Those of us that were in the storage room are the last to pass through the red door Monokuma directed us to.
Now, there's nothing for us to do but wait for the doors to the hopefully functional elevator to open.
"Fun fact," Hakuma starts and mimes typing on a keyboard to Mikasa. "Did you know that with improper typing posture, you may develop a repetitive strain injury that damages your muscles, tendons or nerves? And then you'll be in an insurmountable amount of pain for the rest of your life because most of these types of injuries have no cure? The most common type is carpal tunnel!"
Mikasa frowns as she looks down at her hands. "Repetitive…strain…injury…?" she repeats, sounding uneasy.
Kaguya fiddles with her umbrella. "That doesn't - that doesn't sound very 'fun'..." she mumbles.
"He gets that a lot." Aria yawns. "Hakuma, don't make people even more uncomfortable than they already are." she scolds. "We need to be at our best if we want to solve Mitsuki's murder and make it past today."
"That was even that bad! Now if you want a really fun fact-"
"No."
Yuuji nods sagely. "I don't have any intention of dying today," he agrees with Aria. "I mean, I haven't even gotten to finish my ultimate passion project!"
"Me either." Rui pouts. " Like, aside from dying, obviously, it'd suck if we fail here, y'know?" she says and Yuuji continues nodding in agreement.
Jotaro flexes his arms in an attempt to seem intimidating (I mean, his stature is intimidating but his personality cancels it out). "I'll just fight off anyone that tries to hurt us!" he says and strikes another pose.
Kite frowns. "Isn't that against the rules…?" he wonders.
No one answers him.
Min scoffs and examines her nails. "If we die here just know that it totally wasn't my fault." she says. "I did what you guys asked me to." Min says haughtily.
Katashi glares at her. "And you did a shitty job of it."
"I did a pretty job? Thank you, Katashi!"
"That is absolutely not what I said-"
Kikuo sighs and puts a hand on Katashi's shoulder, shaking his head.
Katashi grumbles and shrugs Kikuo's hand off.
See? Even a guy like Katashi can't say anything mean to Kikuo! He's such a good kid.
It would be a shame if anything bad happened to him…
…
…
…
Sorry, got lost in thought there for a second.
Takagi moves to stand in front of the elevators, facing the rest of us. "Discount me was-" he shakes his head and sighs. Takagi crosses his arms, standing in a commanding position. He grimaces, "The Ultimate Bard-" Takagi chokes out as if that were the hardest thing he's ever had to say and continues, "-was not one of my court and she was a poor imitation of my magnificence, but she did not deserve to die." he says. "As the Ultimate Villain and your supreme leader, I will discover the identity of her killer and save my loyal minions from unjust execution."
Shion and Sumire start to look a bit shaken up again at the mention of Mitsuki.
See, I have an explanation for this, as I've been trying to tell you. I keep getting interrupted for some reason - almost as if some unknown force is saying it's not time to go through a character arc with the twins.
Anyways, the reason why is because the sight of Mitsuki being crushed under all of-
"Yeah, come on guys," Ryoji says. "Let's be more positive like Takagi!" he says rather loudly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Damn it.
Sachiko looks at me. "Are you ready for this, Tatsumi?" she asks.
I hope so.
Someone in this room - albeit by accident - killed Mitsuki in an attempt to kill someone else.
Monokuma's voice resounds throughout the room before I have a chance to reply to Sachi: "Upupupu… Is everyone here? Okay then…" he says. "Please board the elevator in front of you, which will transport you to the courtroom where all your fates will be decided. Puhu. I'll meet you all down there. I'll be waiting…" Monokuma says ominously and when the sound of the speakers cuts out, there's a loud, unsettling creak from the elevator before the doors slide open by themselves.
We all exchange a weary look.
Hakuma walks into the elevator all too cheerfully. "Well, better to die instantly from falling to our deaths-"
A few faces in the room wince.
"-than whatever brutal execution we might face if we don't figure out who offed Mitsuki!" he says.
Jotaro contemplates it for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Smart thinking, Hakuma!" he says and follows Hakuma into the elevator.
