Chapter Text

“Is everybody ready?” Monokuma cries, throwing his paws wide. “Now then, let's start with a basic explanation of the Class Trial. During the class trial, you will present your arguments for who the killer is, and vote for 'whodunnit'. If you vote correctly, then only the guilty party will receive punishment But if you pick the wrong person... I'll punish everyone besides the guilty party, and that person will earn the right to leave this castle! Oh, and of course...”

He claps his paws together and one of the thick green drapes slides away, revealing the Monowheel. Lights spin around its outer edge in a circle, illuminating all the different potential outcomes.

“What's that doing down here?” Haru asks.

“Well, it's the motive, of course!” Monokuma cackles. “And the winner of the Trial, be that the innocent or the guilty... gets to reap the rewards with a big spin!”

“You keep treating this like a game,” Mitsu says coldly. “What do you get out of this?”

“Time and a place for a Q&A on that subject,” Monokuma shrugs. “Now shut up and get to work! The Trial... is now... in session!”

As if on cue, lights flash on at the base of each of the stands, and with a strange electrical thrum, each of them start to rise. I grip the sides of my stand, feeling my stomach lurch as I rise further and further off of the ground, until suddenly we're all floating a good ten feet above the floor. I can see that under the base of each of our stands is a weird combination of what looks like huge chunks of glass and machinery, all glowing with a weird blue light.

“Wh-what the hell?”

“This is... crazy!”

“How the hell did that happen?”

Haru turns to face Monokuma. “What's the point of this?”

Monokuma manages a half-assed shrug. “Dramatic effect, mainly. Now get to work!”

“Wh-where do we even start with this?” asks Daisuke, nervously. He glances down at the floor below and seems to flinch a little. The dull lighting in here makes it seem so much further away...

“Well, does anyone have anything they'd like to suggest to get the ball rolling?” Miniro says. “It doesn't matter what it is.”

“Well, how about we just quickly go over the Monokuma File?” Fumio offers. “That way we're all on an equal footing for a starting point.”

“That's a good idea,” Mitsu nods.

“Oh, if I might interject!” Monokuma cries, waving his paws above his head. “For your convenience, if you all place your ElectroIDs on the stands in front of you, they will display any relevant information for everyone to see through the screens on the walls behind you, and... this!”

With a flourish, he turns his gaze down to the centre of the floor. With a faint grumble of stone-on-stone, a small circle of the floor slides away, revealing a thin beam of ice-blue light that shoots upwards to be level with just below the hovering stands.

“What is that?” Kimi asks.

There's a faint clunk as Mitsu is the first to place her ElectroID down on her stand, and prods her screen. A moment later, the thin blue light seemed to shimmer and change shape, displaying an image of the Monokuma File, as it projected up onto the screens around us.

“It's a hologram!” Kaori breathes, eyes wide. “That's beautiful!” She wrinkles her nose. “Bit sci-fi, but... still beautiful!”

“State of the art technology, thank you very much,” Monokuma replies. Mitsu shoots him a dark look and he sits back down in his throne, sheepishly. “Ahem, as you were.”

“So, as we know, the victim was Arata Summerfield,” Mitsu says. “The Monokuma File says what we already knew – that his body was discovered in the centre of the Maze, and the estimated time of death was 7.35pm. It also tells us that he suffered knife wounds to both of his wrists, resulting in death.”

“But it also tells us something we didn't know!” Yuki cries, pointing at the last part of the File on the hologram display. “It says there was no poison or chemicals detected! That's gotta be important, right?”

“If you mean by having no impact on anything at all, yes,” says Kimi, drily.

“Okay, let's not get into any dumb arguments,” Yamato insists, arms folded. “We need to be careful – our lives are on the line.”

“Thank you for that lovely reminder,” Masashi says through gritted teeth. He's gripping onto his podium tightly – his knuckles white from the effort. I find myself wondering what exactly is going on in his head. But not for long, as Mitsu steers the conversation back on track.

“Yuki's right, though,” she says. “Knowing that there was no poison or chemicals in Arata's body means we can rule out a whole potential line of reasoning. We need to consider as much as we can, but we also need to keep it relevant with the information we have available to us.”

“Exactly,” Ayaka nods. “Mitsu is correct. It would be dangerous, and impossible, for us to determine much more than what we can ascertain from the evidence we have all collected during our investigation. To attempt otherwise would be foolhardy, and almost definitely get us all killed.”

“So... you basically mean to keep on topic, right?” Yamato says. Mitsu and Ayaka nod. “Well, glad we got that sorted,” he responds with a half-hearted shrug.

“Well, then, we've went over the Monokuma File,” Ino says, “now what?”

“Why don't you discuss the weapon?!” Monokuma suggests. “I mean, if a bear may offer his advice.”

“It's as good a place to start as any,” Haru sighs.

“Alright then,” Mitsu says, “the murder weapon was the knife we found in Arata's hand when we arrived at the centre of the Maze.”

She swipes her screen, and the hologram display changes to display a slowly rotating image of the large knife.

“Okay... so, what exactly is there to discuss about it?” Cho asks.

“That's... a fair point.”

“It's kind of an open and shut fact, right?”

“Well, first,” I pipe up, “I guess it's important to note that it was from the Kitchen.”

“The Kitchen?”

“Well... yeah,” I nod. “I mean, I know that's kind of obvious, but it could be important, right? The knife was taken out of the knife block in the Kitchen.”

I swipe the screen of my ElectroID to the relevant tab and the hologram changes again to show an image of the knife block, sans one knife.

“That's probably worth remembering,” Haru suggests. He has a strange look on his face all of a sudden, though it's difficult to really tell what it means.

“So, it had to be someone who was working in the Kitchen earlier, right?!” Fumio cries. “They could've taken it with them when they turned up to the Theatre.”

“That was Blessing, Ayaka, and Daisuke, right?” Kaori says.

“What do you three have to say about that?” Masashi asks, leaning forwards slightly. There's a strange look in his eyes. A weird impatience – an insistence. A bead of sweat runs down the side of his face.

“Wh-what?!” Daisuke panics. “You think one of us took it?”

“That just isn't possible,” Blessing insists.

“I am certain it was none of the three of us,” Ayaka says. “I am quite certain that all the knives were still there when we left earlier on this evening.”

“Can anyone else be certain of that?” Kimi asks.

“Oh, well, I can!” Yamato realises. “Well, I'm pretty sure I can at least. The food platters had all been lined up on the counter, and we all left at the same time. Nobody went near the knife block that whole time.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Haru seems to nod at this – perhaps his suspicions of something have been confirmed?

“Yeah, Yamato's right,” Cho agrees. “When we went down to help them in the Kitchen, there was definitely no way anyone would have been over at the knife block without someone noticing!”

“Who's to say you aren't just covering for one another?” Ino accuses, glaring from person to person. “You could be in on it together!”

“Why the hell would we do that?!” Yamato cries. “You think all five of us are somehow in on this?”

“Let's not turn this into a witch-hunt, guys,” I warn. “We won't get anywhere if we just accuse people with no evidence.”

“Well, what about you?” Kimi asks. “It was you that apparently found the body. Who's to say it wasn't you that did it?”

“Yuki was with me the entire time,” I point out. “We found him together.”

“That's true,” Yuki nods. “It took us a while to get there because we were having to try and work out the route!”

“And if the two of you just happened to be accomplices?” Ino asks. “How can we trust that both of you didn't work together?”

“Why would we do that?!” Yuki protests. “We just went looking for him!”

“I gotta admit, it is kinda sketchy you don't have anything to prove that you're both innocent,” Yamato says, grudgingly. He sees the shocked look on my face and looks guilty. “Sorry, man.”

