"Wh-WHAT?!" Rei raised her hands to her face again. "Please! Say this is not true! Esora?!"

"Rei. She could be lying, you know?" Maho sighed, not eager to see another rebuttal showdown so soon after the first.

"Right." Shinobu nodded sharply, eyes narrow. "Enough of this. I'm ending it here and now!" She turned her scowl on Esora. "I'm not in the mood for Kurumi 2.0, so unless you can prove that you're her killer, I ain't buyin' it!"

"But Shinobu, we did prove it," Saori said softly. "The knives and keys, remember?"

"No, we only proved that she stabbed Kurumi's body, not that she killed Kurumi," Shinobu interrupted. "Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely beating Esora's ass after this trial is over, but… she won't be the one I vote for… if you catch my drift," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, Shinobu, you'll beat me?" Esora teased, puffing out her lips and batting her emerald eyes seductively.

"Don't say it like that! I meant I'll rip your ass a new one!" The shorter girl shook her fist at the taller.

"I… don't know if that wording is much better," Hiiro touched her face and tilted her head, chuckling in mild concern.

"Whatever! My point is! Obviously what Esora did was fucked up, and I'm not kidding about beating her up after this trial, but that's the thing! This trial has to end first!" Shinobu enunciated every word, trying to get her idiot peers to get it. She wasn't trying to steer the conversation away from Esora to protect her, but because they had pretty good evidence that her "confession" was just a lie. They could punish her for that later! But none of it would mean anything if they failed to identify Kurumi's true killer before the trial time limit ran out.

"I agree with Shinobu," Kyoko finally said, having watched the entire debate with an unreadable expression. The moment Miyu started accusing Esora, it was Kyoko's gut instinct to rush to her friend and unit-mate's aid, but Rei got there before Kyoko did, and the results of that rebuttal showdown were not pretty. But then Esora exposed Miyu as a liar moments later, and yet she was still behaving very suspiciously, so Kyoko wasn't sure who to trust anymore, except…

"I definitely do not approve of what Esora did either, but the only way we're going to find anything out is if we keep moving forward!"

"Wait, one more question first, please!" Yuka held out a hand before turning to Esora again. "Why?"

Esora's face softened. "I wanted to trick the killer," she admitted quietly. It was ludicrous enough to earn her several disbelieving scoffs, but she held her ground. She was up early to have the key to the knife cupboard ready for the morning cook, but she admitted to sneaking onto the second floor out of curiosity, even though they'd all agreed yesterday that they would be far more careful and organized about searching for Implememor-Es.

It was during that brief skim that Esora poked her head into the computer lab and saw Kurumi's corpse. Of course, the sight sent her into a shock, and a panic, but she managed to calm down quickly and it occurred to her that if she could tamper with the evidence, perhaps she could surprise the killer out of hiding. At the very least, they would likely be one of the most fervent supporters of the idea that the knives were the true cause of death, and why? Because if they supported Esora's falsified crime scene, that obscured their story even more.

"Alas…" Esora sighed ruefully as she turned her wincing gaze on Noa. Her deception was discovered all too soon.

"But Esora, to do something so cruel…?" Rei whimpered. "I… forgive me, but it almost seems… profane, and perverse." The Ultimate Pianist was not alone in such sentiments. Miyu and Ibuki felt it as well, two of the most spiritual students of the class. But of course, a student did not need to be spiritual or religious to be disgusted by Esora's actions.

"Hmm. I thought it unusual Kurumi was discovered in the dining hall," Haruna murmured, stroking her chin. When some of the students gave her inquisitive stares, she obliged to answer. "My assumption was that the Implememor-Es had something to do with all of this, so to find her in the dining hall rather than the second floor surprised me, though now we know why," she turned a dry, bitter smile on Esora. You and I were classmates and childhood friends too, were we not? Was this type of evil always inside of you? Or did it fester? How long?

Unfortunately, as much as any of them may have liked to keep interrogating Esora, she had them deadlocked. She was suspicious, yes, and had confessed to something borderline evil, even if for an allegedly good cause. But Esora was not the killer, so…

"What should we talk about next?" Rika asked.

"Well, I would like to talk about the motive," Haruna said. "That is… the memories." She turned rueful brown eyes on the three survivors of Photon.

