Chapter 1 Class Trial Begin

"All right," Aika says, breaking the silence first, "I think it would be a good idea to start with the Monokuma File, and work from there."

"What do you mean by that?" Sylvia asks, confusion on her face.

Aika pauses, gathering her thoughts. Her gloved hands drum her stand. "I mean that there are a lot of mysteries hidden in that file." She smirks. "Making sure we know what they are would probably do us all some good, right?"

Honzo straightens his orange glasses, smirking as well. "From what I remember there were two things that Monokuma chose to deliberately hide from us: the murder weapon and the time of death." He points at Aika dramatically. "That's what you mean, is it not?"

She nods, looking slightly amused at his antics.

"Hang on," you say, an idea forming in your head. Everyone turns to you. You look at Edwin. "You investigated Miyuki's body, right, Edwin?" At his nod, you continue. "Can we trust the file, or was Monokuma just lying through his teeth?"

"My teeth are sharp, too!" Monokuma says, interjecting suddenly. "I got the 'Scariest Bear' Award three years running at my zoo!"

Dio looks at the bear, utterly bemused. "I thought you were a robot…"

Edwin coughs into his scarf quietly, and clears his throat, drawing the attention swiftly back to himself. "Yes, I investigated. No evidence that the bear lied to us. The file…told the truth."

"But how does that help at all?" Ichigo asks, pink eyes wide, her voice laced with a thin layer of panic. "So what if the file is telling the truth or lying?"

"It means we can investigate the file's questions without thinking we're wasting our time," Aika explains. "The two main questions the file raises, as Honzo pointed out, are 'what was the murder weapon?' and 'what time did the murder take place?'"

Aika is surprisingly good at this, you think to yourself.

Dio, a hand on his chin and deep in thought, begins to speak. "Well, if the murder weapon was a blunt object, could it have been the handle of a knife?"

"How did you possibly arrive at that conclusion?" Honzo asks.

"Because there was a knife in the exercise room, dumbass!" Dio responds, anger on his face. "I'm just throwing out an option here!" You start, you had totally forgotten about the knife Miyuki dropped.

"If we're just guessing, Toshi thinks it could be a lead pipe! That's a staple weapon in that one mystery board game, after all!" She looks at Ichigo, and her eyes narrow. "I'm watching you, Miss Pink…you're just color-coordinated enough to be a suspect…"

Edwin coughs into his scarf again. "Dismissing Toshi's statement," he begins, pointedly ignoring her groan, "there is proof that the knife is not the murder weapon."

Dio blinks. "Oh yeah? Lay it on me, doc. Where's the proof?"

In response, Edwin brings out a small spray bottle. "Here's your proof, Dio."

Surprisingly, Dio, now looking sheepish, does not challenge this announcement. "Oh, right, your secret weapon," he says.

"How is that bottle your secret weapon when you're investigating a murder?" Kaori asks. You were wondering the exact same thing.

"Well," Edwin says, putting his spray bottle back in his pocket, "I have hemophobia."

Aimi's breath becomes a hiss. "I never took you for a bigot."

"Hemophobia," Edwin continues, acting as if Aimi hadn't spoken, "is the fear of blood. This spray bottle of Luminol was a gift from my father."

"Luminol?" Yosuke asks.

Edwin nods. "Luminol and even a trace of blood invisible to our eye are an…exciting combination." He was becoming more animated now. "This combination shines in the darkness." He pauses. "Blood doesn't look like blood in the dark."

"We sprayed it at the…crime scene," Tatiana says. "The knife didn't glow."

"If it were the murder weapon, it definitely would've reacted to Edwin's Luminol!" Tadakatsu says, suddenly excited. "Because of that, there's no way the knife is the murder weapon!"

Why the hell does Edwin have Luminol? you think to yourself. How the hell am I supposed to beat that?

"Hang on, Dio," Tidus says, confused, "you said there was a knife at the crime scene?" At Dio's nod, he continues. "But if it wasn't the murder weapon, then who had the knife to begin with?"

Toshi jumps up in the air. "Oh, oh, Toshi's figured it out! There was a knife missing from the kitchen! That's where it came from!"

"But who the hell took it?" you ask.

"There's no way we can figure it out," Ichigo says, bemoaning the mysterious circumstances just like you'd hoped.

"If we're operating under the assumption that it was only Miyuki and the killer in the exercise room during the murder," Kanzaki says, a determined smirk plastered on his face, "I think it's a fair guess to say that Miyuki was the one with the knife, not the killer."

Shock echoes around the circle, and the blood drains from Tidus's face. Kanzaki's eyes linger on your friend's face; he seems to delight in that reaction. Tidus tried to open his mouth to speak, but no words come out.

"How can you be sure?" Aika asks.

