Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, I'm discovering that writing reactions for the first half of the fourth trial is pretty difficult, likely due to the cast having figured out most of what happened during the investigation. Hopefully, this chapter will be decent enough, and will hold you off until we get to the real meat of this trial. So I hope you enjoy.
P.S. For those unaware, I posted the first chapter of my original story on p.a.t.r.e.o.n. Just putting it out there for those interested.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
Chapter 80: Watching Chapter 4: All Star Apologies Part 14
Once again, non-stop debate started up, with Hiro being the one to speak. "I didn't want to, but… I did it," he said sadly, "I grabbed a Monokuma Bottle from the shelf nearby… and I hit her from behind before she could do anything!"
"You hit her from behind…" Kyoko repeated, "And you only hit her once, is that right?"
"Yeah, just once…" Hiro nodded.
'No, that's wrong!' The bullet was shot as Makoto spoke up. "If Sakura died from Hiro's single blow, that doesn't explain why she had two head wounds."
"Huh?" Hiro voiced in confusion, "Two…?"
"Now the two head wounds are being brought into focus…"
Kyoko nodded. "Both the location of the dying message, as well as the two head wounds, prove that Hiro didn't do it," she stated confidently.
"That's right," Kyoko confirmed, "She had two separate head wounds on her head."
"And remember, this girl examines dead bodies as a hobby," Byakuya added, "Personally, I'm inclined to believe her."
And, of course, the mentioned detective looked unamused at Byakuya's statement. "And I suppose you know another way to investigate murders, Byakuya?"
"My other self has no knowledge of your profession, Kyoko," The Togami heir retorted, "Pardon me for noticing an odd detail about you, with little to no context behind it."
"But… I only hit her once. How could she have two wounds?" Hiro questioned.
"Two wounds means she was struck twice," Kyoko stated, "What's more, both attacks must have come from a Monokuma bottle."
"H-Hold on! How can you know that j-just from some cuts on her head?" Toko spoke up in protest, "She was a-attacked twice? With two M-Monokuma bottles?"
"It's not just because of her head wounds. It's also because of the Monokuma bottles themselves," Kyoko explained further, "There's something very suspicious about those bottles… Once you understand that point, you'll understand why two separate Monokuma bottles must have been used."
A flashback of the bottles was then shown. "Think back… after the incident. There were 4 Monokuma bottles left on the shelf, right?" The broken bottle was shown next. "And we found pieces of a bottle on the ground, along with the chess piece it had inside."
"That was the bottle Hiro hit with Sakura, right?" Makoto asked rhetorically.
The screen then went back to the trial room. "For now, just note that there were four intact bottles, and one broken bottle," Kyoko advised, "But originally, there were six bottles in total. Meaning one has gone missing."
"But h-how can you know for sure there were s-six bottles…?" Toko questioned.
"That's easy," Kyoko stated confidently, "If you look at what the bottles all have in common, it should become clear."
'The correlation between the Monokuma bottles…' Makoto mused to himself, the camera angling to the luckster's side. The side of the body then turned black, and flashbacks of the bottle were shown. 'Each Monokuma bottle had a piece for some sort of the game… and the game in question…'
"That's it! The chess pieces!" Makoto exclaimed confidently, "Inside each bottle there was a Monokuma figure holding a different chess piece."
"King, rook, bishop, pawn… I definitely remember seeing each of those," Byakuya listed off.
"And the piece that was inside the broken bottle we found was the knight, if I remember," Makoto added.
"So? What's that m-matter?" Toko questioned, seemingly waving off the evidence.
"Does Miss Fukawa truly not know about chess?" Hifumi inquired, tilting his head, "Or is she merely playing ignorant?"
"I'm surprised you knew about chess," Leon retorted, "Thought you would stick to videogames."
"My interest can lean into varying board games," Hifumi stated, pushing his glasses up, "Besides, chess is a popular symbol in anime, especially those involving war and tactics."
"I guess you don't know too much about chess, do you? Then let me explain…" Kyoko offered, "In chess, there are six different pieces - the king, the queen, the rook, knight, bishop, and pawn. What was left intact at the crime scene were the king, rook, bishop, and pawn… just those four. And on the ground was the knight."
