"I'll go with you, man. We're a team," you say to Tidus, attempting a grin. He grins back, already looking more confident in his plan. You notice that his black eye, while noticeable, is healing nicely. Toshi, whooping, drags Yosuke out by his sweatshirt, with Aika trailing behind. Aimi joins Tidus and you without a word.

"Shall we go?" Tidus asks the two of you, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"We'll follow you, glorious janitor," you say, smirking when your remark elicits a laugh from your friend. For a brief moment, you can forget the situation you're in. Aimi says nothing, following close behind.

"It's probably not going to help," Tidus says as the three of you walk under the green lights. The exercise room's door was closed, unfortunately not allowing you a glimpse of what the others were investigating. "There probably wasn't anything to get rid of."

You grimace when you think of your bloody shirt, and force yourself to say, "There might be something, Tidus."

"People panic in these sorts of situations," Aimi says, speaking for the first time since you split off from the rest. Tidus laughs awkwardly at her statement. Naturally, her words do not comfort you, and you wish for a split second that anyone other than Aimi had joined you.

As you near the trash room your mind shifts to what you know is inside, what you'll find while investigating. If I can distract them with the incinerator, you think as Tidus opens the trash room door, maybe I can get the ball without them noticing.

On cue, Tidus frowns at the running incinerator, and turns to the two of you. "I definitely didn't leave it on the last time I left."

"So, someone's been here?" you ask.

Tidus nods. "Yep, it looks like it." He suddenly grins. "Seems like this trip wasn't a waste of time after all." He pulls his trash key out of his pocket. You take the time to locate the purple ball. It's unfortunately located near the incinerator, so it will probably be only a matter of time…

"Wait." Aimi's voice freezes Tidus in his tracks just as he was about to unlock the shutters. She points through the shutters and your heart sinks. "You see that ball?"

"Hey, yeah, you're right, I totally didn't see that before!" Tidus says, excited at their discovery. "You think it's what the killer used to turn on the incinerator?"

"Has to be," you say, swearing repeatedly in your mind, "there's no way they could get close the incinerator without your key, man." You pause. "Hell of a shot, though."

Aimi looks at you, piercing you with her gaze as Tidus unlocks the shutters. "Praising a murderer?"

Your blood turns to ice. "N-no, give me a break, that's crazy." Get off my case, Aimi, you think as she stares at you. You are relieved when she turns away to inspect the running incinerator.

Tidus looks thoughtful as he picks up the ball. "Agro's right, though, in a way." He tosses it to you, and you catch it easily. "The killer had to throw it through the shutters and hit that small button from about thirty feet, and on the first try, too." You silently thank him for his assistance, and he smiles and winks at you.

Tidus then glances between you and Aimi, brow furrowed. "We know anyone who can do that?" Another thought comes to him. "Where'd they get this, anyway?"

You were about to claim ignorance when Kanzaki burst into the trash room, Honzo right on his heels. "Excellent, the trash team's right where they should be," Kanzaki mutters, just loud enough for you to hear it. Tidus turns off the incinerator finally, and the room quiets significantly.

"I'll interview you all one at a time," Kanzaki says, glancing at the three of you, his gaze lingering on Tidus's black eye.

"I will be assisting the process," Honzo says, a noticeable trace of pride in his voice. Kanzaki rolls his eyes at that pronouncement.

"Aimi, let's go."

Tidus and you were left alone in the trash room for a moment. He looks inside the incinerator hopefully while you glance nervously at the door. What will Kanzaki ask me? you wonder.

Tidus sighs, and steps away from the incinerator. "Whatever they were trying to get rid of, they did a good job of it."

You try not to let your relief show on your face. "Hey, you doing okay, Tidus?" you ask, trying to change the subject.

Tidus looks at you for a long moment, and then shakes his head. "No, I'm really not, Agro." He looks truly miserable, you realize. "Miyuki was the one who attacked me yesterday. She punches me in the face, and then winds up dead. She's practically in the exact same spot, too!" His eyes plead with you. "You don't think I did it, do you?"

"I…Why would she attack you? You're practically harmless."

"She was just so angry about the photo, the one Monokuma had of me and her," Tidus says, leaning on the incinerator, suddenly weak, legs shaking slightly. "I think she was afraid of it being real…of there being a period of time we didn't remember."

You nod wordlessly, remembering Aika's words only two days ago: It means that we were asleep for a lot longer than we thought. How much longer was "a lot longer," anyway?

Honzo's return puts an abrupt end to your conversation, and Tidus is the next to be interviewed. He looks nervous as he leaves, and despite your own nervousness you throw him the ball to cheer him up. Tidus fumbles with it, but miraculously on. He's definitely got to work on that, you think as you find yourself alone in the trash room.

You try not to think about the fact that he won't get that time, not if everyone else is executed in the trial in your place. As you inspect the incinerator, you think about death. Does it hurt to die? you wonder as you find not a trace of your old dress shirt, just as Tidus had said. You figure that whatever Monokuma has planned for the executions, they cannot be anything quick and painless.

It is hard to banish these thoughts when Honzo returns and ushers you out into the hall for your interview.

Kanzaki stands just outside the door, and he flips to the next page in his small notepad. Tidus and Aimi were nowhere in sight, but Honzo answers your unspoken question: they left to investigate elsewhere.

Kanzaki readies his pen, and launches into the first question.

"Agro Tenma, what were your whereabouts after the talent show started?"

You pause, collecting your thoughts. "Well, I was the first act. I had planned to stay through the entire thing—"

"You left?" Kanzaki asks, cutting you off, his pen never ceasing. You wonder what he's writing.