Kanzaki shrugs. "As I said, it's just a guess. But if I had to choose between a knife and a blunt object to kill someone with, I'd choose the knife every single time." None of you like the look in his eyes.

"So, Miyuki attacked the killer with the knife?" Tadakatsu asks after a slight silence.

Again, Kanzaki shrugs. "Who knows? That's a bit off-topic for now." He glances at Tidus. "We'll get to that later."

"Back on topic, could a hammer be the murder weapon?" Kaori asks. You are surprised she's the one to bring it up. "The boys all got one in their toolkits."

"Finally, some good news!" Ichigo says, immediately cheering up a little. "So, one of the boys is the killer!"

"Not necessarily," you say, attempting to slow their significant progress. "Kaori has a hammer, too." You shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. "It still could be anyone." Kaori, hesitating slightly, confirms your assessment.

"The important thing," Edwin says, coughing into his scarf, "is that a hammer would match the size of the wound."

Aika nods, a smirk appearing again on her face. "So, that's one mystery down."

Damn it, there's nothing I can say, you think to yourself.

Everyone's staring at you. Your heart is pounding, but you're stunned by how utterly calm you are. This is it, this is where my fate's decided, you think. Right here, right now.

"Hey Monokuma, is Dio right?" you ask, ignoring the accusation for the moment, giving yourself time to think of a reply.

Monokuma chuckles, grinning horribly. "Yep, Dio's absolutely right! He solved the mystery of the exercise room!"

"You going to give up?" Dio asks, his voice a threatening growl.

"Hang on, there's no way Agro can be the killer," Tidus says, disbelief evident in his voice. "There's just no way." He pauses. "Where's your evidence?"

Dio laughs, unconcerned. "That's easy. The entry log clearly says that Agro entered the exercise room at 7:36 pm and then again at 1:25 am."

"That's not exactly irrefutable evidence," Aika says, sighing. "You have anything better?"

Dio pounds his stand, ignoring her. "Agro, I know you were in the exercise room early this morning. Why the hell were you there?"

You grin, trying to appear at ease. "Dio, I get where this attack is coming from, but I just went to the exercise room to get my shirt. I'd forgotten it earlier."

"There, an innocent explanation! Now, can we please try to find the real killer?" Tidus asks, his eyes darting around.

"Agro, can you explain exactly why you chose you get your shirt that early?" Honzo asks, looking unconvinced.

You shrug. "It stuck in my mind, man. I just chose the wrong night to go wandering the halls." You force a laugh. "I guess I'm unlucky."

"That's really weird, though!" Toshi exclaims. "I mean, why wouldn't you wait until you got up in the morning to go get it?" She giggles. "It's not like your shirt can get up and walk around like Toshi's can, so it just seems so unnecessary!"

"You lied to me, Agro," Tadakatsu says, jabbing his finger in your direction. "You said you didn't leave your room last night!"

You rub the back of your head awkwardly. "I was just embarrassed."

"…Embarrassed?" Tadakatsu says.

"Dio," Sylvia says, suddenly interjecting, "did the entry log say that someone other than Miyuki and Agro went into the exercise room last night?"

Your heart sinks when Dio just shakes his head, looking more and more confident.

"So in other words, only Tidus or Agro can be the killer?" Aika asks the group, her gaze boring into you.

Tidus looks at you for a long moment, but doesn't have the strength to say anything. It seems you're going to be on your own in your defense.

"All right, you've all talked enough," you say, trying to keep your voice level. "It's my turn now." You grin despite your desperate situation, or perhaps because of it.

Silence greets those words. You have their attention. "You claim I'm the killer? That's just a whole lot of guesswork! What was my motive? I didn't have one. Did I even have a hammer? You can't be sure. Did I use the incinerator? That's impossible without the key. Why did I go to the exercise room so early in the morning? My explanation is believable. Did I kill Miyuki, or did Tidus?" You pause, breathing hard, and your restrained anger threatens to slip through the cracks. "Where's your proof? If you're all so goddamn certain, link me to the crime beyond a shadow of a doubt!"

"Agro's not going to be satisfied until we prove it, huh?" Aika mutters, her voice easily heard in the quiet courtroom. She suddenly pounds her stand, locking eyes with you. "We'll just have to prove it then, one step at a time!"

"Well, I can definitely say that Agro had a hammer yesterday," Kaori says, glaring at you as her eyes shine with tears. "He showed it to me in the cafeteria."

Goddammit, she's right, you realize: you'd shown her your hammer just for a second when you'd asked her about her own.

Aika holds up a finger. "That's one connection down, gang."

"Maybe…we're asking the wrong question…about the shirt." Tatiana's soft voice is a breath of fresh air to your classmates; it rejuvenates them in the face of your ultimatum.

"What does that even mean?" Ichigo asks, sniffling.

