"S-s-so! What the hell was up with the body, huh?!" Muni demanded, hands on her hips as she leaned forward and pouted at the others.
"Muni…" Tsubaki cast her a tired side-eye. "I must agree, though, who on earth would be cruel enough to do that?"
"Isn't it obvious? Someone stabbed her to death, then decided to make an art project out of the mess to scare us!" Shinobu crossed her arms.
"Did you have to say it like that?" Saori sighed. The nonstop debate bounced around the trial room like a ball. With Saki dead, her Synesthesia and all of its associated usefulness was gone, but because she was the only one who remembered it in the first place, the others were able to persist without realizing that anything was missing at all. The first one to hear an inconsistency was Noa Fukushima.
I'll shine a spotlight on that! "No, that's wrong!" The Ultimate Theater Actress pointed at Shinobu.
"Never thought I'd live to see the day Noa disagreed with a cutie!" Shinobu snorted, raising a wary eyebrow at the other girl.
"So you agree?" Esora interrupted, eyes lighting up and smile turning wicked. "You think you're really cute?"
"I- I never said that!" Shinobu cried, recoiling, golden eyes darting around the room worriedly.
Sorry, Shinobu, it's not like that, Noa thought wryly. The Ultimate Gamer was absolutely correct that Noa hated going against a cutie, but it was something she tried to bring up during the investigation: not enough blood. As ghastly as Kurumi's murder scene was, there really wasn't as much blood as there should've been, especially given that one knife struck her heart.
"My theory is that the knives are just a diversion," Noa said. "When a person dies, although they can bleed, it doesn't spray or spurt since the heart is no longer actively pumping blood." She gestured to her PheFo to illustrate her point. There was blood on and around Kurumi's corpse, but the radius was contained, and the stains looked more like drops that spent the entire night dripping down her body and the adjacent walls than splatters that came from a violent attack. Most of the blood was around their immediate wounds, but far less was anywhere else.
"And you know all of this because…?" Towa leaned away from her.
"H-hey! It's just because I took that advanced, Academic Honors Anatomy class instead of a study hall!" Noa defended herself.
"Pfft, nerd!" Rika snickered, earning a disapproving frown from Haruna as she quietly, slowly crossed her arms.
"Actually, I believe I can somewhat confirm this," Hiiro said. "That has been a plot point in a couple of the murder mysteries I've read."
"Ooh, really? Which ones?" Noa's eyes lit up.
"Guys! This isn't a book club!" Towa cried in exasperated disbelief. Muni scoffed and Maho chuckled awkwardly, but Hiiro was off.
"They were part of that "Genocider Genesis" series," she said. It was a name everyone recognized, even if only barely. Genocide Jack, or Jill, was one of the most infamous serial killers of their time. So infamous, in fact, that various media had been made about the Genocider. One piece of such media was an action-horror game Muni and Shinobu both loved called "Dance for Dangerous Jack".
The series Hiiro was referring to started as nonfiction speculation, but had since developed a spin-off of fictitious stories surrounding the scissor-wielding serial killer. The nature of the series added some level of credibility to Hiiro's claim. Although some of it was for entertainment purposes only, the rest contained genuine case studies and expert analyses, including in the part about post-mortem stabbing.
"A-a-and, now that you mention serial killers," Miyu stuttered, "I do believe I recall Miiko discussing such topics once before…" Back in the earliest part of the first Stage of the Killing School Transfer, Miyu remembered Miiko excitedly rambling about serial killers. Naturally, Miyu and Haruna hadn't wanted to hear about it at the time. Oh, what cruel, bitter irony now…
Beside her, Haruna began the next debate, gesturing to her PheFo evidence photo gallery. "As you can see from these images, we have undeniable proof that Kurumi sustained blunt force trauma to her occipital bone, so I—"
"The heck's the occupational bone, and how do you know what it is?" Muni interrupted loudly.
"It is the most posterior cranial bone, and the main bone of the occiput. It—" Noa began, raising a finger in the air as she rambled.
"In Common Tongue, Fuku-showoff!" Shinobu interrupted next. "We can't figure out who did it if you're babbling nonsense!"
