You noticed Kirumi quietly standing in her place once most of the others had dispersed, so you decided to grab her attention and see what was up. "Hey, thinking about something?"

"...Why did the culprit not step forward and take advantage of the First Blood Perk?" she asked. "The culprit must have killed to survive, so it is odd that they would not step forward."

"That is a good point," you said. "Maybe...the culprit was trying to kill everyone else here."

"...That would explain why they would forgo their survival in favor of a class trial." She held a hand up to her mouth. "We cannot lose this fight... Even on this uncharted path, we must find our way." You nodded, and the maid began to investigate. While you do that, I'll just...here, okay. You walked over.

"Don't talk to me, filthy skank! I'm f*ckin' busy!" Miu yelled at you in annoyance. She fixed her attention from you to a controller that she was fiddling with in her hands.

"What's that for?" you asked while pointing towards the little thing, despite her efforts to ignore you.

"Dun-dun-duh-dunnnn! It's a drone!" she said proudly. She began to laugh obnoxiously while pointing a finger up into the air. "Hah! Feast your eyes on the latest creation from the gorgeous girl genius, Miu Iruma..."

"Uh...that's nice. But what's it for, though?"

"Well, I decked this baby out with a camera so it'll take perfect aerial photographs!" she replied. "From there, I'll draft a floor plan with the photos as reference to help the investigation! This way, I get outta havin' to do any actual investigation legwork!"

"Do you even know how to work that thing...?"

"Ah f*ck off!" Miu snapped at you. "As if a f*ckin' loser like you would know anything, pea-brain!"

". . ." You walked away from her, to which she returned to fiddling with her controller. I am not dumb, you told yourself. ...Right? You looked back up again, and the drone was now flying about the room. It got you to look over at the top of the bookshelves. The books Kaede had arranged haven't changed at all. She...says that it was to see if a camera could have been placed there, and to keep anyone from crawling out through the vent—but I can't seem to believe that...for some odd reason.

>>Truth Bullet: Stacked Books

All of a sudden, a loud rumbling noise sounded throughout the library. Turning and looking over in annoyance, you found Shuichi pulling the bookcase out of its spot. You stomped over. "What's the deal over here?" you asked sternly. "I lost my train of thought, and I already can't seem to focus." You slightly hit your head with part of the palm of your hand for emphasis.

"Ah, (Y/N), I was just showing Kaede something about this," Shuichi answered you. "See? If I let go of this..." The detective took his hand away from the bookcase and waited for a few moments. After that time, it started moving back in place on its own. "The bookcase is set up like an automatic door. It closes after a period of time... It makes perfect sense when you think about it. If it didn't close on its own, you wouldn't be able to put the bookcase back after you went inside."

"I see..." Kaede said. "The bookcase has to close on its own once you go through the hidden door." As for you, you just hummed to show you understood.

>>Truth Bullet: Moving Bookcase

"If it closes on its own once someone enters it, then does that mean the mastermind could have killed Rantaro, and went inside the secret door?" you inquired.

"After killing Rantaro, they ran through the hidden door... That sounds like it could happen," Shuichi said. "Let's check it."

"Huh? How would we check it?" Kaede asked.

"The dust on the card reader," the detective turned and told her. He then turned back to the bookcase and pulled it out once more.

"Alright, let's see..." While the two other teens were leaning in closely to examine it, you just inched forwards a bit and squinted slightly.

"There's still dust in there," you said nonchalantly.

"Huh?? How can you see that from your distance??" Kaede asked in amazement but also confusion.

You simply pointed an index finger toward your eye and replied, "I have 20/20 vision."

"Hmm... Well, it looks like the card reader wasn't used. That means the mastermind didn't hide here," Shuichi spoke quietly.

"What if the mastermind replaced the dust after they used the card reader?" the blonde next to you asked him.

"No, I remember exactly where I put the dust. This hasn't been moved at all. I think it's safe to assume the mastermind did not go through this door."

