"How brave..." you heard a quiet voice whisper at your side. You felt a bit better about your decision to speak up until Korekiyo started talking.

"Hmm? Whatever are you talking about?"

Your heart almost shattered upon hearing how calm he sounded. During this trial, you were trying to be more helpful, but now? Now...

"You finally decide to speak up, but it's literally at the worst time! Ah-HAHA!" He cackled like a maniac, having to wipe away some tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes. "You're the Ultimate Inconvenience, huh? It's a much better talent than the trashy, most retarded-sounding talent you said you have!"

"Yeah, I know..." you muttered under your breath.

"Heeeellooooo? Hello...!?"

You finally heard someone yelling at your side.

"EARTH. TO. (Y/N)!" You turned to the source of noise, seeing Kokichi making big motions with his arms. "Hey, are you even there?" He reached out one of his hands to grab onto yours in order to ground yourself from...wherever you were.

"Don't touch me!" you hissed at him. You were so quiet that only he could hear you. His violet eyes widened in surprise, but for some reason, you also felt that you could feel some concern for you seeping out of him.

"I was just trying to get you to answer Kiyo's question...!" Kokichi groaned at you. However, you could tell that he wasn't actually annoyed or anything like that... Or was it just you?

"Oh, um... Kiyo is...Tenko's...culprit...?"

"Why do you suspect me?" the male instantly responded.

"I believe that you were the one who drew the magic circle. The circle kept anyone from discovering the 'seesaw trick'... And, also..." You gulped, wondering if you were supposed to go on. You felt a nudge at your side, and quickly resumed. "And also, I picked up on some behavioral clues from where you weren't acting like you normally do... You've been quick to deflect blame from yourself onto someone else or you've broadened the way of thinking in order to include more possible suspects, and...other stuff that might be weird to explain."

"Kehehe... So you're relying on intuition now, hm?"

He's trying to screw you over, you thought to yourself. Yes, that's exactly it! If he's acting just like those other people that you had to interrogate, then you know for sure he's the culprit! ...Maybe. "It's not intuition. I observe, analyze, follow data patterns, and apply them to subject patterns... And either way, my point still stands."

Just like when I was working with...Mom... Oh, how much you wanted to bash your head against something, as if that would knock all of the unwanted memories out of your head.

"Well, Kiyo?"

"A-Answer already!" Himiko practically begged. "Did you do it!?"

"Kehe...kehehehe... Kehehehehehe..." His weird giggle soon turned into something more raspy and...deranged.

"...What is so funny?" Kiibo asked with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"So this is how each blackened must have felt. What an intriguing experience this is." He was holding himself awkwardly.

"What? An intriguing experience?" Tsumugi repeated.

"But if I am the culprit as you claim, then I stomped on the floorboard, yes? So, do tell..." He glared at you from under the shadows his hat made upon his eyes. "How could I have stomped on the floorboard during that darkened seance? Kehehe... Unless that is made clear, you cannot be certain I am the culprit."

Small beads of sweat had formed on Kaito's forehead. "How can you be so calm when you're backed up into a corner like this?"

"I shall explain that in due time," Korekiyo replied. "Please answer my question first."

"Wait a minute," Shuichi spoke up, "maybe... The culprit used touch. They didn't see, they felt."

"That way, they could get around in the dark. Like how I got to the candle!" Kokichi added on.

"Wasn't seesaw in middle of room? Gonta doesn't think it was near wall."

"So they probably used something besides the wall to move then, right?" Tsumugi asked.

"Hm? Were there any other markers within reach?" Miu inquired.

"Of course the answer to that is, 'There was nothing of the sort,'" Korekiyo answered.

"Are you sure about that?" you asked him in a cold tone.

"Yes... That's it!" Shuichi suddenly called out. "The magic circle! They used the magic circle! Remember? The magic circle was drawn with salt. The culprit used the salt's texture to feel their way through the dark."

"I see..." Kiibo spoke, looking down in thought. "So Kiyo traced the magic circle with his hands to get to the loose floorboard."

Kokichi put a finger up to one of his cheeks. "Ooh, I see. You drew the magic circle with salt to use it as a guide."

Korekiyo paused for a moment, until finally, he let out a quiet giggle and began speaking. "An interesting thought. It is unfortunate that is is so wrong. Recall the document. What did the magic circle look like?"

"Based on the document, the magic circle wouldn't reach the corners of the room," the purple-haired boy answered for him.

"...So what?" Miu scoffed, looking to the side.