"...Oh! So the queen is missing!" Hina realized.
"So we only have evidence for five bottles at the scene, while one apparently went missing," Makoto summarized.
"What does ch-chess have to do with anything?!" Toko protested.
"Yeah! Shogi is way better!" Hiro spoke right after. (And cue facepalms and groans.)
"Yeah …Wait, n-no! That's not what I mean!" Toko grumbled in annoyance, "So, let's say a b-bottle did go missing… there's still no evidence that h-has anything to do w-with this case! That bottle c-could have disappeared anytime b-before the murder!"
"A monokuma bottle just so happens to disappear just before this very case?" Celeste summarized with a raised eyebrow, "Possible. But unlikely."
"A good thing that this flimsy argument will be shut down quickly," Byakuya surmised.
"No, it's clear that the missing bottle is connected to this case," Kyoko stated confidently.
"H-How is it clear?!" Toko exclaimed angrily.
"Because there was evidence at the scene that supports it," Makoto then spoke up.
"Huh?" Hina said in confusion.
"That's right," Makoto continued, "We found evidence that shows there was more than just one broken bottle at the scene."
"A-And what is this e-evidence?!"
"Earlier, Kyoko and I did a little experiment," The luckster began explaining, "We compared the weight of the broken bottle pieces at the scene to one of the unbroken bottles. And what we found was that the collection of pieces was heavier. And the reason for that is there was more than one bottle's worth of shattered glass."
"Wh-?!" Toko's eyes widened in alarm at that.
'Soooo duuuullll…' Junko whined pathetically, 'Get to the more interesting parts already~!'
"It's almost laughable how quick it is to reveal Hiro's and Toko's part in this…" Byakuya groaned, resisting the urge to bang his head on the couch, "They can at least have the decency to lie better…"
"M-Master!" Toko cried out, "I-It isn't my fault that I got f-figured out quickly! B-Besides, at least I d-didn't put my foot in m-my mouth…!"
"I wasn't even planning to murder, so don't fault me for it!" Hiro protested.
"Um, you guys realize you're talking about hiding Sakura's murder better, right…?" Chihiro reminded them meekly.
That got Hiro and Toko to shut up, especially when they saw the dark glare coming from Hina.
'They can still have the decency to put up a better defense…' The Togami heir snarked to himself. But he had enough decency not to continue this, especially with how volatile the Ultimate Swimmer currently is.
"So, from this, we can surmise that two bottles were actually broken at the scene of the crime," Kyoko concluded, "But someone did their best to clean up the pieces of one of the bottles, along with the figure inside. But when they did, they must have left behind a few too many pieces. Which is only natural. They certainly had no way to measure the exact right number of pieces to remove."
"But… why would they have to try and get rid of it like that, anyway?" Hina questioned.
"Because of what it would reveal about the case…" Makoto answered, "The bottle that was removed from the scene was used the second time Sakura was attacked."
"The second wound on Sakura's head came from that second bottle," Kyoko continued, "Given all the evidence, this is the only possible conclusion."
"The killer wanted to make it look like there was only one attack, so they had to get rid of their evidence," Makoto spoke right after.
"From there, we can conclude that it wasn't Hiro who delivered that second blow," Kyoko finished, "Wouldn't you agree, Toko?"
"Wh-?!" The writer looked more and more fearful of their deductions.
"Damn," Leon couldn't help but whistle at this, "Gotta admit, the two of you really look like a deadly pair, Makoto, Kyoko."
"Indeed. The two of you have developed quite a natural level of teamwork," Hifumi analyzed, nodding in approval.
Of course, that got a blush from the lucky student. "I-I wouldn't go that far," he protested, "Kyoko's is doing most of the work. I'm just backing her up."
"C'mon now, don't be so modest Makoto," Sayaka scolded him, pinching his cheeks with a pout, "You and Kyoko are clearly working well as a team."
"And you're helping out just as much," Chihiro added softly, "Where Kyoko is looking for the clues no one else would think to look, you're talking to the others and gathering their accounts, even inadvertently finding clues in the process."
"And as mentioned before, the fact that you're capable of keeping up with Kyoko's thinking is remarkable enough," Mukuro put in her own two cents, "You even add your own observations whenever needed."