"Then the one moving the bookcase was...Rantaro himself?"

"We might see it in the pictures," you jumped in. "But it does seem very likely—to me, anyway. I had heard a faint noise when I was seeing where some of the others were going near the time limit, so I came over here to look. I believe it was Rantaro, since I saw no one else exiting. And if the mastermind didn't use the secret door..." You cut yourself off there, knowing that you didn't need to continue.

>>Truth Bullet: Card Reader Dust

The bookcase returned to normal, and you looked up at it again. The sensor that Shuichi placed should still be there. You were about to say something about it before someone beat you to it.

"You guys set up a security sensor on top of this bookcase, right?" Ryoma asked while walking over.

"Y-Yeah, it should still be there... Let me check." The male pushed the ladder over to reach the top of the bookcase and climbed up. "It's still here. I should take it down now."

"Removing it is fine, but won't your receiver go off when you move it?"

"No, it's alright. I turned the receiver off."

"Huh? You can turn it off?"

"Yes, I made sure to switch it off on the way down here. I thought the mastermind could still be inside, and I didn't want to alert them..." Hmm...okay, good to know, you thought.

>>Truth Bullet: Receiver on Shuichi

I should probably get some alibis now... you told yourself. "Oh, Tsumugi!—"

"I don't know who killed Rantaro, but it's all Monokuma's fault. That motive he gave us it part of it, and so is that strange music..." she said before you could even finish. "It's terrible... He played that music so loud to make us feel sick and want to kill..."

"Uh, yeah... I bet it could make someone go mad."

"I bet...someone felt pressured by that, and ended up killing Rantaro... It's all...Monokuma's fault!"

"Aaaand also whoever's controlling him. Actually, more-so the mastermind's fault, since 'Monokuma' is technically just some sort of vessel to carry out actions," you countered. "The motive could have been that they wanted a death to happen soon...or something else..." You watched as Tsumugi suddenly grew very grim, locked in place while beads of sweat started to become visible. Eesh, hit something there. I shouldn't continue with her, if she's like this; I'll become the next blackened by doing absolutely no manual work.

>>Truth Bullet: Promotional Video BGM

Turning away from the now still Tsumugi, your gaze glanced over near where Rantaro's body lie. You gulped slightly, but ultimately knew that you should go investigate over there. Your steps were hesitant until they finally stopped, once you were at your destination. Short walk, long journey... You closed your eyes for a second and opened them back up.

"He's...still there...and dead..." you mumbled softly to yourself. "This still...isn't a dream? Huh..." It felt weird for you, looking down at the corpse of someone who was fine just an hour ago. It felt very, very weird for you, and it made you feel quite uncomfortable. "The last time I saw you, Rantaro..." The last things you two had spoke about crept into your mind.

"But hey, Rantaro? You aren't that bad... I-I guess, I'd see you almost as...an older brother, in the right circumstances."

"Oh, really?" the teen asked shyly. "Aw. How very nice of you!" He wore a warm smile, and gave off a friendly aura. '...I hope he doesn't die. At least, not soon...'

...

Before they left, you quickly called out to them. "Hey, wait!" They turned to face you. "I just...wanted to tell you all goodbye." You tried not to seem soft while saying those words. "Oh, and also; Rantaro?" His full attention was on you at that point. "Uhm...maybe we can hang out some more later, yeah?"

"Sure, I bet I could make that happen," Rantaro spoke. He looked at you straight in the eye and deep into your soul. "I'll make sure of it."

You cursed at yourself for remembering it. 'I hope he doesn't die. At least, not soon,' I thought... Geez, you're such an idiot (Y/N)! Look at what happened now! You squatted down so you had a better view on the body. 'Sure, I bet I could make that happen. I'll make sure of it,' he said. Had to go and get himself...killed...! You clenched your hands into fists out of frustration. You just stayed in your position, looking intently at him.