"Don't worry," Ibuki chuckled darkly. "We know we look suspicious. It was on our minds ever since…" They were far from the only ones. Like Dalia with the knife and key, the survivors of Photon were certain they would've had to start the trial. Well, better late than never, I guess…

"Do you have any ideas?" the Ultimate Chairman asked, tone reserved and polite, but brown eyes hopeful and attentive.

"She didn't tell us anything suspicious." Ibuki shook her head regretfully. As Noa and Towa could confirm, Saki spoke only of Kaito Mamota. "We have no doubt she saw something that drove her to do what she did, but she intentionally hid it from us. She didn't even seem troubled after seeing her Implememor-E, and I was right in front of her the entire time she used it."

God, how was I not more suspicious?! I should've asked for more details the moment Saki tried to tell me that there was nothing exciting in her Implememor-E. She's always been shy, quiet, and a little unemotional, yes, but she is a curious student. For her to be so brief about someone she claimed to remember fondly? I should've known something else was on her mind that wasn't Kaito!

All of Photon was careful to stay close together after Saki's execution, so the thought that any of them could've snuck off alone at night was laughable. Unless the class wanted to believe that all three of them were staying silent about something. The odds seemed low. For one, their guards were genuinely down in light of Saki's death. For another, especially with Noa, there was no way she would help Kurumi's killer get away with it.

"Even if it was my own unit-mates!" she cried, hands clenched into fists. "Leader or not, Ibuki isn't any better than me!" There was another reason Noa wasn't willing to lie for Ibuki, but she had the good sense not to say it. She was mad at Photon's leader for Saki's death. Even though Noa knew it wasn't Ibuki fault, she couldn't help but feel a little resentful and bitter anyway. "I wouldn't stick up for Towa either, because I already am pretty sure I saw her doing something sus earlier…" Noa added, closing an eye and tapping a temple.

"Daaaamn, dude!" Towa recoiled. Straight under the bus! Even Ibuki hadn't been called out like that! #favortism, right?

"In the name of Kurumi and Saki, I will seek justice no matter where it may lie!" Noa cried, raising a fist as one tear slid down her cheek. Little did she know, she actually was carrying out one of Saki's last wishes. When Noa and Towa first reunited with Saki and Ibuki, Saki noticed that Towa was lying when she said she and Noa didn't find anything. Saki hadn't questioned it then, but now Noa could. "You found it, didn't you, Towa?"

"Wh-what?! N-no!" Towa chuckled nervously, hands flying behind her back as if she was hiding something.

"Towa. I'm the Ultimate Theater Actress," Noa smiled grimly. By then, though, even those with no acting experience could tell Towa was lying.

"Yeah, I was today-years-old when I stopped thinking that Rei was the world's worst liar!" Muni deadpanned.

"Really?" Rei looked flattered, and then guilty.

"Wait, why am I the suspicious one?!" Towa yelped, raising her hands to her face in alarm.

"Because you keep doing that." Esora couldn't help but smirk dryly at her.

"You're one to talk!" Towa snapped back. "Besides! It's totally normal to suddenly get stage fright when you have to do public speaking!"

"Some Ultimate Idol you are!" Noa couldn't help but snicker.

"Noa! This is no laughing matter!" Towa shrieked again.

Miyu watched the proceedings silently, biting her lip. No, I simply cannot believe that someone like Towa is the killer. But there HAS to be a way to prove it. What is she hiding from us…? Even if it is something irrelevant to the case, it is only making her look more suspicious to deny it so vehemently… But obviously, pressuring her is a useless endeavor, and will only generate more resistance. I must have decorum and caution…

"Listen, Towa, we don't think you're the murderer…"

"Well, good!"

"But there are still a few questions we want to ask. I'm sorry if this sounds like an accusation, but, it seems to me that you're hiding something."

"Hiding something?!"

"We just want to know what you saw in your memories, that's all."

For a moment, there was only tense silence, then Towa's protesting became even worse. "It's… it's… it's nothing! Nothing important!"

If that's true, then why so much hesitation?

"It's nothing at all!"

Then just tell us! Please!

"Wh-why? Why are you suspecting me anyway?!"

Because you're acting really suspicious! If you truly have nothing to hide, then prove it! Please!

"This feels like a targeted attack!"

It's not, I promise! I just want to know the truth…

"I'm not hiding anything!"