“Well?” Masashi insists. “If neither of you have anything to support your story-”

“What about you though?” Haru asks, lazily pointing a finger at him. “Neither you or I have alibis or anything to say that it wasn't one of us.”

“Wh-what?” Masashi suddenly acts dumbstruck. “Y-you can't possibly be trying to say I did this?”

I was more shocked that Haru had ended up implicating himself in things. What the hell was he playing at? I wasn't the only surprised one, apparently.

“Why would you point out you don't have an alibi?” Mitsu asks, eyebrow raised. Despite her calm demeanour, I can see that she's feeling the strain of the Trial as much as I am – sweat starting to appear on her brow. Glancing round, it seemed to be the same for almost everyone else. Haru, meanwhile, seemed completely unaffected. He didn't have that strange look on his face anymore, instead it had set to more of a grim look.

Strangely enough, though, his answer to Mitsu starts with a shrug. “Because I know I didn't kill him.”

“Th-that's your defence?!” Masashi splutters. “Are you fucking kidding? Any of us could say that – it wouldn't make it true!”

“I get what you mean though,” I say, a little cautiously. I don't want to give anyone else any cause for inciting a witch-hunt. “We should explore all our options – not just jump on whatever comes up first.”

“That's easy for you to say,” Ino hisses. “It still doesn't mean you have any proof it wasn't you!”

“You've got that wrong!”

I hadn't even realised I'd said it til everyone's attention had been drawn to me. For a second, I felt a little self-conscious, but then I remembered what exactly it was that I had just realised.

“Wh-what?” Ino's taken aback at this, and gives me a doubtful look. “How have I?”

“The Monokuma File can prove that neither Yuki or I could have done it!” I tell her. “Look here.”

I swipe the screen on my ElectroID back to the Monokuma File.

“What are we meant to be looking for, Kei?” asks Miniro.

“The approximate time of death,” I reply, tapping the screen so it zooms in. The hologram display does the same, displaying the time of death: 7.35pm. “See what I mean?”

“How does that prove you didn't do it though?” Kimi asks. “It's just information we already knew.”

“Hey, wait a second...” Kaori says.

“There we go,” I say, with a satisfied smile. “I knew someone would remember!”

“What is it?!” snaps Masashi.

“Yuki and I were still at the Theatre after the Monokuma File says Arata was killed,” I explain. “I remember because I checked the time after Kaori said it wasn't even 8pm yet. It was 42 minutes past 7, which means by the time that Yuki and I left the Theatre with Fumio, it was at least ten minutes after Arata had been killed.”

“That's right,” Kaori nods, “I remember saying that!”

“And Fumio left the Theatre with us and we all saw that the gate to the Maze was lying open,” Yuki added.

“That's true,” Fumio agrees, rubbing his chin. “I can confirm the gate was already open when the three of us were in that courtyard.”

“Well, then, that seems pretty satisfactory enough to conclude that that Kei, Yuki, and by extension, Fumio, are all innocent,” Mitsu says. “Of course that also means we can rule out anyone who never left the Theatre before then.”

“So, that would be... Yamato, Kaori, Ayaka, and Blessing all in the clear too, right?” I say.

“But wait,” Miniro says, “Daisuke and I were at the Theatre when you three left.”

“W-we arrived back shortly before, Mr Shirane,” Daisuke says to him. “But I don't think that completely rules us out as suspects.”

“And really our only alibis are each other,” Miniro sighs. “Damn, that's a mean spot to be put in!”

“That also means that you're implicating yourself as a suspsect, Mitsu,” Haru points out.

“Because I know I didn't kill him,” she replies, coolly, echoing what he had told her before. He smirks at this.

“Okay then,” Yamato shrugs, “I mean, I'm not gonna argue with any of that. Hell, that cuts a good amount of us out of the suspect pool, I guess.”

“That still leaves us with Cho, Mitsu, Ino, Kimi, Daisuke, Miniro, Masashi, and Haru,” Kaori says, counting each name off with her fingers. “That's like more than half of us now, damn!”

“Still better than fifteen,” Fumio points out.

“Don't you mean fourteen?” Cho frowns.

“Nope,” he says, shaking his head. “Because there's a piece of evidence that was at the crime scene indicating a potential killer.”

“Doesn't all of it indicate to a potential killer?” Ino sighs.

“Well, yes, but this indicates that it could be someone who isn't here with us,” he says.

Wait... could he mean?

“You mean Arata, right?” I ask. “You're talking about-”

“The suicide note,” Mitsu finishes.

“That's right,” he nods. “Ayaka told me about it when I went back to the Maze to check the place out. By that point Mitsu was gone, but Cho and Miniro heard it.”

“So... there was a suicide note?” Kaori frowns. “Jesus, and I was worried that one of us was actually a murderer!”

“What is the meaning of this?!” Kimi asks. “This is nothing more than a Trial to determine that he committed suicide? Why did you all wait so long to mention this?!”

“No, guys...” I try to say, but I get cut off as some of the others start to object too.

“This is ridiculous!” spits Masashi. “All this over some idiot being too weak to see things through!”

“Don't you fucking dare talk about him like that again!” Yamato yells back. “Even if he did kill himself, there's nothing weak in that. It's more than you've done – skulking about and doing all the big dramatics!”

“Guys, please,” I try. To no avail. Suddenly, it seems like the room is in uproar – full of panic and anger. Masashi and Yamato are in a full shouting match. Ino and Kimi are in competition to determine which of them is most pissed off. Ayaka meanwhile, is trying to calm a distressed Daisuke. On the other hand, Mitsu's pinching the bridge of her nose like a stressed out schoolteacher, Miniro is trying – and failing – to placate the others around him, and Haru suddenly seems to be more interested in the architecture of the room than what's actually going on in front of him.

“-fucking idiot!”

“Don't even try and say-”

“I just don't-”

“We need-”

“-and I swear I'll-

Ugh, this isn't going anywhere.

“Will you guys fucking calm down?!” I roar, finally losing my patience. The shouting and screaming finally dies down and I run a hand through my hair and let out a long sigh. “Look... we aren't getting anywhere by shouting and screaming. We know that this is important. We know that we need to do things properly. There's no other way about it. Okay?”

“Nice to see you've got a hold of yourself,” Haru comments, before addressing everyone. “But, yes, Kei's right. We do this properly. We listen. We debate. We might even live, if a miracle happens. But bitching at each other isn't going to help!”

A slow clapping sound breaks the silence that follows his words, and I look over to see Monokuma on his throne, clapping his paws together. “Oh, slow clap for those two!” he cheers. “Some dominant personalities steppin' up, huh? Wasn't expecting it from the coffee boy, but that sure packed a punch!”

“What are you talking about?” I frown. He stops clapping and just shrugs.

“This is what the Class Trial's all about, stupid!” he cries. “Hope against hope, tempers fraying, people taking sides. Ooh, it's a thrill a second! I can barely keep my stuffing in!”

“Ugh, can we get on with it before he says anything else gross?” Yuki asks.

“Definitely,” I grimace.

“Ah, no, but here's where I take a little segue onto another phase of the trial!” Monokuma says. “I've heard your cries! Your confusion! Your woe and misery! And that means it's time for... a scrum debate!”

A round monitor flips up from the side of his throne and he seems to retrieve a key from nowhere, quickly jamming it into the monitor. We watch in confusion for a second as nothing happens, but then...

A trilling noise... like an old ringtone.