The boys of the Milk Tea Crowd have to push a reluctant Shion and Sumire into the elevator and soon enough, everyone else follows suit until it's just me and Sachi.
Sachi gives me a look. "Scared?" she asks simply.
I shake my head. "No…that's not the right word exactly." I say.
Sachiko scrutinizes me for a moment before speaking again, "You're a smart guy, Tatsumi…observant. You make it your hobby to find information." she says. "A lot of people are going to be looking to you to solve this - all of these mysteries. Can you handle it?"
Can I?
…
Well, I have to, don't I?
I nod at Sachi. "Everyone saved me from being executed when we first got here." I say. "If I don't save everyone here, that would've been a waste of yours and their efforts, right?"
And what kind of fanboy would I be if I just let sixteen amazing Ultimates die here and don't get justice for another?
The elevator ride down to the trial room is a dark one.
…
…
…
…
…
Creeeeaaak!
"Ack - Sh-Shion - Sumire - you're crushing me-!"
"Who just jumped into my arms?"
"Ooof…my balls…"
"R-Rui?"
"Hehe, sorry!"
"Whoever's breathing on my neck has two seconds to stop before I make you the second body."
"Guys, isn't this so much fun-?"
CREAK!
"Ch-Choking-"
"Ha! Just like Mitsuki!"
"...Too soon, man. Too soon."
Fortunately and unfortunately, we reach the trial room unharmed. When the doors slide open, we're met with the same first trial room that was used in the Killing School Life: blue wallpaper, red curtains, black and white tile, the whole shebang.
"Nyohoho! You've finally arrived!"
We all turn towards the sound of that ungodly voice to find Monokuma standing on his throne. He laughs again, "What do you think? Doesn't it feel just like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie set, right!?"
Yuuji scoffs. "Don't be ridiculous." he says and waves Monokuma off. "I can appreciate the callback to the Killing School Life-"
You can what the what to what?
"-by reusing the same set as their first trial but a real Hollywood movie set would never-" Yuuji starts but Monokuma interrupts him.
"Okay, okay, everyone find your assigned seats and sit down!"
Yuuji grumbles under his breath.
"Hurry up now, hurry up!" Monokuma urges as we trudge to our 'seats'.
The seats are arranged exactly like they were in the Killing School life - all of us facing each other in a giant circle, set up so that everyone can see everyone else. However, a noticeable difference between the testimonies of Headmaster Naegi and his fellow survivors and what I'm seeing now is the lack of a portrait for the deceased, Mitsuki.
Interesting.
Continuing from my right is:
Ryoji,
Sachiko,
Sumire,
Shion,
Takagi,
Kikuo,
Katashi,
Min,
Kite,
Jotaro,
Rui,
Yuuji,
Aria,
Kaguya,
An empty space that I assume would've gone to Mitsuki,
Mikasa,
And Hakuma on my right.
You know, something seems vaguely familiar about all this…
Like, aside from what we know of the testimonies of the survivors and everything that was broadcasted by Junko Enoshima. Something about this is just giving me really weird déjà vu…
Oh well.
TRUTH BULLETS
Monokuma File - The victim is Mitsuki Hanataro. The body was discovered in the Gymnasium. The estimated time of death is 21:23. Her body was crushed and her torso and left leg were impaled by broken pieces of wood. The cause of death is hemopneumothorax. A bit of blood beneath the body is smeared slightly, almost like a trail.
Loose Screws - A handful of brand new screws were found behind a box of hats.
Yuuji's Film - Yuuji, with a bit of help from Jotaro, created the film set that collapsed on Mitsuki from scratch. He said he was regularly checking the film set to make sure everything was in order and would notice if even a single screw was missing from his set.
Yuuji's Account - The last time Yuuji checked on his set was this morning to be sure no one messed with it overnight.
Film Set - At least ten stage weights were attached to the set. Each one weighs around thirty pounds so not counting all the slabs of wood, that's already three hundred pounds keeping Mitsuki pinned down.
Katashi & Sachiko's Report - According to Katashi and Sachiko, the smear of blood beneath Mitsuki's body was due to her trying to pull herself free. There were marks on the floor underneath her fingers and dark marks on each of those fingers. Mitsuki did not die instantly and likely suffered before she died. There was also something stuck in her hand that they were unable to get out.
