Chapter 11: Trial of Mukuro Ikusaba

They were able to decipher that Monokuma is a mass-produced machine, but as they attempt to get into the principal's office, they discover a masked body in the Botanic Garden, burned beyond recognition after it explodes. The only clue to its identity is a tattoo on the right hand. And to make their troubles worse, Monokuma somehow reemerges, showing them the truth that their lives in the school were being broadcast live and he's having them hold a trial for an unknown victim. The only clues they were able to find was a wood key to a locker under Kyoko's bed, and a were of duralumin arrows in the corresponding dojo locker, along with a bloodstained strip of packing tape. With very few clues, they make their way to the trial room.

"Kirigiri… Where were you this whole time?" Naegi asked.

"The second floor dormitory." Kyoko answered. "The key I showed you was a skeleton key that open any door on campus. The details will have to wait. At the moment I'm hyper-focused on getting out of this trial alive. The odds are against me. I apologize in advance for anything I might say or do."

Class Trial
In Session!

"Okey-doke. Who wants to put their foot in their mouth first?" Monokuma asked.

"Without a doubt, the murderer is Kirigiri!" Togami accused. Everyone gasped.

"Where's your proof?!" Chloe asked.

"Point one: the body was discovered at 9 A.M." Togami began.

"Fukawa and I can vouch for that. We did find it there." Rainbow said.

"She's right. We'd gone to the garden to find a mattock for Master Togami, and hello corpse." Toko agreed.

"This establishes a timeline because we know the body wasn't there at 10 o'clock the previous night." Togami continued.

"Seems legit." Hagakure agreed. "That's when you and I checked out the gardens last."

"Then the murder occurred sometime between ten o'clock last night and nine o'clock this morning, correct?" Kyoko asked.

"Yes. Point two: parting ways with Hagakure shortly after 10 P.M., Chloe and I wandered into the gym, where we happened upon an inanimate Monokuma." Togami went on. "Within moments, I'd sent Chloe to summon the others, and we spent the entire window attempting to reverse engineer him. Meaning everyone present has an alibi. Everyone, that is, except you, Kyoko Kirigiri."

"Just for clarification, I notice no mention of Naegi, Sonic, or Luka in that scenario." Kyoko said.

"Hold on, what about the sprinkler system? The garden is watered at around 7:30 A.M. The body wasn't even wet. That means it was placed there after the sprinklers shut off." Luka said.

"That means we have an ironclad alibi, as we were with the others in the gym by then, poring over the inactive Monokuma." Sonic said.

"True. It also further restricts the timeline to between 7:30 and 9 A.M. There's an inconsistency in your account, I'm afraid: The body was in fact wet." Kyoko argued.

"Ah, yes. That. Only the top half however, and then only after we'd discovered." Togami said.

"As soon as we found the body, it burst into flames." Kagami said. "All of us, including Naegi, Sonic, and Luka, doused it, hoping to preserve the evidence.

"Indeed we did. Before that, the carcass was, except for the blood, bone dry."

"Oh my! Wet on top, and dry on bottom!" Toko swooned. "Internet Rule 34, don't fail me now!"

"Ah… So in other words, the sprinkler system had nothing to do with the body being wet." Kyoko theorized. "Still… That being said, this doesn't restrict us to between 7:30 and 9 A.M."

"What are you getting at?" Togami asked.

"Suppose the murderer covered his or her victim with a vinyl tarp. A clever misdirection." Kyoko deduced. "It also reopens our timeline to between 10 last night after you and Hagakure parted ways, and 9 A.M., when the body was found. In fact, we needn't suppose. I'm certain this is what the killer did. My own investigation uncovered such a tarp in the garden shed. Meaning… Naegi's alibi isn't so ironclad."

"Wait… Is she implying Naegi did it?!" Nino asked.

"That appears to be the case." Tails said.

"Woo-hoo, doggie! Look at lavender locks go!" Monokuma commented. "When it's balls to the wall, she don't screw around, huh?"

"Lack of alibi isn't the only factor. The choice of weapon to kill this Mukuro Ikusaba points incontrovertibly at you as well." Togami said.

"Wait, I'm not following; the weapon was a knife, wasn't it? Any of us could've used that." Knuckles said.

"The knife was a red herring… A mere decoy." Togami theorized.