The dull roar of machinery powering up fills the chamber, and the lights around us flare up with bright blue light. The blue light in the strange glass structures at the base of each of our podiums intensifies in rhythm with the rest of the lights, while the hologram display fizzles away. There's a strange clunking sound, and then suddenly the stands start to rise again.

“Wh-what the fuck?”

The stands hover higher and higher, each a foot or so below the preceding one. I'm the penultimate stand to rise, with Arata's vacant stand hovering up behind me. We're rising towards the ceiling at first, and it seems like we're going to collide with it – one-by-one – but then, our stands all come to be level with one another again, though now we're facing one another, half on one side, half on the other. I'm face-to-face with Masashi, who has Kimi, Cho, Miniro, Fumio, Kaori, Ino, and Daisuke on his side, while I have Yamato to my right, with Mitsu, Haru, Blessing, Ayaka, and Yuki further along.

At the end of the line-up is Monokuma. His throne has risen too – not floating like our stands, but raised up on an extendable metal platform. The strange metal monitor is there too, and I can just make out several rapidly spinning gears feeding from the monitor back into the throne, all glowing with that weird blue light.

The stands all lock into place with several loud mechanical clicks, and we're all only a couple of feet apart from our opposing classmates now. Monokuma rises in his throne and clears his throat.

“Ahem, we now come to the Scrum part of the debate,” he announces. “For this part, you each have a differing opinion. With the introduction of the suicide note evidence, the side on my right here, headed by Checkers – oh, alright! – Masashi, are all of the belief that Arata Summerfield committed suicide. The side on my left, headed by the Coffee Kid – Kei – are all of the belief that Arata Summerfield was viciously, unfairly, and positively impolitely murdered! So, basically you get to argue face-to-face! Neat, huh?”

“I-isn't this basically what we were already doing?” Daisuke asks.

“Yeah, but it keeps things interesting,” Monokuma shrugs. He points at him. “Now get to work! You start!”

“Well, I... I think if there was a note, it has to be true, right?” he stammers, chewing on the sleeve of his jumper. “It wouldn't make sense otherwise.”

“Counterargument!” Monokuma insists, pointing at Yuki. Her eyes widen for a second but then she seems to think of something.

“The note didn't necessarily have to have been written by Arata!” she replies, looking pretty confident for a moment, then her face sinks. “Right?”

“And again!” Monokuma points at Ino.

“The picture of the note on the ElectroID shows he signed the note with his name,” Ino says. “So obviously it had to be him!”

Monokuma silently points back over to my side, at Ayaka this time. He seems to be enjoying himself even more with this new method of debating.

“Just because the note had his name on it,”Ayaka reasons, “does not exclusively mean that he was the one to write it.”

Back across the line-up – to Kaori this time.

“But there would be no point in writing a fake suicide note,” Kaori shrugs. “I mean, that's what I think at least...”

And then it was Blessing's turn...

“The killer could have forged the note for their own purposes!” she counters.

Fumio shakes his head. “I just don't see what purpose that would serve – it doesn't make sense.”

“It does if you paid attention to the crime scene,” Haru retorts, though he doesn't offer anything else to support this. Monokuma seems to let this pass, and turns his head again to face Miniro. I'm put in mind of a spectator at a tennis match.

“I... I just think that the time of death, and how things looked there means it could have been a suicide,” Miniro says. “It is... not a nice thing to consider. But neither is murder.”

“The time of death leaves the possibility for several of us to have easily been able to kill him,” Mitsu replies, shaking her head. “You're right that it isn't a nice thing to consider, but not to consider it at all would be wrong.”

“I just think there's too many possibilities,” Cho sighs. “And I think the note is pretty conclusive evidence... yeah?”

Beside me, Yamato bristles as Monokuma's gaze falls on him. “Well, that's the point, right? We need to consider all the possibilities – not just the first one that seems convenient! Jeez, I feel like we're just going in circles.”

“Well, I think it would be foolish to so quickly dismiss the obvious,” Kimi says. “I am not without my doubts, but I haven't seen anything that would make me think otherwise.”

My turn now...

“Which is why we need to keep moving on,” I tell her. “We need to consider everything before we go digging our own graves!”

“But there's nothing to consider!” Masashi cries, hammering his fist down on his stand. “You don't have fingerprint evidence. You don't have any kind of forensics! Hell, unless he,” - he points accusingly at Haru - “turns out to be some sort of Ultimate Forensic Scientist, I'm not just going to take the word of some wannabe Scooby Doo gang!”

“But there is proof that it couldn't have been a suicide!” I protest.

He looks at me like I just slapped him. “Wh-what?!”

Before I can reply, though, Monokuma lets out a cheer.

“And dooooooown we go!”

He turns the key in front of him again, and before anyone even gets the chance to say anything, the stands are plummeting back downwards, far faster than they had risen. I grip the sides of my stand, feeling the warm air in the enormous chamber as it whips through my clothes and up my back – my hair flying wildly in the draught.

Finally, with a horrible lurch, we return to our spots near the floor, and the stands lock back into their positions, forming the circle again. Monokuma's throne lowers back down again too, and he flashes us a thums up – which is an impressive feat when you don't have opposable thumbs, I guess.

“And it's back to debatin'!”

The hologram display fizzles back into life in the middle of us all, and the screens around us flare up again. Monokuma lounges back and waves a paw.

“As you were.”

All eyes turned back to me. Our sudden shift in setting had been pretty jarring, and I have to struggle to remember what exactly it was I'd had in mind a moment ago.

“Look, he obviously doesn't have a clue what he's saying!” Masashi snaps. “He's making it up!”

“No, that's wrong!” I counter. He glares at me as I flick the screen of my ElectroID – the display now showing close-ups of Arata's other injuries filed under ARATA'S AUTOPSY. “Look at the other injuries he's got. Even disregarding the head injury and the bruising on his neck, how was he meant to cut his wrists with the knife when he shouldn't have even been able to hold it?”

“Shouldn't have been able to hold it?” echoes Cho. “What d'you mean?”

“He means that Arata's hand was broken,” Mitsu says. “He shouldn't have been able to grip the knife at all – not with that hand, at least.”

“S-so, you mean someone killed him and then put the knife in his hand and left that note to make it look like a suicide?” Blessing reasons.

“That seems to be the case,” Mitsu says. “Which is pretty informative actually.”

“How so?” Ino groans, rolling her eyes.

“Well, did Arata have a broken hand before he left the Theatre?” responds Mitsu, hands on hips. “Or neck bruising or a head wound?”

“I suppose not,” Ino replies, shaking her head. “And what?”

“Well, it tell us that he fought with his killer!” Miniro says. “Well, that definitely rules out the suicide option, I guess.”

“Either that or he just got really, really clumsy,” Haru says, sarcastically. He puts his hands in his coat pockets. “Well, now that we've got that out of the way – shall we move on?”

“So... just so we're all on the same page here,” Yamato says, “definitely no chance of a suicide? Definitely murder?”

“Definitely murder,” confirms Mitsu, grimly.

“No, no, wait!” insists Masashi. “Even if he does have a broken hand, that doesn't completely rule suicide out, does it? Are you telling me that's all you have to support that theory?”

“That's not all, no,” Haru says. “You know what I mean, right, Kei?”

I blink a few times, caught a little offguard again. Quickly, I try to go over all the stuff rushing through my head before I remember...

“The scuff marks!” I realise. Quickly, I swipe my ElectroID's screen and the display image changes to show everyone the scuff marks. A handy picture had appeared, zooming in to show where small bits of blood had sunk in.

“What are we looking at, exactly?” Kimi asks, scrutinising the image with a narrow gaze.

