for bears when you were that age?"

Kirigiri shuddered, feeling filthy and venerable. He was there somehow, in her head. She didn't doubt he could pick through her memories better than she ever could. Wanting nothing more than to be far from the bear, Kirigiri hissed, "Get out."

Monokuma chortled, "Upu? I thought you'd be happy, but you're bearly able to keep yourself from trying to fight me, aren't you? What's the matter? Afraid you'll get some murder ideas from that unbearably adorable little you? Or afraid you'll get inspired by them?"

"Get out!" Kirigiri shouted. Monokuma finally took the hint, leaving her be. Kirigiri caught her breath, glad that she couldn't be heard by the others.

Raising her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, she noticed an irritation around her eyes. They were tears. When did she start crying? After wiping her face, she lied back down in bed, but couldn't help but remember that scene from her childhood, a rush of emotions coming back at her. To her then, it was just another day, but compared to now, she had been safe and secure, in a home populated with at least one person who would give everything to ensure she was safe.

But here? What lied beyond that door but a few friends and an inescapable threat?

Or rather, Kirigiri darkly realized: a nearly inescapable threat.

"That's not fair..."

CHAPTER 2 END

SURVIVORS: 11

Another Chapter complete!

Well, onto the usual. For Chapter 3, we'll have our Free Times. Be sure to vote! We're only going to see four more characters, so choose wisely. The poll can be found here: strawpoll(.me)/1932411

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Thanks for reading!