"When the room was darkened, each of us was in a corner of the room, yes? The magic circle didn't reach us, so I could not have followed it, yes?"

"But you're talking about the magic circle in the document!" Himiko pointed out. "That doesn't mean the circle you drew was the same!"

The anthropologist was glaring at everyone again. "No," he started, voice tight and cold, "I most definitely drew it exactly the same. I have it perfectly memorized."

Tsumugi started to sweat. "U-Um...so which is it? Is there any way to check?"

"Not anymore," Maki replied. "The magic circle is a complete mess from being trampled on."

A brief moment of silence passed.

Until Kiibo spoke up.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please?" the robot announced.

"Hmm...what a bummer. We don't have any way to check it now..." Kokichi whined, ignoring what the other had said.

"E-Excuse me, everyone... May I have your attention, please!?"

"Welp, I guess there's no point in discussing the magic circle anymore!"

"Hey!" Kiibo yelled, frustrated. "May I have your attention!?" Bright lights glowed from his eyes, temporarily lighting up the entire room. It temporarily blinded everyone.

"Augh! I said cut that out! It's too bright!" Kaito shrieked.

"I...apologize... I just wanted everyone to listen to me," Kiibo explained, a dejected look on his face.

"Well, what did you want to say?" you asked him, encouraging him to go on.

The robot's confidence seemed to jump back up. With a smile, he started to speak, "I had Miu add another function to my body, in addition to the flashlight."

"What the...!?" the inventor sputtered. "No way... Did you really....? S-Stop! You can't! I didn't install it for that purp--"

"Please, let me use it! With it, I might be able to save everyone!"

You tilted your head in slight curiosity. "What's the function?"

"...It's an image recording function," Kiibo replied. "Specifically, this function allows me to dispense a printout of my own memory... I'll give it a try... Ready?" A quiet whirring noise sounded.

"From your mouth!?" Kaito asked, slightly freaked out.

"I've...also used magic like that before," Himiko spoke up.

"Uhn... I was going to ask what you meant by that," you groaned, "but now, I don't think I want to know..."

"This printout is my memory of being kicked out of the seance. Please confirm that the floor of the empty room is clearly visible. Go on! Take the picture and see for yourself!"

"Ah...o-okay. Got it." With visible hesitance, Shuichi reached over and plucked the picture out of the robot's mouth.

"Well, Shuichi? Do you notice anything?"

The detective's face lit up with realization. "This helped a lot, Kiibo. Without you...I never would have seen through Kiyo's lie."

"My lie...?" the suspect repeated.

"You just said that you drew the magic circle exactly as it appears in the document. But that's a lie, isn't it? The magic circle at the scene had lines that stretched to the room's corners. That means that you would be able to find the floorboard from anywhere in the room."

"Hmph... Who knew that Kiyo was a little liar, hm...?" you cooed under your breath. Me. I knew, you answered yourself in your head.

"All because Himiko noticed!" Gonta exclaimed with a smile. "And...because of Kiibo, too!"

"Hey, where's my thanks!?" Miu shouted. "I'm the one who installed that function into Kiibo in the first place!"

"Hey, yeah. What was it you were saying about its purpose?" Kaito wondered.

"O-Oh..." she stuttered. There was a blush on her face already. You knew that whenever Miu Iruma was blushing, it meant danger. "To be honest, the purpose of that image recording function is to monitor my health... Specifically, I make Kiibo use that function every day to..." she sighed. "To...analyze my turds..."

"Your what!? Why!?" Tsumugi cried out.

"Sh-Sh*t is a great indicator of intestinal health and gut bacteria quality! Plus, taking a satisfying sh*t does wonders for a woman's natural beauty, so... S-See! You're all grossed out! This is why I didn't wanna tell you about my plan!"

"You're right," you snapped. "That is disgusting... Keep that dirty sh*t to yourself..." you mumbled.

"Hey." You felt a tug at your sleeve. You looked over at Kokichi, whose hand fell down to grab at your wrist. "How about we team up together sometime after this and make fun of her, hm?"

"Now's not the time for this," you whispered to him. "...But...sure... I guess, if you really wanted to..."

"Yeah!" Himiko yelled out. "No one cares or wants to hear about your poop!!" The girl turned over to glare daggers at Korekiyo. "Kiyo...you killed Tenko, didn't you?  Just give up and admit it already."

"So, Kiyo, if you have any objections, you can--"

"Well, since you've given me the option, I will most certainly object," the teen interjected, cutting the detective off. "To be honest, it's unimportant. But it may be an amusing diversion."

