Heaven With You (Part 7) (Deadly Life)
Truth Bullets
Monokuma File: The victim is Satoko Kiyomizu. The body was discovered in the pool room.
Her head seems to be bleeding, causing a faint red tint to surround her body. She also seems to be surrounded by maggots and rose petals.
Rose Petals: It's not what you think; the rose petals weren't placed around Satoko's body because of her former codename, Rose. They were placed by Mari to 'set the mood' for her and Takahashi's date.
Maggots: Someone, most likely the killer, placed maggots around Satoko's body.
Drowning: Satoko's cause of death most likely wasn't drowning, as she was lying face up when her body was found.
Head Wound: Satoko has a head wound on the back of her head.
Pool Rule: If you want to be in the pool, more than one organism must be with you. Otherwise you're breaking the rules!
Dented Anti-Gravity Machine: One of the anti-gravity machines, which helps keep the water in the pool, is dented. It's clear that it was done on purpose.
Mari's Date Plan: Mari planned a date for her and Takahashi to go swimming in the pool. They were supposed to report to the pool room promptly, by 2:05, but Takahashi was late and the two didn't get there until 2:40.
Missing Kuro: Kuro is missing, no one has seen him since around 2:00. What happened to him…?
Sonoda's Account: Sonoda, Nadia, Hiiro, Koko, Takumi, Jack, Kuro, and Satoko all played a game together in the VR room. Everyone besides him and Nadia left around 1:00 to attend Takumi's special brunch, with Sonoda and Nadia staying until 1:40. Apparently, while Satoko was playing, she was unhappy and looked like she was in a rush.
Takumi's Special Brunch: Takumi threw a special brunch attended by a majority of the captives, as thanks for throwing him a party the week before.
Infirmary Key: Apparently, someone moved the infirmary key belonging to Hiiro from the main pocket of his bag to one of the front pockets.
Hiiro's Account: Hiiro left the pool room at 2:05 since Mari and Takahashi failed to show up.
Koko's Account: Hiiro and Koko were together from 2:05 until the discovery of Satoko's corpse, playing a game of chess in the game room.
Missing Stop Clock: The stop clock, which records the time when a piece of equipment is used in the gym is nowhere to be found.
Missing Base: Takahashi drew three bases on the gym floor for kickball. One of them is missing.
Broken Plate: A broken plate from the dining room is on the floor of the equipment room, in front of the air vent, which was somehow opened.
Secret Path from Equipment Room to Captive's Room: One can go from the equipment room to the room containing the eliminated Traitor/Truce players, or vice versa, via an air vent.
Damaged Baseball Bat: One of the baseball bats in the equipment room seems to be damaged; bright orange spots are scattered across it.
Empty Bottle of Senza-Sangue: An empty bottle of something called Senza-Sangue was found in one of the medicine cabinets in the infirmary.
Secret Path from Infirmary to Game Room: One can go from the infirmary to the game room, or vice versa, via an air vent.
Just like last time, the doors of the elevator slowly creaked open, revealing the all too familiar trial grounds.
This time, it was decorated a little differently. The walls now looked like shoji screens, with red paint splattered on them to replace the wall with red stripes from last time. The floor was made of wood and looked like it had been through a lot, with holes and scratches all over it.
Strangely, Monokuma was not yet sitting in his chair.
"This looks awful." Leonia complained with a frown. "What happened to the nice setting of the 'hotel' from before?"
"As distasteful as this place is, it would still make for a great drawing…" Norikazu noted, examining the scratches on the floor in great detail.
"Does what our trial location look like really matter?" Taka sighed, walking right up to his stand without a care in the world. "Just take your spots and wait for the bear to show up." He demanded.
We did just that, a few more reluctantly than others. My stomach was already in knots at this point, and I felt dizzy, like I could pass out at any second. But I took a deep breath and steadied myself.
Akumu walked up to me. "Hey, I just wanted to check up on you. You don't look like you're doing so good, is everything ok?"
"Ok is a bit of a stretch," I nervously chuckled. "But I'll be fine. Nobody wants to be in this situation, but hey, we're here…"
"Very true." Akumu sadly smiled. "I wish Satoko was still here with us, but we gotta keep pushing on for her, ya know?"
I nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Knowing her she wouldn't want us to cry or mourn her death for long; she'd want us to move past what happened and continue investigating the truth of the killing game and looking for a way out."
"Exactly!" Akumu beamed, looking more like the boy I met on our first day here. "It's just like my grandparents used to say; you'll never get anywhere in life without a few bumps in the road!"