Tatsumi's Account - Mitsuki went to Tatsumi's room to ask if they were on friendly terms and the subject of Yuuji came up. After that, she went looking for Yuuji.
Yuuji's Actors - Yuuji has worked with Tatsumi, Shion, Min, Takagi, and Mitsuki so far on the film he was attempting to make.
Storage Room - There were no tools of any sort to be found in the storage room.
"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial!" Monokuma says cheerfully. "So, your votes will determine the re-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know how it goes, bear." Min says.
Katashi crosses his arms. "I'm inclined to agree with the only smart thing the cheerleader's ever said." he says dryly. "Must we listen to your spiel?"
Kaguya raises a tentative hand. "I-I would like to hear everything." she says. "Just to - just to be sure we're all o-on the same p-page." Kaguya says. "Th-That's the only way we're going to g-get justice for Mitsuki."
There's a chorus of agreements and disagreements before the opposing side lets up and allows Monokuma to continue.
"As I was saying," Monokuma clears his throat, glaring at us. "Your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out 'whodunnit' then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one…"
We all die.
"...then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate!" Monokuma says gleefully. "And no, you can't talk your way out of this one."
Kaguya raises her hand again.
Damn, she's really into this justice 'all criminals are bad' thing, huh?
"J-Just to be clear…the one who killed Mitsuki really is one of us?"
"Yes ma'am, Miss Weather Lady!" Monokuma confirms and leans back on his throne. "That about does it for the preamble. Any other questions? No? Grrrreat! Get ready to get started!" Monokuma says. "First up is the case summary. Now, let the class trial…begin!"
TRIAL START!
"So…" Sumire starts. "How exactly do we do this?" she asks.
Sachiko frowns, thinking. "Kaguya had a point: we all need to be on the same page if we want to figure out who killed Mitsuki." she says. "Nobody has any questions about the manner of her death, correct?"
Nobody speaks up.
"Good. Then-"
"Actually, I don't really get it."
Everyone turns towards the sound of the voice.
Kite frowns. "But…weren't you there when the autopsy was happening…?" he asks, confused.
Jotaro scratches his head. "Yeah, but like, I still don't get it. Sachi and Katashi were using a buncha words I don't understand." he says.
Katashi and Sachiko look like they're seconds away from climbing over the trial stands and making a second dead body out of Jotaro.
"I explained what hemopneumothorax means." Katashi says, sounding pained. "What is there for you to be confused about?"
Jotaro cocks his head to the side. "Well…"
Nonstop Debate
"Mitsuki was crushed to death, right?" Jotaro asks.
"Not in the sense you're thinking she was, but being crushed did lead to her death, yes." Sachiko says.
Jotaro frowns. "So if she was crushed by the set, how is that murder?"
"Uh…" Ryoji scratches the back of his head. "Because Monokuma announced it to be one?"
"But shouldn't that be considered an accident?" Jotaro wonders.
Rui tilts her head to the side. "Are you trying to say it was a wrong place-wrong time kind of thing? Like, it just so happened to collapse while she was under it?" she asks.
"Yeah!" Jotaro nods. "Like, Yuuji probably didn't plan the set correctly or something." he says.
Yuuji frowns. "I take offense to that."
"He does raise a good point," Mikasa says. "What if it was an accident?"
Truth Bullet: Loose Screws, FIRED!
"Contradiction!"
BREAK!
I shake my head. "There's no way it was an accident." I say. "There wouldn't be a trial if it was and," I pull the loose screws Aria, Ryoji, and I found backstage from my pocket. "These wouldn't have been hidden backstage." I say. "The stage was obviously rigged."
"So no one was waiting on top of the set to crush Mitsuki?" Jotaro asks.
Sachiko shakes her head.
Jotaro blinks. "Oh. Okay." he nods. "Carry on."
Dear God. I think to myself, looking at Katashi's and Sachi's angry expressions.
Sachiko pinches the bridge of her nose and returns her attention to the group. "Let's continue with seeing what everyone found on their own separate investigations." she says and looks at me. "Pay attention, Tatsumi."
