"I'm pretty sure it's pretty clear!" Rika began smartly. "Izanami is the killer! Easiest trial ever, guys! Now, how do we vote for her?"
"Can we even vote for someone who wasn't originally on the voting menu, though?" Towa asked, tapping her PheFo confusedly.
"Oh, come on, you guys! You can't honestly think it's that simple?" Shinobu snorted and shook her head, arms crossed. She couldn't bring herself to look at Esora or Nagisa's holographic portraits. M4 was the only unit left with all of its members still intact. Damn it, Esora…
"But wh-who else could it have been?" asked Miyu timidly.
"That spear was the murder weapon! No doubt about it!" Rinku agreed, nodding frantically.
It was a solid argument, and all the other students looked like they agreed as well. Except for one. From another world, the truth whispers to me!
"No, that's wrong!" Hiiro cried, pointing at Rika. "I don't think Izanami was Aoi's killer, and Yuka, you can prove it!"
"Huh?! What?! Me?!" Yuka snapped to attention, nearly falling backward off her podium.
"I swear, your head is as empty as an unused roll of film!" Shinobu rolled her eyes.
"But I don't have anything to do with—!" Yuka began, holding out her hands and waving them pleadingly.
"I was referring to your photos," Hiiro interrupted with a wry smile.
"Oh? Oh! O-oh… Well, why didn't you just say so?" Yuka looked away, flustered. Shinobu rolled her eyes again.
"You can tell who Aoi's killer is from just a few photographs?" Dalia asked at the same time, surprised and impressed.
"Well, not exactly," Hiiro admitted. "But I can prove that Aoi's fatal wound was mortal rather than divine."
Every eye—minus Tsubaki's—turned to their PheFo, and every PheFo turned to the photo evidence gallery. Hiiro's smile was unreadable. She'd already pieced the answer together in her head, imagining her arms around Nagisa's waist as she rode on the back of the Ultimate Guitarist's motorcycle down a well-marked city street. But I want to see if the others can figure it out first… to really solidify my point!
After nearly a minute of silence, though, Muni cried out in frustration. "Oh! They were both killed by that stupid spear! So how does that prove your point, Hiiro? If anything, it disproves it! Who else had that spear except Izanami?"
"I'll give you one more hint." Hiiro tilted her head, still smiling. "Magic."
After several more seconds of puzzled silence, Yuka's blue eyes suddenly lit up. "I got it!" Both Aoi and Esora were impaled by the spear, yes, but the scars around the injuries were different. In specific, the scars on Esora were almost shiny, and red and yellow. Aoi had no such scars.
"If Izanami really killed Aoi, why wouldn't that same type of scar show up on their body the way it did on Esora's?" asked Hiiro.
Some of the students still looked skeptical. Was something as small as that really "proof" that Aoi's killer was one of them?
Hiiro sighed sympathetically. "I know, it would be easier to blame her and move on, but we have to be in this class trial either way. Might as well explore every possibility. After all, remember how much is… riding on this vote…"
Some of the students still looked skeptical, but this time because of Hiiro's word choice. Some of the others—like Shinobu—however, seemed more open to the idea. It was unpleasant, suspecting each other again, but as the Ultimate FPS Gamer had said at the very beginning of the class trial, there was no way it was really as easy as the obvious killer, the first suspect, being the final one.
ooo
"S-so… where do we begin?" Miyu asked nervously, pink gaze sweeping the trial room. She clasped her hands in front of herself as if she was praying. Oh, Haruna, Kurumi, Miiko… I'm so, so sorry… We were so close…
Hiiro again took charge of the debate. "It will be difficult, but let us do our best to estimate time of death." I want to see if we can figure out who was with Aoi last. Of course, the killer will deny it, as will those who genuinely never saw them, but we can at least cross names off the suspect list.
"Well…" Kyoko began slowly. "I think I remember hearing them, at least once… and they were calling out…" The brunette turned a rueful, mournful gaze on Aoi's two surviving unit-mates. "Calling out for you, Tsubaki, and Hiiro…" Hiiro's calm, half-smile faded and Tsubaki winced.
Of course, Aoi. Of course your downfall was your big heart. Oh, why, WHY?! Why couldn't they have just stayed safe and saved themself for once?!
"And do you remember, Kyoko, approximately how long after the start of the blackout this was?" Hiiro asked delicately, painfully.
"I could guess." Kyoko tapped the brim of her cap apologetically. "All I know is that I'm pretty sure it happened after Yuka went down."