"They sound like nice people, and quite realistic too." I complimented him. Now I know where Akumu gets his optimistic nature from.
"They are," Akumu nodded, looking up at the ceiling as if in reflection. "They took me in after my dad died and my mom became a workaholic. They're also what got me into investigating cryptids in the first place. We all used to go exploring together in the woods, it was so fun! Of course now that they're a little older, I usually go out by myself."
"Which then lead you to become the Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast." I summarized with a smile.
"That's right," Akumu said. "Anyways, I just wanted to make sure you're doing ok. You're our ace detective, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah," I laughed. "Whatever you say." Seriously, how did I become the lead investigator?! I'm just an actor!
Akumu then unexpectedly came closer to me, and gave me a hug. It felt just like the first time he hugged me, but this time a little more comforting and less awkward. He pulled back and flashed a bright smile. "You're gonna do great!"
He walked over to his trial stand and I smiled. This'll be a piece of cake, just like Akumu said. I took one more deep breath, completely calming myself down.
You'll be fine, Seizo, just relax…
I took a moment to look around to see how my classmates were doing.
In doing so, I also caught sight of the portraits that were now in front of Ritsu and Satoko's stands.
Ritsu's smiling face was covered with a thin, shiny, bloody red 'X', made to look like laser beams.
Satoko's was covered with a very neat and perfectly symmetrical 'X', most likely symbolizing her 'perfect' talent of being a prodigy.
Besides that, everything else looked relatively normal…
With the only exception being nothing was in front of Shiro/Kuro's stand. No picture, no Shiro/Kuro, no nothing. The guy really was missing after all.
"Maybe it's not a bad thing that Kuro's MIA," Takumi thought aloud. "All he does is cause trouble in the trials. Now we can all focus without him interfering!"
"That's actually kinda true…" Sonoda commented. "With Kuro being the egotistical asshole who argues about everything, and Shiro, no offense, being no help at all, you'll all be able to focus on the trial more."
"Don't you mean 'we'll'?" Fran frowned, crossing her arms.
"Um, yes, yes, of course…" Sonoda awkwardly chuckled.
"Although Shiro may not be the most talkative and helpful person here, it's unfair to celebrate his absence…" Isami chastised, looking quite bothered. I almost forgot, she's one of Shiro's closest friends here; she has every right to be upset. "We don't know what's happened to him, so instead of being relieved that he's not here we should be concerned with his safety…"
"I agree." I said. "Besides, Shiro/Kuro being here would also make this investigation a lot easier. We have no idea if he has an alibi or saw something important since we weren't able to talk to him to get his account of the day."
"I just don't know where he could possibly be," Evelyn sighed. "Fran and I searched everywhere during the investigation! Well, besides his room, but Monokuma made a point of telling us that no one could hide in their room during an investigation.
Everywhere huh? Can that really be true when…
"Gah! You bastards are going to drive me to drink!" Monokuma interrupted our discussion of Shiro/Kuro's whereabouts, finally making his appearance.
"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Taka asked.
"Many things, actually!" Monokuma answered. "For one, my favorite TV show ended on a cliffhanger and the studio still hasn't resumed filming and production!"
"And this concerns us how?" Norikazu questioned.
"And, that pesky occultist! I had to pull him for a chat to discuss why he's abstaining from the investigation and trial, and it took a solid 10 minutes to get a coherent answer! Anyways, since he's technically not breaking any rules, I let it slide."
"Wait a minute, Shiro/Kuro's alive and you know where he is?!" I asked with wide eyes. Everyone had a similar reaction.
"Yes-siree!" Monokuma nodded. "I know exactly where he is. It is a little annoying that he's not here, but, again, since he's not breaking the Culprit Attendance rule, it's A-ok!"
"Culprit attendance rule?" Nadia repeated in a hushed voice.
"I've never heard of that before." Mari frowned. "Are you just making up rules now?"
"Nope!" Monokuma claimed. "It's apart of my 'unofficial official rules', such as how many people are required to discover a body before the body discovery announcement plays, not being injected with any of my fabulous drugs if your poor wittle self is injured or incapacitated, what punishment is given for breaking a rule, and the Culprit Attendance rule, which states that the culprit, if able, must be in attendance of the trial!"
"So what you're saying is Shiro/Kuro is innocent and one of us is the killer?" Akumu asked for clarification.
"Upupupu, I dunno, Mr. Tsubasa, is that what I'm saying?" Monokuma evily giggled.