Right.
It's us or the blackened.
I have to find Mitsuki's killer.
"Rui, Kaguya, and I were investigating the cafeteria to see if there was anything there…" Mikasa starts.
"And then I got thirsty…" Kaguya trails off, recalling the memory.
Mikasa looks pointedly at Rui. "And then Rui got very thirsty." she says.
Rui smiles innocently.
Mikasa sighs. "But we didn't find anything." she says.
Takagi grumbles under his breath before putting his hands on his hips. "The Ultimate Spymaster, Ultimate Advisor, and I were investigating the school area before I had to detour to the privy chamber," he explains.
Kite nods. "There was nothing important anywhere there," he says.
"But," Shion starts. "We did go to Mitsuki's room." she says and frowns. "It looks like her lock was automatically disengaged when she…" Shion trails off.
"Did you find anything?" Katashi prods.
"Just her toolkit." Kite shrugs.
Hakuma crosses his arms. "Her toolkit?" he asks.
A few faces, including my own, start to look confused.
"Why would she have a toolkit?" Aria wonders.
Kikuo tilts his head to the side.
Sumire glances at the Ultimate Flautist. "Kikuo wants to know why an Ultimate Shadow Play Performer would have a toolkit in the first place." she translates.
Jotaro looks at the pair curiously. "He didn't even sign anything to you. How do you know that's what he wanted to say?"
"We all speak Kikuo." Kite, Takagi, Shion, and Sumire say in unison.
Kikuo merely smiles behind his mask.
"Anyways," Kite says. "Why do you all seem so confused? Didn't you investigate your rooms when we first got here?" he asks.
Ah, not really. I was too excited by the corkboard in my room…
Nonstop Debate
Katashi frowns. "I investigated my room thoroughly and I'll tell you right now, I did not find a toolkit…"
Shion sucks her teeth, "I didn't have a toolkit either but I did have a bunch of pink weights in my room." she says and grumbles, "I don't even like pink…could've been red or blue-"
Jotaro raises his hand quickly. "I had blue weights in my room!"
Sumire quickly speaks before Shion can open her mouth: "I didn't really look around my room all that much." she says with an apologetic smile. "They gave me a bunch of makeup and beauty products so I've been a bit distracted with those."
Hakuma taps his chin. "If two athletes were given a set of weights and a talent in the arts was given a toolkit…" he thinks out loud.
Takagi gasps and points a dramatic finger at Yuuji. "Ultimate Cavalry Captain, you also have a talent in the arts! Pray tell, could it be that one such as yourself was also given an instrument of creation!?"
Yuuji blinks. "What did you call me-?
Truth Bullet: Storage Room, FIRED!
"I concur!"
"Ha! Were you expecting anything less from one such as I?"
BREAK!
I gasp. "Takagi - ah, Lord Takagi," I quickly correct myself. "Different categories of talents were given different things to be used as murder weapons!" I say a bit too excitedly and Sachi gives me a look to calm down. "That's why we couldn't find anything in the storage room!"
Yuuji frowns. "Yeah, I got a toolkit, but how am I supposed to use construction tools as a murder weapon?" he asks, looking at his skinny arms.
Then, Kite frowns. "Construction tools?" he asks. "We found a sewing kit in Mitsuki's room."
We all look at each other in silent confusion before Aria proposes a thought: "Shion specified that her weights were pink and Jotaro said his were blue." she says. "Maybe the tools given vary depending on sex?"
We turn to look at Monokuma.
The mascot wiggles giddily in his seat, "Upupupu! You figured me out!" he giggles like a schoolgirl. "I wanna see you kids get creative! Along with items relating to your talent, each of your rooms have been supplied with specialized tools to each and every one of you - and yes, they do vary slightly depending on…" Monokuma starts breathing heavily. "Se…se…s-"
"Sachiko," Katashi turns to the Ultimate Pharmacist, ignoring Monokuma. "I was given various kinds of slow acting poison. What about you?"
"Fast acting poison." Sachiko nods. "So, that confirms it."