Tatiana pauses, but gains the courage to speak. "Maybe instead of asking why he went to the exercise room at one in the morning, we should ask why he couldn't wait?"

"Tatiana, that's brilliant," Edwin says, his words causing her to blush furiously. "Thinking about it that way…"

"A small question first," Honzo says, interrupting, "does anyone recall Agro wearing his normal dress shirt when he came back to see Toshi's act?" All around you, people shake their heads. Honzo nods at this, satisfied. "Although this is simply speculation, perhaps his shirt got some of Miyuki's blood splattered on it."

In your mind's eye, you relive that moment; Miyuki's blood splatters on your shirt once again. You recoil slightly.

"He couldn't just carry his bloody shirt around," Edwin says, picking up where he left off. "The best time...would be in the middle of the night." He pauses, his blue eyes looking at you from behind his glasses. "Agro didn't wait until morning probably because he felt he couldn't. If we saw the shirt we…would have known immediately."

"So his shirt was what he threw into the incinerator?" Sylvia asks, tapping her chin.

"Yes," Aimi says. "Assuming his shirt got splattered with blood, Agro knew he had to get rid of it." Her cat eyes are just as unnerving as ever, and she practically hisses at you. "Toshi unwittingly provided him with the means to do so." She points at you sharply, thrusting her verbal attack in deep. "The purple ball on the floor of the trash room proves it."

Toshi looks shocked. "Wait, Toshi is an accomplice?"

"Let's say I did have the purple ball," you say. They're smashing through all of my arguments, getting everything completely right! But there are two things they can't possibly pin on me. "To get rid of my shirt, I had to throw that ball through a small gap in the shutters and also hit a small button about thirty feet away." You smirk, your heart pounding. "That's just not possible for someone like me."

"It…seems impossible," Yosuke says. He looks around at the rest. "How could he do that?" A pause. "Were…we wrong?"

Silence accompanies these words. I've got them, you think, looking around at them. Doubt clouds their once-sure faces.

Suddenly, Aika smirks right back at you. "So, this is why you asked for proof, Agro? Because we can't possibly prove you turned on the incinerator?" With her many crowns, she is a queen presiding over a lowly peasant, deciding their fate. "Think about the talents we were all given by Hope's Peak! We don't have to prove he did it, we only have to show that Agro's the likeliest one to have done it!"

"He threw the ball, trusting his luck…" Sylvia says doubtfully.

"We've been saying how impossible the throw was the entire time," Tadakatsu says, "but maybe that's just it! Being the Ultimate Luck, Agro was just able to make that near-impossible throw somehow!" He looks around, a shocked smile on his face. "It was just a lucky throw!" He laughs in relief.

"Care to give up now, Agro? Confess so we can finally end this?" Aika asks.

You look around quickly. Your guilt seems certain on more than a few faces. Tidus looks like he hasn't heard the last few minutes of testimony.

"Not yet," you say. "I'm not the type of person to just give up, not when I've still got a way out!" You look straight at Kaori. "You and I chatted yesterday about getting out of here before anything bad happened, Kaori." You smile sadly, looking around at the rest of the group. "Miyuki wasn't after me, she was after Tidus. I had nothing to do with that little conflict! So why would I possibly kill her?" You pause, mind racing, cornered. This is it, my last stand!

"What the hell was my motive?"

Kaori pauses in shock. "Guys, he's right. We did talk about getting out of here yesterday!" She looks around. "The Agro I talked to yesterday in the cafeteria couldn't have planned to kill anyone!"

"No," Honzo says, "there must be something we overlooked. There must be!" From the tone of his voice, it's clear that he is not entirely sure himself. Doubt begins to seep back into their faces, and they glance between you and Tidus.

Tidus, pale and shaking once more, gulps visibly, and finally opens his mouth to speak. "What if…the murder wasn't planned?" His quiet words chill you to the bone. "Last night, Miyuki attacked me and knocked me out. When I woke up, only Agro was there." He pauses, looking at you, as if hoping you'll stop him. You're unable to do anything but look at him.

"I had thought that Miyuki just needed to vent, to take her frustration out on me a little." He looks at Dio. "But she really did want to kill me. She had a knife ready." He pauses, and then the next question comes down with the force of a hammer, in your mind smashing your defense and scattering it to the four winds.

"So why didn't she?"

No one knows how to respond to that question. In an instant, you feel all the fight go out of you. You feel drained.

"Why didn't she, man?" Your voice is strangely calm. "You're…almost there."

Tidus whispers his response, his words easily carrying to all corners of the dead silent courtroom. "You killed her to save my life, didn't you, Agro? That was your motive." In that instant, your crime becomes something real.

You sigh, pulling out your hammer, and pass it to Edwin. "Spritz that Luminol stuff on my hammer." You pause, choking out your words with a mighty effort. "Some things you can only see in the dark."

