After leaving the trash room, TK went over his mental checklist. He now knows that someone managed to get rid of some evidence with the incinerator only to leave behind more clues. He needed to ask Chihiro about the numbers 11037 and if they mean anything. He also needed to ask Hiro about the broken glass ball he found in the trash room.
But he first needed to check where the knife came from, the dining hall. So after a short walk, TK entered the dining hall to find Hina slowly nibbling on a donut.
"Hey, Hina, are you taking a break from investigating?" TK asked when he saw. She gave him a small smile and put her donut down.
"You can say that I am," she said before frowning. "Actually, I've been taking a break since we started. This is all a first for me, ya know? I don't have the first clue what I should be doing."
"Well, you're not alone with that sentiment. In fact, I don't think anyone here knows what they're doing," TK said and it made Hina feel a little better.
"I dunno why, but being in the dining hall helps keep me calm. So I know I shouldn't, but I've just been kinda… hanging around here," Hina chuckled before frowning again. "To tell the truth… I was doing the same thing last night, when Sayaka was killed…"
TK nodded before leaving her alone with her donut. He walked into the kitchen and instantly noticed that one of the knives from the knife set was missing.
"So the murder weapon was one of the kitchen knives. Or was it missing before everything happened?" TK asked out loud. "I should Hina, she did say she was here last night."
TK left the kitchen at the same time Hina finished her donut.
"Did you notice that one of the kitchen knives is missing?" TK asked and she nodded.
"Yeah, weird huh? I thought it was kinda strange, a knife just suddenly disappearing like that," Hina said, crossing her arms.
"So it wasn't missing this whole time?"
"Nope. Last I remember, they were all lined up in a nice, neat row."
"When did you notice that one of them had disappeared?" TK asked.
"Well, I went to go get some tea from the kitchen last night, and all the knives were still there. But when I finished my tea and went back into the kitchen to wash my glass, one of the knives was gone," Hina recalled the night before.
"You're saying the knife disappeared when you were drinking your tea?" TK asked and Hina nodded.
"Yeah…"
'So, you were right here when someone came and took the knife. Then you could tell everyone that I didn't come to the dining hall last night,' TK thought and he felt his hope rising. Now he has someone who could vouch for him to convince the others that he's innocent.
"Hey, by the way… I wanted to let you know that I don't think you killed Sayaka," Hina said, making TK feel even better than he was already feeling.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Hina said. "After our talk yesterday, and you telling me how close you were with your friends, I don't think you would ever kill anyone, especially a friend."
"Thank you, Hina!" TK said and he scooped her up into a hug. He quickly broke away from the hug and bolted out of the dining hall, leaving behind a blushing Hina.
Checking off another item on his checklist, TK made it to the gym. Junko's lifeless body was still lying on the floor, making him want to throw up. He thought for sure that Monokuma would've done something with the body by now, but it appears he was wrong. TK shook his head, he couldn't worry about that right now.
TK spotted both Chihiro and Hiro off on different sides of the gym. Chihiro was sitting on the bleachers furthest away from the body, keeping her eyes on anything but the corpse in the room. Hiro was still panicking by the stage, muttering about escaping and a way out. TK chose to talk with Chihiro first, knowing that Hiro was going to give him a headache. He didn't want to get another one so soon after getting over the one Hifumi gave him.
"Hey, Chihiro, can I ask you something?" TK asked after sitting down in front of the computer programmer. He chose a spot where her back was facing Junko's body. He didn't want to risk her seeing it while they were talking.
"Oh? What is it?"
"Before she died, Sayaka wrote out the numbers 11037 and I wanted to know if they mean anything. Could it be a code or something?" TK asked and Chihiro hummed as she brought a finger to her chin.
"Sorry, no…" Chihiro said while slowly shaking her head. She bowed her head and TK could see tears in the corners of her eyes. "I-I'm sorry… I just don't know."
"Don't worry about it. Thanks for the help," TK said and he gave her a comforting pat on the back.
TK moved on to Hiro, someone he knew would give him his second headache of the day.
"Hiro, I need to ask you something?" TK asked but Hiro didn't hear him.
"Aggh! No no no no no! I gotta get outta here! Gotta get out now! I've had enough! Gotta free!" Hiro cried out in distress. TK sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knows that Hiro is very emotional right now, but he couldn't waste time trying to calm the big-haired man.