Yuuji scratches the back of his head. "I thought everyone got a toolkit because Jotaro didn't question where I got my tools," he says. "Sorry."
Min scoffs. "He didn't question it because he's stupid." she says.
"Hey! Hey! I wasn't done talking!" Monokuma yells. "Don't you want to hear the rest of the…juicy details?" he asks and starts breathing heavily again.
Everyone turns away from him again.
"Relax! I'll finish," Monokuma says and we turn back to face him. "Talents related to arts and information were given tools related to the arts, medical related talents were given poison, wires were given to our tech savvy friends, our social and politically inclined students were given some good ol' fashioned assassination equipment, and the athletes were given weights!"
We turn away from him for the third time.
"Not even a thank you, you damn brats!?"
Rui lets out a sigh of relief, "Phew, am I glad that Katashi and Sachiko have the poison." she says. "Katashi doesn't like us enough to put the effort into killing us and Sachi doesn't like being alone with any of us!"
"Moving on," Sachi sighs. "We know that the only one who could've messed with the set was someone with access to a construction toolkit." she says. "Tatsumi, would you-?"
"Ah, ah, ah," Yuuji says and wags his finger at Sachi. "Someone could've taken a construction toolkit from someone else!" he points out. "Twists like that happen all the time in mystery flicks!"
Sachi frowns. "I suppose…you're right." she says. "So what do you propose we do instead?"
Kite rubs his chin. "Let's establish alibis." he says.
Alibis? This isn't looking too good for me…
"For what time specifically?" Shion asks.
Hmm….
Question: Which truth bullet tells us what timeframe we need to provide an alibi for?
Monokuma File
Loose Screws
Yuuji's Film
Yuuji's Account
Film Set
Katashi & Sachiko's Report
Tatsumi's Account
Yuuji's Actors
Storage Room
"I got the scoop!"
Answer: Yuuji's Account
"The last time Yuuji checked on the film set was this morning so you have to account for your entire day after breakfast." I say. "Right, Yuuji?"
Yuuji nods. "That's right." he confirms.
Ryoji raises his hand. "Kite and I were hanging out all day." he says, Kite nodding along with him.
Sumire beams. "Oh! Rui, Kaguya, and I were hanging out with Mikasa in the cafeteria!" she says and her smile falters slightly. "Of course, Hakuma was there too." Sumire says, shooting a look at Shion.
Shion looks down at her nails.
And everyone else goes around providing alibis for each other until Takagi, Kaguya, Yuuji, and I are the only ones left.
Sachi's eyes widen slightly when I'm left without an alibi. "Tatsumi…?"
"Ah, I'm afraid I was taking a nap all day until Yuuji woke me up." I say. "And the only one who can confirm I was taking a nap is…"
Unfortunately for me, as soon as I get changed into pajamas, there's a knock at my door.
I sigh dramatically and trudge over to the door.
"What do you w - oh, hi Mitsuki."
Well this is a surprise.
Mitsuki smiles awkwardly as she looks me over. "Hey. Sorry, did I wake you up?" she asks.
I shake my head. "No, I just finished getting changed. What's up?"
"...Mitsuki." Katashi guesses correctly. He turns to Kaguya. "And you?"
Kaguya clenches her hand tightly around the handle of her umbrella. "I-I was - I was with Mitsuki-" her eyes widen slightly. "-until she went looking for T-Tatsumi." Kaguya says. "Does that…count as an alibi for him?"
Min glares at me. "Actually sounds pretty suspicious if you ask me." she says.
Sachi, in turn, glares at Min. "Well it's a good thing we're not asking you." she snaps.
Min scoffs. "You know what, Sachiko? I have a bone to pick with you too-"
Takagi clears his throat. "Your leader demands silence!" he says and gestures at me. "Ultimate Investigator, you have something you can use to prove your absolute innocence. Did you forget?"
Something to prove my absolute innocence…?
Hangman's Gambit
There's something that can prove my innocence?
?-?-?-?-?-?
My absolute innocence?
?-O-?-?-?-?
It's something I shared with Takagi…
?-O-?-?-V-E
The reason why we're here right now…
?-O-T-?-V-E
Oh! It's because…it's because I didn't kill Mitsuki.