"Wait… there was something about the blood that stood out." Adrien said. "If it was the stab wound that killed her, there'd be some on the ground around her."

"Exactly. The murderer spattered the lab coat prior to the deed and dressed the body to misdirect us." Togami said.

"That explains why one of the chickens was missing from the coop." Shadow said. "The blood likely was provided care of an unfortunate fowl."

"Dudes, check it out!" Hagakure said. "The Monokuma Files say the body "showed signs of blunt force trauma to the back of the head, consistent with a metal pipe or cudgel", whatever that's supposed to be. There you have it: in the garden with a lead pipe!"

"Kindly stop trying to think, please." Togami said.

"Yeah, there weren't any pipes near the crime scene." Sonic agreed. "Besides, Togami and I already discovered the potential weapon."

"It was quiver of duralumin arrows we found in a dojo locker." Togami added.

"What? Gimme a break!" Hagakure said. "Arrows are for piercing, not blunt force trauma!"

"That would be the case, if they weren't taped together to create a makeshift club." Sonic said.

"And it just so happens, the quiver of arrows in question were held together with a length of blood-spattered masking tape." Togami said. "The easy explanation? Kyoko Kirigiri is the killer!"

"Well played… There's just one problem: I've never been to the dojo." Kyoko said.

"Ah yes. Naturally you'd claim as much in your position. However, evidence refuting that claim was found in your room." Togami refuted showing her the dojo locker key. "Specifically the dojo locker's key.

"I'm being framed… you have to see that…" Kyoko told him.

"Nix the charade!" Togami shouted. "You've been pained into a corner! Confess!"

"I think not." Kyoko said. "You of everyone here should know better than to pin this on me. I recall giving you my room key. It stands to reason, does it not? Without it, I don't have access to my room."

"Is anyone else getting this strange feeling that this trial is rigged?" Alya asked.

"It appears so…" Marinette pondered. "She appears to be lying…"

"You're right… With that skeleton key, she could access her room at any time." Sunset agreed. "She told me, Shadow and Naegi outright. Why would she lie? What is she hiding?"

"I didn't imagine you care to offer us a theory as to how Naegi came to find the key to the dojo locker in your room?" Togami asked. "A reasonably vital question to satisfy, I think."

"This is ridiculous. Can't you see?" Kyoko asked. "Execute me and the school remains a mystery. I'm sorry… I cannot allow that to happen."

"I knew it!" Shadow seethed. "Monokuma's rigged the trial to work against Kirigiri!"

"There has to be a reason for holding out on us. She's worked too hard…" Sunset said.

"Yeah. To hell with that, I trust her!" Naegi said. "Kiri's not a cold-blooded killer!"

"Really? So you do nothing in your defense but stare dejectedly at the floor!" Togami said.

"Ugh! What a frigging snooze fest; get the lead out, people!" Monokuma said impatiently. "Kirigiri's the clear choice, yeah? So carpe diem! Cast your votes and send Jessica Fletcher Junior to her doom!"

"Hold on!" Naegi halted the vote.

"Yeah…?" Monokuma asked.

"I can't exactly put my finger on it… but this trial seems off." Naegi pondered.

"Really?" Monokuma asked.

"It's just… Doesn't it feel weird to anyone else that we're forced to have one when we don't even know for sure who the victim was?" Naegi asked. "I mean, come on… We ought to have more time to investigate."

"Um, hello: the victim was that Ikusaba chick." Hagakure reminded him.

"I know, but that's just an assumption, isn't it? We can't be sure yet." Sonic said.

"There ya go bringing logic into this." Hagakure said.

"Yeah. And yet, here we are, expected to make an instant decision… What gives?" Alya asked.

"You may be on to something, Alya. Monokuma!" Naegi turned his attention to the bear. "You're trying to pull one over on us, aren't you?"

"Moi? O-ho! Methinks the screechy kid doth protest too much!" Monokuma said. "You know what they say: the guiltier, the chattier." Naegi flinches from the glare. "All right! Enough farting around! Time's officially up! Debate and deliberation are over. Feel free to shut your traps. In fact, please do."

"But... we're still not done… We still need to—" Naegi tries to prolong the trial but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Calling all votes! You know how this works by now, troopers!" Monokuma declared. "Let your fingers do the talking!"