"Hiro!" TK shouted. That snapped Hiro out of his stupor because he went from a panicking mess to someone who didn't even know where they were.
"Huh? Takeru, what are you doing here? What…?" Hiro said while looking around. Not wasting time, TK held out a sandwich bag filled with the glass shards he found in the trash room. He went back after leaving the dining hall to collect them before Hifumi threw them out.
"Does this look familiar?" TK asked and Hiro screamed.
"That's my crystal ball! But… it's all smashed! What the hell…? I-I only bought it cuz the guy said it was blessed! He said it was unbreakable…! So… how did it break?" Hiro said as he grasped the bag. It didn't take long for the realization to hit him like a truck. "Was it actually just made of glass!? And not crystal!? Did that guy totally dupe me!? He said it belonged to the pillars of history… Genghis Khan, George Washington, Napoleon… He said whoever controlled that crystal ball controlled the world! Was that seriously all BS!?"
"Let's get to the matter at hand," TK said to get back onto the main subject. "So did this belong to you?"
"Yeah, that's mine for sure. I prolly forgot it in the laundry room last night. Someone musta come by snatched it," Hiro said while scratching the back of his head.
'If it was left in the laundry room then anyone could've taken it,' TK thought.
"Thanks for your help, Hiro," TK said and Hiro mumbled out a "sure". He started to leave, glad that he didn't get a headache while talking with Hiro, but his curiosity got the better of him as he turned back to the fortune teller. "I know I might regret this, but how much did you pay for that thing?"
"Everything I saved up from fortune-telling for two full years. Came out to be like… a million," Hiro revealed and TK felt his head hurt as he stood there dumbfounded.
"Huh?"
"That's pretty cheap, actually. I mean, considering it gives you the power to control the world…" Hiro tried to defend himself. TK felt it was for the best to leave before his brain just keels over.
'I can't even feel bad for him. Anyone could see that it was a scam from a mile away!' TK said in his head when he left the gym.
TK made his way back to the dorm hallway. He managed to check off everything that he set out to do except for one thing, learn what was on Sayaka's DVD. He knows that whatever is on her DVD won't help him during the trial, but he wanted to know what had her so spooked yesterday, and since Sayaka is dead he has no other option but to watch the video himself.
TK came up to the door with Sayaka's nameplate on it and was surprised to find it unlocked. He was even more surprised to open the door to see his room on the other side. He then looked down the hall to see his nameplate on the door next to his room. TK was confused at first until he remembered Leon mentioning something about the nameplates.
'Did someone switch the nameplates?' TK thought in his head. He pushed that thought to the side, choosing to worry about it later. He went into Sayaka's room, fished the DVD out of the trash, and rushed to the A/V room.
Dark thoughts flooded his mind when he entered the A/V room. The memory of his video and not knowing what happened to his friends flashed in his mind. He wanted to leave and get as far away from the room as quickly as possible, but he couldn't do that, not yet. He needed to know what was on Sayaka's DVD.
He sat down at the closest screen and inserted the disc into the player. He pushed play, and the screen was dark for a few seconds before it was flooded by bright lights. It appeared to be a concert if the singing and cheering fans were of any indication. TK could see that an idol group was performing with Sayaka taking center stage.
She looked like she was floating on air as she was performing with her friends in front of the roaring crowd. It was the happiest he has ever seen her, in a place where she belonged surrounded by the people she loves. Seeing her like this made it hard for him to accept that she was dead. Someone so joyful with her whole life ahead of her, just gone in an instant made his heart ache.
Then, the voice he had come to hate floated out of the speakers.
"Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation– lead singer for a world-famous all-girl pop band. For these girls, the glowing spotlight only made them that much more beautiful, But then…" The screen went dark and all sound was cut from the speaker. If it weren't for his own video, TK would've assumed that the screen and video player were broken.
Soon, a different image popped onto the screen and sound returned to the speakers. What TK saw almost made him fall out of his seat. There was no music, no roaring crowd, and the stage was in ruins. Sayaka disappeared from the screen and her friends were lying unconscious on the stage.
What made it worse was the close-up of Monokuma's face on the monitor on the stage.
"This ultra-successful team suddenly fell apart! None of them will ever perform onstage again. None of them will ever feel the warmth of the spotlight. For Sayaka, there's simply nowhere for her to return to. So here's the billion-dollar question– what oh what could have caused the group to go to pieces!?"