Answer: M-O-T-I-V-E
BREAK!
"No, no, I remember." I say, pulling my PDA out of my pocket. I pull up the screen that proves my innocence.
TARGET:
Mitsuki Hanataro
"If I killed Mitsuki, we wouldn't even be here right now." I say. "I was assigned Mitsuki as my target for the motive."
Jotaro has a look like a lightbulb just went on above his head. "Oh! Since Mitsuki's your target and we're having a trial, that means you couldn't have possibly killed her!" he says, nodding to himself. "I figured it out!"
"Right…" I say.
Is that not what I just said?
Min rolls her eyes. "Fine, whatever. I'll shut up." she says unhappily.
"Hmph." Sachiko glares at her and turns back to facing the rest of the group. "So, that just leaves Kagu-"
"Wait!" Rui says. "Mitsuki's time of death was said to be around nine-ish, right?" she says and looks at Sumire and Mikasa pointedly. "Kaguya joined us about, like, half an hour before that. So if she was with Mitsuki all day and us thirty minutes before Mitsuki's death, that means she couldn't have done it either, right?" Rui asks.
Takagi closes his eyes and strokes his nonexistent beard. "That appears to be the truth." he nods and opens his eyes, a serious look on his face. "So…that leaves yours truly and the Ultimate Cavalry Captain without a defense."
Takagi and Yuuji share a hostile look.
Oh dear.
"I'm not sold on Kaguya's innocence yet." Min says. "I'm not the smartest - I'm smart enough to admit that at least - but isn't that a pretty flimsy alibi?" she asks.
"So let's talk about the stage and the film set, then. We've established that nothing of importance happened outside of the gymnasium." Sachiko says. "Kaguya, Takagi, and Yuuji all have experience with stages - although they're all quite different from each other." she says. "And each of their careers involves working around a film set or just a set, in Takagi's case. So-"
Kite crosses his arms. "I'm gonna stop you right there." he says. "Takagi has nothing to do with this," he says.
Oh?
Takagi, Kikuo, Shion, and Sumire all strike similar poses to Kite.
Oh?
Am I about to witness the influence of the Milk Tea Crowd firsthand!?
[Kite]'s a person who I'm not totally sure if I can trust. Like I said before, Kite's very charismatic and he can lead people…that could go one of several ways.
Kite is also part of the 'Milk Tea Crowd' that's become very popular with Ultimate fans despite the fact that they're all First Years.
The Milk Tea Crowd is a group of Ultimates that love to visit the popular shop, Milk Tea Island Cafe. In this group are Shion Kotobuki, Sumire Kotobuki, Takagi Kuroda, Kikuo Furuhata, and Kite Nijisaki…all of them are here…what could this possibly mean?
…Anyways.
"Takagi is an Ultimate Thespian," Sumire continues and wags her finger at us as if she were scolding us. "He performs on the stage, he doesn't work on it, and he certainly doesn't put the sets together himself."
Shion puts her hands on her hips. "While being a stagehand is certainly an honorable profession, it is not Takagi's." she says.
Kikuo stands tall and surprises all of us: "Takagi is innocent." he says confidently.
Wow wow wow wow! The Milk Tea Crowd in action…
How cool!
And I guess Kikuo meant what he said before a little differently than what I interpreted it as…
"You and your friends, the Milk Tea Crowd, are you better at communicating with them?"
Kikuo nods again and smiles behind his mask.
"That's nice, that's nice." I nod.
…How cool!
Min scoffs, the first to recover from the shock of Kikuo speaking, "What? And we're just supposed to take you at your word?" she snaps. "Yeah, no."
Mikasa scratches her cheek awkwardly. "I would like to believe you guys, really, but what evidence do you have to back you up?" she asks.
Everyone starts arguing and speaking over each other, unable to agree on whether or not the Milk Tea Crowd's defense was believable or not.
Oh my. This is gonna get ugly.
It'll be fine. This is what I've trained myself to do. I just have to focus.
I close my eyes.
Alright, Tatsumi. Pay attention.
