Danganronpa: Corrupted Hope (SYOC)

by SilverMark16

Sixteen people wake up and find themselves in a large, abandoned prison facility with no answers as to why they're there. Instead, they're forced to play a dangerous game of Life and Death. A game known only as a Killing Game, hosted by a sinister man calling himself White Collar and his pet snake, Monohebi.

19. The Solace of Hate and Envy (Part 9)

Chapter 2: The Solace of Hate and Envy (Deadly Life #03)

---

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggie), and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!

With that said, please enjoy!

---

'Come to the Equestrian Cell. There is something I wish to show you.'

Arthur scoffed when he read the note for the first time. Shortly after the attempted prison break with Haruto, Arthur had found a note tucked between the slit of his door. Basically, somewhere he would not be able to miss it. As soon as he read it however, he let out that scoff.

Was the person who wrote this serious? How stupid did they think he would be that he would go out of his way to follow a note so blindly like that? It was really amusing the more he thought about it! To think that they could just lure the Arthur Kingston out with a mere note!

Arthur prepared to tear the note into pieces.

…

Except something inside him stopped him from leaving a single tear. What was it? A thought? A peaking curiosity? An itch that he had to go investigate what would have been waiting for him? Arthur hated to admit it, but this note was really too interesting for him to pass up. He was aware of the hellish red flag staring back at him in the face. But if this was some sort of trap that could end his life… he'd be very curious to see how everything plays out.

He reread the words on the note over again.

'Come to the Equestrian Cell. There is something I wish to show you.'

Arthur smirked to himself. Someone was playing games with him. But he was no sucker. He knew all too well what would happen if he went himself. He knew all too well what he needed to do in order to escape this Killing Game. He had to use this to his advantage. He tightened his grip on the note before folding it in half.

There was only one person he could go to check it out at this time of day… or rather night. So, with the note safely tucked in his hand, he immediately exited his room and hurried over to Yuumi's room. Then slipping the note into her room, he immediately escaped back to his room. With a valiant smirk to himself, he closed the door behind him.

Didn't the sender of the note know?

He was Arthur Kingston. The Prince of Ice. Born from a powerful family. Built to be someone worthy of carrying the Kingston name. But also, a dreamer who has bigger fish he wanted to fry. Someone who got whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted it. He wasn't going to let anyone ruin his chances of surviving this shoddy attempt of a Killing Game.

He peeked through the eyehole, waiting patiently before seeing his target go straight past his door as she stared down at the note she had been given. Poor Yuumi. She was never built to last in this game. She took one look at that note and headed straight toward the Equestrian Cell.

As he said, he wasn't going to let this game get ruined for him and he was sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone ruin his chances of surviving.

So, what better way to survive than to start it back up again?

Right?

---

TRIAL RECONVENE

---

It was the wake of the latest revelation that revealed Arthur was the intended target of the trap set up at the Ultimate Equestrian's Cell. He confessed that he knew something was off about the note he received, so in an effort to save his own skin, he slipped that same dreaded note to Yuumi, who had taken his place as the culprit's victim. An unwitting victim who wasn't equipped for such an environment in the first place.

That was the ultimate embodiment of Yuumi's character.

All Mimi could do was sob uncontrollably as she relented to the devastating truth that Yuumi was never meant to die to begin with. The man who was meant to die was still there. Standing in front of them all. Alive. Pleased with himself. Annoyed with Mimi's incessant crying.

"Y-Yuumi…" Mimi repeated the name of her deceased best friend in between sobs. "Y-Yuumi…"

"Poor Mimi..." Maggie looked down. As if this game couldn't have gotten worse for the girl. Now she had to live with the fact that Yuumi was supposed to be there but wasn't. Maggie couldn't help but wonder how much pain she must be in. She bit her lip bitterly as she was unable to leave her podium to give the heartbroken girl a hug.

…

"As tragic as the news may be, I must redirect everyone's attention back to priority number one," Monohebi stated, having remained coiled up on the large throne. "While you may have discovered the simple fact that the target was not the victim, I must remind you that your job is to find the blackened of this case, not stopping to fill the well of tears."

"Have a heart, snake," Abigail chided to the black and white boa constrictor whose eyes glinted a dark shade of red when she was addressed. "We needed a little break to wrap our heads over everything."

"...I do not care," Monohebi sighed. "The longer you continue doing unnecessary things like that, the more time is wasted. Master White Collar would wish for this Trial to move much faster than it has."

"So, what she means is… if we continue to move at this slow pace, we'll be forced to vote for someone without finishing our discussion," Arthur said. "A time limit set in motion perhaps."

Monohebi stared at Arthur.

"...Master White Collar has a point," she mused. "You certainly do know much about the Killing Game itself."

Jared and Cassandra both narrowed their eyes in Arthur's direction. However, Jared's glare was much more obvious while Cassandra only snuck a couple here and there. Arthur, on the other hand, had turned away upon hearing Monohebi's remark. Not like he should really care what a snake thinks after all.

Ina decided to bring everyone back on topic.

"In that case, we've determined that Arthur was the intended target all along," she reiterated. "And not only that. The reason why Yuumi was looking for the notes was because Arthur had sent her on a goose chase that led to her demise. But does knowing that really change anything?"

"...Not that I can think of," Zuri answered with a frown. "No matter how much you look at it, even if we put that into the puzzle, it doesn't solve a lot of the other questions we have."

"Like how her body got transported to the pool," Jared agreed. "Or the second head injury…"

"Or why she was riding my horses in the first place," Abigail grumbled. She was still pretty irritated at the fact that anyone had bothered touching her horses… without her permission no less! On the other hand, she never did tell anyone that they needed permission to handle the horses, so she had little right to throw a hissy fit over a sailor riding a horse.

"...We certainly have all the pieces I think…" Holland remarked. "The only problem is how we piece them together…"

To Holland, this was like an imaginary jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces were at their disposal, yet, they had no clue where each piece came together. All the corners could be attached. All that was missing was the center. An integral part of the puzzle. He had to think. He only needed to fit two pieces together. One good placement could create a domino effect that would link to every other piece. One puzzle pair…

Was there something related to the recent development in the case that could help place at least one puzzle piece in?

"Actually, there is something I'm curious to know," Cassandra spoke up. "Why the hell would the culprit bother transporting the body to the Swimming Pool? Remind me again, when did Fish-For-A-Name see that sailor bitch go into the Equestrian Cell again?"

Maggie glared at the unknown talent.

"Cassandra, I think it would be best if you didn't call a dead person a bitch," she scolded.

Before things turned left and derailed them further from finding the culprit, Zuri stepped in and answered Cassandra.

"He said he saw her before he headed into his Cell to exercise," she explained. "Which would mean around 8:00 in the morning."

"Yep, that's right!" Barracuda replied, verifying Zuri's recollection.

"Which would mean that Yuumi probably activated the trap around that time," Jared added. "The culprit must have gone back into the Equestrian Cell to see if their trap was sprung and then sought to move her to the Pool."

"So, if the body was found at exactly noon…" Maggie voiced, looking down thoughtfully.

"That would mean that the culprit had approximately four hours to move the body," Cassandra concluded. "Not only that, but the culprit would have to make sure the Ultimate Cells wouldn't be occupied within those four hours as well."

"And w-we know that Mayu and B-Barracuda were in the Ultimate Personal Fitness Cell until 11:00," Carter added. "Th-That means that the only way th-they could've gone to the Swimming Pool… w-was through the Ultimate Basketball Cell."

"By any chance, who was in the Ultimate Basketball Cell at all today?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Me," Haruto raised his hand before glancing down at his casted leg. "Throughout the entire night until morning. That was how long the snake took to patch my leg up. Once she finished with me, I left."

"And when you left Cell Block B, that's when you saw Yuumi riding the horse," Abigail noted with a questioning glance aimed at Haruto.

"Pretty much, yeah," Haruto affirmed. "Though, I don't know if anyone else was at my Ultimate Cell."

"Man… this case is making my head hurt!" Mayu complained. "There's so much to keep track of! I mean, can't we just agree that whoever moved Yuumi's body had to go through the Ultimate Basketball Cell?"

"If it was empty during those four hours, that would certainly be the best solution," Arthur agreed.

"But can we prove that the route the body was moved was at the Ultimate Basketball Cell?" Jared questioned.

Jared had a point. Just agreeing on something could lead to some discrepancies. Luckily, there was such evidence that could be used to prove that the Ultimate Basketball Cell was the Cell used to transport the body. The person who could prove that was none other than...

"...There was some blood at the Ultimate Basketball Player's Cell, wasn't there?" Holland rubbed his chin.

"Y-Yeah, but that belonged to Haruto when he fell and broke his leg," Carter mumbled, not wanting to remember what a gruesome sight that was. "Th-That doesn't prove that..."

"...Yes, it does," Holland merely nodded without much of a change in expression. "...Don't you remember? There were small droplets of blood that trailed from one end of the Basketball Cell to the door that led to the intersection of the Pool. I'm willing to bet those small droplets belong to Yuumi instead of Haruto. We only thought it was Haruto's because well, it was blood, and it was pretty dried up..."

"Then that has to mean the Basketball Cell was where Yuumi's body was transported through!" Zuri exclaimed in understanding.

"It is still such a big risk the culprit had to take," Ina pondered. "The distance from the Ultimate Equestrian Cell to the other two Ultimate Cells is like a track and field runway you would typically find at a high school."

Holland's eyes shot open as soon as Ina said that. He thought about what someone else had said earlier and suddenly, a new possibility had formed. A puzzle piece that finally fit into the edges that had already been shaped.

"Yeah, it'd be hard for the culprit to carry or drag a body across the way like that," Haruto remarked.

"That would be hard even for me!" Barracuda exclaimed.

"Which is why I questioned why the culprit even bothered moving the body in the first place," Cassandra insisted, shaking her head. "It makes no sense. It's a huge fucking risk, and it's a lot more unnecessary work the culprit would have to do. Why didn't they just leave the body in the Equestrian Cell?"

"The culprit most likely moved the body to throw us off from the events that occurred in the Equestrian Cell," Arthur suggested. "Perhaps the same could be said about the wooden plank had none of us even considered where the plank would've come from originally."

"So as a way to make us think she died in the Swimming Pool," Maggie listened to Arthur's reasoning.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain how the body was moved to the Swimming Pool in the first place," Zuri frowned.

"...No," Holland rubbed his chin. "I… I think I figured out how Yuumi's body was transported."

"Holland?" Jared said, blinking. "You have? Then how was the body transported?"

Holland had to be right about this. He had to be. He turned to Zuri and later Ina with an unreadable expression on his face. But the feeling inside him was an adrenaline like no other. An adrenaline that assured he was on the right path with his line of thinking.

"...Ina, you said that the distance between the Equestrian Cell and the other Cells was like a track and field runway at a high school," Holland began. "Naturally, it would be difficult for the culprit to move the body from one end to the other without being caught if they carried or dragged it."

"That's what we literally just said, dipshit," Haruto scoffed with an eyeroll. "Get on with it."

"...There's a much easier solution that we all failed to consider," Holland said. "...Couldn't it be possible if they used something else to move her body? No. Not something else. Someone else."

"Someone?" Abigail repeated, skeptically. "Who's this someone?"

"...Someone you know all too well Abigail," Holland claimed. "...His name is Bartholomew…"

"Bartholomew- Wait!" Abigail gasped, widening her eyes over what Holland was implying. "Y-You can't mean…"

The game designer simply nodded in response before flipping his hood over his head as he reached his logical reasoning.

…

…

…

...

...

...

"...Yeah," Holland said, nodding. "The culprit used the horse to move Yuumi's body to the other side…"

"Th-The horse?!" Barracuda cried out in shock.

"What the fuck?!" Haruto demanded, his eyes wild with complete disbelief. "You really expect us to believe the culprit used a fucking horse to move a dead body?!"