"Wait a minute…doesn't that mean all of us innocent people can just not participate in the trial and when the culprit is the only one who's missing because they're required to be at the trial, we could just figure out who the culprit is?" Evelyn theorized, tapping a finger on her trial stand.
"I'm curious as to how that would work, though, seeing as how we are all drugged and brought to the room before the elevator." Hiiro brought up.
"Well if that happened we could all just stay in the room before the elevator." Evelyn suggested. "The killer would then be the only one forced to board, and we'd know who they were!"
"Come to think of it, why didn't Shiro/Kuro wake up in the room with us?" Fran asked.
"Grrrr…" Monokuma did not look happy in the slightest. "I swear, you kids ruin everything! Fine, from here on out, everyone must be present at a trial! You guys won't play any loopholes with me!"
"Ugh, this sucks!" Takumi groaned. "We almost managed to outsmart him for once."
"We did outsmart him." Leonia claimed. "He just changed the rules to fit his own benefit."
"Cut this charade already," I turned to look in the direction where the voice came from. Jack was standing up straight, his arms crossed and his eyes staring daggers at Monokuma. "Let's start this trial, once and for all."
"So soon?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head. "I thought we'd talk more!"
"No one in here actually wants to talk with you," Mari scoffed. "We're here to find the killer and get out of this creepy place, so get on with it!"
"We've lost three people in this place already." Norikazu commented, looking at the portraits of Silver, Ritsu, and Satoko. "Losing another will be difficult, but it is necessary."
"Y'know, the killer might not even make it to their execution," Takahashi laughed dryly. "Jacky Boy over here will probably pummel them to death before then."
"Why would someone kill Satoko?" Nadia sniffed. "She was so nice to everyone and did nothing wrong…"
"Whatever their reasons are doesn't excuse what they did," Fran said as a-matter-of-factly. "As cruel as it may be, we have to avenge Satoko!"
"These trials are oh so stressful," Evelyn sighed. "But it's nothing compared to the pain Satoko is in."
"Geez, geez, fine!" Monokuma sighed. "Let's begin the class trial!"
I took a deep breath.
Alright, it's time.
We'll analyze the evidence we found and find the killer!
It'll be tougher than last time, that's for sure, especially since one of our own is missing, but still…
We have to do this!
Not only for Satoko, but for our own lives as well!
If we don't find the killer, they'll get away and we'll all die here, before we've figured out the purpose of this killing game…
There's no way I'm going to let that happen!
TRIAL START!
"Now then, a simple explanation of the class trial," Monokuma started. "Argue your hearts out and vote for who you think the killer is ! Your votes will determine the results of the trial. If you can figure out 'whodunnit' then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and they'll be given the right to return back home to Earth!"
"No more Savior Perk this time." Leonia noted.
"Good," Sonoda sighed. "That means the killer was definitely working solo."
"Exactly, you stand nothing to gain if you help the killer since only they'll be able to escape in the end." Takumi nodded.
"So, where do we start?" Clara nervously asked. "I feel like there's so much information to cover...how do we even begin to analyze it all?"
"I feel like we should figure out how Satoko was killed," Jack answered, taking charge. "We still don't know what the murder weapon was or what did her in in the end."
"Ok, that's a good start." I nodded. "Let's start the discussion,"
Non-Stop Argument
"The murder weapon," Hiiro repeated, rubbing his chin in thought. "It could be so many things…"
"Like maybe a knife?" Koko suggested.
"Or a hammer!" Akumu continued.
"Maybe even something else that was heavy, like a chair?" Sonoda theorized.
"You idiots," Mari frowned. "Satoko obviously drowned! The weapon was the pool she was in!"
"But how does that explain the pool of blood around her…?" Isami questioned, tilting her head. "...I think it was something unorthodox, and she was killed in a manner we aren't thinking of…"
"Like what?" Takumi asked. "It could be anything!"
"Gah, this is hopeless…" Nadia moped.
Truth Bullet: Dented Anti-Gravity Machine, FIRED!
"I agree with that!"
"...The truth can't be tinkered…"
BREAK!
"That's right, Isami." I nodded. "The murder weapon wasn't something any of us would expect."
"Hm?" Isami turned towards me. "...I was right?"
"Are you telling me she didn't think she'd be right?" Clara deadpanned.
"Talk about a lack of confidence…" Fran sighed.
"I'm not 100% certain of course, but I think the murder weapon could've been the dented anti-gravity machine!" I said. "Me and Takahashi were investigating, and we found a dent in one of them."
"Huh?" Koko asked with her eyes wide. "Seizo, you can't honestly think that the killer picked up the anti-gravity machine and used it as a weapon to hurt Satoko!"