"So, like Leon said: The two of you make a deadly team," Mondo finished up with a smirk.
The response from the lucky student? To turn beet red from embarrassment, something that brought chuckles and giggles from his friends.
"And there's the matter of the magazine. You must have been in the rec room when the incident took place," Kyoko added.
"W-W-W-Wait!" Toko interrupted frantically, "I admit, maybe there was a s-second attack, but… but there's n-no evidence I had anything t-to do with it!"
"No way! You killed her, I'm sure of it!" Hiro quickly accused her.
"Sh-Shut up!" the writer retorted, "Until two seconds ago, y-you were claiming you k-killed her!"
"I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong! That's just the kinda guy I am!" Hiro stated confidently.
That earned snorts from the students. "It probably helps that it means that you won't get executed, right?" Leon remarked dryly.
Hiro could only laugh awkwardly, unable to deny the claim.
"Plus, I just remembered something that proves it!"
"Okay, fine, let's hear it…" Byakuya sighed.
"It was right after I got Ogre's note…" Hiro began retelling. "I was kinda nervous about it, so I went to the rec room early. Y'know, to stake it out or whatever. So I was waitin' there, and that's when I saw her… I saw Toko go into the rec room!"
'You did…?' Makoto thought with some surprise.
"Pretty soon, Ogre showed up and she went into the rec room!" Hiro continued, "I assumed Toko was still in there, so I figured everything would be okay. That's why I headed in. But when I got inside, Ogre was all alone! Toko had disappeared!"
"He's only bringing this up now…?" several students voiced in disbelief.
"Why didn't he mention it before?" Mukuro asked, befuddled, "It would've helped his case, if only to throw off suspicion from him."
"Yeah, why didn't I?" Hiro also voiced his confusion.
"And you just now decided to share that with us…?" Byakuya asked incredulously.
"After the shock of thinking I'd killed someone, I forgot all about it!" Hiro replied honestly.
"Could someone tighten the screws on his brain? I think they've come loose…" the heir stated with irritation.
And no one disagreed with him, judging by the palms that were meeting faces once more, with some even having the urge to bang their head on something. "Moron…" Celeste growled, her accent slipping.
"Honestly? We shouldn't be surprised…" Leon deadpanned.
"I'm thinking that the so-called brain is being held by glue, duck-tape, and that patch of hair of his…" Junko offered her own thoughts.
The fortune teller could only hang his head in shame. "Some friends I have…" he couldn't help but mutter.
"Well, on a brighter note, this'll explain the hand-prints in the locker." Sayaka sighed, "Toko must've been hiding there during Hiro and Sakura's interaction…"
"So, Toko! Where the heck did you disappear to?!" Hiro questioned fiercely, ignoring Byakuya's comment.
"You d-don't know what you're talking about." Toko continued her denial, "I never went to the r-rec room!"
That's when Kyoko spoke up once more. "I'm sure she didn't disappear, but maybe she found somewhere to hide…"
"What?!" Toko gasped fearfully, "Hiding i-in the rec room? Don't be r-r-ridiculous! Wh-Wh-Wh-Why are you all ganging up on me! You're all nothing but v-v-vermin!"
"You know, I don't know why, but Toko's attempt at denial just seems… pitiful." Junko mused, tilting her head, "All she's doing is just denying everything…"
"W-Well, what else should f-future me do?" Toko spoke up in slight defense for herself, "Just g-go and a-admit everything she did?"
"Maybe not. But you could come up with something better than just denying everything."
'No, it's not ridiculous at all,' Makoto thought to himself, 'I need proof that shows Toko was hiding in the rec room. And I have it. She left it there for anyone to find…!'
"Did you know someone left a handprint behind on the inside of the locker?" Makoto rhetorically asked, "They must have been hiding in there and put their hand on the wall without thinking. Does this handprint look familiar, Toko?"
"N-No, it doesn't!" Toko denied.
"Okay then, let's just compare it to your hand, shall we?" Kyoko suggested to her, using her handbook to show the enlarged handprints, "That'll clear everything up, right?"
That got a few blinking. "You can do that?" Leon couldn't help but ask.