"...N-No… Carter interjected, his eyes widening as he, too, connected the dots. "H-Holland has a point. W-We were all questioning the idea of the culprit dragging or carrying the body across Cells being too r-risky or impossible. B-But if they used a horse, suddenly that r-risk is reduced almost entirely…"

"Because a horse can go from my Cell to the Ultimate Basketball Cell with no problem…" Abigail muttered before gasping once again. "N-No… No way. Is that why- Is that why Bartholomew was acting the way he was?!"

"...Most likely yes," Holland said. "...You mentioned Bartholomew acting up before. It could be entirely possible that the culprit did something to it to force it to run from your Cell to the other Cells."

"Son of a bitch-" Abigail cursed. "This motherfucker really used my horse for their murder plot. And not only that, but they also hurt the poor thing too!"

"...Seems like it," Holland agreed as he gave the equestrian another nod and glanced to the side.

"But if the corpse was on top of the horse, wouldn't the corpse just fall off?" Zuri asked. "I mean, a dead body wouldn't have the grip to hold onto a horse running from one Ultimate Cell to the other."

"Zuri has a point!" Maggie chimed in. "There would be no way for the body to get transported on the horse like that if it's just going to flop around on its back."

"Fuck... the rope!" Haruto exclaimed in realization.

---

Raising an eyebrow at this action, Haruto traced the horse's eyesight towards the floor, where a scattered array of rope lay on the floor.

"Scared of a little bondage?" Haruto rolled his eyes before sighing to himself. "Jesus Christ. Look at me. Making conversation with a goddamn horse."

Haruto used his crutches to get him closer to the pile of rope. Then using the tip of his crutch to toss the rope in the air, the former basketball player grabbed it and showed it to the horse.

"It's just rope, nothing to get so scared–" Haruto instantly regretted his stupidity as he watched Bartholomew bray and whinny once more.

---

"Bartholomew was freaking out because of the rope on the ground," Abigail remarked in realization as well. "And not because it mistook it as a snake but because it was used to hurt him. The culprit must've tied Yuumi to Bartholomew and set him off toward the cells on the other side. Tying a corpse to a horse would also be super painful for him as well."

"...Yes, which means that my theory still holds true," Holland stated with that unmoving, blank expression on his face.

Jared jumped in with a counter argument over the game designer's theory.

"You have the right to remain silent!" he declared.

"...Ah, Jared?" Holland hesitated, glancing at Jared. If he could show it, he'd look cautiously surprised. But his face remained stoic.

"I'm sorry Holland. While this theory of yours sounds possible… I can't accept it," Jared said, shaking his head as he lowered his police hat. "There's still a major flaw with it. Something you have yet to consider."

"...W-What's the flaw?" Holland looked at Jared's unconvinced eyes.

"The culprit tied Yuumi's body to the horse and sent the horse to the other Ultimate Cells," Jared began. "But you forgot someone else needed to be sent to the other Ultimate Cells as well."

"...Ah… who?" Holland asked.

"The culprit of course!" Jared replied. "The culprit still had to be on the other side to dump the body into the Swimming Pool. By saying that the culprit sent the body to the other Cell, you're also saying that the culprit was left behind at the Equestrian Cell."

"The cop has a point," Cassandra sighed, before opening her eyes and quickly adding, "Unfortunately… I mean, if the horse went to the other Cells with something on its back that's hurting it, the culprit would need to make sure it can calm it down by the time it reaches the cells."

"That's right, and no way can the culprit themselves catch up to the horse by running after it," Jared said. "As mentioned before, the distance between the Equestrian Cell and the other Ultimate Cells are like a track and field runway. It'd be one heck of a run for the culprit to go chasing after a much faster horse."

"...Then couldn't it be possible if the culprit rode another horse?" Holland pointed out.

"Unfortunately, no," Abigail answered, folding her arms. "There were no signs of the other horses being touched. I can bet you right now, only Bartholomew was used for this crime. Call it an Equestrian Intuition… or something lame like that."

"Not even Judas?" Haruto questioned the equestrian. "Wasn't he found outside of his Cell as well?"

"Well yeah, but I literally found him in the horse stadium," Abigail folded her arms. "Which need I remind you is still in my Ultimate Cell."

"And even if the horse the culprit would have ridden caught up to Bartholomew, they would still have to calm it down," Ina pointed out. "That is still too much work for a body transportation ploy."

Jared lowered his hat, a little disappointed that this plausible had to get shut down by him of all people.

"Sorry Holland... but there's just no way the culprit could've stopped the horse to calm it down once it reached the Ultimate Personal Trainer and Ultimate Basketball Cells," he apologized.

Holland thought about this carefully, however. They all raised good points. If the horse was sent off with the body, the culprit would have still remained in the Equestrian Cell. But what mattered most was that this had to have happened. That horse had to have reached the other cells and gotten calmed down for the culprit to remove the body and dump it into the pool. It had to… but how…?

Unless…

"...You are right Jared," Holland said, surrendering to Jared's sound argument. "It would be impossible for the culprit to stop the horse with the body. They were stuck in the Equestrian Cell after all. And chasing after the horse would be futile…"

"Glad you understand," Jared sighed as he fixed his police hat.

"...However," Holland replied, pointing a hollow gaze toward the police officer. "That doesn't mean it still didn't happen. Someone still stopped that horse to take the body off of it to dump it into the Swimming Pool."

"S-Someone?" Jared reeled back in shock, his hat slowly bouncing off his head a bit as he heard what Holland had just said. Fixing his hat once more, Jared leaned against his podium with a determined look. "I thought you said it would be impossible for the culprit to stop the horse!"

"...I did," Holland nodded. "However, I know this is the method the culprit used to move the body. And the only way it can work in the end…

…

…

…

…

…

...

…Is if the culprit had an accomplice to help them with the crime."

"W-What?!" Jared yelped as he held his heart, as if he had just been shot by a gun. "A-An accomplice?!"

"The culprit… had an accomplice?!" Zuri repeated, shocked over the conclusion that Holland's reasoning had led them to.

"So that's why this case was so troublesome to begin with," Arthur smirked to himself. "Of course... None of us would've ever considered the possibility of an accomplice. We all assumed this was the work of one person who had it out for me. But thinking about everything now, it all makes sense."

"Stop acting like a snob and fucking explain if you understand it so much, asshole!" Haruto growled toward the rich snowboarder.

"I will indeed do as requested," Arthur said with a bow. "For the body to have been moved from the Equestrian Cell to the Swimming Pool, it would have always required at least two people to pull it off to near perfection. One person to navigate the crime scene at the Equestrian Cell. The other to survey the Ultimate Basketball Cell."

"W-What do you mean?" Mayu asked, confused.

"...The person at the Ultimate Basketball Cell side would have to make sure that area remained empty throughout those four hours," Arthur explained. "If someone was inside during the body transportation process, that would spell trouble for both the culprit and their accomplice."

"So, the accomplice would've stayed on their side to make sure no one was around in my Cell?" Haruto asked. "Man. How could they use my own fucking Cell like that?! That's fucked up!"

"You're not the one who just had their own horse messed with," Abigail mumbled toward the former basketball player.

"...But he's right," Holland said, agreeing with the explanation that Arthur had given. "The accomplice had to be on the Ultimate Basketball Cell side to make sure it would be okay to send the horse over."

Zuri followed through, continuing Holland's line of reasoning.

"And once the horse made its way to the Cell, the accomplice would get the chance to calm the horse down and retrieve Yuumi's body," Zuri grimaced, rubbing her arms. She was uncomfortable with the idea that someone in the room had willingly helped the culprit commit their crime. But for what purpose? That was the main question that bolted through her mind. "After that, the accomplice threw Yuumi's body into the Pool…"

Haruto let out a frustrated snarl, grasping his face as he tried to accept the idea of a co-conspirator in this heinous act.

"God fucking damn it!" He yelled. "Are we serious about this?! Was there really an accomplice?!"

"...In order for my reasoning to work, there had to be one," Holland firmly stated as he slowly bobbed his head up and down.

"And what if your reasoning is wrong, hm?" Cassandra interjected, placing a hand over her hips. "What then? Because as far as I can tell, you don't have a shred of evidence to back up your claim!"

Holland pulled on his hoodie strings which ended up tightening the hood over his head until it completely covered the entirety of his face except for his peeping nose. Cassandra was right. He didn't have evidence. Everything he had stated was simple conjecture. Although it made some sense, evidence was key, but Holland had yet to present any. If there was anything to prove an accomplice was involved. That was when Zuri jumped in.

"No, I think we do have something to prove that there could have been an accomplice," Zuri challenged the unknown talent.

"Oh really, and what's that?" Cassandra glowered at the Ultimate Bassist.

"Has no one questioned how it could be possible for one person to have set up the trap in the Equestrian Cell?" Zuri asked. "I mean, they would have to move the necessary materials to the top of the stables while carrying a dumbbell and a wooden plank."

"It's not impossible," Mayu pointed out. "I mean, it might be hard, but I wouldn't say it's impossible to carry a dumbbell up a ladder..."

"Even though it's an unstable ladder?" Zuri emphasized.

"A-Ah!" Mayu looked as if she had gotten punched in the gut.

"Zuri has a point," Jared noted in agreement. "We never did question whether it could be one person to set up the trap. But with the unstable ladder being the only way up the top of the stables, there's no doubt there had to be two people involved in the crime. Especially since the accomplice had to keep the ladder stable enough for the main culprit to transport the items up to the stable's top."

"...There was always two people involved in this crime from the get-go..." Holland noted.

"B-But who's the accomplice?!" Carter exclaimed.

"I... might have an idea," Zuri perked her head, curiously.

"Y-You-" Carter began to say, widening his eyes in shock. "Y-You already know who it is?!"

Zuri paused for a moment as she glanced downward.

"Not exactly," Zuri answered. "But going back to everything we know about who was near the Ultimate Basketball Cell at the time of Yuumi's death, we can narrow it down to two people."

Mayu looked especially curious, leaning against her podium to hear what Zuri had to say.

"Eh?" Mayu smiled. "That helps a lot! Who are these two people?"

"Well, it would have to be the ones who were in the other cell that's right next to the Ultimate Basketball Cell," Zuri reasoned. "The ones who were in the Ultimate Personal Trainer's Cell. You, Mayu, of course, and Barracuda."

"Ah, of course of course," Mayu mused, bobbing her head in understanding. It took a moment for her to realize that Zuri had called her name before she started pointing to herself in shock. "Eh?! Wait?! You think I'm the accomplice?!"

"I'll say the same thing!" Barracuda jumped in immediately. "You think I'm the accomplice?! I would never team up with any killer! That is not the way of the Barracuda!"

Ina turned to Zuri, narrowing her eyes toward the Ultimate Bassist. She wasn't entirely convinced on how the two in the Personal Trainer's Cell could be identified as the accomplice.

"What is your reasoning, Zuri?" she asked.

"Well, think about when Yuumi was last spotted alive," Zuri began to recount the facts. "Barracuda was the last one to see her alive. She enters the Equestrian Cell where she activates the trap. From then at 8 to noon, that leaves us with a timestamp of four hours in which the culprit could have sent the body over to the Ultimate Basketball Cell. And who do we know was at that side within those four hours?"

Maggie bit her finger, anxiously as she worried over what this might end up meaning for Barracuda. Ina would've probably done the same to Mayu, but she still remained unconvinced by this reasoning.

"B-Barracuda and Mayu," Maggie muttered as she continued to pierce through her skin with her teeth.

"H-Hey wait!" Mayu hissed, pouting over this obscene accusation. "We already established this earlier! I left at 10! Therefore, I can't be the accomplice, especially since Barracuda stayed for an entire hour after that! Wouldn't that make him the accomplice?! If no one was at the Basketball Cell at the time he was exercising, that would mean he had the entire area to himself for two whole hours!"

"Hah!" Cassandra suddenly let out a haughty laugh. "That means my earlier theory was half-correct! Go me!"

Abigail stroked the underside of her chin.

"There is also the possibility that you could have alerted the culprit to send the horse right over and made sure Barracuda stayed in the Cell," Abigail stated.