"Yeah, you'd have to have some Godzilla level strength to do that." Akumu nodded.
"Not to mention the fact that all of us here have been unable to exercise or improve our strength given the lack of a real gym with real work out equipment." Hiiro continued. "So none of us are at full strength."
"What a stupid theory, Seizo, I'm thoroughly disappointed." Mari sighed, shaking her head at me.
C'mon seriously?!
"You guys, I'm not saying the killer picked it up and bonked her on the head with it," I sighed. "What Takahashi and I were thinking that the killer pushed her into it."
"Oh, like what happens in movies sometimes where the two people are in an argument and one person accidentally pushes someone else really hard into a wall and they die?" Takumi asked for clarification.
"Yeah actually!" I nodded. "Y'know that reminds me of a movie I did with-"
"No one cares." Takahashi interrupted. "Anyways, that is basically what Seizo and I were thinking. Satoko is a small and no offense, weak, girl. It would be easy for any of us to grab her and push her head into one of the anti-gravity machines, and with enough force, it could definitely be a fatal blow."
"How gruesome." Evelyn frowned. "But it is definitely a possibility that we should keep in mind."
Gruesome...
Huh.
Yeah, it would be…
"Ok, so it could've been the anti-gravity machine." Evelyn surmised. "But I don't think the murder weapon matters if we can't pin point who could've done it!"
"Very true," Fran agreed with a sigh. "At the end of the day we need to figure out who the killer is."
"Alright," Hiiro nodded. "Then what about alibis? Everyone needs to share where they were during the estimated time of the murder, a little after 2:05, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, since you were in the pool room until 2:05, and Satoko obviously wasn't in there, then she must've been murdered sometime after."
"So if we can figure out who doesn't have an alibi for after 2:05, we can narrow down the list of suspects!" Koko said excitedly.
"Exactly." I said. "The only problem is that we don't have an exact time for when she was killed…"
"Tch, that doesn't matter," Takahashi claimed. "C'mon, use that big ass head of yours, there's a few people who couldn't possibly be the killer."
A few people who couldn't be the killer? That means they would all be able to provide an alibi for each other…
Question: What could've given a group of people an alibi for each other?
Truth Bullet: Takumi's Special Brunch, fired!
"Haha, got it in one take!"
"Oh, Takumi's special brunch!" I realized. "A number of you guys were in attendance right, and you all were together since before 2:05 to the time the body was discovered!"
"Yup!" Takumi nodded. "The party itself started around 1:00."
"So who all was there?" I asked.
"I got this one…" Takahashi answered. "You were missing in action so you wouldn't know. I finished up the girls' laundry and saw Takumi, Leonia, Nadia, Evelyn, Sonoda, and Clara at the party. That means that Shiro/Kuro, Jack, Norikazu, Isami, Koko, Hiiro, and Mari are the ones without alibis."
"Hey, what about you?" Sonoda questioned. "I don't recall seeing you there."
"I was there for just a minute." Takahashi replied. "Takumi saw me. Like I said before, I was busy doing the girls' laundry up until then."
Leonia nodded. "Yes, I asked him to do so myself."
"So what about the people without alibis?" Clara inquired. "Do you have anything to prove you couldn't have done it?"
"Isami and I were together." Norikazu answered. "In the rec center. I was sketching and she was tinkering with something."
Isami nodded. "Yes, I wrote about it in my journal. I've been trying to make my e-Handbook capable of contacting a nearby satellite station…"
"Upupu, good luck with that!" Monokuma cackled. "Not even the Ultimate Inventor would be able to do such a thing!"
"Anyway, that's two of our alibis down." Norikazu said confidently. "Koko and Hiiro what have you got to say for yourselves?"
"Ah, Seizo knows this one!" Koko smiled.
Huh, I do?
"Yes, we gave him our alibi during the investigation." Hiiro agreed.
Oh, that's right!
This one's easy.
Question: What is Hiiro and Koko's alibi?
Truth Bullet: Koko's Account, fired!
"Koko and Hiiro were playing chess in the game room." I explained. "From the time Mari and Hiiro left the pool room together, the two were in the game room, far from the scene of the crime."
"So both of them have an airtight alibi." Leonia surmised. "Who's next?"
"Me." Mari finished, looking none too pleased. "Ugh, so annoying. Now all of you guys think I'm the killer just because I was by myself during the time the murder was committed…"
"Not necessarily." I answered. "Just tell us where you were."
"Exactly, then we can sort out if you're guilty or not." Evelyn nodded. "Though from previous experience it wouldn't be that surprising if you were…" Mari glared at the translator in response.