"That… doesn't sound like that would gain an exact measurement." Taka said unsurely.
Kyoko shrugged. "Our hands are different enough where I can get at least a semi-accurate comparison."
Toko was silent at first. Then… "KYAAAAAAAAH!"
"This is getting ridiculous…" Byakuya groaned, "She better stop wasting time and confess already."
"I admit, I would like this over with as well," Celeste said in agreement, "Having already guessed the actual killing blow makes this entire thing far more tedious…"
Of course, Toko took that as well as anyone expected she would. "I-I'm sorry, Master!" she cried out shamefully, "I'm sure she'll confess soon!"
"Stop wasting my time," Byakuya all but demanded, "Just tell us the truth."
"...Okay. It's my handprints," Toko finally sighed in defeat.
"Dang, she just straight up admitted it!" Hiro noted with surprise.
"...Hold a minute, you're saying we could've had her confessing if Togami told her to?" Mondo questioned incredulously, "Why the hell no one suggested doing that?"
Everyone stood silent as they processed what Mondo asked. "...Guess we just needed to figure out for sure if there was a second attacker," was the only thing Makoto could say, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Then you killed Sakura!" Hina accused.
"N-No!" Toko quickly denied, "I swear, there's no w-way!"
"Out with it," Byakuya ordered.
"I… I p-probably did kill her," the writer was now quick to admit.
"Straight-up again!" Hiro exclaimed in shock.
"Honestly? I'm more surprised she put up a fight in the first place if she was just going to confess on Byakuya's say-so," Leon deadpanned, "Seriously, didn't she realize that Byakuya would die if she was blackened, and she managed to fool everyone?"
Judging by the horrified look on her face, the present Toko at least didn't consider that scenario.
"Judging by how she said 'she probably killed her,' I'm guessing the attack wasn't intentional," Celeste mused, eyes narrowed, "So she was in a panic, and didn't consider that scenario."
"Wait… what do you mean, 'probably'?" Hina questioned, catching that part of her admittance.
"Give us the details, Toko," Kyoko requested, "What happened between you and Sakura?"
"..." At first, the writer was silent. But then…
"Talk," Byakuya ordered coldly, "Now."
"After I read S-Sakura's note… I decided to go there early. So I w-went into the rec room…" Toko began confessing once more, "I didn't know wh-what she might do if I didn't g-go, but I was too scared to f-face her head on. So, I f-figured I'd just sneak in first, and h-hide in the locker…"
"Hmph. A smarter plan than just Hiro following the letter exactly…" Byakuya snarked. The back-handed compliment, of course, had Toko perk up happily.
Hiro, of course, wasn't happy. "Hey! I didn't just go in there without hesitation!" he protested, "Like future me said, I scoped it and saw Toko go in! That's why I thought it was safe!"
Hina, meanwhile, felt her fists clenched and shaking in anger. 'How little did they trust her? Why did they think she was such a threat?' the swimmer cried out in her mind.
"Then… did you see what happened?" Hiro asked hesitantly, "Did you see me hit her?"
"Yes. And I s-saw you write my name," Toko hissed hatefully, "I saw you f-forge her dying message!"
"Well… that's awkward," Hiro could only let out an uncomfortable chuckle.
That earned a few snorts from the group. "You'd better be glad you weren't the culprit, Hiro," Junko said dryly, "If you were, you would've been exposed right then and there."
"Yeah… I gather that…" Hiro replied meekly, shivering a little at the thought.
"So after he left, I j-jumped out of the locker… and p-put the magazine back on the sh-shelf," Toko continued.
"But when you did, you put it back upside down," Makoto pointed out.
I didn't mean to… I was in a h-hurry!" the writer defended herself slightly.
"Imbeciles, all of you," Byakuya scoffed distastefully.
"Forget all that. Why did you attack Sakura…?" Hina questioned fiercely.
"A-After I put the magazine back, I heard a s-sound behind me, like a - like a monster g-growling…" Toko revealed.
Having an idea about what's to come, Makoto turned towards Toko. "Uh, you might want to cover your eyes again, Toko…"
The writing prodigy didn't hesitate to take the suggestion, already figuring what's about to come.