"Um, no I couldn't!" Mayu stressed, pouting and looking away. She was seriously offended with all of these possibilities and accusations of her being an accessory to murder. "That's way too much of a risk for even an accomplice! If I was the accomplice, which I am not saying that I am, I would've waited till everyone on my side was gone! That way, moving the body would've been smooth sailing!"

Arthur couldn't help but simper at that explanation.

"Perhaps there is a brain in that head of yours, Mashiro," he crowed. "She's absolutely correct. The best time for an accomplice to assist in moving a body would be when no one else would be there to see them. Therefore, our only likely suspected accomplice may very well be the person who had their side of Cell Block B, all to themselves: Barracuda. Looks like we've come full circle."

"Doh!" Barracuda yelled, smacking the top of his forehead in despair. "N-Not again!"

"W-Was it really you Barracuda?" Mimi stuttered, feeling slightly betrayed. After all, he was one of the folks who helped reassure her that Yuumi still cared for her, even after her last moments. "D-Did you really help the person who killed Yuumi? I… I get helping to hurt Arthur but helping to move Y-Yuumi's body? I…"

"It had to be," Mayu confidently said, affirming her stance by folding her arms together. "He's the only one who could be the accomplice!"

"N-No, it wasn't me!" Barracuda denied. "I would never help a killer kill! Th-That's not who I am! I'm not a killer! I'm not a killer! Y-You gotta believe me!"

Barracuda clutched his head, screaming the phrase over and over again. He looked intense. Disturbed even. In fact, this was the first time anyone would see Barracuda so distraught and upset. He shuddered. His body was shaking as his eyes became null and void of any personality or emotion. All the while, he whimpered to himself over and over again. Those same damn words:

...

"I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer."

...

"B-Barry!" Maggie careened against her podium, troubled. "W-What's wrong?!"

"P-Please believe me," Barracuda whimpered, hugging himself in fear. "I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer. I would never kill. I'm a good boy. I can't do it. I can't kill anyone!"

"B-Barry, calm down!" Maggie quickly yelled as she rushed away from her podium. She never attempted to do such a thing for Mimi. She thought she couldn't. But the moment Barracuda started acting out in a way she's never seen him do, Maggie couldn't help but lose control of her movements. She rushed over to the large fitness trainer and hugged his head tightly. "Shhhh, it's going to be alright now. Look at me. Count to three. Take a deep breath. You're not a killer. And you are definitely not the accomplice. Please, stay with me."

"M-Maggie, I'm not a killer," Barracuda shivered, hugging himself as if it was well below freezing. "I'm not a killer. I would never kill."

"I know, I know, Barry," Maggie assured the large male. "Just calm down. We're going to reevaluate this, okay? So just stay with us for a moment."

"You were not supposed to leave your podium, Miss LaDroubi," Monohebi scolded. "Such an act is a disgrace to this sacred Prison Trial-"

"Shut up, you damn snake," Abigail barked at her, snapping her head toward the snake with a disapproving look. "How the hell are we supposed to continue your precious Prison Trial when one of us is clearly having a panic attack."

"All we're doing is trying to calm him down so we can get back on track," Jared assured the snake, seriously. "This is a moment in which we should at least be allowed to leave our podiums. Don't you agree?"

Monohebi remained coiled up on that blood red throne. She didn't say anything for quite a while. It was almost as if she was contemplating on what to do in this situation. Considering whether or not punishment is required in such a situation. Flicking her tongue out once, Monohebi bobbed her head, as if she were hitting a gavel.

"A ten-minute intermission is all I can give for Mister Marakovich to regain his senses," Monohebi ordered.

"M-Marakovich?" Carter asked, confused. "W-Wait! Is that-"

"Intermission begins-" Monohebi was about to announce before Barracuda's voice spoke up.

"N-No need for that," Barracuda assured the snake. He was only shaking slightly now. It wasn't like before where his quakes were uncontrollable. Now, it was like he was still disturbed by everything, but he was still able to speak properly. "W-We can continue the Trial."

Monohebi paused to consider this before groaning in exasperation.

"Very well," she sighed. "And after I thought so hard about what to do in this situation. I'll give you a pass this time Miss LaDroubi. Please don't let this happen again."

Maggie looked slightly ashamed as she let go of Barracuda. How could she even touch the guy like that after he rejected her yesterday. It was improper of her. She was definitely the definition of an improper person but even she can feel guilt over hugging someone like that. Fortunately for her, Barracuda didn't feel the same way.

"Th-Thank you, Maggie," Barracuda gratefully said to the model. It was a weak smile, but it was one Maggie could at least accept as she headed back to her podium.

…

After the disruption had settled down, Arthur started off the discussion back up to their previous topic. He didn't seem to care about what had happened with Barracuda before, but his focus seemed to be directed toward whoever was targeting him. And at the moment, Barracuda as the supposed accomplice was his first line of attack.

"Now, as we were saying before that pitiful series of events…" he trailed off to give the personal trainer a cold stare. "...We stated that Barracuda was the accomplice."

Barracuda tensed up when he heard that same accusation again. This time, he held still. He wasn't going to break down again. Not this time. Fortunately for him, Maggie came to his aid.

"No, there's no way it's him," Maggie responded. There was a hint of disgust in her tone over how easily Arthur had brushed off that panic attack as nothing more than 'pitiful'. "An accessory to murder wouldn't act like that just now."

"Let's not listen to the chick who clearly gets wet over this big baby," Cassandra remarked. "There's a huge possibility the guy was acting to get some sympathy. Whether or not he really was anxious doesn't matter, though. What matters is the facts and the possibilities. And the current possibility here states that Barracuda is our accomplice."

"Just because he was the only one on that side at the time?" Maggie slightly frowned in disbelief. "W-What about all that talk about evidence, hm? You can't just accuse him of being the accomplice if there's nothing-"

"Have you already forgotten?" Cassandra asked, mocking an innocent tone while sharing her sly look toward the supermodel's way. "The dumbbell of course. The exact reasoning I used to accuse Barracuda as a culprit can be used to accuse Barracuda as the accomplice. His job was to just dump the body and hide some evidence. The brainless fuck did just that. He dumped the body into the Pool and hid the murder weapon in his own cell."

"N-No, it's not him!" Maggie adamantly argued. "There has to be another possibility you are all missing here!" Like, yes, of course! The moving of the body occurred after Barracuda left his side of the Cell!"

"Maggie, n-no one was on that side of the Cell," Carter attempted to convince the model. "A-And besides, if the moving of the body occurred after B-Barracuda left, that would put the entire process to be between 11 to noon. A-And that's still not a lot of time especially since we had a gathering at the pool around that time."

"Yes, the culprit and the accomplice had to move the body from one Cell to the other," Ina said in agreement with Carter. "Then once the accomplice received the body, it would be the accomplice's duty to place the body inside the Swimming Pool and get rid of the other pieces of evidence as well. Namely, the dumbbell hidden in the rack of dumbbells in Barracuda's Ultimate Cell and the wooden plank in the Swimming Pool. That is a lot of work for a mere accomplice to accomplish within an hour."

"Less than an hour even," Jared affirmed, moving down his hat to cover his visible eye. "Our pool get-together would've started by the time they finished."

Zuri rubbed her arms, looking a little lost by where this trial was leading up to. Even then with the possibility of an accomplice having been opened up, she was still uncertain whether or not Barracuda was the true accomplice. And even more, she also had no clue who another potential accomplice could've been.

"And we didn't see anyone in the Cells by the time we arrived," Zuri said. "Nor do I think I remember someone suddenly appearing all of a sudden."

"Which confirms that fish-for-brains would've been the last person at that side of Cell Block B until the pool party losers arrived," Cassandra concluded, crossing her arms. "There couldn't be anyone else who could be the accomplice but him!"

"B-But, but-" Maggie tried to say something. Anything. But nothing came out. There was no way she could defend Barracuda like this! All of their logic and reasoning was airtight thanks to their timing. Yet, she still believed that Barracuda was innocent. He had to be innocent. He just had to be! There was no way in a million years she would ever believe that someone like Barracuda would've included himself in a crime like this!

"You can complain all you want," Cassandra scoffed, examining her nails as if her job was done. "But unless you have anything that may prove that the fish isn't someone who abetted a criminal for their crime, this is the truth we've found. Which leads us to one last thing."

Cassandra turned her gaze toward the man of the hour: Barracuda. With a commanding aura, she slammed her hand onto her podium, leaning forward in order to force the personal trainer to speak.

"You're the accomplice, aren't you?" Cassandra glared at Barracuda. "Which means, you know who the real culprit is."

Barracuda looked away, closing his eyes. He clutched his heart. Even after he had calmed down, he still felt the fear and panic start to rise in his bloodstream. This was too much of him. All these accusations. All this unwarranted negativity directed at him of all people. All that could ever leave his mouth at that point were the simple words he could say.

"Not me…" Barracuda paused after speaking. "It's… It's not me."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole idea of an accomplice," Jared shared, as he took off his hat for a brief moment in order to fix it neatly onto his head. "I mean, does the accomplice get anything if the culprit they helped succeed?"

"In the grand scheme of this Killing Game…" Monohebi began to say. "In the event of a case containing an accomplice, the accomplice receives nothing if they choose to help the blackened commit their crime. If the blackened successfully gets away with their crime, the accomplice will still be executed along with the rest of the innocent."

"So, there's no fucking point in being an accomplice in the first place!" Haruto growled, his mind fuming over the thought.

"What if they found this out just now?" Zuri asked. "Maybe then, the accomplice might reconsider their position and tell us?"

"No, they won't," Arthur told them, crossing his arms with his eyes closed. "I'm sure the culprit and accomplice asked about this beforehand. Everything up to this point had been meticulously planned between both parties. They knew what they were getting into when they teamed up together to commit murder."

"So, in the end, the accomplice is willing to die alongside everyone else should the culprit succeed," Abigail concluded in disbelief. "That's some loyalty."

"Christ Almighty, can we please get back on topic here?" Cassandra asked, visibly annoyed by how off-track everyone was getting. "Barracuda is our accomplice. That's a fact now! There is no one else it could be and even when we've narrowed it down to him, most of you still can't believe it and the fucker won't tell us jackshit! If anyone's too loyal here, it's this douchebag!"

Barracuda avoided looking at Cassandra's burning gaze at getting him convicted. He kept mumbling the same words over and over again. He was no killer. He's not the accomplice. It wasn't him.

Yet was there any way to prove that it wasn't him? The timing would've matched if he was the accomplice but there wasn't much evidence left. There just didn't seem to be a way to prove Barracuda was not the accomplice. Maggie knew this fact all too well but something in her gut told her they were still missing something.

Something big that could turn this entire case onto its head.

"Ina," Maggie looked at the revolutionary with pleading eyes. "Please. Reiterate everything we know so far. There's something missing and I want to know what?"

"...I agree with Maggie," Holland simply stated as he gave Maggie nothing but an expressionless glance. "There is at least one puzzle piece that doesn't fit. We need to figure out what it is."

"And what's this puzzle piece?" Cassandra jumped in with a groan. "Because the only thing I see missing is your brain, Maggie. You're too busy thinking with your feelings that you just can't see that the only one who could be the accomplice is Barracuda!"

"J-Just let me have this!" Maggie yelled back at Cassandra. "I have to figure this out! I know for a fact Barry's not a co-conspirator and I intend to prove it! So please, Ina, repeat everything that has been said so far!"

"I do not see why I'm the one who has to do it, but okay," Ina drawled, said, raising an eyebrow at Maggie's insistence before she began. "We have already discussed that Haruto and Barracuda saw Yuumi riding the horse during their time in Cell Block B. By the time Barracuda arrived, Yuumi was already heading back into the Equestrian Cell. We can conclude the reason she was doing this was because of Arthur's note, which instructed her to head into the Equestrian Cell."

"Hang on a minute there," Maggie exclaimed, slamming both hands on her podium. "I… That entire beginning section there. Doesn't that seem off to any of you? Think about what Arthur said."