"Kiyo, oh my goodness..." you mumbled. "Are you seriously...?"

"Yes, now silence!" he snapped in a raspy tone, similar to a hiss. He turned back to the detective. "Now I shall bear witness to your abilities, Shuichi! Do entertain me!"

"Uhn..." Such a reaction... If this doesn't mark him as the culprit then I honestly don't know what will...

"If you are going to claim I am the culprit," Korekiyo started, "then what of the murder weapon? It was set up in the cage. The only people capable of that are you and Kokichi, who carried the cage."

"Grr... How dare he bring me up in this...!" the purple-haired boy growled.

"Hehe... Don't worry about a thing," you whispered to him. "I have a feeling that this will work out." Seeing him flustered and angry like that... It's kind of c... Never mind. Focus on the trial, (Y/N).

"So suspicion should fall on them."

"True, we could've placed the sickle there, but we could not have removed it later. Because we weren't the ones who lifted the cage. That was Himiko."

"The only person who could have collected the sickle is Himiko. But, the only people who could have placed the sickle are you and Kokichi, Shuichi. In regards to that dilemma, however... I did not carry the cage. Nor did I lift it. I had no opportunity to touch the si--"

"But... The only person who could have set up the sickle and retrieved it afterward is you, Kiyo. That was done by covering the cage with the white cloth!" Shuichi explained. "You could have secretly placed the sickle when you draped the cloth over the cage, and retrieved it afterward when you removed the cloth...! Then, while everyone was distracted, you discreetly dropped the sickle under the floor."

"Wonderful!" Korekiyo suddenly cried out, pure ecstasy flooding through his tone. "That's exactly correct!"

Your eyes widened and you gasped quietly. "So he's actually admitting to it now, eh?"

"It's correct...?" Kaito repeated slowly. "Then why don't you give up already?"

"Kehehe... The trick I put so much work into is just wasted effort now. Alas..."

Himiko was glaring daggers at the anthropologist. "So...it was you? You killed Tenko!?"

"Let me guess," the male snapped, glaring back at the girl. "You'll never forgive me. Himiko, you must hate me so very much. Maybe you'd feel better if I was executed by Monokuma... But unfortunately for you, that won't happen!"

"What are you kuku-cuck going on about...?" you asked quietly.

"Can't you see?? If you vote for me, then every spotless, including myself, will die. If you all still can't understand this, then let me make the news loud and clear... I killed Tenko. That is the truth. But it is meaningless in this class trial."

"Meaningless!?" Himiko sputtered.

"You mean Monokuma's extra rule, right?" Kokichi spoke up.

"You see...I killed Tenko, but not Angie... For us, Tenko's death is nothing but a trivial issue... Because the blackened in this trial is the culprit who killed Angie."

"Th-That's gotta be lie. You probably killed Angie, too!" Himiko exclaimed.

"That is simply not possible. Recall that I was unable to enter Angie's lab."

Gonta looked down to the ground. "Oh... Only student council members and Kokichi could enter research lab..."

"How could I have possible killed Angie when I couldn't even enter her lab?"

"We...can figure that out," the girl claimed. "No one else could've done it but you. If you're the one who killed Tenko, you gotta be the one who killed Angie!"

"I understand how you feel, Himiko. But maybe we can discuss this rationally and calmly," Kiibo tried to console her. "There is a non-zero possibility that Kiyo is telling the truth."

"So you understand how she feels. I see... Wait! Robots can understand human feelings!?" Kokichi inquired.

"O-Of course I understand! I work...really hard to understand!"

"Hey... Why are you gettin' all worked up, Kiibo?" Kaito wondered. "Chill, dude."

"That's enough!" Himiko cried out. "It's Voting Time! I'm gonna vote for him!"

"Kehehe... Voting for me will only help the one who murdered Angie. Oh... This case was an error on my part. Monokuma added that rule after both bodies were found, yes? How was I to know that the trial would only be for Angie's killer? Had I known, I certainly wouldn't have killed Tenko."

"Y-You're lying! You killed Tenko and Angie!"

"Now hold on, jumping to conclusions here is dangerous," Shuichi warned the girl.

"Mh-hm, we should talk it out more. This case might have juicy plot twists waiting to happen!" Kokichi seemed way too enthusiastic about the situation.

"Nuts to that!" Miu snapped. "Any way you look at this case, Kiyo is obviously the culprit!"