"And when I t-turned around…" The scene turned black before a flash of blue appeared, before revealing a bloody Sakura with glowing blue eyes. "...there was S-Sakura, covered in b-blood… and staring r-right at me!"
The sight of a bloody Sakura caused Hina to go pale, whimpering, "S-Sakura…"
The martial artist herself merely grimaced, the sight of her injured being slightly disconcerting.
Others also grimaced, covered their mouths, or gritted their teeth at the sight of Sakura's first injury. Hiro, in particular, felt a strong pang of guilt at the sight of his future self's action…
"Ah. So that's why she said 'probably,'" Celeste said in realization, "Looks like we're going to be seeing Genocide Jack once again."
Suffice to say, Toko was surprised. 'It was.. her? But why?!' she asked herself. 'I thought you only kill boys! Why did you go after Sakura?!'
The scene then went back to the trial, with a clearly shaken Toko still talking. "When I saw all that b-blood, I fainted… right there in f-front of the magazines. I don't remember what h-happened after that. If you want to know m-more, you'll have to ask… her."
'Her?' Makoto repeated in his head, surprised, 'You mean…'
"Achoo!"
And, in an instant, Genocide Jack was there. "Ha-ha! Guess who's back!"
"It WAS your fault, after all!" Hiro cried out.
"My fault, Master's fault! When our faults combine, they soar to even greater heights!" was Jill's nonchalant reply.
"Just answer the question. Did you kill Sakura?" Byakuya asked her.
"Well, to be honest, Miss Morose and I don't actually share our memories! So I can't really say what was going on," Jill revealed with a shrug, "But I was just minding my own business, sleeping peacefully, when someone shook me awake! Was it a prince paying me a visit, I wondered. So I opened my eyes to see…"
Once again, an image of the bloody Sakura was shown. "...splatter everywhere! I was not prepared for that! And, well… I guess it took me by surprise!"
The screen switched back to the trial room once more, with Jill continuing her side of the story. "I got so startled, I smacked her with the first thing I could find. Which I guess was a bottle!"
And of course, Hina could not stay silent at this. "That scissor-happy maniac!" she shouted furiously, "Sakura was just worried about it, and she just…!"
"Poor Sakura…" Sayaka sighed, looking down sadly.
"Damn," was all Mondo could say, "You've really been through a lot of punishment, huh…?"
The words were aimed at Sakura herself, of course, and the martial artist could not disagree with those words. 'But it was what I have brought upon myself…' she thought, unable to think none of this was undeserving.
'So it was completely accidental...' That makes a lot more sense to Toko. However, the fact that Jack harmed somebody, accident or no, caused a very familiar churn in her stomach.
"Sakura was just worried about you, and you…! You're terrible!" Hina cried out angrily.
"No, SHE'S terrible!" Jill accused back, "Thanks to her, I murdered someone who wasn't an adorable boy for the first time ever!"
"And when it was all over, you collected the pieces of the bottle to get rid of the evidence, didn't you?" Kyoko summarized.
"I wasn't about to die for some woman!" Jill stated, "If I'm gonna go down, I want it to be for killing Master!"
The look across Byakuya's face clearly tells how he felt about that. "I said it before, and I'll say it again: as if I'll let those scissors get anywhere near me. She can go die a meaningless death alone."
"D-Don't worry, Master! I won't let J-Jack get n-near you with those scissors!" Toko attempted to assure her crush.
"On another note, how did Jill manage to pull a hit off anyway?" Leon inquired, raising an eyebrow, "A direct attack like that is something Sakura should've dodged with no trouble."
"Probably because of the attack from Hiro," Mukuro answered, "Despite her strength and skills, she wouldn't have been able to recover from a blow to the head so quickly. Thus, her reaction would have shrunk significantly."
"True enough," Sakura stated, making no disagreements. She's strong, but not invincible, something she had long ago accepted.
Meanwhile, Hiro couldn't help but shrink a little at this while Hina was practically vibrating with fury.
"Just go away and die your meaningless death alone," Byakuya snapped at her, "Don't drag me into it."
"But I just can't catch a break, ya know? Fate's got it out for me!" Jill remarked, "Cuz normally, Sakura should've been able to dodge my attack no problem!"