---

"If I had gone to Haruto instead, perhaps Yuumi would've still been alive," Arthur remarked and sighed. "But as I said, that is why I thought Yuumi's death was purely coincidental. Not only was her body found in the Swimming Pool at the time, but if she really did go into the Equestrian Cell during Nighttime, she wouldn't have been alive to ride a horse in the morning. That's why I thought the note had little importance to this case. And for my mistake, I apologize."

---

"What's wrong with what he said?" Cassandra sighed exasperatedly, growing weary of Maggie trying to grasp at straws here. "Besides the fact that he, y'know, sent the victim off to their death and all…"

"The problem here is that Yuumi had the Advantage," Maggie replied, rubbing her chin. "And yet, even when she got the note, she was okay until the next day."

"Well duh," Cassandra dismissed, rolling her eyes. "Of course she would be okay. She didn't go to Abbygail's Cell until today."

"...Why would she do that?" Holland asked, rubbing his chin without a twinkle of emotion in sight.

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asked in return, looking just as annoyed as she had been with Maggie.

"...Arthur's story has always had me a little confused about Yuumi's actions," Holland stated. "...I mean, Haruto, you had the same advantage that Yuumi did. If you had received that note instead, what would you have done?"

"Well, had I not gotten my leg broken, I probably would've gone to check it out," Haruto answered honestly. "Even if the red flags were waving at my face."

"...And at your earliest convenience, right?" Holland pressed further.

"Yeah, I guess?" Haruto responded, now looking confounded. "Okay. I don't understand where this is going at all."

"...I see what Maggie is thinking," Holland said.

"Namely, Yuumi was riding horses the next day when someone like her would've been curious enough to check out the Equestrian Cell at night," Maggie pointed out. "She should've gone to the Ultimate Equestrian Cell at night. And yet she turned out fine the next morning. How could that be possible?"

"It could be possible if she just didn't go," Cassandra repeated. "And that would explain why she was fine until the morning. There's literally nothing to it!"

Holland thought this over carefully. Yuumi was someone who definitely would've followed the note Arthur had handed her. The fact that she fell for the trap in the Equestrian Cell proved it. Yet, she chose to follow the note the next morning rather than her earliest convenience: the Nighttime period. Not only that, but she also started riding horses for some reason.

The puzzle pieces began to fly across his mind, piecing themselves together.

The Advantage.

The note.

The trap.

The horses.

Holland blinked.

No… No way! This… This made much more sense than before. But could this really be true? Could this really be the case? Holland hardly showed anything on his face, but deep inside, it was disorderly. Chaotic. His stomach was flipping on its side over the conclusion he had made. He flipped his hood over his head as he looked down.

"A-Ah, Holland?" Zuri asked, perking her head toward the game designer. "D-Did you figure something out?"

"...Yuumi went to the Equestrian Cell because of the note," Holland replied. "She died due to the trap. She had the Advantage to go at night, and yet she was seen riding horses. Everything makes so much more sense now."

Cassandra would totally flip her podium over if she was allowed to right now. She was done with these fuckers wasting time.

"What is he on about this time?!" she groaned.

"...We made a mistake," Holland declared, conclusively. "We all did. Everything regarding the beginning of what we knew, was entirely built on a mistake. Haruto, you didn't see Yuumi ride the horse."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Haruto snarled; a bit surprised when the emotionless designer suddenly turned his head toward the basketball player. "Of course, I saw her! She was totally riding the horse!"

"...No, you only thought you did," Holland said, shaking his head. "What you actually saw was something different. What you actually saw was…

…

…

…

…

...

...

Yuumi's body being moved to the other side of Cell Block B."

"What?" Haruto gasped, his mind attempting to grasp the concept of what Holland was saying.

"Wait, you mean..." Abigail narrowed her eyes, realizing what Holland was saying.

"A-Ah!" Cassandra reeled back in shock, gritting her teeth anxiously. "N-No! It can't be!"

"...We were under the preconception that Yuumi died between 8:00 in the morning and noon," Holland explained before shaking his head. "But the truth is, Yuumi died much earlier than that…

…

…

…

…

…

...

…She died during the Nighttime period."

"A-AGH!" Cassandra bit down onto her nails, forcing her finger to bleed. Abigail, similarly, doubled back in shock as if she were kicked in the face by one of the horses. Haruto fell face-first to the ground as if he had failed a basketball toss. Three damage sprites for the price of one!

"Y-Yuumi… died during the Nighttime period?" Jared replied tentatively, holding his hat firmly to his head before he clutched his heart, as if someone had just shot him. "A-AGHHHH!"

Make that four damage sprites for the price of one.

"...Finally, things will start making sense," Holland breathed in relief.

This gave enough time for Abigail to regain her composure as she started off the conversation after this revelation.

"So, the reason why Yuumi was on my horse to begin with, was because it was her body being moved by my horse," Abigail concluded. "On top of that…"

"I saw it," Haruto said, glancing at his hands after getting back on his feet. "I saw her body being moved. I saw it with my own fucking eyes!"

"Meaning that Yuumi's body was moved and dumped into the pool around the time Haruto had begun to leave Cell Block B," Arthur determined. "Ergo, Yuumi's body had been resting in that Pool for four hours!"

"S-So Yuumi was killed at night," Mimi sniffled. "R-Right after she was just learning to trust people. Right after she was going to talk to me..."

"H-Hold on, but didn't Barracuda say he saw her heading into the Equestrian Cell with the same horse she was riding?" Zuri asked, appearing confused. "Wasn't that in the morning? Right after she died?"

"D-Did she come back to life?!" Carter cried panickily.

"The dead don't come back so easily," Arthur replied before glancing at Barracuda. "You. Did you actually see Yuumi or were your eyes just deceiving you?"

"Y-Yes I did!" Barracuda suddenly regained that determined spirit as he answered Arthur. The pressure was off him and now on a new theory of interest. "I saw her! One hundred percent! I mean! It had to be her! It couldn't be anyone else!"

---

Heading into Cell Block B with the purest intention to head straight to his Ultimate Cell, Barracuda stopped when he saw someone he recognized all too quickly: The blonde hair. The sailor hat. That plush penguin.

"Ah, Yuumi!" Barracuda grinned, waving his hand over to the sailor. The sailor seemed to be heading into the Ultimate Equestrian, leading a horse back inside. Though, she didn't seem to hear him. She never faced him or anything. Instead, she just entered the Equestrian Cell with the horse in tow.

Barracuda blinked. She probably didn't hear him. Cell Block B's common area was large after all. Shaking his head with a small sigh, Barracuda chose to ignore what he saw and headed straight into his Ultimate Cell.

---

"...Though, I didn't see her face since she never really turned around now that I think about…" Barracuda trailed off, looking away, not noticing the irritated twitch in Arthur's eyes. "But I was so sure it was her at the time! She had the sailor hat, Sailor Penguin was with her, and her blonde hair too! It had to be her!"

Mayu scratched the side of her cheek.

"Ah, is that really all it takes just for you to be convinced it was Yuumi?" she bluntly asked.

"A sailor hat and Sailor Penguin," Abigail pondered. She widened her eyes. "When I found Yuumi's hat, it was..."

---

"Y-Yuumi's hat," Abigail held up a sailor hat which was noticeably wet.

"A-And that damn toy she carried around too…" Haruto watched Abigail hold up Sailor Penguin, a little dirtied and covered in straws of hay and missing its eye.

"S-So… she did come in here…" Abigail voiced quietly.

---

"...Her hat was wet," Abigail revealed.

"Then that confirms that the Yuumi Barracuda saw was an imposter," Maggie explained. "The hat must've been wet because it was originally by the pool. What must've happened was the imposter probably took the hat and Sailor Penguin after Yuumi was dumped into the pool and later pretended to be Yuumi just to bring the horse back to the Equestrian Cell."

Arthur nodded at Maggie's deduction.

"Yes, because if Barracuda, or anyone who went to Cell Block B, had perchance seen Yuumi's body being transported," Arthur began. "...In order to maintain the illusion that Yuumi was simply riding a horse, the impersonator had to disguise themselves accordingly as to not attract any suspicion."

"So, to recap, the body transport occurred sometime around 7:30," Abigail said. "And during that time, the accomplice would've dumped the body into the pool while the imposter would've headed back to return the horse. When Barracuda arrived at around 8:00, he would've seen the imposter and the body would've been hidden at the pool."

"Yes, and I think I have a good clue on who the perpetrators behind this crime might be," Jared added, lowering his hat as he glanced at the only two people who could've been. For now, however, his eyes only landed on one of them for the moment. "Let's start with the accomplice."

"The accomplice had to be someone who was still on the right side of Cell Block B," Zuri told Jared. "They had to be left behind at the Swimming Pool in order to dump the body while the culprit returned the horse."

"And judging by what we knew before, that only leaves one person who would've been at that side of Cell Block B at the time," Jared declared.

---

"They were there first actually!" Barracuda grinned, giving a thumbs-up to his peers. "Really early too! I came in maybe… uhh…"

"Thirty minutes after I started, I would say," they pursed their lips in thought.

---

"Someone who was there quite early," Jared continued as he pointed his finger toward the accomplice. "Someone who tried to shift the identity of the accomplice to Barracuda. You're the accomplice!

…

…

…

...

...

...

Mayu Mashiro!"

Mayu gasped and squeezed her cheeks together in shock. Shaking her head frantically, she refused to believe she was being accused of being the culprit's accomplice!

"Y-You would accuse lil ol' me?!" Mayu gasped before sending Jared a rather heated look. "You're horrible! Terrible! I will have your badge stripped for your insolence against the future owner of Mashiro Co.! What evidence do you have that would make me the accomplice?!"

"Need me to repeat myself?" Jared narrowed his eyes. "Since Yuumi actually died at night, the body transportation process had to occur in the morning. And the only person on the opposite side of the Equestrian Cell when Haruto saw Yuumi's body being transported over was you."

"N-Nuh-uh, th-that's not true!" Mayu exclaimed as she started to sweat nervously. "I... I actually got there... um... um..."

"Ignoring Mashiro's poor attempt at making excuses, let's move on to the imposter," Arthur sighed, tapping his head. Despite how tiresome he got listening to Mayu, he was definitely much more excited to expose this perpetrator. "If Mayu was making sure the body stayed hidden on her side, the imposter would've been moving the horse to the other side. The imposter would've been the true culprit of the crime who set the trap."

"And from Barracuda's explanation of what the imposter looked like, there was one remark that stood out to me," Jared said as he looked down. "The imposter sported a similar hair color that Yuumi had."

"Meaning the imposter had to be blonde," Arthur smugly revealed.

"And not a guy!" Barracuda blurted out, unnecessarily.

"Y-Yes," Arthur continued, having been caught off guard by Barracuda's sudden remark. "And there is only one blonde female here among us. Isn't that right…

…

…

…

...

...

...

...

Ina Hamamura?"

When Ina's name was called, she turned her head to her side. Her face was downcast, but it still told all what they needed to know about what Ina thought about this: Nothing but the necessary desire to hide whatever crime she committed. The desire to hide what this case was leading to. With a dismissive hum, Ina pointed her stern gaze specifically in Arthur's direction.

"Is that really what you think?" Ina appeared annoyed that she was being accused to this severity. "You think I am the culprit because I have blonde hair? Surely the great Arthur Kingston can come up with something better."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. The way she expressed that comment… There was a hint of some scorn in that voice of hers.

"So, it was you," Arthur persisted. "You were the one who set the trap up to wish me harm."

Ina didn't say anything in response to that. Or rather, she took a moment of silence silent, contemplating about a possible response to Arthur's harsh claim before finally replying.

"Even if I was, you still do not have concrete evidence to prove that I was the one who set up the trap," Ina remarked, closing her eyes.

"Y-Yeah, y-you tell them Ina!" Mayu declared, raising her fist in the end. "We're innocent! And start taxing them for every minute they keep trying to suspect us of wrongdoing!"

"...You are not off the hook as of now Mayu," Ina stated, opening her eyes back to glance at the heiress. "I see reason in what Jared has deduced regarding your involvement as the accomplice, as opposed to Arthur's presumptions."