Mass Panic Debate+
Everyone's arguing and talking over each other! How will Tatsumi ever get out of this one?
Not to worry; as the Ultimate Paparazzi, Tatsumi has tons of experience processing multiple conversations at once! How else would he get the scoop when his coworkers are yelling at and over the celebrities they find?
In this version of Mass Panic Debate, aptly named Mass Panic Debate+, Tatsumi will have to listen to all of his classmate's arguments to find the statement that will cease their arguing once and for all.
Being the Ultimate Paparazzi, Tatsumi will have to use truth bullets, lies, or a mixture of both to get to the bottom of this case!
"I Takagi don't is believe innocent you."
"Takagi What is if not he a really part killed of poor this Mitsuki mess!?"
"Surely They're we obviously don't just believe trying them to just cover because for there's him four because of they're them friends!?"
"I Is think that people really are what forgetting happened? that Maybe we he all really have is access innocent to you the guys set."
"Mitsuki Don't suffered be so stupid much…"
"If Takagi Takagi is doesn't such have a an gremlin alibi…"
"Takagi Would is he so really annoying do he something should so be horrible the to killer someone just he because doesn't of like that.?"
"Shut He's your innocent mouth!"
That's the one!
Extract statements:
"If Takagi doesn't have an alibi…"
"Takagi is such a gremlin."
Truth Bullet: Film Set, FIRED!
"I concur!"
"This will let society see the truth."
BREAK!
Kite and I nod together in agreement.
"Just look at him." Kite says, gesturing to Takagi. "Takagi is only 5'3." he says.
Takagi nods along with us.
"Like I said, he's a gremlin." Kite states bluntly. "Moreover, he's not that strong - as any simple test of strength will show you. There's no way he could've messed with the set." he says
Takagi snaps his head towards Kite. "Why you-"
"Hold on," Yuuji says. "How do you know the set was messed with?"
"Tatsumi said it earlier." Kite says and raises an eyebrow at the filmmaker. "Pay more attention, Yuu."
I nod. "And according to Katashi, Sachi, and Jotaro, not counting the set pieces themselves, there were at least three hundred pounds in stage weights weighing Mitsuki down. Do you really think someone with no experience working backstage and someone so gremliny would be able to set up a trap that intricate?" I challenge.
Hakuma hums, "They have knowledge of Takagi's abilities. If they say he doesn't have the knowledge to do whatever the blackened did to the film set, I think we should believe them." he says. "And even though they're all friends, I don't think they're willing to die for him. At least," Hakuma looks in Shion's direction. "I don't think they're willing to sacrifice each other for him."
Yeah, I really need to figure out what's going on there. But after we find Mitsuki's killer, of course.
Takagi grins and holds his arms out to the side dramatically. "My closest court of confidants have spoken, minions. While I am a villain of many talents, working in the shadows is not one of them. I am a man of glory, magnificence, and action!" he declares and points a finger at Yuuji. "Your Lord is inclined to believe in the innocence of Mother Nature! What say you in your defense, Ultimate Cavalry Captain!?"
Kaguya frowns. "Am I supposed to be Mother Nature…?"
Nonstop Debate
"What say me in my defense?" Yuuji repeats with a scoff. "I say I have too much integrity as a filmmaker to destroy perfectly good sets on purpose!"
Katashi sighs. "We're going to go back to that awful testimony from those five in a second, but," he says and gives Yuuji a look. "That excuse was just as awful." he says dryly.
Min looks at Yuuji distastefully. "You know what? I take back what I said about Kaguya and Takagi." she says.
Aria narrows her eyes at Yuuji. "You're emitting such a strong, dark aura…" she frowns.
Yuuji clenches his fists. "Well sorry if I don't take being accused of murder very well. I'm a little stressed." he says. "And did you even look at the film set!? There's no way I could've put that together myself!"
Truth Bullet: Yuuji's Film, FIRED!
"I concur!"
"I…what?"
BREAK!
Yuuji blinks owlishly at me. "What are you talking about?" he asks.
"You said so yourself, Yuu," I frown. "You asked Jotaro to help you put some pieces together."