"Yeah," you say, slightly irritated at his interruption, "so did you."

Kanzaki sighs, and his pen stops for a brief moment as he looks at you. "Being defensive doesn't really help you here." He poises his pen again. "Why did you leave?"

You want to mention that you were irritated at his interruption more than his question, but think better of it. You need to remain calm. "Tidus wanted my help with something."

"And what was that?" Kanzaki's smirk was slightly maddening. "Did you go into the exercise room at all?"

You pause, knowing what was coming. "Yeah. He wanted me to help him get started on working out. So that's where we were for a little bit."

"And what time was that exactly?"

You think back. "Maybe 7:30, or some time around there."

Kanzaki makes a note in his notepad. "And what happened there?"

Everything, you think. This whole mess happened there.

"After I showed Tidus how to use one of the machines, I went to the bathroom." You put your hands in your pockets, realizing that subconsciously you had put your hammer in your pocket again. "I was in there for a little while, and when I came out, Tidus had been attacked. He was just waking up when I left the bathroom."

"Was there anyone else in there at the time?"

"No, just Tidus." Miyuki was underneath a stack of weights.

Kanzaki makes another note on his notepad, motioning you to continue, looking unconcerned to hear that Tidus had been attacked.

"Did he tell you who attacked him?" Honzo asks, curiosity plain on his face.

You pause, and then nod. "Yeah, he told me a couple minutes ago." You look at your interviewers, making sure you have their complete attention. "Miyuki was the one who attacked him."

Honzo's expression was one of shock. Kanzaki grins for the first time, and writes a note of what you said.

He waves his pen at you. "Continue, Agro."

You take a deep breath to steady yourself. "Well, obviously, after that I got him to the cafeteria, and we talked for a bit before we split up again." You try to keep the nervous quaver out of your voice. "I managed to make it to the end of Toshi's act, and then we all went to bed."

"That's it? You didn't get up and roam the halls at night?"

"As I told Tadakatsu already, I was in bed all last night." I wandered the halls, threw my dress shirt into the incinerator, and nobody can prove it was me.

Kanzaki sniffs, nodding once. "That's…adequate for now." He peers into your eyes. "I imagine we'll find out more at the trial."

You shrug noncommittally, and begin to walk away. There's nothing left in the trash room to discover. You weren't able to clean up the last piece of evidence. You wander the halls aimlessly for only a moment, Honzo and Kanzaki trailing somewhere behind, when bells sound throughout the school.

Even before Monokuma begins speaking, you know it's time.

"Hey, I'm getting tired of waiting here…so let's get this Class Trial started, already! Please go through the giant red doors on the first floor of the school zone. See you soon!"

Monokuma's chuckle fades into silence, and you start toward your destination. When you see the red doors after a minute of walking alone down the corridor, no one around, something makes you turn toward the exercise room, just for a second. Dio's there, frowning near the doorway. You briefly wonder what is so interesting, but then you move on. Your hand closes on the handles, and you pull the red doors open with a mighty effort.

An utterly plain room, with gray walls and gray stone floor, awaits you. The only thing out of the ordinary is an elevator along the far wall. Mostly everyone is here, you notice, as you stand next to Tidus. You notice that Ichigo seems more stable now than when she was sitting on the floor of the gymnasium. No one talks; everyone seems lost in thought, thinking of the trial, of the identity of the killer, of what's going to happen when it's all over.

Dio, Honzo, and Kanzaki all stroll in, and then all fifteen of you are here. Monokuma's face appears on the lone screen in the room, and it instructs you to head into the elevator to get to the courtroom…the courtroom that will "decide your fates."

You could've done without that reminder.

You all file in, fitting comfortably, and the doors close automatically. You feel the elevator descend, descend, and descend some more. You feel like you're going deep into the bowels of the earth.

"We'll figure out who killed you, Miyuki," Kaori says quietly, her voice somehow carrying over the noise of the elevator. No one responds, and the rest of the trip is spent in silence.

You glance around at everyone. Do they suspect me? Did they find anything out? They don't reveal what they're thinking.

After a few minutes of steady descent, the elevator stops gently, and the doors open. You've arrived at the courtroom, a hideous place of color and style. Candlesticks and curtains adorn the walls, their red clashing with the blue walls. The checkered tiles are nothing new. In the center of the room, arranged in a circle and situated on red carpet, are sixteen stands. You all notice that Miyuki has a stand of her own, her portrait marking her spot. Her smiling face, devoid of color, is crossed out by two ski poles.

Monokuma sits on its throne near the circle, cackling when you arrive. "Come on, my students, find your assigned seats! No time to marvel at the architecture; we've got a trial to do and punishment to dole out!" It is shaking with excitement as you all step forward. Ichigo opens her mouth when she discovers her stand is next to Miyuki, but Monokuma cuts her off. "No complaining about where I've put you either!"

You find your stand, and try to stay calm as everyone finds his or her own place. You look around the circle: there's Sylvia to your left, Kaori, Yosuke, Toshi, Honzo, Aika, Tadakatsu, Tidus is practically across the circle from you, Ichigo, Miyuki's monochrome face frozen in a smile, Dio, Tatiana, Kanzaki, Edwin, and Aimi on your right.

On its throne, Monokuma cackles again. "And the curtain rises on the First Class Trial! Remember, figure out who the blackened is, and only they get punished. If the rest of you get it wrong, the blackened will get off scot-free, graduating alone!" The bear pauses dramatically, raising its arms.

"Court is now in session!"

The First Class Trial has officially begun. You put your hands on your wooden stand, running your hands over the smooth wooden surface. This is it: you've got to make the others believe someone other than you killed her.

You think about your beginning strategy...