"Even as strong as she is, she must have still been reeling from Hiro's attack," Kyoko answered.
"Hey, come on. That's, y'know…" Hiro replied somewhat sheepishly, "But anyway, I'm not the one that killed Ogre! So that's good!"
'Oh no…' Was several students' thoughts, as Hina slowly turned towards the fortune teller. Said fortune teller shrunk further into his seat, realizing quickly that his future self had screwed up.
"That's… good?" Hina spat, loathing clear in just her two words.
"...Future me?" Hiro managed to squeak out.
But Hina wasn't having it. "You thoughtless, cowardly, pathetic excuse of-!" she started, but then bit back, trying to rein in her anger somewhat, "You assaulted Sakura, caused her to get struck twice, and that's all you have to say?! That it's good that you weren't the one to kill her?!"
Hiro couldn't really come up with a good defense for that, and he knew that trying to do so would just put his foot into his mouth even further, being self-aware for once, so he kept quiet.
HIna looked as if she wanted to rip into him further, but a strong hand on her shoulder, along with a silent look from Sakura, kept her from continuing. Only heavy, angry breaths left her mouth.
'"So that's good"?' Makoto thought in exasperation and disbelief, 'Keep talking like that and Hina's gonna-'
"Well then, that's that!" Hina declared. "Let's start the vote!"
It took a moment for the students to process what was said. "Wait… she's not saying anything to Hiro?" Sayaka inquired, confused.
"Wouldn't she have a few words to say to him about that?" Leon blinked, a tad befuddled.
Hina herself was found confused at this, her anger simmering down some more.
'Huh?' The statement caught the luckster by surprise. 'I thought for sure you'd have some words for Hiro on that one…'
"That's what we're thinking," Mondo voiced in agreement, scratching the back of his head, "So why the hell isn't she saying anything?"
"Perhaps she's just eager to get into the voting?" Hifumi suggested.
'Maybe… but I don't know. Still doesn't seem right,' Makoto thought, a frown marred across his face, 'I know Hina well enough that she wouldn't overlook a comment like that. Even if she's focused on bringing the killer to justice, she's not just gonna turn away from anyone else who hurt Sakura.'
Kyoko also found herself befuddled at this behavior. 'This doesn't seem like natural behavior for Hina,' she mused, holding her chin in thought, 'Even accounting for her desire for justice wouldn't explain this. Is… is she trying to rush this?'
Byakuya, however, didn't seem confused or surprised by this. 'The fact that she's trying to rush this… it's all the more proving my theory. There's no other explanation why she would be so eager to start the voting.'
"What's wrong?" Hina looked at the group in confusion. "Come on, everyone! We're ready to vote, right? Let's do this!"
'Hina… this doesn't seem like you.' And of course, Sakura picked up this unnatural behavior. From the start, the martial artist understood her friend's grief and righteous anger. It's why she didn't constantly rebuke or stop Hina from showing it, only speaking when it started going too far. Despite feeling anguish over her friend's emotional state, as Hina has pointed out, would she not feel the same if the situation were reversed?
Now, however… this doesn't feel right. And thinking about it, Hina has been pushing to vote as soon as anyone confessed to killing her. Just… what is causing this rush to start voting?
'That's… it? You don't plan on saying anything to either of them?' Hina thought, clearly confused by her future self's behavior, 'Are you planning to after the trial? But why wait? Come on future me, let them have it!'
Angry as she is, even the Ultimate Swimmer noticed how off… her future self is behaving.
"No, not quite yet…" Byakuya spoke up.
'Huh?!' both Leon and Sayaka thought in shock, unprepared for Byakuya to speak up.
"Huh?" Hina was taken off guard by that. "Not yet? Why not yet?"
"Don't you think there was something odd about Toko's story?" Byakuya asked rhetorically, "I mean, you had to have noticed…"
"Wait, why's Byakuya the one speaking up?" Leon whispered to his couch mates, "If there was a third attacker, shouldn't he be it? So why would he point out any oddities?"
"Yeah, that's… strange," Sayaka agreed, frowning, "If anything, he would want to let Hina rush the voting, rather than continue and risk getting himself exposed."