"Yeah, you did kind of vote for me to be eliminated despite knowing what happened to Seizo," Akumu awkwardly chuckled.
"Hey, no talking about Traitor/Truce!" Mari quickly said. "That's reserved only for when we're playing the game."
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Someone isn't a fan of being confronted about being a terrible person…" I heard her mutter. Thankfully, Mari didn't seem to hear.
"I was in the announcement room during the time of the murder." Mari claimed. "I must've been in there for nearly an hour, waiting for Takahashi to get to the pool room."
"Um, can I ask why?" Nadia questioned.
"We had a date." Mari answered with a smirk. "Something a number of you will never be able to get…"
"Ugh, to think I was just starting to tolerate you." Fran sighed, shaking her head at Mari.
"Enough nonsense." Jack demanded, looking as serious as ever. "Seizo, are Mari's claims true or not?"
Why is it my job to figure this out?!
"Uh, I'm not sure." I answered, scratching my head. "But, there's only one way to find out, right?"
Non-Stop Argument
"Mari was on a date with Takahashi?" Takumi said. "Is that really her alibi?"
"We weren't on a date." Takahashi sighed. "We were just going to go swimming together."
"Is swimming key word for something else?" Sonoda smirked.
"How distasteful…" Leonia frowned.
"Of course not!" Mari quickly refuted, angrily slamming her fist on her trial stand. "This isn't some sort of special chapter, you know!"
"Mari could have definitely killed Satoko." Evelyn theorized. "After all, Takahashi wasn't with her until later right? So she could've just been lying about being in the announcement room."
"Yeah, she didn't know when Takahashi would show up, after all!" Takumi said excitedly. "Nice, we're finally getting somewhere!"
"Is this really true, M-Mari?" Nadia sniffed.
"Obviously not!" Mari answered. "I'm innocent!"
"If you're lying, I will find out." Jack ominously stated.
Truth Bullet: Mari's Date Plan, FIRED!
"No, that's wrong!"
BREAK!
"You're not completely on the wrong track," I started. "But you're not necessarily on the right one either, Takumi."
"Huh?" Takumi tilted his head. "Where did I go wrong? I'm usually always on the right track…"
"Well, you're right in the fact that Mari didn't know the exact time Takahashi would show up to the pool room. However, she had a pretty good estimate." I explained.
"Yeah, swimming with Clara...what time was that?" Taka inquired.
"Around 1." Mari answered. "We only swam for about half an hour though, then Clara left to go to Takumi's party thing around 1:30. I swam by myself for a little while, but then Hiiro complained about wanting to go spend some time with Koko before his next appointment, with me and you at 2:00."
"So Satoko wasn't killed until after 1:30 when you finished swimming with Clara." I commented.
"Yes, exactly." Mari nodded. "Oh, and something else. For some reason, Kuro was watching me and Clara swim...literally until I left with Hiiro, he was still there, the creep...luckily, when I went to put the rose petals in the pool around 1:45, he wasn't there anymore."
"Mari and Takahashi's date was scheduled to be around 2:00, before Satoko's murder." I said. "Any normal person would want to be on time for their own date, and expect the other person to do the same. In the end, we know that Takahashi did in fact end up being late, but Mari had no way of knowing that at the time. For her to commit a murder during a time when her date could show up at any second is way too risky."
"Additionally," I started. "The last time Mari was in the pool room was at 1:45 when she put the roses in the pool, no doubt about it. After all, there's proof Mari wasn't in the pool room, plotting Satoko's murder."
"Hiiro, what were you up to for the past hour? Mari and I were supposed to have an appointment with you at 2:00 but we didn't show up until 2:40, and you weren't anywhere to be found." Taka brought up.
"I checked in here at 2:00, and when you guys didn't show up by 2:05, I went back to the game room to be with Koko." Hiiro answered.
"You only gave them five minutes?" I deadpanned.
"Yes." Hiiro answered bluntly. "I told Mari before that she could find me in the game room if she happened to be late, after all."
"Yes, that's right." Hiiro nodded. "Takahashi and Mari weren't in the pool room at 2:05, so I just left. She knew where to find me once her and Taka were ready to go swimming."
"I'm confused about something." Akumu admitted. "Mari, why weren't you waiting in the pool room? You said you were in the announcement room, right, but why?"
Mari blushed. "Well, um, I just wanted to be there when Taka was walking up to the pool room."
"Is that right?" Leonia inquired, curiously looking at Mari's unusually flushed expression.