"E-Eh?!" Mayu wheezed, palming both of her cheeks in shock. She looked down with a small pout. "Et tu, Ina?"

"...I apologize," Ina expressed after a brief pause. "However, you are undoubtedly the accomplice. Therefore, you know who the true culprit is. Now, please, tell us who that culprit is."

"Ah, but…" Mayu hesitated and looked down, hands behind her back as she did everything she could to appear as innocent as possible. "But if I do, that person might hurt me."

"Nah, this is some Broadway bullshit!" Haruto grunted, slamming his fist against his podium. "It's gotta be Ina! Let's just start the damn vote!"

"Even when you know none of you actually have irrevocable evidence that proves I was the one who set up the trap?" Ina asked, tilting her head in a disappointed manner. "Your arguments against me are completely invalid."

"But you're the only girl here with blonde hair!" Abigail retorted, slamming her hand onto the podium with a glare. "Only you could've disguised yourself as Yuumi to put my horse away!"

"And at the same time, you are the Ultimate Equestrian are you not?" Ina argued back against the horseback rider. "You have the talent required to utilize a horse to move a body. Shouldn't you be questioned instead?"

"H-How dare you?!" Abigail snapped, looking absolutely furious that Ina would play that card against her. "I would never use a horse for murder! It's fucking inhumane!"

"God, we're just going in circles listening to Bitch Number 1 and Bitch Number 2 argue," Cassandra groaned, placing her hand on her forehead. "Does anyone have anything that can put a stop to this argument?!"

What they needed was something to prove that the culprit who set up the trap had to be Ina and only Ina. The utilization of the horses was a definite bad look for Abigail but if there was something… anything that could be used against Ina, it can finally bring this debate on the correct path.

It took a little while, but Mimi finally raised her voice, putting forth some contribution after her previous comments have been riddled with nothing but distraught and shock. She glanced specifically toward Haruto and Abigail, the two people who investigated the Ultimate Equestrian Cell.

"Haruto and Abigail," Mimi spoke up. "You two found Sailor Penguin, right? When you showed him earlier, I think there was something different about him. Could I… see him again?"

Abigail and Haruto's eyes met for a brief, swift moment before the former basketball player tossed the plush toy over to the fairytale writer. Just as the plush toy made it into her hands, her hold on it fumbled. Fortunately, she managed to regain a firm grasp on the toy. She examined it closely before hugging it with a softened expression.

---

The sailor continued to read through Mimi's short story and the longer she went, the more she began to smile. A live reading that made Mimi's heart warm up every time she watched Yuumi enjoy the story she crafted of her best friend. Her eyes trailed down to Sailor Penguin, the toy she would never part with and who she cherished as her own child.

"You took so much care with Sailor Penguin," Mimi noted curiously. "He still looks so clean and just… good as new!"

"Of course!" Yuumi smiled, looking up from the manuscript she was enjoying. "I always take care of my closest friends! You're no different, Mimi!"

---

"I knew it," Mimi lightly mumbled.

---

"Y-Yuumi's hat," Abigail held up a sailor hat which was noticeably wet.

"A-And that damn toy she carried around too…" Haruto watched Abigail hold up Sailor Penguin, a little dirtied and covered in straws of hay and missing its eye.

"S-So… she did come in here…" Abigail voiced quietly.

---

"Sailor Penguin is missing an eye," the witch girl concluded.

"Y-You mean it wasn't always missing an eye?!" Abigail squeaked in surprise.

"Wow, Abbygail," Cassandra drawled with a snort. "You had the evidence in your hand and even you couldn't figure it out?"

"Shut up!" Abigail spat, pointing a finger at the unknown talent. "I've only ever seen that damn toy from afar, plus Yuumi always carried it around and hugged it like it's a family heirloom. How the hell would I know that wasn't what the toy was supposed to look like?!"

Maggie took the opportunity to address this matter seriously.

"Mimi, are you absolutely certain that Sailor Penguin's eye wasn't missing before?" she asked, patiently.

Mimi merely nodded. She kept the toy close to her chest, not daring to say another word out of fear of breaking down again. Nevertheless, her nod was a clear confirmation to everyone that this was a matter that needed to be pursued. Or, at least, a few of them thought it was to be important…

Ina folded her arms with a glare.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, somewhat restless. "So, the toy does not have an eye. It is not a big deal."

"Yuumi cared for Sailor Penguin as if he were family," Mimi replied. "She wouldn't let anything damage him like that. That's why, the only time his eye could've been missing…"

"...Would've been if Yuumi didn't have Sailor Penguin in her possession!" Jared concluded, his brows shooting high over that logic. Mimi knew Yuumi better than anyone else here. Her word was vital to all of Yuumi's movements and desires. "And the only time she would leave Sailor Penguin, would be when she died! Of course!"

"W-What are you talking about?" Ina began to look slightly flustered at what they were connecting together. All of this sounded like they were grasping at straws and reaching for something to convict her with. She wasn't going to let that happen to her, though! Fuck the system! Fuck the government! "Th-That eye has nothing to do with the case!"

"But the imposter would be the only other person to actually have the penguin in their possession," Arthur commented. "Therefore, it would be safe to say that whatever happened to the penguin's eye may have been a direct result of an entanglement with the culprit."

"E-Entanglement?" Ina repeated, her forehead beginning to sweat. "Y-You are all not making any sense here. What could that toy have possibly gotten itself entangled on?"

"Oh, it could be anything really," Arthur explaining casually, adding a coy smile for good measure. "But I would suspect something you wouldn't have been wearing when you disguised yourself as Yuumi. Something that had to have come into contact with the toy to feasibly pull off the eye."

"I- There is no such article of clothing that I wear that could possibly do that!" Ina fumed, pulling her jacket draped over her body tighter.

"Yes, there is," Arthur said as he shook his head in disappointment. "You're wearing it right now. Right there. Your jacket."

"W-Wha– My jacket?!" Ina rasped as she let go of her jacket and furrowed her brows.

Zuri snapped her fingers with a whoop of gratification.

"Huh, I see!" she beamed. "If Ina really is the culprit, for her disguise to work, she would've removed one notable thing about her in order to make sure no one would've recognized her!"

"...Which would be the jacket, yes," Holland said, accepting Zuri and Arthur's deductions. "And there is certainly no way she would simply leave her jacket at the Swimming Pool, so there's no doubt she would've taken it along with her. It's possible she even wrapped it around Sailor Penguin."

"And that would be the moment the eye would've made contact and been snagged off," Jared noted, tipping his police hat forward.

"Hm, I bet even now, Ina must not have known that the eye would get caught on her jacket," Mimi voiced her thoughts, openly. "I mean, maybe the eye is still there!"

"W-Wha– N-No!" Ina felt a gust of wind try to blow her jacket away, but she gripped the collar tightly. It was like it was in a windy autumn's day and she was struggling to make sure her jacket didn't fly away.

"H-How about it, Ina?" Carter jumped in, readjusting his glasses. "I-If you aren't the culprit who set the trap, th-then you can't be the imposter th-therefore, there should be n-no plushie's eye on you. But i-if there is…"

Mayu finally spoke up after a moment of silence. All this pressuring against the Ultimate Revolutionary was getting to her. She looked especially concerned on what was going to happen.

"I-Ina, w-what's happening?" Mayu asked, worriedly.

Ina didn't say anything. This was a ridiculous twist of fate for her. It was always a twist of fate for her. It was unfair. So unfair. That something as miniscule as this could disrupt her entire alibi and position in this case.

"Give it up Ina!" Jared commanded, holding out his hand. Though, there was a semblance of pity in his eyes as he was stupefied that someone of Ina's caliber could resort to murder. Coldblooded with intent. Accidental in that she claimed the wrong target. He was sure of it now. She had to be the culprit. "I think you know all too well that eye has been there this entire time."

Ina remained silent. Then, everything in her mind quieted down. Was this really it for her? She was a revolutionary. What was it she did best? Right! Fight. She just kept fighting and fighting!...

...But why did her fighting spirit disappear all of a sudden? Gritting her teeth, Ina finally spoke, during which she hugged herself tightly.

"Damn," she exhaled. "To be outdone by a single eye from a toy penguin. One tiny piece of evidence was enough to outdo all of our planning and hard work. D-Damn…"

"I-Ina!" Mayu gasped. "Y-You're giving up already?! B-But you can't! W-We're still not out of the running yet!"

"...I am afraid we are Mayu," Ina sighed and hunched over her podium, pounding her fist on the table. "It was a good run while we lasted. It is just a pity. Everything was unveiled by a single stone in the road. Damn. Damn... D-Damn… D-Damn..."

As she repeated the words, she hit her podium. And with every hit, a loud bang was heard before finally, she screamed…

...

"D-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN ITTTTTTTTTTT!" Ina howled in frustration as she felt that familiar gust of wind blow back at her even harder than before. She desperately tried to grasp onto that jacket of hers, but the wind was much too strong. She couldn't hold onto it hard enough seeing as it started flying away into the air. Ina found herself tumbling to the ground as the jacket started dancing into the air until it slowly floated down, like a leaf falling from a tree branch during the annual emergence of the autumn season.

...

The jacket landed itself atop Mimi's podium. It didn't take any time to find that the missing eye had found itself lodged inside one of the jacket pockets that Ina rarely ever used. That was substantial enough to prove that Ina was the imposter in this crime and by default, the culprit who devised the trap that killed Yuumi in the first place.

Ina on the other hand seemed to have recovered just fine after her earlier outburst. She didn't dare look anyone in the eye. Though, whether it was out of shame or animosity at this point in time was unclear. She stood still, somewhat calm. Despite that, deep down, Ina still couldn't believe such a small oversight would be her undoing.

"So, you're confessing that it was you who orchestrated everything," Arthur began. "You agree to the charges stating that you attempted to lure me to the Ultimate Equestrian Cell, built a trap to kill me, and then orchestrated the moving of Yuumi's corpse to the Swimming Pool."

"...Yes, I do," Ina said after a short pause.

"Why?" Zuri pressed, watching the revolutionary give up. She was taken aback that Ina would attempt something like this.

"Yeah, I mean, I get everyone hates Arthur but to think you of all people would steep so low as to try to murder the guy?" Haruto asked, betrayal etched into his features. This was the person who had chosen to receive the Disadvantage over him?

"...I do not expect you to understand my reasons," Ina simply stated. She continued facing the ground, avoiding all chances of eye contact by all means. "The fact is, I did it. I killed Yuumi. I am sorry."

"S-Sorry?!" Mimi blubbered, her eyes riddling with pain. "I-Is that all you have to say?! Y-Your attempt on Arthur's life is what got Yuumi killed! I will never forgive you Ina! Never ever!"

"...I do not intend on gaining forgiveness either," Ina stated.

"What don't I get is why drag Mayu into your plan?" Cassandra asked, rolling her eyes at this turn of events. "I mean, she doesn't look to be reliable in doing anything for anyone."

"Oh, shut it Average Girl!" Mayu huffed. "I did what I did because I wanted to help Ina! I didn't care about leaving! All I cared about was Ina getting what she-"

"Mayu, enough," Ina sternly ordered, choosing to only face the heiress. "Truth is, I only went to Mayu about my plan because she was the only person I could trust. We shared our videos with one another beforehand and she agreed to assist me after I convinced her to. Her role in my crime was solely by my design."

"I-Ina!" Mayu turned to her friend in shock. "Y-You can't take the blame for everything! I…"

"Aw, how sweet," Cassandra taunted. "Mayu has a friend who's also a coldblooded killer. Too bad she's going to get canned once we get to voting. Monohebi, get to it already."

"You would all like to vote?" Monohebi questioned, remaining coiled up on that throne of hers. She glanced toward her tail as if she were checking a watch. "How nice. Made for good timing too. Master White Collar will be expecting my return much sooner than I had anticipated."

Monohebi flicked her tongue three times before speaking again.

"I shall ready the vote–"

"No."

"What?" Monohebi shot a glance toward the voice that interrupted her. She was visibly shaken by it, especially since it was something completely unexpected for the person responsible. "M-Mr. Delaney? Is there something you want to say?"