For some reason, you had an idea. The thought was a bit gross and almost definitely absurd, yet you were curious, so you decided to poke the dead male's cheek. He was still a bit warm. You flicked his green hair lightly. Too bad it had to be stained with pink... You suddenly shot your hand back, as if Rantaro would come back to life out of nowhere and scold you for messing with him.

"Hey!! What the f*ck do you think you're doing!?" you heard Miu shout at you. The controller was still in her hands; you assumed she just happened to spot you in your position while flying it around. "That's toooootally disrespectful to the dead! Stop admiring 'pretty boy', unless you've got a crazy kink for dead corpses, you slu—"

"I'm doing a little thing called 'investigating'!" you shouted back at her. "Now go back to flying your little toy, cow tits!"

"Heeee...!! T-Toy...? C-Cow tits!?" The inventor made a rather...unique and slightly..inappropriate expression, and recoiled from making her insults. You breathed to calm down and rolled your eyes. You shifted around toward the back of Rantaro to examine his head. The wound was pretty deep, so much so that you started to feel a bit uneasy at your stomach.

I'm sorry man, but I'll have to... Trying to act normal, you reached into the dead teen's pockets to pull out his belongings. You set down on the floor beside you his room key and his Monopad. Nothing suspicious here. And there's no card key either, so it's basically positive that he isn't the mastermind. They wouldn't come here if they didn't have the card key... That still left a question in your mind, but knowing you wouldn't be able to find an answer to it yet, you decided to leave it alone for the time being.

>>Truth Bullet: Rantaro's Belongings

I wonder...why is he even over here? I guess I didn't question anything in the spur of the moment, finding his body... He had to have been the one to open the door, the evidence proves it—so that means...he went all the way over here? You looked at the floor. Yeah, no signs of the body being dragged. You let out an uncomfortable breath.

While looking at the floor, your gaze landed upon the shot put ball. It was bloodied, and right next to the bloodied corpse. You placed your bare fingertips on it to avoid the blood, and tried to pick it up to see how heavy it was. As should be expected, it was definitely heavy and hard for you to pick up. "This has to be the murder weapon," you mumbled. "There's nothing else that could be it. I mean, no one would fabricate evidence with actual blood." You squinted at the ball, to Rantaro's head, and back again. "...And the wound fits up pretty much perfectly with it."

>>Truth Bullet: Bloody Shot Put Ball

You stood up and backed away from green-haired male who used to be. You gave a thick sigh and moved your head away from him. You knew that you couldn't look back at him dead anymore. "Goodbye, Rantaro..." you whispered to him, as if he would be able to hear you somehow after death. You took a few more steps back before fully walking away.

With a noise coming from outside the room you looked up. Ah, I should probably head outside soon to check on the others; get a few alibis, too, like I wanted to do earlier. Scanning the room one last time with your grey orbs, you saw something. Oh yeah, the vent Kaede covered up with books—I'm assuming no one crawled through.

>>Truth Bullet: Library Vent

After taking note of the vent, you finally left the room.
***

"You were in here around the time of Rantaro's death?"

"Let me guess... Am I suspect?" Maki asked while looking darkly at you, ruby eyes seeming to glow.

"Everyone's a suspect. Anyone could have done it," you told her smoothly, appearing to not be intimidated by her.

"That's right," she said respectfully.

"What were you and the others doing down here? You and... Gonta, Himiko, Tenko, Kaito, Angie, as well as Rantaro before he died...right?"

"Yes." The teen sighed. "It was all Kaito's idea. He wanted to hold a strategy meeting and gathered us all together out of nowhere. He wanted to confront Monokuma before the time limit expires." She started playing with her hair. "And he even went through the trouble to pick the people he thought best for a fight."

"Why them, though? Do you know?"

"Kaito thought Himiko's magic and Angie's connection to her Atua would be useful," Maki answered you. "For me... This is stupid. He just looked at me and said, 'Yeah, you probably know how to fight.' What an idiot... And Rantaro was with us at first. That is, until he excused himself to the bathroom and left on his own. Kaito and Tenko decided to go looking for him so we could finish the meeting before our time ran out."