“Haru noticed these scuffmarks beside the base of the fountain,” I explain. “And...” I press the screen again and the image changes to show the strange shapes that had been left in the frost of the fountain base. “This too. I didn't realise it at first, but now we know that things were manipulated about the scene of the crime, I realised that something here had changed too!”

“How do you mean?” Blessing asks.

“Well, look at the way the scuffmarks are in line with the fountain base, and the way the shapes in the frost kind of line up,” I reply. “See what I'm getting at?”

“You mean... Arata's body was up against it at some point!” Kaori cries, clicking her fingers as realisation dawns. Then she looks grim. “That's... pretty morbid, man. Someone moving his body like that.”

“Pretty morbid killing him in the first place,” Yamato points out. Kaori nods her agreement.

“But what about this other shape here?” Miniro asks, gesturing at the line Haru had pointed out to me in the first place. I change the picture over to the close-up of the line in the frost.

“I'm not sure, really,” I admit. “It doesn't seem to be on all sides though.”

“Look harder,” replies Mitsu, raising her eyebrows at me as she nods. “Look at the line in relation to the shapes on the side where Arata must have been sat up against.”

I squint at the image again... The line – now that I'm really focusing on it – seems to be exactly in line with where Arata's neck would have been had he been leaning back against the fountain.

“He was restrained with something!” I gasp. “Something was pulled around his neck to hold him back against the fountain!”

“Oh, yeah?” retorts Ino, folding her arms. “And what makes you say that?”

“Well, the line there...” I say with a frown. “Look.”

“Is that all? How do we know for sure?”

I bite my tongue, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. Fortunately, Ayaka saves the day with a swipe of her ElectroID screen. The hologram changes to show a close-up of Arata's neck.

“Look at the bruising here,” she says. “It is most clear here at the front.” She briefly fidgets with her braid. “I would have to agree with Kei on this. A ligature of some sort would certainly have been used. I would also propose that his head wound came from his head smacking off of the underside of the fountain base.”

“Well, I'll concede on that one,” Yamato shrugs. “Can't argue with that.”

“That's horrible though,” Blessing says, sadly. “Poor Arata...”

“It's... it's terrible,” I sigh, gazing down at my feet. “And that's why we're going to find who killed him.”

“But how?” Cho cries. “Nothing points in any direction here!”

“We're making progress,” Kaori says, confidently. “We can't give up here, right?”

“That's right,” Haru nods. “It seems we're making good leeway from the evidence we've compiled so far. I think we're close to solving this.”

“Wh-what else do we have left to go over?” asks Daisuke. “I... I can't see much else that we can work with.”

We all look down at our ElectroIDs, and I notice Mitsu look a little uncomfortable. She had mentioned the missing page of her notebook to me, but it hadn't been brought up yet. I want to trust her, for some reason. But do I bring it up? It would have been stupid for her to bring it up to me if she was actually guilty, right? She has her notebook on her, so if it came to it, I could prove that the page was missing, but that could still incriminate her, surely?

My head is still reeling at this when Miniro speaks up.

“How about the scene of the crime?” he booms, his voice echoing through the suddenly quiet chamber. “The Maze is kind of a tricky place to attack someone in, right? Especially if you want to get away without looking suspicious.”

“Timing wise, it just isn't sensible, unless you already know the layout, surely?” Kimi says. She gains a few looks of surprise at this – all taken aback she just isn't arguing, no doubt...

“That's true,” Kaori nods. “I don't see anyone getting through there without knowing the route ahead of time.”

“Well, it took Kei and I a while,” Yuki points out. “And that was with two of us trying to remember the route from when we'd been in before.”

“And we've already established that neither of you could have done it,” Haru says, pushing some hair out of his face. “So that's a good way to gauge our timeframe here.”

“Realistically, the culprit had about five to ten minutes to get to the centre of the maze with Arata, kill him, and then leave the Maze to return to the Castle or the Theatre, right?” Yamato asks. “Because when Monokuma called us all to the Maze, we all ended up together, except Kei and Yuki who were already in the Maze with Arata.”

“That's right,” nods Mitsu. “But then that leaves us with another question: how did the killer lure Arata into the Maze in the first place?”

“Shit... I hadn't even thought about that,” Yamato groans.

“Well... um... I dunno...”

“I have no idea,” sighs Kimi. “Does it matter?”

“It would have to be something significant, surely?” Ayaka suggests. “He would hardly have followed someone into the Maze for no reason.”

“That's true,” I nod. “I can't think of anything that would make sense though.”

“How about his ElectroID?” Mitsu suggests. My eyes widen.

“You mean that's why we couldn't find it at first?” I ask. “Someone else took it?”

“It's a possibility, right?” she replies, with a small shrug. “The fact that it wasn't in Arata's pockets, and that it was found somewhere away from the crime scene would lend to that, potentially.”

“I'd say you're correct,” Haru nods. “There isn't very much else in this place that we have that are necessities. Without his ElectroID, he wouldn't be able to access his room. I wouldn't want to lose mine.”

“And there's no chance that he just dropped it on the way back to the Castle?” Cho asks.

“No.” Blessing shakes her head. “It was buried in the snow when Kimi, Yuki, and I found it. Just outside the Theatre. The snow was nowhere near heavy enough to have covered it that way just from being dropped.”

“Well, that certainly seems to add to that theory,” Fumio nods.

“But what does it actually tell us?!” Masashi snaps. “Who does it point us to in this shitshow of a trial?”

“No-one yet,” Mitsu replies, “but we haven't finished yet.” She takes a deep breath. “There's another piece of evidence I have that can explain how Arata and the culprit got to the centre of the Maze in such a short space of time.”

“Oh, really? And what would that be?” Masashi drawls.

I already know what's coming now, but even still, I can't help but be surprised when she reaches into her bag and pulls out her notebook. She flips it open and holds it up for all of us to see. Up on the four screens, a close-up of the notebook appears, showing us all the torn edges of the page where her map of the Maze should have been. On the page visible behind it are some more of Mitsu's observations about the Castle Grounds.

“The missing page,” she explains, “had a map on it of the Maze. I had managed to draw it out with some of the others a couple of days ago.”

“And can anyone verify this?” Ino asks.

“I can,” I nod.

“Me too,” Daisuke says.

“Yeah,” Yuki adds. “Miniro and Cho too.”

Haru seems to be smirking at something now. He makes eye contact with me for a moment and I frown at him. He responds with a shrug and then looks to Mitsu.

“The page definitely wasn't missing when I got to the Theatre earlier on tonight,” she says. “But by the time we started the Investigation it was gone.”

“So the k-killer had to have taken it while we were in the Theatre!” Daisuke gasps.

“Unless Mitsu's the killer,” points out Fumio.

“If she was, why would she bring that up in the first place?” Haru says. “I think a double bluff at this point would just be suicide.”

“Anything seems to be suicide right now,” groans Yamato. “I can't tell whether anything is true or not right now.”

“Nor can I,” Ayaka sighs. “It is frustrating to have so much information, yet no proper conclusion.”

“We can do this, guys,” I insist. “We've come this far already!”

“Your optimism is inspiring,” Masashi says, sarcastically. I ignore him.

“So, getting back to the matter at hand, we're proposing that someone stole Mitsu's map and used that to help them lure Arata into the Maze, having also taken his ElectroID?” Miniro asks.

“Right now, it seems to be the most logical conclusion,” shrugs Kaori.

“I... suppose that makes sense from what we've heard,” Ino nods. “I guess it all makes more sense after going over it.”

“But we're still no closer to working out who killed him!” Masashi protests, hammering his fists down on the stand. “It's all well and good working out what happened, but without knowing who did it, it's fairly obsolete, isn't it?”