"...This case… isn't over yet," Holland stated, his eyes lingering on Ina, suspiciously.

"Excuse me?" Monohebi deadpanned. Judging by her tone, she didn't seem so happy that this trial was going to get prolonged. "You prisoners. Always so quick to jumping to conclusions that you don't bother checking the facts. What is it now?"

"...There're still some questions that remain unresolved in the case," Holland remarked. "Along with the fact that it seems as if this confession was planned from the very beginning as well…"

"What are you saying?" Barracuda asked, frowning with knitted eyebrows. "That Ina wanted to confess?"

"...I find it hard to believe that someone as meticulous as Ina could be outdone by a single piece of evidence," Holland voiced. "There's still something going on here that I want to further investigate."

"...I already confessed my crime," Ina plainly told the game designer. "There is no point in dragging out a Trial over one's unwillingness to accept that I went out without much a fight… That is... Unless you have evidence that proves otherwise?"

Holland and Ina were in a stare-off. Holland seemed to know what he was talking about, perhaps even on the right track. After all, it was Ina that was contesting against his proposal to continue the Trial.

"...The evidence is simple," Holland said matter-of-factly. "The Autopsy Report specified that Yuumi suffered two head wounds. While we know that one head wound was from the trap, we still don't know what caused the other head wound."

Ina didn't say anything. She pursed her lips, callously as she hugged her jacketless shoulders.

"Y-You're right," Zuri replied with a blink. "And not only that, but wasn't Yuumi's hand cut off as well? We haven't figured out what could've done that."

"Nor did we ever find the hand at all," Jared pointed out.

"A-Ah, y-you're still hiding more from us Ina?" Mayu glanced over to Ina with a small, disappointed look.

"Why are you asking her that?" Cassandra barked toward the heiress. "Aren't you her accomplice?"

"Regardless, I'm willing to agree with the attempted murderer- the first attempted murderer -here," Arthur sighed, also dreading the fact that they had to prolong the Trial further. But for the sake of surviving, they were going to have to go through this process once more. "There are still too many questions that need to be answered."

During this new exchange, Monohebi had a thought. Oh, how she would kill to force this Trial to end. These prisoners were really taking their sweet time. Sigh. In accordance with the rules however, she was going to have to abide by them and not to her own personal self-interests.

"Very well, let the Trial continue," Monohebi announced.

"W-What should we cover first?" Carter asked. "Th-The head wounds or the missing hand?"

"Whatever we can figure out what might have caused which injury first," Haruto answered, leaning on his crutch. "Theoretically, isn't it possible that the second head wound could've been caused by the dumbbell as well?"

"If it was, there's no evidence to suggest when that second head wound might've come from," Abigail noted.

"I got it!" Barracuda boasted. "What if Ina went into the Pony Cell where she laid the trap! Saw Yuumi still breathing and then finished her off! Pow! Whamo!"

"P-Please don't say it like that," Mimi gave a disapproving look toward the personal fitness trainer. The Russian's eyes tightened before he bowed his head as a sign of apology.

"While it's entirely possible that could've happened, there's not enough evidence supporting that theory either," Jared told Barracuda.

"Then what about the hand?" Maggie inquired. "Is there anything we can do to figure out what might've cut off her hand?"

"Does anyone here wield like a knife or anything like that?" Zuri questioned.

"You think someone just cut off her hand like that?" Haruto flatly asked. "Do you know how hard it is to cut off a hand with a knife? At most, they'd have to chop it off and I really hope no one here is that deranged."

"Someone here set a trap to kill me," Arthur quipped. "I'd say that's plenty deranged enough."

Ina shot a hateful stare at the snowboarder.

"Actually, come to think of it," Jared began to say as he caressed his chin and thought of his investigation of the Swimming Pool. "I… I might have an idea on what could've possibly cut off Yuumi's hand."

"You do?" Maggie raised an eyebrow, her curiosity clearly piqued. "Well don't just leave us hanging. Tell us already."

Jared thought back to what they discovered back when they gathered together at the Swimming Pool. Now seeing it like that, it made sense why that would be there.

---

"Ah!" Carter blinked, glancing at the metal covering in surprise. "Ah m-man! Z-Zuri! You b-bled! Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Zuri blinked, slightly confused. "Am I? I guess that fall was harder than I thought it would be."

Carter and Zuri's eyes were directed toward a small pile of blood on the edge of the metal covering where Zuri had fallen. Though, something was off about a pile of blood that supposedly belonged to Zuri and Abigail was the first to point it out.

"You don't seem to be bleeding anywhere," Abigail noted. "And a fall doesn't accumulate blood like this."

---

"Think back to why we opened the pool covering to the Swimming Pool in the first place," Jared urged.

"Because I wanted everyone to have a good time at the Pool?" Maggie answered Jared, remembering the events clear as day.

"Okay, let me rephrase," Jared sighed. "Think back to specifically the blood that we found on the pool covering before we found Yuumi's body. Remember how there was a small pile of blood on the edge of the metal covering?"

"O-Oh!" Carter understood where Jared was coming from. "Y-You don't mean!"

"Yes, I do," Jared confirmed, nodding and pointing his finger at no one in particular. "I think we have every right to believe that what cut off Yuumi's hand was something much simpler.

…

…

...

...

...

...

…The pool covering itself!"

"Th-The pool covering?!" Zuri gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Y-You mean! Th-That's why there was blood on the top of the pool covering?"

"It would be the only way there would be blood on top of the pool covering," Jared explained. "If you stuck your hand in the pool as the covering closed, your hand would get completely cut off and what's left of your wrist would bleed all over the place!"

"Except, in this scenario, it was the other way around," Arthur said. "The body would've in the pool already, and the hand would've been held above the pool covering as it was closing."

"Yet that reveals nothing pertinent however," Ina pointed out. "So, we dumped the body a tad sloppily. It's really nothing to concern yourself with."

Jared eyed the revolutionary closely. Holland was right. There was more to this case than any of them initially realized. But this was the time to bring everything to light. What exactly was Ina hiding and how could Yuumi's hand have a hand in all of this?

"You're right," Jared stated as he looked to Ina, seriously. "How the hand was cut off isn't the most important. What matters is why the hand was cut off."

Ina remained silent. She gave Jared a sour look. She wasn't impressed by these series of deduction. Or rather, she just wasn't happy that everything was slowly unraveling once again.

"Why was the hand cut off?" Mimi asked Jared, assuming he had the answer. He didn't, but he had his suspicions.

An inkling that there was something more. Something more. Why was the hand cut off? Why did the hand have to be cut off. Jared tried rephrasing the question in his mind so he could answer it confidently. A question he could provide something… for…

…He got it.

He had it.

He had an answer for why the hand was cut off.

No.

That wasn't the right question.

The right question was…

"Why was the hand in a position to be cut off in the first place?" Jared asked. "Ina. You said you and Mayu were just sloppy. I doubt it. When you dump a body into a pool, there's no possible way for you to be so sloppy that the hand would raise up above the pool covering. I finally figured it out. The turnabout to the case that you desperately wanted to keep hidden..."

"Geez, preachy much," Cassandra snarked.

Ina gripped her jacket as it was wrapped over her shoulder again, her cheeks much more flustered than it had been before. Jared had to be on the right track.

"What was it?" Haruto asked, banging his crutch onto the podium. "What's the damn secret Ina's been fucking hiding from us, huh?!"

"Think about it like this," Jared began to say. "There is one reason why Yuumi's hand would be above the pool covering. Why Yuumi's hand would have an opportunity to get cut off. Yuumi's hand was above the water simply because…

…

…

…

…

…

...

…Yuumi was climbing out of the pool."

Everyone stared at Jared as if he'd just lost his mind. A majority of the group attempted to repeat what he said in their minds. Yuumi was climbing out of the pool? It was a weird, bold statement to make. Especially since…

"W-What do you mean?!" Barracuda growled, clenching his fist. "How could Yuumi climb out of the pool?! She died when she went to the Equestrian Cell right? And then she got thrown into the pool. So, there's no way she could've climb out of the pool unless… unless… Unless what exactly?"

"Unless… No fucking way," Abigail faltered, her voice softened as her eyes widened. "Are you saying that after everything. After the events of the Equestrian Cell. After her body got moved. And after she got thrown into the pool. After all that, you're telling me that Yuumi…

…

…

…

...

...

...

…was still alive?!"

"W-What?!" Carter stammered, in shock.

"Y-Yuumi was–" Mimi covered her mouth and stopped herself, gripping her witch hat frantically.

"Still alive?!" Maggie finished, feeling like she would faint like a Disney princess. "Th-That's not possible! She died from the trap, right?!"

"That's… what we all thought," Jared paused for a moment as he tipped his hat down. "But as it turns out, we've been wrong from one deduction after another. The trap didn't end up killing Yuumi. As such, the Ultimate Equestrian Cell was not the place where Yuumi died!"

Haruto looked beyond frustrated as he slammed his crutch onto his podium once more.

"Are you fucking saying she died at the Swimming Pool?" he furiously exclaimed. "We fucking started with that didn't we?! How the fuck did we end up going on that whole tangent about the Equestrian Cell?!"

"Don't look at me," Cassandra scoffed, jerking her thumb toward Abigail. "It was Abbygail who mentioned the horse stables in the first place."

"Hey!" Abigail glared at Cassandra. "We were trying to figure out what the wooden plank had to do with anything! If it weren't for us going that route, we would've never figured out that there was a trap in my Cell!"

"...We shouldn't be blaming each other for why our discussions went a certain way," Holland explained. "I suspect that this Trial was also being controlled by Ina as well. Remember why we went and talked about the wooden plank in the first place…"

---

"Hey, speaking of which, when are we going to talk about that thing that Zuri mentioned?" Mayu asked, rubbing her chin curiously.

"What thing?" Ina blinked toward Mayu.

"The wooden plank thing!" Mayu exclaimed, pumping her fists out with a determined expression. "It was the most random object by Yuumi's side when she was in the pool. What is it exactly and why was it there?"

"Oh yeah, that thing..." Haruto rubbed his neck, sheepishly. "Not going to lie, I don't have a damn clue how some random wooden plank fits into all this. But if it was found next to Yuumi's floating ass, then it's gotta be important somehow."

---

"It was because of… Ina and Mayu," Maggie said, narrowing her eyes in realization.

"...And what about when discussing about how the body was moved?" Holland continued.

---

"It is still such a big risk the culprit had to take," Ina muttered. "The distance from the Ultimate Equestrian Cell to the other two Ultimate Cells is like a track and field runway you would typically find at a high school."

Holland's eyes shot open as soon as Ina said that. He thought about what someone else had said earlier and suddenly, a possibility had opened up. A puzzle piece that finally fit into the edges that had already been placed.

"Yeah, it'd be hard for the culprit to carry or drag a body across like that," Haruto nodded.

"That would even be hard for me!" Barracuda exclaimed.

---

"Ina led us down that path," Zuri uttered as she looked at Ina and Mayu in astonishment. "This entire time. This entire Trial. Everything we were talking about was being directed by Ina and Mayu."

"What was supposed to be an easy case was complicated by their actions," Jared gritted through his teeth as he bit his police hat. "Goddamn it! Why?! Why feel the need to do something like this?!"

Mayu looked away. Ina simply folded her arms. It was clear the two of them were hiding something, but what? The heiress didn't say anything, but it was the revolutionary who spoke up.

"We did no such a thing," Ina merely stated. "We just actively participated in the discussion as to not raise suspicion. That was all it was."

"I'm finding that hard to believe, you bitch," Haruto cracked his knuckles. Forget the Minigame. If Ina was trying to get them killed, there was no reason to hold back against this psycho!

"Everything Holland said is baseless speculation," Ina declared. "There was no plot to derail the Trial in anyway. Speaking of which, I believe we've prolonged this Trial long enough. It's time for the vote."

Ina was now pushing for the vote; it was pretty obvious. There was something she was keeping from the rest of them. Boy did it kill them to know what that something was. Too bad it was something they had to figure out themselves. They would be picking up where they had left off… Yuumi climbing out of the pool. Alive. And seriously injured.