"No! Wait—" Naegi called out but he was cut off.

"It's my understanding Naegi was the one to find the locker key, yes?" Kyoko said. "Mightn't he have planted it to deflect suspicion from himself?"

"Wait… what do you mean by that?" Sunset asked.

"Wha… W-What are you saying…?" Naegi asked in shock.

"If I can't enter my room as I please… I'm afraid that's the only plausible explanation." Kyoko said.

"You mean… Naegi's the murderer?!" Luka gasped.

"That isn't true…!" Naegi said in defense.

"Less talkie, more votie!" Monokuma announced.

"Damn it, it wasn't me!" Naegi pleaded, but it was too late.

The vote came in. The machine's reels spun until they stop on Naegi's face. The machine lights up and coins spit out, indicating a correct verdict.

"This… This isn't happening… This whole trial… This whole trial is a setup!" Naegi said. He sees everyone feeling dejected. "Are you people out of your minds?! We didn't have enough time to decide! It's a sham! We're being played!"

"Button, button; who's got the button? Oh, yeah. I do! Punishment time!" Monokuma announced as the button appears and he slams it with his gavel.

GAME OVER

Makoto has been found guilty.
Time for the Punishment!

Naegi is strapped to a desk on a conveyor belt as it approaches a large compactor. Monokuma approaches him dressed as a teacher with a chalkboard showing him what will execute him.

"That thing's gonna flatten him!" Nino gasped.

"And there's nothing we can do to save him!" Sonic said.

After-School Lesson

Naegi continued to sweat as he got closer and closer to the compactor as Monokuma taught him about the cycles of life, from birth to death. He continued to breathe heavily as he got closer. But once his desk goes under, the Monokuma on the screen is replaced with Alter Ego.

"Is that… Alter Ego?!" Chloe asked.

"I thought he was destroyed!" Luka said.

As soon as Alter Ego appeared, the compactor stopped. Naegi looks at it in confusion as the conveyor keeps moving. A door in the floor opens and Naegi falls through it backwards. Monokuma watches him fall as the board is changed, showing how life can be ended, including, stabbing, drowning, clubbing, burning, etc.

"What the…? Excuse me?! Wha… What was that? What in the hell was that?!" Monokuma asked flabbergasted. The others were just as surprised.

"Did you… see what I just saw?" Asahina asked.

"I, uh… I think so, yeah." Hagakure said.

"Damn it all, I knew Naegi wasn't guilty!" Togami said.

"We… We were wrong about him…" Twilight said. Kyoko looks down dejected.

"I've been hacked… Son of a mother, I've been hacked!" Monokuma realized. "Digi-Fujisaki planted a virus when it infiltrated the network! He's made a mockery of this fine institution!" He bashed his head on the podium and chalkboard multiple times in frustration.

"I guess things don't always go according to plan." Shadow commented.

"Huh… Maybe they don't." Monokuma agreed "Then again maybe starving to death in a basement piled with rotting garbage is precisely the punishment I had in mind for the snot-nosed punk!" He started cackling.

"I hope he's going to be okay." Sonic said.

"If I know Naegi, he's tough. He'll be fine. I hope…" Alya said.

Naegi wakes up in a deep basement, surrounded by tons of garbage. "Where am I?" He asked. He then remembered what happened. "Man, that was close… Alter Ego saved me… Well, best not to waste a new lease on life!" He heads to some large doors and tries to push them open, but to no avail. "Now how do I get out of here?" He tries looking for something, but all he could find was rotten food and murky water. He looks up towards where he fell in. "If you think I'm just gonna sit on my ass waiting to die, you are sorely mistaken!" He shouts. He bundles up in some cardboard and newspaper as a makeshift bed. "Gotta… conserve my energy." He drifts off to sleep, but a loud crash jolts him awake. He sees what it was. "What… the hell…?" He sees Kyoko, Marinette, and Sonic.

"Yeah, don't help us or anything." Kyoko glared.

"Kiri! Sonic! Marinette! How'd you get here?" Naegi asked.

"You're faring better than anticipated." Kyoko said.

"Um, what are you doing?" Naegi asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We're rescuing you." Sonic said.