"Aside from him, did everyone else just stay there waiting?"

"Nope. Himiko, Angie, and I were the only ones to stay behind. Gonta never did join us."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I mean, he did arrive, but then he left and locked himself in the A/V Room in the back. He was...alone, too. Suspicious behavior, isn't it? The other two felt the same way." Other two? Hmm...I'll have to ask about that—but first...

"I forgot to ask about it earlier. Why did you all come down here in the Game Room to hold the meeting?"

"...Beats me. Perhaps Kaito figured Monokuma wouldn't be able to find us as easily down here. Stuffed bears... I hate them."

"But...aren't you the Ultimate Child Caregiver?" you questioned. "If you were then I'm sure you would absolutely adore the little things... Unless...you're lying to me? To the entire rest of us?" Maki looked up at you with her calm yet serious face.

"...You ask too many questions." The female walked off without adding anything else.

>>Truth Bullet: Maki's Account

Alright, and the A/V Room is...here, right? You opened up a door near the back of the room and immediately saw Gonta, Himiko, and Kaito; Shuichi and Kaede walked in just a short moment after you.

"Wait! Gonta not murder anyone!"

"I told you...we're not saying you did. We just want to talk—"

"No...it's him alright. He's got the face of a killer."

"N-No judge Gonta by his outside. On inside, Gonta true gentleman."

"Hey, can you all stop this imprudent talk and explain what's going on here?" You looked around the room slowly.

"Y-Yeah, what's going on?" Kaede followed.

"Oh, hey there you two...three," Kaito added when he saw Shuichi quietly standing in the corner. "We're just trying to ask him—"

"Nyeeeh...just tell us while we're still asking nicely. Are you or are you not the culprit?" Himiko asked flatly to the other teen. "Or...are you not not the culprit? Are you not not not the culprit?"

"Gonta not not no...u-uhh..."

Kaito turned to you all. "It's just been this over and over. We can't move forward at all." He sounded tired.

"Maybe the questions you're asking are wrong," Kaede said.

"Then I'll change the question." Himiko turned back to Gonta, up on her toes and looking straight into his eyes. "Timmy buys five strawberries for fifty cents each and one apple..."

"That's totally off topic, Himiko! Do your own math homework!" The pianist sighed before looking up at the Ultimate Entomologist.

"Maki claims that you were in here the whole time," you quickly said for her. "So what were you doing in here? Alone, to put on top of that."

"Gonta happy to be invited to meeting. But Gonta think he not be much help, 'cause he not smart..." He then cheered up, giving a bright and innocent smile. "So Gonta in here alone, watching bug movie! Bug movie fill Gonta with fight! Make Gonta ready to fight Monokuma!"

"...Uhhhh...."

"So it helps you fight... Okay, sure. You do you, Gonta," Kaede said, just about as awkward as you.

"But...why was it locked?" Kaito asked.

"Huh? What was locked?" the blonde wondered.

You began to answer quietly, "Kaede, I'm 99.9% positive that they're talking about the do—"

"If you don't answer honestly...I'll change you into a girl with my magic," Himiko said as a threat.

"Huh?! Gonta no can become girl-Gonta! Then Gonta can never become true gentleman!"

"Himiko, can you just shut up for a second? You're making this harder than it needs to be." Same, Kaede, same. Although, I never imagined you saying something like that.

"Gonta...can you tell us what happened next?" Shuichi spoke up quietly.

"Gonta...just need focus. If Gonta no focus...Gonta no can fill up with fight. That it, really! Gonta just wanna protect everyone!" The entomologist's look suddenly changed dramatically, going from an innocent boy who was hurt to a raging angry man. "But...you guys not believe Gonta, huh!? 'Cause Gonta so big and scary-looking, huh!?"

"C-Calm down..." Kaito tried to say, frightened expression on his face. "You're making a really scary face!"