Yuka winced and reflexively rubbed her back, but before she could speak, Maho interjected. "That must've been around the middle of the fight, then, because I remember that!" She'd resumed her position as the honorary third of the Muscle Trio, trying valiantly to hold Izanami off. "But… I remember being alone at that point in time… Dalia, where did you go?"
"Ah, sorry, Maho," Dalia winced. "Not my proudest moment, but, got spooked and… well… ran away…"
"Awww, Dalia's scared of ghosts?! Awww! Gap moe!" Towa squealed. Dalia winced again while several others gave Towa a wary look.
"A-anyway… If Aoi was calling out for their unit-mates, do either of you ever remember seeing them?" Saori asked gently, trying to steer the conversation back on track, though it was on rather rough waters. The looks on Tsubaki and Hiiro's faces already answered the question.
"Unfortunately not…" Hiiro winced again. "But Kyoko, if you could pinpoint what direction it sounded like Aoi was running, that might help us further narrow down who they were last with."
"Well…" Kyoko touched her chin and furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure I was still facing the V4-VR, and it sounded like Aoi was behind me, and their voice was getting quieter, though it wasn't by much." She sighed and shook her head, expression again apologetic.
"Well, that at least helps us know that Aoi made it out of the VR lab," Hiiro continued. Kyoko's clues were more invaluable than she realized. Based on the timing of it all—approximately when Yuka went down—they could figure out who was and wasn't in the lab, which narrowed down who Aoi could've run into. "This is a difficult question, but who remembers what they did and who they saw after fleeing the VR lab?"
Stumbling through alibis, suspicion eventually landed on Rika. "I… think I was… still somewhere on the third floor," she said slowly, tapping her chin, one eye drifting shut. "Couldn't tell you when, exactly, I just know that it was definitely a while after the whole Yuka thing. Aoi ran into me, but unfortunately, we lost each other again when Izanami came rampaging through. Man! That girl knows how to PARTY! But anyway, next Marika ran into me, and she said she and several others were trying to help everyone get outside, so I joined 'em!"
"That's right! By that point, Saori and Marika had already managed to locate and rescue Hapiara, Towa, and Miyu. We were just missing RONDO and Peaky," Marika nodded.
"Wow, Rika, isn't this like the second time you organized search-and-rescue parties?" Rinku asked admiringly as the realization dawned on her.
"Just call me… Rika the Rescuer!" Rika joked, hands on her hips. But one student was not so entertained.
"Don't insult me!" Tsubaki growled, speaking for the first time since the trial began. "How do we know that Rika isn't the killer?"
"Ts-Tsubaki?" Rika asked softly, rearing back in horror and disbelief.
"You were the last one who saw her alive, right?" Tsubaki continued to push. "Seems pretty suspicious if you ask me…" Part of the reason she'd been silent for so long was because she was observing everyone more closely than she ever had before. And based on the testimonies they'd heard so far, chronologically, the last person to see Aoi alive was… I got it! The killer is… YOU! Rika Seto, Ultimate Volleyballer.
Hiiro and several others eyed Tsubaki worriedly, but she raised a reasonable, albeit uncharacteristic, objection. It was time for a showdown.
"Tsubaki… I can't believe you'd suspect me! After everything we've been through together!" Rika pleaded, clasping her hands together, eyes wide.
"As I've said before, you were the last one who saw Aoi, were you not?" Tsubaki was insistent, arms crossed and eyes steely and sharp like a blade.
"But like I've said before, we were separated because of Izanami!"
"That could've easily been a cover story!"
"But what cause would I have to kill Aoi?"
"Maybe it was just because they were an easy target! Aoi would've never raised a hand against a friend…"
"But, Tsubaki, nor would I have!" Rika pleaded, but Tsubaki seemed dead set in her convictions.
Then, it was Marika who came to the rescue. Marika will model the truth for you!
"Now, now, Tsubaki, keep in mind what we discussed earlier. Aoi was killed by that spear. Not only did Rika never have it, as far as I know, she should've had at least some blood on her, and I don't remember seeing any! You may argue that it was dark, but by the time we met, there was a hole in the wall because of Izanami and I was able to see her in the moonlight. There's no way she could've changed her clothes that fast! Plus, remember, she was part of the rescue team again. If she'd been bloody, and if you can't trust Marika, surely someone else would've said something by now!"
Tsubaki grunted and winced in pain, hands clenching into fists as she looked away, teeth grit. Damn it! She's right…
"Whew, Marika, close shave! Thanks for saving my butt back there!" Rika flashed her bestie a big wink and big thumbs up. "But, Tsubaki, why were you so sure it was me?" she asked a moment later, pained expression returning.