The screen faded to black, and just like his video the sentence, "Look for the answer after graduation!" appeared on screen before the video ended.
"What the hell?" TK said out loud. They were a super famous idol group and Monokuma was powerful enough to get them too. Everyone on the outside must be freaking out. "What kind of person would take this thing this far!?"
*Ding dong, bing bong*
The monitor on the wall turned on to reveal a bored Monokuma holding a drink.
"Erm, so ah… I'm getting tired of waiting. What say we just get started, hm? It's time for the long-awaited… Class trial!" Monokuma declared and accidentally threw his drink while celebrating. "Now then, allow me to appoint a proper location for the proceedings. Please go through the red door on the 1st floor of the school! Puhuhu. See you soon!"
TK sighed as he got up from his seat. It was time for the thing he was dreading the most, the class trial. He didn't know if he had enough evidence to not only clear his own name but also figure out who the killer is, he just had to hope. Though it didn't matter if he had enough or not, because by the end of the day at least one more person will lose their life.
It didn't take him long to find the red door. He walked into the room to find everyone standing around in front of what appeared to be an elevator.
"You're late, Takeru! We've all been waiting for you!" Taka exclaimed while pointing at him. Everyone turned their attention toward him. Some were looking at him with looks of disdain or pity.
'Good to know people still suspect me,' TK thought sarcastically.
"Hmph. I bet y-you were afraid you would be discovered as the murderer you are…" Toko said while blushing with a sly grin etched on her face. TK swore he saw a few people inch away from her.
"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet! Save that for the class trial!" Taka reprimanded her. TK smiled, glad that someone other than Hina didn't suspect him of murder. "There we can all reveal the details of Takeru's crime!"
'Nevermind, guess it's only Hina who thinks I'm innocent,' TK sighed, he really thought after the investigation some people's opinions would have changed. 'But it's terrifying to think that someone in this room killed Sayaka.'
The monitor in the room turned on to reveal Monokuma with a new glass.
"Puhuhu… Is everyone here? Okay then, please board the elevator in front of you, which will transport you to the courtroom where all your fates will be decided," Monokuma instructed them, and the elevator door opened. "Puhuhu. I'll meet you all down there. I'll be waiting…"
The monitor turned off and everyone in the room stared at the elevator. They all knew they had no choice, but it didn't mean that none of them were afraid of what awaited them in the near future.
"Let us begin…" Sakura said and she was the first one to step into the elevator.
"Good idea," Celeste agreed, following after the martial artist. Soon one by one they all began to file into the elevator.
"Are you scared?" Kyoko asked, coming up behind him.
"I don't think scared is the right word," TK responded. He was mostly numb if he was being honest.
"I said it before, but it's up to you to uncover the mysteries surrounding this case yourself. If you don't, you'll never come to grips with the truth," Kyoko told him before stepping onto the elevator.
'Easier said than done. I need to convince almost everyone that I didn't kill Sayaka before I uncover the truth of this case,' TK thought to himself after walking into the elevator. 'But I swear I'll figure out who did it, for Sayaka.'
The elevator began its descent with heavy clunking sounds toward the school's basement.
"I wonder if this is how a death row inmate feels when his time finally comes…" Leon voiced his opinion. A few gave him frustrated glances, clearly not happy with what he said.
"Rather than that, is it not more like a defendant waiting to receive his judgment?" Celeste suggested and a few of the frustrating glances turned to her.
Anxiety started to build as the elevator kept lowering further into the school. Leon and Celeste's talks of judgment and death didn't help either. The elevator stopped with a ding and the doors opened to reveal a room with blue walls, gold columns, and red curtains. In the center of the room were multiple podiums in the shape of a circle.
One of the podiums had a stand with a picture of Sayaka crossed out and another with Junko's face crossed out. They soon spotted Monokuma maniacally laughing on a throne.
"You've finally arrived! What do you think? Doesn't it feel just like a real courtroom? It's like a Hollywood movie set, right!?"
"Not even close. It's total shit," Mondo grumbled.
"Okay, okay, everyone find your assigned seats and sit down! Hurry up now, hurry up!" Monokuma ordered. Everyone assumed he was talking about the podiums because the only seat in the room was his throne. Everyone found the podium that was assigned to them and they all waited for further instruction.
'This is it. All the work that we did earlier has led up to this. Will we be able to point out the real murderer and live to see another day in this prison? Or will the killer get away with their crime and all of our lives end where we stand?'