His question is met with silence. No-one is quite sure what to say. In a way, it's true. We know the how and why, but not the who... And we seem to have went over all our evidence.

“Wh-what do we do now?” Daisuke stammers. I don't even know what to say. I can't think of anything worth saying. We've went over so much. We've worked out so much. But there's something we're missing: the culprit's true identity.

I close my eyes, gripping onto the stand in front of me. The sudden long silence has made it easier to concentrate, and I rack my brains, trying to sieve through my memories of everything. The Theatre. The Maze. The crime scene. The investigation. What am I missing?

Body was moved after being restrained against the fountain base with something? He got a head wound off of the base of fountain going by what Ayaka said. We reasoned he must've broke his hand in self-defence. What else? What else? What else? Oh!

“Arata's fingernail!” I yell out. The others look up at me.

“What?” Cho frowns, eyebrow raised.

“His fingernail was all bloody and broken!” I reply. “Remember, Ayaka?”

“That is right,” she nods. “We found that his fingernail was bloody, and the end of the nail had been broken off.”

“So what? Couldn't that have just happened when he fell?” asks Kaori.

“I am not certain,” Ayaka says. “I do not recall seeing the broken fingernail anywhere near him. Though it is possible.”

“It seems likely, but with the way everything else seems to be piecing together, I wouldn't want to rule it out,” Mitsu says. I nod in agreement.

“But where do we go from there?” I sigh. “I can't really think of anything obvious.”

“Nor can I,” admits Mitsu.

“I th-think I can...” Daisuke says, timidly. He looks close to tears. He's nervous enough as it is – it's a miracle the stress of all this hasn't completely floored him.

“Go on, Daisuke,” I say, giving him the closest to a reassuring look I can right now. He looks at me – wide-eyed for a second – and then gives a stiff little nod.

“Well, if... if he was attacked by his killer before they... killed him,” he murmurs, “and it seemed like he fought back going with what w-we went over earlier... I think he could have put his hands up, to sort of defend himself, you know?”

“Where are you going with this?” Kimi sighs, tapping her foot off of the bottom of her stand impatiently.

“W-well, there wasn't anything else in the Maze that he could have been hit with,” Daisuke goes on, “so wouldn't that m-mean that his attacker used their fists?”

“Hey, that's a good point!” Yamato says, nodding vigorously. He gives Daisuke a thumbs up. “Good spot, man!”

“Th-thank you, Mr N-Nagai,” he replies. “But... um... yeah, if he were attacked and tried to shield himself from a punch, and say he h-hadn't broken his hand yet – he might have tried to grab his attacker too. For the nail to have come off like that, th-there could be some blood, or a m-mark on the person who attacked him.”

“Is that really likely though?” Cho asks.

“Well, a similar sort of thing has happened to me during some fighting stunts before,” Blessing says. “More than once, too! I think Daisuke could be onto something!”

“I... I've experienced the same sort of thing too,” Daisuke murmurs, not meeting anyone's gaze now. “It j-just seemed like a possibility.”

We don't have much time to really process this before Haru claps his hands together and rubs them together, eagerly.

“Well, then! Who wants to roll their sleeves up first?” He has a strangely comical grin on his face. Something about it puts me on edge...

“Well, we already narrowed it down to Ino, Mitsu, Cho, Daisuke, Kimi, Miniro, Masashi, and Haru,” Fumio points out. “So it's down to you guys, I guess. I mean, it could be completely wrong.”

“In any case, that rules Mitsu out,” Ayaka adds. “Her clothes do not cover her arms.”

“This is ridiculous,” sighs Ino, taking in the expectant looks from the rest of us. She rolls her eyes and lets out another deep sigh, nostrils flaring, as she unbuttons her sleeves and yanks them back, holding her arms out. “There,” she says, turning her arms round so we can see the back of them. “Nothing more than a few freckles.”

“Well, there ya go,” Miniro says. “A few war wounds, though, to be fair...”

He isn't wrong – the scars that cover his arms are pale and slightly raised against the rest of his skin, all in strange, random lines. Seems like they've been accumulated from his years as a sailor out in the real world.

Haru tugs his sleeves back without a word, and does a sarcastic sort of jazz hands routine when we see his arms are clear, though for a second I do glimpse what looks like a large birthmark on his upper arm, just above where he's rolled his sleeves up to. He sees me staring and yanks his sleeves back down again.

Daisuke is next to go, and his arms are clear too. Kimi's are the same. We all turn to Masashi now, who is making no indication of rolling up his sleeves. Instead, he has his arms folded, and his nose stuck up in the air – with all the air of a child who's just been told off for misbehaving.

“You're not helping yourself any here, Masashi,” Haru sighs. “Just show us your arms.”

“I don't care,” he says. “It's stupid.”

“That's pretty much all you've had to say since we got here,” Kaori sighs, putting her hands on her hips. “Stop being an asshole and just help!”

“Oh, for the love of...”

To everyone's surprise, Ino – who's stand is to the side of Masashi's – lunges over and grabs his coat sleeve, yanking it back, taking his shirt sleeve back with it. He's too shocked to respond at first, but once we've all at least managed a glimpse at his bare, unmarked arm, he bats her away – his eyeballs bulging almost as much as the vein that's suddenly appeared on his temple.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?!” he roars. Ino leans back onto her stand and shrugs at him.

“I got impatient,” she says with a wicked grin. “We've seen one arm though – might as well just show your other one.”

I find myself fighting a smile. She might be a little hot-headed, and prone to shouting, but there was definitely a part of her that got a kick out of what she'd just done. Meanwhile, Masashi's still doing a good impression of a big-eyed frog, gawping at her. She gazes back at him, coolly. Finally, Masashi seems to falter and he silently pulls up his other sleeve, showing us all his other completely unmarked arm.

“And then there was one,” Haru says, looking at Cho.

“Sure thing!” She gives us all a grin and throws her arms up, fists balled up, shaking them so that the baggy sleeves of her blackbelt uniform fall back to her elbows. We can all see her arms are unmarked.

“Well, that was...” Kaori starts.

“Anticlimactic,” Yamato finishes. They nod at each other, like they've just agreed on some huge philosophical breakthrough.

Cho lowers her arms again and lets the sleeves slide back down, covering her arms, but that's when something catches my eye.

“Hey, Cho...” I say, can you roll back your left sleeve a second?”

“Hm?”

“She just did,” Kaori frowns. “Her arms are clear, man!”

“Yeah, I know,” I reply. “But... could you just roll your sleeve back again anyway? Like just tuck it up so we can see the inside of it.”

“Um, why?” she asks, giving me a weird look. Did her eye just twitch?

“Just do it so we can move on, Cho,” sighs Kimi.

Cho gives me a sharp look and then starts to roll up her sleeve. And there it is.

A small speck of dried blood, just there on the inside, just about level with her hand.

“But her arms are clear,” Yuki frowns. “I don't get it.”

“Because it wasn't her arm, was it?” I say, as the pieces suddenly all seem to fall into place. “It was your hand, right? He got your hand.”

“What are you talking about?!” Cho protests. “I dunno what you mean.”

“You're still clenching your fist,” Haru points out. “Any reason for that?”

“What? No! 'Course not!”

“Then, you won't mind holding your hand up, right?” he says, that weird serious look back on his face. Cho's eye definitely twitches this time.

“I... I don't see why I should,” she says. But finally, after no-one says anything, she lets out a long, slow breath and holds up her hand, spreading out her fingers and revealing a faint scratch mark on her hand. It's fairly recent by the looks of it – though the inside of her sleeve has definitely helped soak up some of the blood. She flicks some long, green hair away from her face and sighs. “I cut myself outside, okay? I just didn't think it was worth mentioning before.”