"Yeah," Mari nodded. "Plus we could grab Hiiro from the game room on the way to go swimming."
"Uh, what?" Taka spoke up. "That's a lie."
"What do you mean 'that's a lie'?" Mari frowned.
"You know damn well we didn't grab Hiiro from the game room." Taka explained. "You didn't even say anything about doing that."
"I forgot!" Mari quickly said. "We were already so late that it just slipped my mind."
"Yeah, yeah," Taka waved his hand dismissively. "Stop with the lies already, just explain yourself and maybe people won't be suspicious of you anymore."
"Aw, Takahashi is actually caring about Mari for once!" Fran beamed. "He didn't even curse at her!"
"Hopefully he can make her a better woman." Evelyn giggled.
"Shut the hell up!" Takahashi yelled. He took his sunglasses off the collar of his shirt and quickly put them on. Hehe, someone's flustered.
"Fine." Mari sighed. "The announcement room is known for something, right?"
"The room where Monokuma gives announcements?" Nadia asked.
"The room where I almost met my end?" Takumi sniffed.
"The room where Silver actually met his end?" Clara sighed.
"No, no, and no." Mari frowned. "Whatever, I'll explain for you peasants. The Traitor/Truce game. I wanted to look into the voting booths we use."
"For what reason?" Norikazu questioned. "I can't imagine that they'd offer up any important information."
"Maybe not something important," Isami started. "But definitely something that'd come in handy if she knew it in advance…"
"Ah…" Leonia slowly nodded. "So that's what you were up to, Mari…"
"What is it?" Koko asked.
"Tell them, Seizo." Taka said, peering at me through his sunglasses. "It's obvious so you should know, unless you're the dumbass everyone thinks you are."
Gee, thanks…
This is pretty easy.
Question: Why did Mari want to investigate the voting booths?
She was looking for some Long Island iced tea
She wanted to see how they work
She wanted to see who was partnered up with each other
"Haha, got it in one take!"
Answer: She wanted to see who was partnered up with each other
"I don't know exactly the reason why, but you wanted to see what the match-ups for the next round of Traitor/Truce were, didn't you, Mari?" I questioned.
Mari narrowed her eyes. "Yes. I wanted to mostly find out who I was up against."
"I kind of understand it…" Isami admitted. "Knowing who you're up against beforehand could give you more time to decide whether to choose to 'spare' or 'eliminate'."
"Isn't that cheating though?" Koko frowned. "Even if it's not, I feel like it's wrong. None of us have ever looked at the voting booths before a round has started."
"Because I'm the only person to think of doing so." Mari smirked, flipping her hair.
"Well, did you ever find out who you're up against?" Leonia questioned.
Mari frowned. "Ugh, the stupid display things weren't even on. Talk about inconvenient…"
"Correct!" Monokuma giggled. "The display for Traitor/Truce will not turn on until the announcement of the next round is made!"
"So I wasted all that time in the announcement room for nothing?!" Mari angrily asked.
"Well, it wasn't for nothing," I said. "After all, now you have an alibi."
"So the only ones in the group without alibis...without an alibi is…" Isami started, looking in her notebook.
"Jack." Norikazu answered. "Where were you during the murder?"
Jack didn't look phased at Norikazu basically accusing him of being the only one capable of murdering Satoko.
"Like I said before, I was in my room." Jack answered. "I know it's not a solid alibi but it's the truth."
"Ooo, wait, I know how to prove he's innocent!" Takumi spoke up.
"O-oh! Yes, that's right!" Nadia nodded. "A number of us played a game together in the VR room, and afterwards we went to the party."
Takumi smiled. "Here, I'll explain everything in the form of a dramatic flashback!"
"That was fun, guys!" Takumi smiled, taking off his VR headset. "Who's ready for some brunch?"
"Sorry Takumi, but I can't until later." Clara sadly frowned. "Mari invited me to go swimming with her for a while, but I promise it'll be quick."
"And I have to supervise them." Hiiro sighed.
"I'll also be showing up later." Sonoda announced. "I'd like to try out this tycoon game, I wonder if the money you get in game can transfer to be Monocoins…"
"There's another racing game?!" Nadia said excitedly. "I have to try this!"
"Tch, you all are so boring, you guys just kept dying over and over again." Kuro complained.
"It's not our fault you're crazy good at being the killer." Clara frowned.
"Whatever," He sighed. "I'm out of here."
The occultist walked out of the VR room.
"I'll go with you, Takumi." Koko smiled. "I'm going to go to the game room around 1:30 though to play chess with Hiiro."