Naegi was amazed that Kyoko would go this far to rescue him before noticing a ramen cup on her head. "You've, uh… You got a thing on your head."

Kyoko easily knocks it off. "You need to eat." She hands him a bag. "We'll talk after."

Naegi quickly gulps down fresh water like a man possessed. "You guys are life-savers!"

"And just like that, he's back at full throttle." Kyoko said.

"Well, I don't know about all that, but… I guess being rescued does kinda put a spring in my step." Naegi said. Kyoko smiled.

"I owed it to you." Kyoko said. "It's the least we could do after throwing you under the bus to further my own agenda."

"No worries." Naegi brushed it off. "It's not like she's the one who got us into this nightmare. None of this is your fault."

"Listen… We have something to tell you about Ikusaba." Marinette said. "Kirigiri believes she was murdered in someone else's place. Yours."

"What do you mean?!" Naegi asked.

"Don't you remember?" Kyoko asked.

"That guy with the mask and the knife." Naegi remembered. "That… wasn't a dream the other night? Holy crap, you and Shadow actually saved my life!"

"Naegi… The mastermind originally intended to frame me for your murder… I was getting too close to the truth." Kyoko explained.

"So, Alya's suspicions were on the mark." Marinette agreed.

"Of course. But since you didn't kill me for some reason…" Naegi deduced.

"…he used a different body to achieve the same ends." Kyoko finished. "I've been a thorn in his side. He's been chomping at the bit for an excuse to get me out of the way before I undermine the whole system."

"You were brave enough to single yourself out… Defending her and questioning the circumstances of the trial forced the mastermind's hand: you had to go, too." Sonic said.

"Hence the sudden change of plans." Naegi realized. "Why he rushed everyone to a decision at the last minute."

"Indeed… He's falling back on cheap tricks because we've got him on the run. We're on the verge of bring down this house of cards." Kyoko said.

"But enough of that. Best course of action is to get out of here." Sonic said.

"I agree. Trouble is we're locked in." Naegi said.

Kyoko revealed the skeleton key. "Are we now?" She asked. She unlocks the door and they open it, revealing a long ladder leading out. They begin to climb out onto the ladder. Naegi slips, but he catches himself by hanging on. "Watch your step. If you fall, none of us won't be able to catch you and it's a long way down."

"Thanks." Naegi thanked her. They reach a rest point and Naegi opens his water bottle. He offers Kyoko some, but she declines.

"Hey, before we came down… Kiri told us her memories are coming back." Sonic said.

"Piecemeal… but enough to give me a decent working conception of my past." Kyoko added.

"Yeah?" Naegi asked.

"Apparently, there's a term for my skill set." Kyoko said. "In this school's particular jargon, I'm called an "Ultimate Detective."

"Detective"… seems obvious now that you say it…" Naegi said.

"I get it. Considering your talent, the mastermind sees you as a threat: you're uniquely qualified to expose him." Marinette theorized.

"Yes. It's why he brainwashed me erasing my past life." Kyoko confirmed.

"That makes sense." Sonic said. "I mean anyone who spends more than ten minutes with you can see you've got sleuthing in your blood."

"Thank you… I pinned my hopes on recruitment officers noticing that too." Kyoko said. "I busted my tail to get here. Dad left when I was little. I had this ridiculous fantasy of reuniting with him… Figured if my application crossed his desk, he'd simply have to deal with me."

"Hold it, your father's the principal!" Marinette pieced together.

"Yes." Kyoko confirmed.

"Could that be the reason you don't buy into the principal and the mastermind being one and the same?" Sonic asked.

They continue climbing until they see a trapdoor in the ceiling. The door leads to the hall where the incinerator is. "The incinerator! We made it!"

"What a climb!" Marinette said.

"Finally!" Kyoko said.

"So, now what're we supposed to do?" Naegi asked.

"We have a talk with Monokuma." Kyoko tells them.

"For realsies?! Why is he alive?!" Monokuma yelled as he is confronted by the quintet in the gym. "Do executions mean nothing?! You three saved him, didn't you? I knew this would happen!"

"Sorry, is that against the rules?" Kyoko questioned.

"I should say so, young lady! Once the turkey's trussed, there's no putting him back in the yard!" Monokuma said. "A death sentence is a death sentence! No interference will be tolerated! Back to the Death Chamber with you, Naegi!"