Makoto furrowed his eyebrows even further. 'This… is looking even stranger.' He turned towards Kyoko. "Any thoughts on this, Kyoko?"
"...You'll just need to continue watching," was all the detective could say. "The more this mystery is unraveled, the more sense this all will make."
"Odd? Huh?" Hiro spoke in clear confusion.
"Hiro's attack, and then Toko's… but that still wasn't the end of it," the Togami heir declared.
'It wasn't…?' Makoto thought in surprise.
"Hold up, hold up, something's off here," Mondo interjected, shaking his head in confusion, "It wasn't Hiro, and it wasn't Toko. But Togami is the one pointing it out?"
"And why shouldn't I?" Byakuya questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Cause you, Toko, and Hiro are the only options out there!" Leon answered, as if it was obvious, "One of you three has to be the one to have killed Sakura!"
"And if Toko wasn't the one to kill Sakura, then that means you killed her," Sayaka continued, "So why would you continue the trial, and risk getting yourself exposed?"
"The answer is obvious, isn't it? It means I'm likely not the culprit," the affluent progeny answered easily, "And like he said, this isn't the end of this trial."
"But who else could it be?" Taka countered, a confused frown across his own face, "While the previous trials have taught us the dangers of making quick conclusions, I don't see any other available avenues other than the three of you."
"That's because you're refusing to look," Byakuya stated coldly, "Continue watching this trial, and you'll see the other avenues."
"Tell your story one more time. Tell us what happened after you fainted," Byakuya ordered Jill, "Then even this gaggle of idiots should understand what I'm talking about."
"Your wish is my command, darling!" Jill exclaimed eagerly, ending with an air blown kiss.
Nonstop debate started up once again, with Jill being the first to speak. "I was just sleeping peacefully, and all of a sudden, Sakura was right in front of me!" she began retelling, "I remember waking up right in front of the magazine shelf!"
"And you were taken by surprise when you saw Ogre covered in blood…" Hiro continued, "So you smashed her head in with the Monokuma Bottle?!"
"You got it!" Jill confirmed, "I smashed her good!"
"And where did the attack take place?" Byakuya inquired.
"Right where I woke up!" the killer answered, "I killed her there in front of the shelf!"
'No, that's wrong!' The bullet was shot as Makoto spoke up. "We found Sakura sitting upright in a chair…" he pointed out, "If the blow by the shelf was the cause of death, there's no explanation why she was in that chair…"
"So there's proof that Toko/Jill wasn't the one to kill Sakura…" Sayaka said quietly. Slowly, a sinking feeling started to settle in her gut. "But then… who else could it have been?"
"But wait, couldn't Jack have picked up Sakura and moved her on the seat?" Hiro pointed out, "Just so it would look like only I attacked her!"
"You think the girl could lift that up?" Junko retorted, pointing at Sakura herself, "That's all muscle right there, while Toko is all bones!"
"I-I'm not all bones!" Toko cried out indignantly, "B-But yeah, I w-wouldn't be able to carry Sakura."
"So, you finally noticed," Byakuya said in a slightly mocking tone.
"That's just another lie from a bloodthirsty serial killer!" Hina argued.
"Are you sure you didn't attack her while she was sitting in the chair?" Hiro questioned Genocide Jack.
"No, I'm sure she's telling the truth," Byakuya answered instead, "Anyone who saw the murder scene should think the same way."
"Sakura was definitely attacked in front of the shelf," Makoto spoke in agreement, "The bloodstain by the magazines is proof of that."
"Then she must have moved the body after she killed her, right?" Hiro suggested, "All to make it look like I did it! Cuz when I hit her, she was sitting in the chair!"
"Hey, come on now. Look at me. I can't carry anything heavier than my own scissors!" Jill pointed out, "There's no way I could move a muscle-bound heavyweight like that!"
"Then… then what's the deal?" Hiro questioned confusingly.
"Well? Are you convinced the case has come to an end?" Byakuya asked rhetorically.
"For once, I agree with Hiro: what's the deal here?" Leon questioned with a confused glare, "Even with everything we figured out, this trial is still confusing."