“So why be so secretive about it?”

“Because I didn't want this to happen!” she snaps. “You can't pin this on me for something stupid like a scratch, surely?”

“Well, now that I think about it, that wouldn't be all that would suggest it was you,” I say. “In fact, there's a few things that are adding up now.”

Cho's yellow eyes flash dangerously at me. “Why are you framing me like this, Kei? You were real nice earlier on and now you're being an asshole!”

“So was Arata,” Haru snaps, catching everyone offguard with his sudden fury. Especially after how distant he had been with us all before. “Arata was nice. That didn't stop you killing him.”

“Wait, wait, wait, sorry, bit slow here,” Yamato interrupts, waving his hands and looking generally apologetic, “bit of a backseat audience member here, trying to catch up with what the fuck's going on! Can someone explain?”

“Well, it looks like Kei and Haru are on a roll,” Masashi says, leaning forward. “Care to explain?”

“No way!” Cho shouts. “I'm not letting you keep talking and twisting things to make me look like the bad guy!” She hammers her fist down on the stand in front of her. “I'm not being made to look guilty just because you've got some dumb fucking hunch! Not cool, guys!”

“It's more than a hunch,” I reply. “And you know it!”

She points at me, accusingly. “I'm not gonna be a... a scapegoat!”

“Scapegoat?!” I frown.

“Well, yeah,” she says, folding her arms. “You're trying to pin the blame on me just so we can get this over and done with, aren't ya!”

“Really?” Haru sighs. “Come on, Cho, just admit it.”

“I'm not gonna admit to something I didn't do!” she yells. “How stupid do you think I am?”

“Stupid enough to attempt to make a murder look like suicide, apparently,” Haru says to her.

“Are you sure about this, Kei?” Miniro asks. “I... I don't know what to think.”

Everyone's talking over one another again, and there's that same dull roar of voices making it hard to think. I'm trying to string words together – it all seems to make sense in my head, but if I say the wrong thing it could completely ruin my argument. And I know now. Of course I do. I should've known sooner. We'd all overlooked two things. Two vital pieces of evidence that could link back to Cho.

She was screaming at us now, absolutely livid – her eyes full of hatred. I don't know what I expected. I guess I thought she'd just give up... but of course, her life's on the line just as much as ours is. I close my eyes and focus, blocking everything else out for a moment.

Missing things.

Two missing things.

Two very significant missing things.

And Arata...

Poor Arata.

“The ligature, and the map of the Maze from Mitsu's notebook,” I say, opening my eyes again. Everyone quietens down.

“The what?” Kimi asks.

“The ligature – the thing used to hold Arata back against the fountain by his neck,” Ayaka explains to her. She looks to me. “But what is significant about it?”

“We never found it,” I say. “We completely overlooked it. It left a mark in the frost and everything but none of us questioned where it was.”

“And you have a theory of what... or where it is,” Mitsu says. It's a statement, not a question.

“If I'm right,” I say, “it's right here in this room.”

“What do you mean?” gasps Yuki. “It can't be! None of us have been in here, right?”

“We've all been here for a while now,” Haru replies. “He means someone took it in with them.” He inclines his head over at Cho.

“You mean...” Ayaka realises.

“Hidden in plain sight,” I say, not taking my gaze away from Cho's now. “She's wearing it.”

“Oh, I get it!” Yamato says. “Her blackbelt!”

“R-Really?” Cho says, laughing nervously. “That's all you can come up with? You're clutching at straws with that one, man!”

“Yeah, y'know what, I admit that one might be kind of wobbly,” I say. “But I'd still bet I'm right. Where else would it be? I don't think you planned on it going that way – I think you had to improvise, and keep him in place.”

“For what it's worth, I agree with you,” Haru shrugs.

“Okay, so that one goes on the maybe pile,” Kaori says, “but what about this missing Map thing?”

“Well, okay, so the other day Mitsu, Miniro, Daisuke, Yuki, Cho, and I all went into the Maze together to explore it so that Mitsu could map it all out,” I explain. “We all knew she was mapping it in her notebook as we went along. We've already ruled out that neither Yuki or I could have done it, and none of the other evidence we've got could really link Mitsu, Miniro, and Daisuke, which leaves Cho as the odd one out.”

“But how would she have even got it out of the notebook?” Ino asks. “Mitsu always has it in her hand or in her bag, right?”

“Right,” I nod. “And tonight at the Theatre it was in her bag. Right in between her and Cho's seats.”

The room feels cold now, but sweat is still running down my back, and down my face. The others are all in similar conditions by the looks of things, and it's only now that I notice just how exhausted we all look. But still, there's that intensity in Cho's eyes as she glares at me.

“She had the timeframe for it; she had the strength for it; she had the opportunity to take the map; she had some excuse to get Arata alone – the ElectroID thing, right? And she's got that cut on her hand,” Yamato lists everything off on his fingers. “I... I can't really argue with all that.”

“Well, then,” Monokuma chimes in suddenly, “how about our dear Kei Kamiya gives us a full closing argument so we can get the votin' goin'?”

“I hate to agree with the bear,” sighs Mitsu, “but I think going over the case again from start to finish might clear everything up for everyone.”

I take a deep breath. Here goes...

“Okay, so it all started when the culprit targeted Arata Summerfield to be their victim. They planned ahead of time – we know this because they forged the fake suicide note. Tonight at the Theatre, they put their plan into action.

“They wanted somewhere out of the way, where nobody could come to the rescue, and in the off-chance that someone did, the culprit would have alternative routes to hide or escape, and the Maze offered all that. The culprit knew that Mitsu had a map of the Maze in her notebook, and when they got their chance, they took it. This could have happened at any point during the film, or even just when Mitsu had went away for food or a drink.

“Now possessing the map, the culprit tried to set up a way of separating her chosen victim from everyone else. It was just lucky for her that her first attempt was successful, and a bunch of people needed to leave at the same time. Presumably it was around this time that they managed to steal Arata's ElectroID. He probably wouldn't notice until he got up into his own room.

“Once the others had all made it into their rooms, all it took was the culprit to make some excuse to lure Arata into the Maze, probably under some pretence of helping him find his ElectroID. Luring him into the centre of the Maze, the culprit attacks.

“Arata tries to defend himself, but only ends up scratching the culprit, but then his hand is broken in the fight. The culprit would easily have the advantage anyway, but this is when they are able to overpower him, knocking him down against the fountain. He manages to hit his head off of the fountain base during this, giving him a small head injury, and the culprit quickly improvises, using something, most likely the culprit's own blackbelt, to restrain Arata, choking him and leaving the bruising on his neck and the marking on the fountain base in the process.

“Now that Arata's probably passed out, or just too weak to move, the culprit uses the kitchen knife they've taken in advance and uses it to cut Arata's wrists. The culprit then quickly gets to work, taking the would-be ligature off of Arata's neck, and moving him over to the bench. There would still be some blood on the ground, but the culprit could easily just scuff that away with their shoes, leaving the scuffmarks in front of the fountain.

“Now that Arata's body's been moved to the bench, the culprit just needs to slip the fake suicide note into his pocket, and then place the kitchen knife into Arata's hand. What the culprit doesn't realise at this point, though, is that Arata's hand is broken, making it impossible for him to have used it himself.

“The culprit is then able to leave the Maze fairly quickly using the stolen map, and most likely hides near enough to the Theatre that nobody else coming in or out would be able to notice them until it suits them best for their alibi...

“And... I think that's it. I... I don't know what more there is to say.”