"No, we're not letting you push for a vote like that," Abigail fiercely told the revolutionary. "Let's get back to the topic at hand. Yuumi happened to still be alive. Then what, she climbed out of the pool and got her hand cut off?"

"It doesn't feel as straightforward as that," Maggie mused. "Ah! In fact, what about that second head wound? If Yuumi really was alive in the Swimming Pool, wouldn't that mean that the second head injury would've occurred in that area as well?"

"I think you're onto something," Jared nodded toward Maggie. "If we're thinking about it that way, once the body was dumped into the pool, the contact probably jolted Yuumi awake. That was when she tried to climb out of the pool. And whoever hit her again, had to be there at the time to see her climbing up. Ah!"

"I-I see," Carter continued Jared's train of thought. "Th-That might've been when the attack happened. W-Whoever hit her would've been the same person to dump her body because they thought she was d-dead. O-Once they started closing the Pool, th-that was when Y-Yuumi tried climbing out of the pool. To s-see her alive… I imagine th-they probably reacted without thinking and…"

"...They hit Yuumi on the head," Arthur concluded. "This case is finally starting to feel more patent than before. And I believe I know what the secret Ina and Mayu have been keeping all this time."

"Y-You do?" Barracuda asked, inhaling sharply.

"Is that so Arthur Kingston?" Ina sneered, challenging the ice king himself. "Very well. What absurd notion have you figured out? Go on. I am waiting."

"I-Ina…" Mayu murmured slowly to herself as she averted her eyes.

"The answer is plain and simple," Arthur indicated with a smug and unapologetic smile. "The secret you and Mayu are so desperate to keep is painfully clear now that we've discussed this further. Everything you confessed to isn't the entire truth. The truth is…

…

…

…

…

…

...

…You, Ina, are not the culprit. You've been trying to protect the true culprit this entire time. The true culprit of this crime. Mayu Mashiro!"

"Ahhhhh!" Mayu shrieked, feeling her stomach churn with anxiety. She seemed close to throwing up.

"Agh!" Ina felt the gust of wind once more, so she held her jacket down. She made sure she wasn't going to lose it a second time. Once she regained her composure, Ina slammed her fist onto the podium. "What is your basis to believe that Mayu is the culprit?! She's the accomplice to my crime!"

"Yes, she was initially the accomplice in your plot," Arthur said with that painful yet punchable smirk. "Let's run through this one more time. As the culprit and accomplice, you and Mayu came up with the scheme to set up the trap, murder me and later exchange evidence and whatnot from one Ultimate Cell to the other. You first delivered Yuumi to Mayu on her side, unaware of Yuumi actually still clinging to life. Mayu then sent the horse back. Afterwards, you sent yourself over with all of the remaining pieces of evidence pertaining to the trap from the Equestrian Cell. Upon arriving at the Basketball Player Cell, you and Mayu transported everything to the Swimming Pool. You first dumped the body into the water. Then you, Ina, left the Swimming Pool to play the part of the Yuumi imposter, to throw off any potential witnesses from the actual time of death. Ultimately, that left one person at the Swimming Pool at the time. Your accomplice, who undoubtedly came into contact with Yuumi, whose flight-or-fight response was to climb out of the Pool."

"So, you think it was Mayu because she was the only one at the Pool at the time?" Ina fixated a dangerous stare on Arthur. "I am afraid that logic is false. Don't you remember the time when Barracuda witnessed me heading back to the Equestrian Cell? It was around 8:00. Mayu would've already been in her Cell by the time he arrived, and I would be in the Equestrian Cell putting the horses away."

"Y-Yeah!" Mayu chimed in, feeling the strength to hold down any potential bile she might spill. "I was there at 7:30! Ina had to leave at around 7:50 or 7:55 for Barracuda to catch her as Yuumi. That's not enough time for me to go hit Yuumi, clean everything up, and act like nothing happened in Barracuda's Cell!"

"She has a point!" Barracuda said. "When I got there, Mayu was all sweaty and she was really hard at work! There's no way she could've went ahead and hid evidence under five-ten minutes. If she did though, I'd be very impressed! Nice workout routine!"

"Th-This is no time to compliment her!" Carter scolded, flabbergasted by Barracuda's easygoing personality.

"D-Don't mention me sweating you ape!" Mayu was more so flustered over how little tact Barracuda had when it came to describing these scenarios.

"You brainless mongrel," Arthur grunted, directing a gaze toward Barracuda expressing how stupid he was. "Has it not occurred to you already that the only reason she was hard at work was because she was hard at work from hiding away pieces of evidence? I think it's entirely possible for Mayu to complete the task in under five to ten minutes."

"I-Impossible!" Ina barked.

"Y-Yeah, impossible!" Mayu cried.

"I get it now," Cassandra drawled, finally jumping in with her own smirk. "That would explain why it was there in the first place."

"What are you on about now, Cassandra?" Ina growled, turning to the Ultimate Bitch with a heated glare. She was definitely not the person Ina wanted to start campaigning for Mayu to be condemned for murdering someone.

"Remember the dumbbell I found in the fish's cell?" Cassandra began, jogging everyone's memory with a nonchalant expression. "That would explain why it was hidden in the dumbbell racks from the start. Mayu… got caught and by the fish no doubt!"

"G-Got caught?" Zuri's gaze shifted from Cassandra, to Mayu, then to Barracuda. "B-Barracuda! What exactly was Mayu doing at the time you arrived?"

"H-Huh?" Barracuda blinked before rubbing the back of his neck. He was doing his best to remember something useful. And what he remembered…

---

When Barracuda entered his Ultimate Cell, he was surprised to see someone he just didn't expect to see in the Ultimate Personal Trainer's Cell. There was Mayu, on the floor, sweating, putting back a dumbbell into the dumbbell rack as she blinked back toward Barracuda. As it turned out, the heiress had no doubt been exercising. A duffel bag was on the ground next to her as she looked surprised to see the large male enter. Actually, surprised might not be the best word as she suddenly stood up and hugged herself in a yell.

---

"Well, if you want to know what exactly I saw…" Barracuda mumbled to himself. Though it seemed like he had trouble remembering, or at rather getting the words out.

"The fact that we have to depend on the memories of a fish," Cassandra complained, shaking her head. "Did you see her with the dumbbell or not?!"

"Ah!" Barracuda gasped before smiling proudly. "The dumbbell! Yes! She was holding a dumbbell! And she put it back on the rack around the time I showed up!... Wait! That was the dumbbell used to hit Yuumi?!"

"Yes, dumbass!" Cassandra snapped at the personal trainer. "I can't believe that whatever shit the culprit and accomplice had been doing had to be witnessed by this dumbass here!"

"We have Yuumi posing as the imposter and Mayu trying to hide evidence," Arthur chuckled to himself. "How unbelievable it is for someone to be that lucky to uncover a plot. Fortunately for the two at the time, Barracuda lacks awareness skills, so he thought nothing of everything you two were doing."

"H-Hey, that's… kind of mean," Barracuda faltered, glancing at the floor dejectedly.

"Even so, just because Mayu put away a dumbbell, it still does not exactly prove anything," Ina argued. "For all you know, she could very well have been exercising."

"Y-Yeah, exercising!" Mayu repeated. Her face conveyed all sorts of emotions but most of it held uncertainty. "As I said I was doing! Oh oh! And also! Your accusations? Baseless! You have no tangible evidence!"

Arthur didn't respond. It was true. They didn't have the evidence. What they had was an accomplice who was at the Pool at the possible time Yuumi came back to life. It was entirely plausible something else happened, but this path was the best path for them to travel by. It was the path that made the most sense. Yet how could they prove something like this? They were so close. They knew the culprit was Mayu; in spite of that, how could they prove once and for all it was her?

"We need evidence that proves that Mayu was the only one who committed the crime," Jared stated. "And for that to work, we need to prove that she had to have been the only one at the Swimming Pool around 7:50."

"...There is one piece of evidence that can prove that..." Holland voiced.

"You again," Ina scoffed. "I will humor you this time. What evidence do you have that proves Mayu was the only one at the Swimming Pool?"

Mayu remained silent while awaiting Holland's response.

Holland took a deep breath. They got this far. He couldn't fail everyone now. He knew what he was talking about. He had confidence that this was where his logic was taking him. So, he answered Ina's question with that same stoic expression he had on his face, only much more serious.

…

…

...

...

...

...

"...I don't have the evidence to prove Mayu was the only one at the Swimming Pool," Holland stated.

"Yo, what the fuck?" Haruto flatly cursed at Holland.

"Hmph, as I predicted," Ina snorted. "You have no evidence to prove Mayu as the culprit."

Mayu continued to remain silent over his comment.

"...Because we still haven't found it yet," Holland continued after his brief pause. "Namely, Yuumi's severed hand."

"W-What?!" Ina felt that gust of wind blow against her jacket. This time, she held it firmly over her shoulder with one hand. Mayu covered her mouth, appearing almost green in the face.

"...Yuumi's decapitated hand is the only thing that can prove that Mayu was the only one at the Swimming Pool," Holland explained. "Because if Mayu was the only one at the Swimming Pool, only she had the chance to remove the decapitated hand from the scene of the crime. And the only time that hand would've appeared would've been…?"

Holland paused to let someone else fill in the rest, as a sign that everyone understood what he was saying. Zuri took the bait and jumped in.

"...When Mayu hit Yuumi on the head a second time!" Zuri exclaimed.

"...Exactly," Holland said. "Unfortunately, that hand is still missing, but it being missing only proves that…"

"Y-You're reaching!" Ina shouted. "Why couldn't it be me who went back to the Swimming Pool to retrieve the hand?!"

"And risk ten or more minutes with a severed hand exposed outside the Swimming Pool's covering?" Jared questioned. "No. No one would risk that. Not you. And definitely not Mayu."

"Then… where is the hand, right now?" Ina pounded her fist against the podium, gritting her teeth. "If you truly think that Mayu was the one who possessed the hand, then she would have gotten rid of it. Yes? Oh. Except, she did not. It was me who got rid of it."

"You're still trying to cover for Mayu, seriously of all people?" Cassandra groaned dramatically. "I don't even know who to fucking vote for at this point. Ina or Mayu?"

"Let's not start the vote just yet," Zuri said, looking over at Cassandra with an unamused gaze. "We still have to figure out where that hand is. Once we do, we can finally disclose whether Mayu or Ina is the culprit. If we risk it now, we might end up being wrong."

"And how on Earth do you propose on finding a hacked off hand?" Cassandra retorted with a deep scowl. "Because if you have any good place to suggest, I'm all ears."

"There had to be some place Mayu would've hidden it during her rush to hide the evidence," Jared guessed, as his eyes slowly trailed toward Barracuda. "Which means, Barracuda, we might need that memory of yours to come into play once more."

"God, not this idiot again!" Cassandra whined as Barracuda then tried his best to remember.

"W-What exactly am I trying to remember here?" the larger male asked, confused.

"Anything that Mayu might've had with her that could've helped her hide evidence," Maggie told Barracuda. "Take your time, Barry. No rush. Don't listen to Cassandra. Think of anything… like a box or suitcase or a…"

Barracuda continued racking through his brain. He went back to that same memory from before. That same memory of him entering his Cell and seeing Mayu putting away that dumbbell. What else did she have? What else…?

---

When Barracuda entered his Ultimate Cell, he was surprised to see someone he just didn't expect to see in the Ultimate Personal Trainer's Cell. There was Mayu, on the floor, sweating, putting back a dumbbell into the dumbbell rack as she blinked back toward Barracuda. As it turned out, the heiress had no doubt been exercising. A duffel bag was on the ground next to her as she looked surprised to see the large male enter. Actually, surprised might not be the best word as she suddenly stood up and hugged herself in a yell.

---

"Bag!" Barracuda suddenly shouted. "Bag! Bag! Bag! Mayu! She! She had a duffel bag!"