"'Cause...Gonta feel so useless!" After that he had nothing else to say to you all as a group. You took your eyes off of him and looked towards the back of the room.

...Ah, a sliding door. Must lead to the hallway, you thought while walking over. And it's stuck. You tried pulling it a bit more, but the attempts were in vain. You kicked the door slightly; something drifted up to your nose. You muffled your sneeze. Ack, what the hell was that? You noticed the dust at the bottom of the door. This is the perpetrator... If the dust is there, then the door hasn't been used in a long time. Sighing, you opened the door back up—as far as it could go, which was about the size of your arm. Aha! There's an entrance to the library from here! This door could be important, somehow...

>>Truth Bullet: Sliding Door

You went to the other side of the room, noticing a bin full of the same poster. Taking one out to examine it, you saw the silhouettes of supposedly two girls. A title read on the front, "Ultra Despair Girls 2". After staring at in silence for a moment, you rolled it back up and put it away. This isn't relevant to the case...
***

You had spoken to the others in the room. Neither Gonta, Kaito, or Himiko have anything important to add to the case for you. Tenko only confirmed the information that Maki gave you, and she wasn't really investigating, just watching Angie. Angie had nothing good to say, either; you made your way to the classroom next to the staircase.

"Hello Kiibo," you greeted.

"Oh, (Y/N)!" He waved, acknowledging your presence. "Sorry, but I'm really waiting for Shuichi and Kaede to come."

"Huh? Why?"

"Oh, well, I have a question for them regarding their alibis."

"Hmm... Well, I was with them for part of the time, so I can go ahead and confirm a few things," you offered.

"Really?" The robot smiled. "Wonderful news. So, they were keeping a lookout in this classroom, do you know that?"

"Yes. I had helped set up two cameras down in the library and followed them up here—but I left a short while after."

"Why is that?"

"It seemed like I really had no business in there. It felt, uh, kinda awkward to be the third wheel there." You subtly raised a hand to your neck, rubbing it in embarrassment. "I only hid next to the staircase. I didn't kill Rantaro. I saw a group of people make their way downstairs, that's when I followed after to see where they were going. I ran into Shuichi down there as well, who was also wondering about it." You ran a hand through your hair and continued to speak. "Ask him about it himself if you want to confirm my alibi. At that point, I had no weapons stored on me, and the time frame seems to short for me to be able to make a murder and cover my tracks before the others walked in. 'Others' being Shuichi, Kaede, Kaito and Tenko."

"I understand. Thank you (Y/N)!"

>>Truth Bullet: Lookout classroom

"I'll get going now. I'm sure you can ask Shuichi and Kaede whatever else you need." Kiibo nodded at you, letting you go. Your eyes darted to the vent. The vent that leads to the library. It's one of the reasons why this specific classroom was chosen to keep a lookout from.

>>Truth Bullet: Classroom Vent

You slowly turned around, eyes landing on someone. As soon you looked at them they returned the gaze. "..." You were silent. Oh geez, he's here... You uncomfortably and reluctantly shuffled over to the male.

"Kehehe... So you're nervous around me, huh?" Korekiyo asked in his low, creepy tone. "No matter. The fear and potential feelings I sense inside you is just disgustingly beautiful...!"

"What are you trying to mean, 'potential feelings'?" you asked dumbfounded, but trying to act calm.

"Long story short... I bet you're hiding a lot of things, even to yourself. Now, on to this murder case at hand. Kehehe... I assume you have came to me to ask about my alibi, right? My appearance and actions thus far suggest I am someone who would commit a murder. So, to briefly state the truth... When the body discovery announcement played, I was in the dining hall, eating supper. The other people there with me were Miu, Kirumi, and Tsumugi."

"I see—"

"The Monokubs prepared the meal for me. It was listen on the menu as... 'Pasta that tastes like a lonely old lady eating her grandkid's birthday cake' or some such..." What...nice-sounding dish, you thought, and were tempted to say aloud but kept quiet. "That concludes my alibi... I do hope it can be of some help."