I take another deep breath. My mouth feels dry. I feel like I've been talking for days. I look up across my stand and point at Cho. “It was you, Cho. It was you...”

“Well, that was sure convincing enough for me!” Monokuma cheers. “The end was a little hammy, but hey, one man's pastrami's another man's origami, or whatever.”

“Wh-what does that even mean?” Yamato groans.

“Okay, y'know what, I know when I'm beat,” Cho sighs. “Though you made it sound way more dramatic than it was, really, Kei... I mean, you're more or less bang on. I guess I wasn't as smart as I thought, huh?”

“Woohoo, an admission of guilt!” Monokuma cries. “And with that extra layer of murdery goodness, how 'bout we get a nice vote goin' for that cherry on top, huh?” He raises a paw skyward and the hologram in the middle of the room disappears. The screens around us all change to show our faces in some kind of slot machine set-up. Monokuma's all business now as he clears his throat.

“Ahem, Ultimate students, please use the menu screen appearing on your ElectroIDs to vote for who you think is guilty of this most heinous crime! And do be reminded that abstaining from voting could lead to some rather unpleasant punishments, 'kay?! Okay! Here... we... go!”

A lever appears next to his throne and he gives it a sharp pull. There's a weird trill from above, but I'm too focused on the screen in front of me to look up. Small icons of all sixteen of our faces are visible now. Arata's is grey, and scored out with a pixelated pink cross. I steady myself – I hadn't realised I was trembling – and press down on Cho's icon.

“I'm so sorry,” I whisper under my breath. The words come out shaky, and I realise I'm holding back tears. I'm not completely sure who I'm apologising too either – Arata? Cho? Some deity? Myself?

There's a long, terrible moment where nothing happens. The chamber is silent... and then.

Like we're in a Vegas casino the images of the slot machines burst into life. The icons spin past each of us, time and time again, and we all watch in horrified fascination. There's a small ringing noise and the first slot stops, landing on Cho's icon, lit up green. A few more seconds pass, and another small ring... the second slot lands. Cho again... These last few seconds seem to draw out forever, until finally...

Ring...

Cho for a third time.

The slot machine erupts in a joyous tweeting and ringing – practically shaking from the vibrations.

With a final ringing, the slot machine disappears, and the image changes to suddenly display a camera view of all of us. It seems to be below us somewhere – though I can't make anything out from here...

“Well, there ya go, everyone!” Monokuma cheers. “That's that! Cho Saiki, the Ultimate Blackbelt, was responsible for the murder of Arata Summerfield, the Ultimate Lucky Student!”

“But, why, Cho?” asks Yamato. “Why would you kill him?”

Cho slumps, truly defeated now. “Y'know... he just seemed like the easiest pick. I... guess part of me kind of hoped that him being the Ultimate Lucky Student would mean some of his luck would rub off on me. Or maybe I'd get caught before I could... I dunno.” She looks up at us now, with a kind of... sad smile. “Is that weird? Probably.” She shrugs. “Oh, well. I guess it doesn't matter now. Do I get like... a last meal or something?”

Monokuma's eyes seem to boggle at her.

“Are you for real?” he cackles. “Hell, only reason I haven't started the punishment is there's a little something we need to do first!”

He presses a hidden control in his throne and all of our stands lower slowly back to the floor with an oscillating whine of power. I stagger a little, but manage to steady myself from falling on my ass. The screens, and the weird ice-blue lights in the floor pulse ominously, and Monokuma rises from his throne, bouncing over sideways to land beside the Monowheel.

I'd completely forgotten about that stupid thing. The motive for this whole sick game. Could Cho really have killed Arata over a dumb wheel of fortune?

“What do we all think?” Monokuma asks. “Ready to spiiiin the wheel? But who shall it be... who shall it be...” His red eye flashes as an idea seems to form in his mind. “How about we let Cho choose? Think of it as your last request! And remember, not all of the Monowheel's options are good!”

As if on cue, the question mark symbols on the Monowheel peel away, revealing some new options... Two say 'Spin Again'. Two say 'Replace'... I have a horrible feeling I know what that means.

Cho looks over at the wheel, and then round the circle of stands. She still has that sad smile on her face... Has she already accepted her fate? But wait, no... nothing's quite set in stone yet, is it? The Monowheel... it's all up to luck now... Is this where she thinks Arata's luck might come in?

Finally, she raises her arm and points. Points to me.

“I guess it's only fair that Kei does it,” she says. Her voice is calm, but there's a suggestion of something else. Is she... is she excited to see what happens next? Wait, she just said my name...

“An excellent choice!” Monokuma nods, enthusiastically. “I like that symmetery! Killer and captor! C'mon, Sherlock – the Monowheel's waitin'!”

The room is silent now... Everyone looks from Cho, to Monokuma, to me... I know there's no use defying him at this point. It's only going to end in more trouble... But even still, just as I thought we were safe, here I am again – walking into a potentially life-threatening situation.

My footsteps echo across the floor as I walk off of the central dais where the stands are, and approach the small area by the wall where the Monowheel is set up. My legs feel like jelly. Monokuma's waiting – rubbing his paws together as he savours the moment. He stomps the floor and a small opening appears. Through the opening appears a wide, silver stand with a large red button on top of it. The button pulses, putting me in mind of some kind of bomb.

“Well then, Kei,” Monokuma says, “deep breath! Shoulders back! Stand at the side here – it's your big moment! The final formality of the First Class Trial! Bit of tension's good for the blood... probably. Anything you'd like to say, Ms Saiki?”

She's still smiling... like she really is in the audience of a game show. I find myself wondering, was she really like this all along? She'd seemed kind of loud and childish, but... she'd seemed nice. Now, looking at her, it's like she's someone else. She seems older now, somehow.

“Well,” she says, slowly, “I suppose it's up to chance now. Let's see who Arata's Ultimate Luck is with, Kei. You... or me...”

“Eloquently put,” Monokuma nods, approvingly. “Now, on with the show! Mr Kamiya, if you will!”

I'm frozen to the spot, meeting Cho's gaze. Why won't she stop smiling like that?! I can feel my heart pounding – it feels like it's lodged in my throat... My mouth's still dry. My hands are shaking – hovering just above the big red button, that seems to pulse in rhythm with the thud of my heartbeat.

“I... I don't...” I stammer.

“Get a move on, kid!” Monokuma hisses at me. “Either you press it now, or I press it for you – and trust me, you don't wanna know what I'll do to you for makin' me do that!”

I fight a shudder, and gaze up at the Monowheel. Despite it's cheery lights and its gimmicky design, it really does scare me now. Is it about to sign my death warrant?

Thud!

I don't even realise I've punched the button til I see the Wheel start to spin, each segment clicking off of the small marker arrow at the top as it passes. I feel sick, and dizzy. I can't quite catch a breath. It's like before... when I saw Arata's body. The vertigo comes in waves, and I find myself clutching the podium now just to keep myself standing.

The Wheel spins... on and on and on. And now it's starting to slow. I can hear a faint laughter from behind me. I don't need to look to know it's Cho. Was it this place? Had this place done this to her? I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. Just the words and symbols spinning in front of me...

It's going to stop. I can't breathe. It's nearly over. It's going to stop on 'Replace'. Fuck!

Please, please, please, please...

I close my eyes.

Another click...

God, I'm fucked!

Another click...

Do I open my eyes?

Another click...

It's going to stop, isn't it?

A final click.

She's still laughing...

I open one eye, slowly. And my heart sinks.

“Well, well, well,” Monokuma says, “looks like you get to spin again, Kei!”