"A duffel bag?" Maggie certainly wasn't expecting that. "AH-"

Mayu immediately spewed whatever she had for breakfast today. Unfortunately, Maggie was seated right next to her, so she got the full brunt of Mayu's vomit.

"...M-Mayu, that is so gross!" Maggie wailed, looking absolutely mortified at what had happened.

"Hold on, a duffel bag?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow. Where had she heard about a duffel bag before? It didn't take long for her to realize where she had heard about them before. She widened her eyes. Her mind traced back to a memory of her Investigation in Barracuda's Cell.

---

"Hey, fish-for-brains," Cassandra turned to the depressed looking Barracuda. "These little cubbyholes had duffel bags in every storage space. Right?"

"Uh, yeah, they should all be in there," Barracuda blinked, confused over Cassandra's questioning. "Why?"

"One of these cubbyholes is empty," Cassandra crossed her arms. "What happened to that one?"

---

"Ah, the one that Mayu took from the cubby?" Cassandra blinked before widening her eyes. "Wait a minute. Fish-For-Brains. Didn't you leave to talk to Mayu about returning the damn duffel bag?!"

"Uh, d-did I say I was going to do that?" Barracuda started to sweat.

---

"Speaking of forget, I might have to ask Mayu to return that duffel bag," Barracuda rubbed his chin. "It's the Personal Trainer's Cell property so I can't have anything like that leaving my gym!"

"Does that mean you're going to leave me to investigate alone in peace?" Cassandra asked hopefully.

"Great idea!" Barracuda grinned toward Cassandra. "I'm gonna go head off and find Mayu! Investigate alone and peacefully!"

---

"Y-You fucking did!" Cassandra glared at Barracuda. "Did you find the damn duffel bag or not?!"

"Uh, I... um... I forgot to... ask," Barracuda looked down sheepishly.

"You are a brainless, dumbfucked, retarded, idiot," Cassandra did not hold back with the insults this time. She slammed her hand onto her podium, getting more and more agitated with Barracuda's antics.

"So does that mean that Mayu never returned the duffel bag?" Mimi gasped in realization as Mayu spewed out another round of what she had for breakfast toward Maggie.

"A-Ah, stop please!" Maggie pleaded, disgusted. "This is one kink that is not on my list!"

"Regardless, even if she didn't return it or not, there is no doubt about it," Jared stated confidently. "That duffel bag should have some remaining pieces of evidence from the case at hand. More specifically, it will have the hand that we've been looking for. Yuumi's hand... should be in that duffel bag!"

"N-Not possible!" Ina exclaimed, looking increasingly worried about her friend. "Th-The only reason why Mayu never returned it is because she misplaced it somewhere! R-Right, Mayu? W-Where did you put it last? Tell them once and for all that you are not the culprit!"

Mayu's complexion was a sickly shade of green. She looked absolutely sick. It seemed that every lie she had been holding in was starting to regurgitate out of her in the form of slop and undigested chunks of breakfast. Maggie ducked and hid before she could upchuck anything else. The heiress struggled to speak as she wobbled around. This was it. The moment of truth. The moment that Ina knew for sure that they had to give up… right?

"...M-My room," Mayu weakly answered Ina.

"Y-Your… Y-Your what–?!" Ina cried. No. This couldn't be happening.

"Is this finally it?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow at Mayu's disheveled state. "Are you finally admitting that you are the true culprit of this crime?"

"I… I…" Mayu clutched her stomach. This was an awful feeling. To be put on the spot and accused as the culprit only to be the person everyone was after. It really was a horrible feeling. "I… I'm sorry Ina. I can't… H-Hold it in anymore longer."

"O-Oh no," Maggie whispered in horror before shutting her eyes and covering her head.

"Ah… Ah… Ah… Ah… Ahm s-so… s-sorry… Urp!" there was truth to what Mayu said. She truly couldn't keep it in anymore. Without warning, she vomited on her own podium. The lies. The deceit. The truth. Breakfast. Everything was spilled onto her podium, splashing back into Maggie and Mimi who were nearby.

"Eep!" Mimi squeaked, covering her face from the vomit with her witch hat.

Maggie had no such luck as she felt some of it fall into her hair.

Then, frothing at the mouth, Mayu was done puking, and she finally collapsed onto her pile of gunk and leftovers. Arthur couldn't help but be tickled at the sight. Shaking his head, he turned to Ina, who was looking absolutely flustered by the results of the finale of this debate.

"It seems your lies are meaningless now that the true culprit of the crime has been revealed," Arthur gloated. "What do you say to that now, Ina Hamamura?!"

Ina shook her fist. She couldn't believe that Mayu had given up like that. Not only that, but now Arthur was mocking her for it. It failed. Their plan failed. Baring her teeth, she growled and looked down at her podium before loudly banging against it, all the while, cursing repeatedly.

"D-Damn it!" Ina bellowed before glowering back up at the rich smug-looking snowboarder. "D-Damn it! Damn you, Arthur Kingston! Damn you!"

Then she yelled a little louder. One simple, powerful, heart-wrenching line:

"DAMN YOUUUUUUU!"

---

DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE

---

Act 1: The case began with a note that was sent to Arthur Kingston's room. The main instigator of the case, Ina Hamamura, wrote a note directing him to go to the Equestrian Cell. However, as Arthur suspected some shady business behind the note he was given, he decided to hand the note to someone who could scout out what business he would've gotten into. That someone was the victim of the case, Yuumi Kizuchi.

Act 2: Once Yuumi received the note, because she had the Advantage to explore the facility throughout the entirety of Nighttime without any repercussions, she was able to visit the Equestrian Cell as soon as possible. Unbeknownst to her, a trap was waiting to be sprung…

Act 3: Before sending the note, Ina and the culprit had set up a unique trap resembling that of a fishing line. They tied a blank note to one end of a wooden plank that had been knocked out of place by Judas the horse days prior. The culprit, held onto the ladder in order for Ina to transport the items on top of the stables. Once Ina was at the top, she placed the wooden plank on the edge of the top of the horse's stables. Then, she placed a dumbbell on top of it as the main weapon of choice. In order to also prevent anyone from sabotaging the trap, she also blocked off the access to the top of the stables with hay bales. This was the trap that awaited Yuumi, originally intended for Arthur Kingston.

Act 4: When Yuumi arrived, she immediately saw the blank note that was dangling in the air. Unknown to her, this would be the bait that would seal her fate. But because she was shorter than Arthur, she had to make use of a ladder in order to retrieve the note. Thanks to the ladder's instability, Yuumi used it to fall toward the note and grab it while she was falling. The force used when she grabbed the note however caused the trap to activate and cause the dumbbell keeping everything stable up top to slide and fall straight down onto Yuumi's head. Yuumi was dead…

Act 5: …or so Ina and the culprit thought. Surprised to find Yuumi on the floor instead of Arthur, Ina decided to go through with their original plan: moving the body elsewhere to clear away suspicion of everything that happened in the Equestrian's Cell. With the culprit on the other side of Cell Block B, Ina made use of Bartholomew the horse by tying Yuumi's apparent corpse to the horse and forcing him to ride to the Ultimate Basketball Cell.

Act 6: While this happened, Haruto, who had just left the Ultimate Basketball Cell after getting his injury all patched up by Monohebi, noticed the body transferal process but mistook it for Yuumi riding the horse. Once Bartholomew made it to the Ultimate Basketball Cell, Ina's accomplice, the culprit, helped Yuumi off of the horse and sent the horse back to the Equestrian Cell.

Act 7: This was when Ina tossed the rope away and gathered the wooden plank and the dumbbell. Then with Bartholomew, she rode back to the Ultimate Basketball Cell with the remaining evidence at hand. Then together with the culprit, the two moved everything besides the horse, to the Swimming Pool, leaving behind a trail of blood from Yuumi's head.

Act 8: Once at the Swimming Pool, the two tossed Yuumi's body into the Swimming Pool. This would be the moment where Ina would leave to return the horse and to risk being suspected of any foul play should the body be found, Ina wore Yuumi's sailor hat and carried Sailor Penguin in an attempt to disguise herself as Yuumi.

Act 9: When Ina left, that's when the circumstances began to change. The shock of being thrown into the Pool must've woken Yuumi up. Confused, the victim would've tried to climb out of the Pool in an attempt to return to the surface. However, because the metal covering was closing at the time, mixed with the culprit's shock at her survival, they panicked and used the nearest blunt object, the dumbbell, to silence her forever.

Act 10: The act of hitting Yuumi on the head once again killed her but since she was hit as soon as she almost climbed out mixed with the pool covering closing, her hand ended up getting cut off, leaving a bloodstain on top of the metal covering. This threw the culprit into further panic as they tried to clear away the evidence used in their crime. This was when they headed into the Ultimate Personal Trainer's Cell to retrieve a duffel bag.

Act 11: While this was going on, Ina, disguised as Yuumi, led the horse back to the Equestrian Cell. In doing so, she was caught by Barracuda, who was easily fooled by the disguise and thought nothing else of it.

Act 12: Back at the Pool, the culprit had hidden most of the evidence, specifically the hand, in their duffel bag. However, as they had hoped to exit quietly through the Ultimate Personal Trainer's Cell, Barracuda had arrived and to pretend that they were exercising, the culprit placed the dumbbell used for the murder back at the dumbbell rack and was forced into a conversation with Barracuda.

Act 13: Ina on the other hand, disposed of her disguise by tossing the hat and Sailor Penguin into Bartholomew's empty stable. However, unbeknownst to her at the time, her entanglement with Sailor Penguin caused one of the plush toy's eyes to get snagged on her jacket. Even worse is that Bartholomew had gotten agitated after being used in the murder plot that he started to mess things up in the Equestrian Cell, effectively breaking the rest of Judas' gate.

Act 14: As for the culprit? After their conversation with Barracuda, they left the Ultimate Personal Trainer's Cell with the duffel bag in tow, hiding it in their own room.

These were the pieces that were set in place by the culprit and their accomplice. Who we originally thought was the culprit, Ina Hamamura, was no more than the accomplice to the real culprit: Mayu Mashiro, the Ultimate Heiress!

---

And thus marks the official end of the Chapter 2 Trial :D I also cannot believe the Closing Argument Act count is doubled from Trial 1's Closing Argument Act count XE What the bruh-

Now, regarding this Trial... Jesus Christ this just took over as the longest chapter of Corrupted Hope thus far and hopefully has the max words that I will ever write for Corrupted Hope. Last thing I need is for this to feel like it's dragging on D: Or I could've divided things better, but the stuff talked about in this Trial Part made much more sense to be talked about in this specific Trial Part.

Also, another thing I gotta say is that the part where Ina gets discovered to be the culprit behind the trap. Yes, that part was definitely not something I'm especially proud of... like everything leading up to it and the explanations aren't that top tier, and figuring out how to get her accused was as difficult as explaining how the contraption was made. And although she did break down a little quickly, it did kind of make sense since she only gave up because she was trying to protect Mayu. Granted, I guess what I can say is that the execution regarding the entirety of figuring out it was Ina could've been done a lot better but do I hope everything else makes up for it!

Or maybe I'm too hard on myself and everything is fine! It's really up to you guys to decide!

Aside from that, let me know what you guys thought of the conclusion to the Trial! The conclusion to the overall Chapter should be coming out by the end of next week! You will get to know why I chose Mayu as the true culprit and my personal thoughts of this chapter as a whole! Execution, yada yada! And overall, it has been an amazing journey going through Chapter 2 :D And boy can I not wait for Chapter 2 to end and Chapter 3 to officially start... soon... after whatever break I take ;D

---

Prisoners Remaining: 13

---

Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular)

Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7)

Barracuda - The Ultimate Personal Trainer (Weekaro)

Carter Franklin - The Ultimate Opinion Columnist (armadas)

Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate ? (ExtraMeme)

Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Former Basketball Player (theotakureader101)

Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi)

Ina Hamamura - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping)

Jared Ceartas - The Ultimate Police Officer (Otterplay)

Maggie LaDroubi - The Ultimate Supermodel (Project Drama)

Mayu Mashiro - The Ultimate Heiress (zetsunaflame)

Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan)

Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45)