"Yes, actually." I say just as I'm about to pull the screws out of my pocket, I think better of it. "You made the film set yourself, right?" I ask.
Yuuji nods again. "Yeah, I found some pieces of old sets backstage and some tools so I put something together." he says and frowns, looking at Mitsuki's body. "I put it together pretty well too, I even asked Jotaro to hammer down some of the harder bits to make sure they'd be secure…"
"Oh, that's right!" Ryoji gasps.
"Th-That's-" Yuuji stutters and shakes his head. "Well, yes, that's what I meant. Jotaro worked on the set with me, so why isn't he under fire!?" Yuuji demands.
I give the filmmaker an unimpressed look. "Seriously? Sure we could be suspicious of Jotaro, but according to the timeframe you provided, he has an alibi and you don't."
Jotaro nods along with me. "Mhm. Mhm." he agrees.
Yuuji grits his teeth.
"And…you lied, Yuuji." Aria says. "You said you found the tools you used backstage."
Everyone turns to look at the Ultimate Filmmaker.
"No, no, no. You misunderstand me," Yuuji says, his anger rising. "I said I found tools, I never said I found them backstage, you fraud of an Ultimate!" he snaps.
Well damn, what happened to that passion about loving the passion of others?
Aria scoffs, unperturbed, and flips her hair over her shoulder. "I've had harsher words thrown at me. You're going to have to try harder if you want to get to me." she says.
Yuuji…if I think about all the evidence clearly and assume the testimonies provided by the Milk Tea Crowd are true, you're the number one suspect. In fact, all the evidence points to you.
…It can't be that easy, can it?
But then, why is he getting so riled up?
Yuuji groans, pulling at his hair with his hands as he looks at us with a mixture of anger and desperation on his face. "It wasn't me, damn it! Why won't you listen?" he yells.
If I want him to listen to me, I have to wear him down enough to listen to reason.
Oh to have the troubled mind of an artist.
Paparazzi Flash
As the Ultimate Paparazzi, Tatsumi has plenty of experience extracting information from various celebrities and informants. In this minigame, Tatsumi has to do what he does best: annoy an Ultimate into submission!
He has to use his metaphorical camera (Yuuji already wears glasses, we don't want to blind him even more!) to push him into saying something that'll give control of the discussion back to Tatsumi.
Now, get to snapping!
[ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ]
Stress Level
0%
"It's all baseless!"
Flash!
[ - ] [ - ] [ X ] [ - ] [ - ]
Stress Level
20%
"Why am I being put under the spotlight, huh!?"
Flash!
[ - ] [ - ] [ X ] [ - ] [ X ]
Stress Level
40%
"Stop it! Just because I made the set doesn't mean I'm the one who set it up to collapse!"
Flash!
[ X ] [ - ] [ X ] [ - ] [ X ]
Stress Level
60%
"You misunderstood my statement-"
Flash!
[ X ] [ X ] [ X ] [ - ] [ X ]
Stress Level
80%
"I'm not the only one with a construction toolkit!"
Flash!
[ X ] [ X ] [ X ] [ X ] [ X ]
Stress Level
100%
"The gym is open to everybody - anybody could have messed with the set!"
Flash!
Truth Bullet: Yuuji's Account, FIRED!
"I got the scoop!"
BREAK!
Yuuji, sweat rolling down his forehead at this point, looks at me in disbelief. "Wh..What?"
"Yuuji…are you going to tell us we misunderstood you about this too?" I ask
"Before Mitsuki got here, were you regularly checking to see if the set was in order?" I ask.
Yuuji nods. "Of course! I can't have my actors getting hurt on the job."he says. "I'm the Ultimate Filmmaker, I'd notice if even a single screw was missing from my set!" Yuuji insists.
Yuuji deflates. "That's…I…"
Yuuji…
Looking around the room, I can see I'm not the only one with doubts.
Sure, all the circumstantial evidence points to Yuuji, but there's nothing that directly puts him at the scene of the crime.
Are we really going to deem him guilty based off of this evidence alone?
I have to be missing something…but what?
A/N
i forgot you couldn't align text to the right in ffn
madge
anyways
i might finish this trial before gac's LOL