And he's right. The Monowheel's stopped on a 'Spin Again', right next to one of the 'Replace' sections. I feel like I'm gonna throw up, though I also still feel like my heart's trying to leap out my mouth first. I don't have time to think about it. All I can hear is Cho's laughter... and then the clicking of the Wheel as I hit the button again.

I don't dare to watch this time. I can't. It's too much to take in. She's laughing louder and louder, getting more and more frantic. It's like she's gone crazy. Is she... laughing because she knows I'm going to die? Because she knows she is? I... I don't know.

Click, click, click, click, click...

Click, click, click, click...

Click, click, click...

Click, click...

Click!

The Wheel seems to settle with a dramatic boom. I'm overly aware of the sweat misting my face and my palms... I open my eyes again.

“Plus One!” cries Monokuma. “Plus One! We have a Plus One!” He's right again, of course. The Wheel's stopped on the section that says '+1'. But I realise... I don't even know what that means. Is that good? Is it bad? I think the adrenaline's burning out my panic now. I just want to run – even though my legs just aren't responding.

“So what does that mean?” Cho asks. She's stopped laughing now, but I can hear the amusement in her voice. She's won. In some way she's won, even after losing it all. “What's the reward?”

Monokuma ignores her. “And now that that is over and done with, I take great pleasure on moving on to the final formality of the Class Trial: the punishment!”

“N-no, wait, what does the reward mean?!” Cho cries. “Does that mean he dies too?”

“I've prepared a very special punishment for Cho Saiki, the Ultimate Blackbelt!” He throws his paws wide, his demonic grin widening even now. “Let's give it everything we've got – iiiiit's Punishment Time!”

“No! Wait! I want to know!” Cho roars. “I want to know what the prize was! I need to know! I'm not asking for forgiveness or mercy. But I need to know who won! I need to knoooow!”

She's frantic now, but there's nothing she can do, as a chain seems to erupt through one of the sets of curtains behind her, and a clamp snaps around her neck. We all watch in horror as she scrabbles at the clamp for a second, only to be dragged off her feet as the chain yanks her back at a breakneck speed.

I fall to the floor, only able to look up in horror at one of the enormous screens above, which has changed to display a title in big, bloody writing.

The Punishment of the Ultimate Blackbelt

The Warrior's Walk

Cho is in a long, empty room, that looks to be some sort of dojo. The chain around her neck stretches across the entire length of the dojo floor, disappearing through a gap in the wall. There's a sickening crunch, and the chain starts to retract into the wall ever so slightly, dragging Cho a pace or so forwards.

It happens again. It's slow, and rhythmic at first. She's struggling with it, still trying to pry at the clamp around her neck, still trying to resist the pull of the chain. And she's so distracted with this that she's caught offguard.

The floor and ceiling suddenly open up in multiple places. Practice dummies shoot up from the floor all around her, while several swing down like pendulums on the end of ropes, all in her path. They're full of sharp blades and enormous shards of broken glass. And they're spinning...

The chain retracts again, and Cho is pulled forwards, slicing her arm on one of the practice dummies' protruding blades. She screams out in pain as blood starts to run down her arm, staining her uniform. But that's just the start. The chain is still retracting, pulling her on through the horrifying path. A stab in her side. Her arm. A cut in her face. She's in the path of one of the swinging dummies now, and she raises her arms up to protect her, screaming out in agony as a large shard of glass stabs right into her arm.

She doesn't have the chance to stop though. The chain is still retracting, pulling her with it. With bloody fists, she dislodges herself from the dummy and keeps going, leaving splashes of blood in her wake.

Again and again, she's battered with the dummies and their weapons. She's near the end now... If she can just make it to the end of the room... Just a few more steps...

But then the floor at the end of the room opens up, revealing a pit. And she's being dragged straight towards it. She's weak, bloodied and battered, but she can still try and resist. There's only one last dummy between her and the pit – if she can avoid it...

She doesn't see the large blade in the dummy's leg until it's already pierced through hers. She screams out, eyes wide and bloodshot – tears running down her face as her legs are skewered through together. The blade relinquishes from the dummy's grasp and she's dragged on, unable to move her legs now...

She's too weak to resist by the time the chain reaches the pit, and she falls a couple of feet – her neck snapping with a terrible noise as the chain around her neck locks into place... Her body hangs limply, now just as silent and beaten as the practice dummies that surround her...

“I... I...”

I feel bile rising in my throat. I haven't been able to look away the entire time – frozen to the floor. I've never seen anything so horrible in my life. I've never seen someone die... Like... only in films and stuff but...

There's screaming and shouting all around. I can't see it. My eyes are stinging with tears. I didn't even think I had enough energy left to cry. She might have done a terrible thing, but... I wouldn't have chose that for her. Not in a million years.

But I did, didn't I?

It might have saved everyone else's life, but I was responsible. I'd exposed the truth, and it had lead to this. We were all responsible, in a way.

“Well, now that's over and done with,” Monokuma says, breezily, “how about we move onto your reward, huh?” He looms over me. “Plus one. You know what that means, don't you?”

I don't even have it in me to speak. I try to move my lips, but there just aren't any words. Not now. Not anymore.

“Don't kill him,” someone says. “Please. No more.”

Monokuma straightens up and cackles.

“Nah, I was just screwin' with ya! Don't worry, Kamiya, you're safe for another day! I'll let ya all know what the big reward is tomorrow morning, bear's honour! For now, I'd say our business is concluded here, yup! The Maze will have reset by the time you all return, which you can do via the elevator when you're all ready! Bye for now, bastards!”

And with that, he's gone.

The trial ground is silent. No-one knows what to say or do. All I can do is shakily push myself up off of the floor. I take a few steps and stumble, falling to my hands and knees. Soundlessly, Miniro is at my side, and helps me up again.

“Are you okay to walk?” he says to me quietly. I think I nod... I'm not certain. I feel too numb. He puts his arm round me and takes my other arm, and helps me walk slowly over to the elevator. The others trail silently behind, filing along behind us one-by-one. Kaori nudges the button and the doors fling open with a deafening clash. I flinch at the noise and Miniro pats my shoulder gently, walking me inside.

I don't remember much after that. It's all a sort of dull roar in my head when I think about it now. But I'm just slumped in a chair by the fire in the Common Room now. We're all here – silent and in shock.

No-one says a word. There's nothing anyone can say, really. All that's on my mind are thoughts of Arata and Cho. She'd killed him over a lottery. He'd died for nothing. He didn't deserve that. No-one did.

“I... I'm going to bed,” Masashi sighs, finally. “Um, before I go though, I... I want to say...” He looks down at his feet. “Fucking... I... never mind.”

And he stalks off in the direction of the stairs to the dormitories. A few of the others say their farewells, quiet and subdued, and disappear to their rooms one-by-one. I can't move though. Not quite yet.

All I have left of my classmates are flashes of blood and terror.

I don't know when exactly I finally manage to slip into a fitful sleep on the chair, but it doesn't matter – it doesn't last long. The first rays of sunlight start to creep in through the Common Room windows – soft and warm. Completely at odds with the events of the night that preceded it.

I let out a long, shaky breath. I feel like I've been holding it in for hours. Mitsu is still awake in the corner of the room, still scribbling away in her notebook. Daisuke is asleep on the couch, with Yuki leaned in against him, and Miniro at her other side.

I did it though, I think to myself, a little guiltily. I did it... I lived to see the morning.

But if I thought that the dawn of a new day would bring some sense of stability and normality to our lives after our first nightmarish few days here, I was wrong. I didn't think that anything in this Castle could surprise me anymore than I already had been...

And then it surprised me again...

CHAPTER 01 – END

14 STUDENTS REMAINING

To be continued...