Edwin quickly and silently does so, and turns to look at Monokuma, commanding it to turn off the lights.

"With pleasure!" Monokuma cackles. The lights in the courtroom go out, leaving you in near darkness.

"Look at that, it's glowing! The hammer's glowing!"

"So that's what it looks like in the dark…"

"It's…strangely pretty…"

My crime's shining in the darkness for everyone to see, you think as you stare at your glowing hammer, the only source of light in the dark courtroom. It's…all over.

I'm going to die.

"Well, I think that about does it for this Class Trial," Monokuma says when the lights come back on. "Everyone who hasn't, cast your votes already!" It cackles. "Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"

All around you, your classmates vote. You press a random button.

There is a pause as Monokuma tallies up the votes. You look anywhere but at your classmates' faces. You are afraid what you might see in them.

"Interesting…very interesting…" Monokuma says. It jumps from its throne, landing somewhat gracefully in the middle of your circle. "Congratulations, Heroes of Light! This time the majority of you were right on the money!" It looks straight at you. "The blackened in this case, the one that killed Miyuki…was none other than Agro Tenma!" Its grin widens.

"Agro…so it's true? It's really true?" Kaori asks.

"Yeah…you got it all right," you say, gritting your teeth, a bead of sweat trailing down your face. "I came out of the bathroom, saw Miyuki with the knife standing over Tidus, and…and…"

"Yes, it's quite sad," Kanzaki says, still fuming, "but I don't really care why you did it, Agro. It only matters that you did, and were found out by us."

Not by you, Kanzaki, you think, glaring at him. I fooled you at least.

"Isn't it about time you punish him?" Kanzaki asks Monokuma.

Tidus looks shocked, as if he forgot what came next. "You can't mean execution! Agro did it to save my life! I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for him!"

"What he did," Monokuma says, voice dark and low, "was commit murder." The bear shakes its head. "There are no extenuating circumstances in this courtroom. You're either guilty or you're innocent, and Agro is definitely guilty!" The bear raises a claw, miming the swing of a blade. "And guilty people have to pay the price!"

The others don't have a reply to that ready. Relief and shock show on their faces in equal measure. You just feel numb. The cold chill of defeat seeps into your bones.

Monokuma chuckles. "You're all feeling such despair. Miyuki and Agro betrayed you all."

The bear continues, smiling evilly, "With all that said, let's hurry up and get to what everyone's been waiting for…the punishment!"

"We've…already had enough death, Mr. Bear…" Tatiana says softly.

"I'm tired of begging!" Monokuma cries out. "Agro must pay the penalty for breaking the rules. Society demands it!"

"Hey, Tidus," you say, looking at your friend, trying to ignore Monokuma, the pounding in your chest, and your imminent death.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for Agro Tenma, the Ultimate Luck!" Monokuma says, its loud voice filling everyone's ears.

"I had fun, man." You fail to grin. Tidus tries to speak, but no words come.

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's…punishment time!" Monokuma says, its one red eye flashing directly at you before it hops back onto its throne. You continue to look at Tidus, even as Monokuma takes out a gavel, bringing it down on a big red button…

"Sorry we couldn't keep being a team," you whisper, the courtroom silent. Tears fall down Tidus's cheeks. For a moment, nothing happens. You aren't immediately struck dead. You clutch your wooden stand for support, the bead of sweat dripping onto it.

Executed: Argo Tenma

Luck, like a Fiery Frisbee

Suddenly, you hear a rumbling in the walls behind you, and something cold and metallic clasps around your neck before you can react. Something yanks you away, dragging you on your back out of the courtroom and along a dark passageway. You try to free yourself, your hands tugging at the smooth steel collar around your neck, but you can't. You are utterly helpless. As soon as you begin to wonder where you're being taken, you slam into something flat. More steel restraints wrap themselves around your arms and legs, firmly holding you in place. You can't move.

You struggle to tilt your head, and you realize you're trapped on a large steel disc. It's kind of like a giant Frisbee, you think, in a cold sweat. You're at one end of a long corridor.

Monokuma appears before you, grinning like never before. In a swift motion, it easily picks up the giant disc, and the other end of the corridor ignites in flame. It's another incinerator! you think, terror threatening to overwhelm you.

With a mighty grunt, Monokuma throws the disc in a perfect arc, and you spin wildly, the temperature growing hotter as you approach the flames. You scream as the bright orange flame gets closer and closer, filling your vision...

The giant Frisbee completes its journey into the flames, the incinerator's grate slamming shut, and the pain is excruciating. Your world is fire, smoke, and pain.

Miyuki's laughing voice chases you into fiery oblivion.

Hey, I love you too, you idiot—

Chapter 1 End

Fourteen Students Remain