"Just what are we missing…?" Taka murmured loudly. Byakuya's words, in particular, were stuck in his mind. "Just what are we missing here?"
"Maybe… maybe Togami is just trying to lead them to a wrong conclusion?" Mondo suggested, his brows creasing together, "Trying to act all helpful and shit, and put out false evidence?"
While some of the students seemed to be considering that, Byakuya merely rolled his eyes. They're adamant that he, Hiro, or Toko would be the only options are they?
"B-But…!" Hina still spoke up in protest.
"Plus, the biggest mystery of all - the locked room - still has yet to be explained," Kyoko added, "Until we take care of that, we can't say this case has been properly settled."
"Oh, that's party easy!" Hina stated confidently, "After she killed Sakura, Toko just hid in the locker again!"
"Huh!" Hiro seemed to accept that answer. "So she just hid in there till everyone showed up and opened the door?! And while everything was all confused and hectic, she just snuck out of the locker into the group!"
"No, I don't think that's possible," Makoto denied, "Even before we opened the door to the rec room, Hina and I both got a look inside. And at that point, the locker was already open. So obviously Toko couldn't have been hiding in there."
"Hmm, could the killer hide anywhere else?" Hifumi suggested, "While it seems unlikely now that Miss Fukawa or Miss Jill had dealt the killing blow, staying out of sight is a possibility."
"Maybe, but doubtful," Kyoko offered up, shaking her head, "Unless Hina, Makoto, and I were hyper-focused on Sakura, there's no way any of us wouldn't have spotted them."
"But will solving the locked room murder really help anything?" Mukuro mused, "I don't see any clues from it that would point to the possible killer."
"True enough. But that doesn't mean it isn't important," the detective argued, "Until all the pieces are fitted together, nothing can be concluded. Overlooking one single thing can end our future selves' lives."
"Hrmm… okay then, where was she hiding?" Hiro mused.
"I dunno!" Jill shrugged. "What's this whole 'locked room' thing about, anyway?"
"How do you not know?! You killed her!" Hiro exclaimed incredulously.
"I think the fact that I don't know proves I DIDN'T kill her, thank you very much!" Jill retorted, smiling.
"Y-You're lying!" Hina accused her.
"No, she's not," Byakuya said confidently, "I've been saying all along, there's still more to this case."
Slowly, more and more students started noticing the odd behavior of the Ultimate Swimmer. 'Strange… she seemed to be strangely adamant that Genocide Jill is the killer…' Celeste mused to herself, 'Even for her thirst for vengeance, this seems particularly bull-headed, even for Hina.'
'While Hina isn't the most cool-headed person in the class, I've never seen her that stubborn about a culprit,' Sayaka thought in concern, 'There was no point in any trial where she THIS determined that someone was the killer. It kinda reminds me… of when Celeste was trying to…' That sinking feeling in her stomach grew even more.
'What's going on here?' Junko thought with interest, 'First the fact that she didn't chew out Hiro, now she pushed to deem Jill as the killer? This isn't usual behavior for our beloved swimmer…' Not even Sakura's death would explain these oddities. In fact, that only made them stranger.
"But if Genocide Jill didn't do it, that means Ogre didn't die from the shot to the head…" Hiro pointed out.
"And?" Byakuya pressed further.
"W-Well, I can't imagine what else could have killed her…" Hina retorted.
"That's because you're overlooking vital information," Byakuya stated.
"And now we're getting into the poison…" Byakuya declared, eyes narrowed, "The pieces are starting to slowly come together."
By now, most of the class was tense, all wondering what the results were going to be. Many had thought that the culprit would be between Hiro, Toko, and Byakuya. Now though… some felt uncertain and concerned.
'Hina… are you hiding something?' was Makoto's worried thought. By now, it was clear to the luckster that Hina's actions were becoming more and more suspicious. And thinking back, the oddities didn't start at the trial; it was when the swimmer LEFT the rec room to get the others.
The Hina he knew wouldn't leave Sakura's body for any reason.
So, if she's hiding something, what exactly was it? That's the question that settled uncomfortably in Makoto's mind, one that wasn't sure… that he wanted to know the answer to.
And that's the end. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Next up will likely be the real meat of this trial. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.
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