"Because you were the last person who saw Aoi…" Tsubaki repeated, anguished, and then it occurred to Rika, maybe Tsubaki wasn't speaking purely from logic. Was she perhaps jealous, or guilty, that Rika was the only one who got to hear what might've been Aoi's last words?
As much as Tsubaki hated to admit it, Rika was dead right. Tsubaki had indeed gotten too wrapped up in her own emotions and forgot to consider those of others. Maybe from one angle, Rika could look guilty, but what motive did she have to murder? And as Monochio said all the way back in Stage I, evidence was important, but so was being a good judge of character. After all, even though Rika seemed to be the last one who saw Aoi alive, they had yet to confirm it beyond a shadow of a doubt. As Hiiro noted before, the true killer wouldn't reveal if, or when, they saw Aoi, and for obvious reason. This round of process of elimination was not meant to determine the guilty, but the innocent. Speaking of innocent…
ooo
"Hey! M-maybe we're looking at this the wrong way?" Saori suddenly interjected. She'd watched Tsubaki accuse Rika long enough. Thank God Marika spoke up so quickly! If only I could think as fast as the others… Ugh… I just get so nervous! And then my brain goes blank! But… But… Not this time! C'mon, Hidaka, you got this! Just… speak up! You can do it! Now, all eyes were on her. Gulp!
"Aww, Saori, did you want to protect me?" At first, Rika looked surprised, then she clasped her hands together and squealed. Tsubaki rolled her eyes, looking away with a scoff, but those closest to her saw her face and shoulders droop as she hugged herself again. She already regretted trying to throw Rika under the bus, but it was exactly as Rika thought. Tsubaki was jealous and angry. Jealous that Aoi and Rika managed to find each other rather than her, and angry that Rika hadn't been able to save Aoi.
If it had been ME, I never would've let them go… Even if Izanami and Izanagi had both appeared before her and Aoi, Tsubaki would've given everything to stay with Aoi. Either their souls would unite in death, or would unite in life. But this separation was not supposed to be how the story ended. She even thought back to the legend. When Izanagi succeeded in finding his other half in the afterlife, he'd fled in terror at her ugliness because of the decomposition and decay. The thought alone filled Tsubaki with disgust and disdain for Izanagi.
"I guess, what I'm trying to say is… how did Aoi even get up to the roof anyway?" Saori finally found her voice.
"Well… I would postulate that the killer dragged them there, would they have not?" Miyu tapped her chin, eyes drifting upward as she pondered.
"Y-yes…" Saori sounded embarrassed and frustrated that she could not find the words to be more concise and clear. "But who could've done it?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Tsubaki muttered darkly under her breath, still hugging herself, eyes glued to her podium handrail.
"No, I mean, hear me out! Not everyone would be capable of something like that…"
It was Rika who understood first. Time to serve up some truth and justice! "I agree with that!" She pointed at Saori, finger nearly touching the other girl's nose. Saori only gave her a puzzled stare. Why did Rika have to be so extra? What audience was she performing for? "I think I get what you're trying to say, Saori! Only someone super big and buff and strong would've been able to do it, right?" she continued eagerly.
In the time it took Saori to stumble over her words, struggling to find the right ones, Rika figured it out faster. Not only did she know Saori super well, but she imagined a board full of words and the game involved finding the correct ones. It was like a word-search or crossword puzzle, complete with clues and everything! And she knew she was on the right track when, as she mentally circled more and more words in the correct order and rotated the puzzle around in her mind, a sentence was spelled out, blazing a trail through all the other extra words she could ignore.
At last, she had her answer. As Saori said, not every student would be physically capable of a murder like this.
"W-wait, are you suspecting me?!" Yuka panicked, raising her arms as if she was shielding her face again.
"N-no, of course not!" Saori waved her hands as well, looking equally panicked and apologetic. "I just mean that, well, think about it! To carry someone as tall as Aoi all the way up to the roof? I don't think someone like me, Muni, Towa, Miyu, or Shinobu could've pulled that off…"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Muni pouted and crossed her arms.
"Uhh, Muni, isn't that something you should be happy about?" Towa asked nervously, tapping the tips of her fingers together uncertainly.
"Ohh, but Saorin is right, isn't she?" Marika covered her mouth in surprise. "Only someone of great physical strength or height would've been able to do something like that! Especially assuming they had no accomplices! So…" Who among them were some of the tallest surviving students?
AN: Another "new minigame", a word-search/crossword, except you'd have to find the words in order to figure out that you were on the right path, and they would ultimately spell out a long, winding sentence which is the clue needed to get to the next part of the trial.