Noa giggled and swooned. "Oh, to receive a witty nickname from someone so cute! Shinobuuuwuuu!"
"Ew." Shinobu's lip curled while Esora chuckled. Esora. Miyu's stomach tightened.
Naturally, the poor girl was unable to get much sleep the night before. She spent most of it wracking her brain, trying to think of who could possibly be responsible. She hated suspecting any of her friends, but it was undeniable by then. And drawing on what she knew about the Game and everything in it, it must've been a highly expensive and technologically advanced affair. With that in mind, a list of suspects could be generated…
The only question was how Miyu could justify this line of inquisition. As important as Haruna's proof was, Miyu wanted to trust her luck and intuition, and attack the matter more directly. No one would confess to striking Kurumi, so was there anything else she could tie someone to? Miyu replayed the debate in her mind, and as she heard Shinobu again, an idea came to her. It was a perjury, but if it could lead them to the truth…
I'll pray for forgiveness! "No, that's wrong!" Miyu pointed at the other pink-haired girl. "Perhaps there is a way to figure it out!" She was confident as she spoke, but then she remembered who she had to confront if she wanted her bluff to work. "Ehm… E-E-Esora…? Could it perhaps have been… you? I saw you go back into the kitchens last night, even though we were finished cleaning by then."
"Ah, so I'm the suspicious individual now, am I?" Esora giggled delicately. "I really do hate this kind of joke! Well, go on, then, you do have proof, don't you, Miyu? I would be disappointed if you made such a bold claim with nothing to back it! So, tell them, Sakurada!" She gestured at the rest of the class, smirking, but before Miyu could say a word, several others interrupted.
"Miyu! Are you sure you are not mistaken in any way, shape, or form?" Kyoko asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern. "I'm sorry, but I just can't believe…" She felt conflicted, having no reason to doubt Miyu's honesty, yet Esora as the culprit? Impossible!
"R-right! Esora's a good person who cares about her friends! She would never do something like this!" Yuka nodded fervently, wringing her hands. While Kyoko tried to keep her expression guarded, Yuka was far more overt in the worry she felt for her unit-mate. Only Shinobu stayed silent, her face the most unreadable of all as her golden eyes darted between Miyu and Esora.
C'mon, Esora! Prove her wrong! There's no way you did something like this! So why aren't you…? Why aren't you saying anything?!
Of all the protestors still on Esora's side, though, the most fervent and avid was not one from her own unit.
This is the key of truth! "Y-yes! M-Miyu! What are you saying? Surely you do not believe Esora is the killer!" Rei clutched her face fearfully.
Miyu could sense a rebuttal showdown coming… I really don't want to fight her, but… She bit her lip. For Kurumi's sake, I must!
"Miyu, please, just look at the facts!" Rei began the showdown, begging with Miyu.
"What facts?" Miyu asked, stalling for time as she mustered up the courage to speak her truth. "That's what I'm trying to do!"
"There's no way Esora is the killer!" Rei insisted. "She values lovely things too much!"
"That is true, but… Although I am reluctant to admit this, we are in a Killing Game, after all…" I never thought that Miiko…
"I know she and Kurumi never really got along, but that's not enough to convict her on anything!" Rei continued.
"That's a nonargument, Rei," Miyu said patiently. Her stomach clenched as she felt Rei's weak point coming on…
"You have no other reason to suspect Esora of anything!"
God's light, shine upon the truth! "I'll cut through your words!" Miyu interrupted. "I'm sorry, Rei, but I was about to get to that…" Her expression was rueful. She was irritated by Rei's interruption; it wasn't as if Rei was the only one with something to lose, after all. But she knew that what Rei had done was simply a gut-reaction, and Miyu felt bad because she knew in her heart that as well-intentioned as Rei was, she was wrong.
I make no claims yet; however, given my observation about the money and technology required to keep an operation of this caliber afloat, such power is within the hands of only a select few people. Such as the Shimizus. Surely Rei could see that. She was a Togetsu, after all, and even though the Togetsus were not in any sort of business or industry, they were another family of wealth and old money, close to the Shimizus because of their daughters' friendship. If anyone ought to understand what depths those types of people could sink to, it ought to have been Rei.