"Hold your horses!" Sonic spoke up. "I know it's not in my nature to speak out of turn, but… won't your viewers feel cheated if that happened?"

"Beg pardon?" Monokuma asked.

"Consider the nature of your programming… you're catering to a jaded audience as it is." Kyoko said. "I imagine they want to see you beat us fair and square."

"That's right. You keep pulling a bait-and-switch every time things look rough for your higher-ups, and the ratings are sure to eventually plummet." Marinette agreed. Monokuma flinched.

"Sorry… Dirty tricks will never persuade your viewership that hope is dead." Kyoko glared.

"Oh dear…" Monokuma said.

"Which is why we have a small proposal for you. Reopen the case for Mukuro Ikusaba. Let us hold a re-trial." Sonic suggests. "No tricks. No manipulating the outcome." Monokuma chuckled. "Think of this as the final battle, if you like… Hope vs. Despair." Monokuma laughs.

"Come now… There's no denying your audience would eat it up." Kyoko said.

Monokuma laughs. "Fascinating. "Beary" fascinating…"

"R-Really?" Naegi asked.

"I have to admit, it would be a great change of pace." Monokuma commented. "Ah, what the hell! Challenge accepted! With the caveat that we give your grand finale a little more kick. Can't just go with the whole "and the murderer is" routine, eh? No, no! An epic showdown of these proportions calls for some high stakes razzle dazzle!"

"What did you have in mind?" Marinette asked.

"Disentangle the secrets of this fine institution and I'll concede defeat… You and your surviving cohorts walk free." Monokuma said.

"And the catch?" Sonic asked.

"Fail to solve the mystery, however…" Monokuma began.

"And every last one of us, including our new friends, gets executed, naturally." Kyoko said.

"They don't call you an Ultimate Detective for nothing!" Monokuma said before laughing. "This'll be spectacular! Hope doesn't stand a snowball's chance in Hades against Despair once you rug rats know the truth!"

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched…" Marinette said. "We may have a few surprises in store."

"Yeah. The despair you keep prattling about might just be yours." Sonic glared as they start walking away.

Meanwhile, the others are in the cafeteria, lamenting on their action of convicting Naegi. "Bogus… We know damn well Naegi's not a killer." Hagakure said.

"And yet we still convicted him." Twilight said.

"But this doesn't add up. According to the rules, if we guess wrong, we die." Chloe said.

"I think it's safe to assume the rules have changed." Togami said. "To what, Heaven only knows."

They hear Naegi come in. Everyone gasps in surprise. Kyoko, Sonic, and Marinette come in as well. "I don't believe it…" Tails said in awe.

"Dude… You gotta be kidding me…" Hagakure said.

"Look, guys… It's okay. Really." Naegi said.

"We condemned you to death." Asahina said.

"Ugh! You had to put it like that! Like I don't already feel like a tool!" Hagakure said.

"Seeing as you're here, this proves we were manipulated." Shadow said.

"He's right. The mastermind wants us at each other's throats; he wants to rob us of hope." Naegi agreed. "And I'll be damned if I let him win!"

"I like the sound of that!" Asahina said.

"Cool!" Knuckles said. "That's what I want to hear!"

"For crying out loud…" Togami seethed.

"Brah, ya smell kinda ripe…" Hagakure said.

"Hey, show some respect!" Rainbow said.

"Look sharp." Kyoko said. "We have one final trial on the docket."

Everyone gasped. "What are you talking about? Why only one?" Togami asked.

"Listen: If we get to the bottom what this school's about, we all go free…" Naegi explained. "No clue how we're gonna pull it off, but… Who cares? Working together has gotta improve our chances, right?"

"Yeah!" Hagakure cheered.

"Bing-bong, bing-bonnnnng!" They hear Monokuma's announcement. "Attention, student body. "School Life of Mutual Killing" is now entering what we'll call the "True Answer Arc." No holds barred. All or nothing. To get you sniffing in the right direction, here's a pointed little puzzler: Why was the number of students inducted alive into this facility capped at thirty-two? Is there some special significance tied to that figure? No worries if you draw a blank… I'm sure the sweet hereafter is a ball."

Naegi glared at the screen, confident that the real truth of the school will be revealed, come the final trial.

To be continued…