"Satoko, what do you want to do?" Jack questioned, looking at his friend.
She shook her head. "I, um, have to go and do something." She quickly responded. "Sorry…"
"Oh well, that's fine." Jack nodded. "That VR game kind of gave me a headache...I'm going to spend some time at the brunch for a little while but then go to my room to rest."
With that, they all went their separate ways. As we walked into the hall, Takumi noticed Satoko hurry towards the gym, with Clara and Hiiro following after her on their way to the pool room.
Koko, Jack, and Takumi all went down the stairs.
Leonia, Evelyn, and Norikazu were all waiting for them in the dining room, setting things up.
"Norikazu!" Takumi greeted happily. "You made it after all."
Norikazu sighed. "I'm only staying for a little while, I'm going to spend some time with Isami."
"No worries!" Takumi smiled. "Let's have a fun time everyone!"
Some time passed, and Jack, Koko, and Norikazu announced their departures.
"Thank you for the food and entertainment." Norikazu bowed. "It was actually quite enjoyable."
"You're loosening up quite a bit around us, Nori." Takumi beamed.
Norikazu blushed and quickly walked out of the dining room.
"Thank you for everything." Jack said, also bowing. "My head is killing me, I wish I could stay for longer."
"No worries." Takumi reassured. "Go rest and maybe you can come back a little later."
Jack nodded and headed to his room.
"Here comes trouble," Koko giggled as she headed into the announcement room.
At the same time of her leaving, Sonoda, Nadia, and Clara made their way inside the dining room.
"Alright, now it's a party!" Takumi laughed. "Let's have some fun!"
"Ah, I see now." I nodded. "So those with alibis for the time of the murder weren't the only ones at the party."
"Yup." Takumi said. "Jack, Koko, and Norikazu were also there, they just left before Satoko was killed."
"And you guys saw Jack go to his room and not come out, which is why you think he's innocent." Akumu surmised.
"Sounds pretty solid to me." Fran nodded. "But then that means…"
"Everyone has an alibi…" I nervously said. "Which means what? Satoko killed herself?"
"Impossible, there's no way she could slam her own head on the anti-gravity machine, then drag herself all the way to the pool...right?" Evelyn scratched her head.
"Well, if you don't hit your head hard enough to knock you out then you could walk around afterwards relatively fine." Leonia revealed. "But then that'd throw our anti-gravity machine being the murder weapon theory out of the window…"
"Are we stuck?" Akumu sighed. "I don't know if it's the exhaustion, starvation, or dehydration talking, but I can't think of anything…"
"Same here." Fran nodded. "My heads scrambled...if everyone has an alibi, then who is the killer? Are two people working together and lying about their alibis?"
Two people working together, huh?
Two people…
Huh...I might have something.
"Spit it out, Seizo," Takahashi sighed. "It's obvious by now, right?"
I gulped. "I, uh, think so…"
"Then don't keep us waiting, D-Lister." He demanded.
Ok, fine, fine…
I don't think there's two people who're working together, but two people who gave alibis for each other...one of them could be the killer.
Non-Stop Argument
"Someone is lying about their alibi?" Nadia nervously asked. "H-how terrible…"
"Well, it isn't me!" Sonoda said confidently. "Even though we were playing different games, Nadia and I could still hear each other while we were playing in the VR room."
"Like I said before, Isami and I were together." Norikazu recalled. "It can't be either of us."
"And then everyone at the party is clear of course." Takumi nodded.
"It can't be me or Hiiro either!" Koko claimed. "Remember, we played chess."
"So who is it?" Clara tiredly asked. "I feel like we're going in circles…"
"Satoko might've killed herself." Mari shrugged. "It's cruel but it could be what happened…"
"Don't even joke about that." Jack frowned. "She'd never do that!"
Truth Bullet: Hiiro's Account, FIRED!
"No, that's wrong!"
BREAK!
"I'm not accusing you guys," I sighed. "But, there is a way either of you could've killed Satoko."
"How so?" Hiiro questioned. He didn't seem mad, just a little annoyed as per usual.
"Yeah, I told you, we were playing chess." Koko sadly frowned.
"Well, as Hiiro mentioned, he had to leave your game a little before 2:00 for Mari and Taka's date. He stayed in the pool room, and left around 2:05 when they didn't show up." I continued to explain. "He may have murdered Satoko in that 5 minute window, especially because…"
"I have the infirmary key." Hiiro nodded. "Which means I could've used it to take the maggots that were in the infirmary."
I nodded silently. I hate accusing them like this…
"But why me?" Koko questioned. "If I didn't have the infirmary key how do you think I would've been able to get the maggots?"