"If there is anything I can attest to, it is this," Miyu continued. "Esora and I were on cleanup duty last night, and we were some of the last to leave the kitchen when it was all over." For just a second, some of the students looked convinced, then Esora scoffed.
"My darling Miyu, I commend your conviction, though your skills in deception are woefully inadequate."
"Deception?!" Several students cried out, Haruna the first and loudest, but Esora's own rebuttal was ready, and unlike Miyu, she could back it up.
"It is true Miyu and I were part of the cleanup crew, but she left before I did, so how could she know if I went back or not?" The green-haired, green-eyed girl truly did not understand where Miyu's sudden accusations were coming from, but as she told the pink-haired, pink-eyed girl, the statement she tried to lead with was woefully inadequate, just like her ability to lie convincingly. "We, after all, were not the only ones in the cleanup crew. Others can attest that Miyu left before I!" Esora gestured to Rinku, Noa, Marika, and Aoi.
Miyu winced. Oh no! How could I have been so foolish? I forgot about the rest of the crew!
At the same time, Esora was quite smug. Nice try, sis, better luck next time! "Oh, how the tables have turned! You were the first to leave this time!"
She was referring to something before Hope's Pinnacle, even before Hope's Peak and Yoba, Arisugawa, or Seiho. In elementary division, Esora was a classmate of Lyrilily. As the years went by, though, she expressed increasing restlessness and discontent. Come middle school, she took the opportunity to jump ship and transfer to Yoba. Miyu always wondered if she was partly to blame for Esora's decision to leave. Perhaps she failed to make Arisugawa Elementary inviting enough for Esora. Or perhaps Miyu simply, secretly regretted not being braver and leaving with her.
How funny it is, then, that despite the different paths we took, fate should still reunite us here, at Hope's Pinnacle, both of them thought.
In either case, though, Esora had proven hers, for better or worse, Miyu's lie quickly sniffed out and stopped dead in its tracks.
"See? Cease your baseless accusations at once!" Rei frowned. Miyu winced again. Even though she maintained her suspicion of Esora, her delivery of her theory was so poor that she knew it would be a long time before anyone was willing to hear it again. She'd only damaged her own credibility.
"Now, now, Rei," Esora smiled. "I appreciate your protectiveness on my behalf, but I am sure that it is just a sign of grief. This is the second unit-mate they've lost in such short order, after all," she said, eyes flicking from Hapiara to Lyrilily. A look of genuine remorse flickered across her face. As Rei said, although Esora was not fond of Kurumiiko, she did not hate them, especially to the point of wanting them dead.
An awkward silence settled over the trial room, Miyu biting her lip as she wondered how many of them were staring at her, silently making mental notes to never trust her again after a clumsy, inelegant lie like that. Little did she know, though, that someone was actually mulling over her theory at that very moment. Dalia Matsuyama. Even though she did not understand why Miyu had lied, or even necessarily why Miyu suddenly went after Esora, the Ultimate Dancer had her rising suspicions too. With the awkward silence, she finally had a chance to voice them loud and clear.
Gotta be stronger! "Might have something that can help settle the matter," she began. "If you remember the cabinet we lock the knives in, and the way we take turns hiding the key each night after we're done with dinner…" While some of the students widened their eyes—Peaky looking especially nervous and confused—Dalia's eyes narrowed.
Dunno if I'll be able to sus her out properly… We're the only ones who knew about that key swap, after all. Maho can vouch that I had it at the start of the evening, but no one except Esora can vouch that I gave it to her immediately after, and why would she—?
"There we go!" Esora sounded like a long-suffering teacher whose pupils had finally given her the correct answer to something. "Yes. I was indeed the last person with the key to the knife cabinet, and I was also the person who did all of that to Kurumi's body."
…?! Again?!
Once more, one of their peers was utterly calm as she confessed to a crime.
AN: If Kurumi is Kokichi, Esora is Byakuya, LOL