"Hey, did you all stay together for the time? Or did someone leave?"

"Well... There was a brief period of time where Tsumugi left to use the restroom," he answered you.

"...Ah, I see. Thank you, Korekiyo."

"It's only the least I can do...for humanity!" He praised his sweet humanity by stretching his arms out wide. "Oh yes... You may call me 'Kiyo' for short."

"Uh...huh... Okayyy..."

>>Truth Bullet: Korekiyo's Account

"Ah, wait a second!" You walked over to Kiibo.

"Uh, yes, (Y/N)?"

"I forgot to ask. What were you doing at the time of the murder?" Kiibo stayed silent. Sparks started flying out. "Woah! Hey! Are you...glitching out or something?"

"No. I'm just...trying to find the right words. You see, my alibi is a bit shaky since I was alone in my room at the time," the robot explained to you.

"So I see...huh."

"Am I a suspect just because I don't have an alibi!?" he asked, scared. "Ryoma said he was alone in his room, too!"

"Way to throw him under the bus," you said in response. "But we're all suspects. Any one of us could have killed Rantaro... Though, something inside of me tells me you're not lying, and you really didn't do it... Ah, sorry, I'll leave my feelings out of this. Thank you, Kiibo."

>>Truth Bullet: K1-B0's Account

You exited the classroom. Now I have everyone's alibis... F*ck, except for him. Gahh...! Where could he be now? You looked around. Hey, I should probably find him before the trial starts. An idea came into your head. You took out your Monopad and looked at the school area. On the map, it showed where everyone was. Before you could find him though, a pair of arms behind you wrapped themselves around your waist.

"Ack!—Get off of me!" you cried out, startled. Whoever was there planted their face on your right shoulder, causing your face to go red out of confusion and embarrassment. "Ugh, knock it off." You tried to pull their arms off of you, but it was no use. You looked behind you to see...Kokichi. You felt a pang of intimidation but also anger run through you.

"What do you want?"

"Noooothing," he said. "Well, I guess I was coming over to hear your alibi—but! It'd be much more interesting without knowing now..."

"'It'?"

"The class trial, dummy! Man, I wish we could just start the trial already." As if on cue...

Ding dong! Bing bong!

Both of you turned to the nearest monitor, displaying the Monokubs. "It's time, you b*stards! Time for the long-awaited class trial!" Monotaro spoke.

"No, it's not!" Monophanie countered. "We're just announcing that the photos are ready! Don't interrupt meeeee! Anyways, I'll be waiting in the warehouse." The screen then quickly turned off. You rushed over to the location, dragging Kokichi along with you.
***

>>Truth Bullet: Front Entrance Photos

"Uh...(Y/N)?" Kaede asked, looking over at you. "Why are...you in this other photo?"

"Me? I went in after he was dead. My alibi is solid, you all can just find out during the trial... And I went in through the back because I thought that maybe the mastermind was in the library, and I didn't want to scare them off too quickly." You sighed as the others looked at the last picture in that set.

>>Truth Bullet: Rear Entrance Photos

Everyone went on to look at the last set of photos, which were taken by the camera nearest to the hidden door. The teens started questioning things in stressful confusion when they realized the mastermind wasn't in any of the photos, but also when they saw two last pictures of Rantaro. He had pulled out the hidden door, but another picture somehow was took; it showed him reaching out, as if he were trying to remove the camera.

>>Truth Bullet: Hidden Door Photos

You tuned out for the rest of your peers' conversation. Instead, you spent your time wondering about how the class trial would go.

Ding dong! Bing bong!

As the monitor turned back on once again, Monokuma was back in his stylish chair, drink in hand and all, speaking, "Alright! It's time for what you've all been waiting for—the class trial! Please assemble in front of the Shrine of Judgement in the courtyard! Remember that red door surrounded by plants? It's just on the other side. From there, you'll be escorted to a delightful class trial! Puhuhuhu! See you all there!"

Word Count: 4736