"Well, there's two ways you could've." I explained. "The first is obvious; simply stealing Hiiro's infirmary key from his bag, which wouldn't have been too hard considering you're almost always with him."
"The second," I continued. "Is a little more complicated."
Question: How could've Koko gotten to the infirmary without a key?
Truth Bullet: Secret Path from Infirmary to Game Room, fired!
"Haha, got it one take!"
"The air vents in the infirmary and the game room are connected." I explained. "You could've crawled through them to get the maggots without having to open the infirmary door."
Koko nodded. "True, true...but Seizo, there's um, just one problem with your theory…"
"Huh?" I asked. "What is it?"
"Well, even if I could've used the vents to go to the infirmary from the game room...I couldn't have possibly have killed Satoko in the pool room since Hiiro was in there waiting for Mari and Taka. Additionally, I couldn't have waited for him to leave and gone in afterwards since he would've noticed I wasn't in the game room." Koko explained, sternly looking me in the eyes.
…
…
…
"I'm stupid as shit…" I cried, burying my face in my hands.
Then I remembered the cut on my hand and yelped after it touched my face, the sweat and perspiration on my forehead making the open wound sting.
"Don't say that!" Koko quickly said. "You were just trying to help figure out who the killer is!"
"Yes, as cruel as it is we can't afford to eliminate any suspects." Evelyn sighed.
"We must explore every possibility." Leonia agreed.
"I also have something that proves I can't be the killer," Hiiro suddenly spoke up. "Similar to Mari's alibi."
"Oh God, I'm going to be proven wrong again…" I muttered, shaking my head in disappointment at my own actions.
"I was in the pool room because I was waiting for Mari and Taka...it wouldn't be very good for me if I was killing Satoko and then the two of them walked in." Hiiro explained. He was also shaking his head at me.
"Aw man," I sighed. "There goes our last two leads…"
"You stupid fucking idiot." Takahashi frowned, taking off his sunglasses. "There's one more lead, one that none of you idiots are thinking of. I mean damn, I really am the smartest one here!"
"Shut up, Takahashi." I mumbled. "Can you just tell us?"
"Tch, I have to do everything around here." He smirked. "I guess that's just the effect of being the Ultimate fucking Pilot."
"Shut up and tell us!" Fran demanded, crossing her arms.
Taka chuckled, not bothered in the slightest. "Fine, fine...the last lead...the one person who doesn't actually have an alibi."
"Doesn't actually have an alibi?" Akumu scratched his head. "What's that mean?"
"I thought we went over everyone and figured out we all have an alibi…" Nadia gulped.
"Everyone in this room does, but…" Takahashi started, looking at me.
Oh…
Oh!
That's right!
The one person who doesn't have an alibi…
Accuse: Who doesn't have an alibi?
Seizo
Clara
Leonia
Hiiro
Jack
Satoko
Akumu
Takahashi
Shiro/Kuro
Silver
Francesca
Ritsu
Evelyn
Takumi
Isami
Sonoda
Koko
Nadia
Norikazu
Mari
DECIDE: Shiro/Kuro
"The show's over!"
"Shiro/Kuro!" I gasped. "He's not here...but he's the only one who could've killed Satoko!"
"But Monokuma let him be absent from the trial, which is breaking the newly introduced Culprit Attendance rule. " Leonia frowned. "Monokuma, did you bend the rules to work in Shiro/Kuro's favor?"
Monokuma giggled. "I did absolutely nothing of the sort!"
"So are you saying we're wrong? Shiro/Kuro isn't the killer?" Akumu gulped.
"I think we should figure that out for ourselves." I frowned. "Monokuma. I know where Shiro/Kuro is."
"Oh?" The bear tilted his head in curiosity. "And where might that be?"
"I'll show you." I declared. "Let's take a recess so we can go and grab Shiro/Kuro. That is allowed, right?"
Monokuma thought for a moment, before slowly nodding. "Fine, fine! You better be right, or I'll slap you with my fishstick!" He said whilst eating a plate of fish sticks.
I nodded.
I didn't know for sure, but I'm thinking logically here and it's the only place he could be onboard without breaking any rules...
Let's do this!
If we find Shiro/Kuro, we'll get his account of the murder and find out once and for all what the hell happened to Satoko…
A/N: Here's the 2nd trial, part 1! Let me know what you guys think of it.
We're nearing the end of the 'first arc' of this story...things are going to get crazier from here on out, I can't wait to show you guys what's happening next!
Until the next one!