No, I believe you on that, but…

Miyu felt horrible and guilty for pressuring Towa so, but she running out of options. The longer this senseless back-and-forth went back and forth, the worse it would make all of them look, as well as wasting precious time on what might've been a trivial matter! At last, Miyu decided to tug at the heartstrings and play an emotional card. It felt a little like a cheat card, but it was her ace-in-the-hole.

"Please, Towa, we're doing this for you! To clear your name! Because we need to find out who really did this… For Kurumi's sake!"

"H-huh…?" Towa was genuinely caught off guard by Miyu's gentle, pleading tone. Sh-she's… Not being accusatory at all…

For a moment, her green eyes widened, but a moment later, she became wary again. W-wait… No! She's trying to tug on my heartstrings!

But it was already too late. Her heartstrings were tugged. Shoulders slumping in defeat, she sighed. "I wasn't hiding anything important… Does being the Ultimate Luck somehow mean you can read minds?" she asked, closing an eye and touching her cheek as she thought.

"Way to out yourself, Towa," Noa deadpanned with a sigh, shrugging.

"It's just… there was one, small, tiny, little, little thing in my memories that I… I have yet… yet to… yet to… yet to tell anyone about." Towa twiddled her thumbs. Ibuki and Noa looked genuinely surprised, but Towa forged on. "The truth is… I lied to all of you about my Talent…"

"W-wait, so you're actually not an Ultimate Idol?!" Muni cried.

The members of Peaky exchanged secretive glances. Muni isn't the only one who's surprised. Ibuki and Noa don't seem to have known either. Perhaps the theory that unit-mates remembered one another's Talents was false…?

"It actually started… even before Hope's Peak…" Towa said. Sayaka Maizono was a famous idol and popstar even before her high school years, and as a big fan of all things idol, Towa knew everything about her.

Ohhh! To think! I'll be senpai to one of my oshiis one day! Towa all but swooned at the idea, but as Sayaka would come to prove, she was actually very kind and caring and human. She was not perfect, sometimes a little out of touch with the common man as all celebrities were, but Towa found it endearing, because her kindness was real in spite of it all. Sayaka had gap moe, so it was cute to Towa rather than bothersome.

In one of their deeper conversations, Towa confessed that her ultimate dream was to one day be an Ultimate Idol herself because she wanted that lifestyle of spreading dreams, smiles, and hope across the globe. Sayaka was even one of the very idols that inspired this dream in Towa, which was yet another reason she was so enthusiastic to have the other blue-haired performer as an underclassman. Sayaka, for her part, was incredibly sweet supportive about it all, even to the point of asking Towa what her plans were for idoldom. It was then that Towa confessed to Sayaka what she was about to confess to the rest of her class.

"I'm… not actually the… Ultimate Idol…"

"Then what are you?" Ibuki and Noa breathed, shaking their heads in amazement. This was the first time they were hearing any of this!

"The Ultimate Idol… Enthusiast." Yep. That's right. That's how Towa got into Hope's Peak. It was just as crazy to her as anyone, but apparently, obsessing over idols could be a Talent, and it was Towa's. Some of the students started to laugh. "H-hey! It's not funny!" Towa pouted.

"And here I thought you would've been the Ultimate Crepe Enthusiast," Noa laughed despite herself. Towa gave her a pleading look. This was why she hadn't told anyone sooner! Miyu, however, came to her rescue.

"Oh, Towa, is that all? I'm so sorry for all the undue pressure we put you under! And I'm sorry you didn't feel that you could be honest with us from the beginning! Although I understand your hesitancy, I assure you that I do not judge!" Miyu dipped her head politely.

"Well, there you go, the whole story," Towa sighed, shoulders still slumped.

"Yes, Towa, thank you, and… I'm sorry again that I forced it out of you," Miyu sighed.

"No, I get it, you were just doing your job." Towa managed to give Miyu a small, friendly smile and it nearly made Miyu cry in relief.

Oh, Towa, you have no idea how happy I am that you aren't mad at me! Sadly, they were no closer to a killer now than at the start of the trial.

AN: Sorry it's not the best, but trying to conceptualize a BTB/PTA in this fic involves me having the accused character shout one-liner protests (like in a canon DR game), and the italics are the thoughts of the character fighting them as they move closer and closer to the clue that acts as the final blow in a BTB/PTA.