"Yeah..." Tsumugi agreed in her. "There's sorta no other way to look at it!"

"No, it's too dangerous to vote before we arrive at a logical decision!" Kiibo countered.

"Oh my," you spoke. "It seems like we're split down the middle. I personally see Kiyo as the culprit for both cases, but since my opinions obviously don't matter..." You turned to Monokuma. "Hey, isn't this the part where you make the trial grounds morph?"

"Wow, (Y/N)!" Kokichi was beaming at you. "Not only are you putting in more effort to this trial, but you're also seeming to understand us now!"

You blinked at him. "'Us'...?" you muttered under your breath.

"I must applaud you, (Y/N). You aren't wrong... AHEM!" Monokuma jumped up in his seat. "The Ultimate Academy is proud to present its very own morphenomenal trial grounds!"

"Yippee! I've been waiting for this!"

"Why were you waiting for it?" Kaito questioned.

Kokichi only giggled like a creepy child and stared down at his feet, refusing to look up and answer the astronaut.

Monokuma pulled out his key, inserting it into its rightful spot in order to make the pedestals start to move. Two lines formed, and the split debate instantly started. Back and forth, back and forth.

"Kiyo killed Tenko and Angie!" Himiko cried out.

"We don't know for certain that Kiyo killed Angie!" Kiibo countered.

"He forced his way into Angie's research lab and killed her!"

"But he couldn't get into Angie's research lab..."

"Perhaps Kiyo killed Angie in the hall or in another room on that floor," you spoke up. It took a bit of effort to keep your voice from shaking.

"That idea is plausible, but we can't know for sure yet," Kokichi remarked. Then the others said their parts.

"The katana was found in Kiyo's lab!"

"Anyone could have entered my lab."

"So Kiyo did kill Tenko, but he not blackened?"

"Perhaps there's a second blackened we need to find."

"He was planning to use the new rule to protect himself all along."

"Not possible. That rule was added after both murders."

"We solved the mystery of Tenko's death... Can't we just vote now?"

"Not yet! There's still another mystery to solve!"

"This is our answer!" everyone on the opposing side shouted. Monokuma held up a sign that read, 'Don't vote yet!' Then the bear quickly arranged the podiums back to their original spot, and that was the end of that.

"It would be a mistake to vote before we've completely solved Angie's murder," Shuichi spoke. "And there's still the mystery of Tenko's murder..."

"Mystery? What kinda mystery?" Miu was quick to question.

"Well, Kiyo's confession derailed our conversation a bit, but we still have to go over one of the clues found at Tenko's crime scene. I believe it might even have something to do with Angie's murder. Maki and I found a bloodstain under the floor while we were investigating. It was beneath the floorboard that the culprit stepped on."

"That bloodstain was too far from Tenko's body to have been hers," Maki added.

"Also, the bloodstain was already dry when we found it. But the blood from Tenko's body hadn't even begun to dry yet."

Kaito tilted his head. "Huh. Well, that's weird... Why was that bloodstain the only dry one?"

You widened your eyes slightly in realization. "That's because...the bloodstain was there before the seance had even started."

"You're right," the detective told you. "So that means that that bloodstain wasn't Tenko's. It was Angie's."

"Nyeh!?" Himiko exclaimed. "Why was blood from Angie at the scene of Tenko's murder!?"

"Yeah, wasn't Angie killed in her research lab?" Kaito asked.

"Do any of you all even remember what (Y/N) said?" Kokichi spoke up. Your cheeks heated up ever so slightly from the sudden attention, and you grew flustered a bit. Not like you would show it, though.

"Y...Yeah," you spoke after a small pause. "Despite Angie's body being discovered in her lab, there's still the possibility of her being killed elsewhere."

"Nishishi~! You're so smart!" The boy looked at you with a wide smile. He seemed genuine...for some reason?

"It's no big deal, though. I'm fairly sure that anyone could have thought of--"

"Shut up, I'm trying to dote on you."

E-Eh...!? You could feel your cheeks heat up a bit more. Why? You couldn't figure that out yourself, even if your life depended on it. If I just stop thinking about it then I won't make the blush worse, and soon it'll fade away...

"I tried being nice, but apparently cold-heart isn't going to accept it. Are you ungrateful? Greedy for more? Either way, if you're going to act like that, then I should be the one to shut up."

The blush immediately retreated from your face. Any nice, warm, or fluttery feelings that were starting to grow somewhere inside you were quickly beaten up. Just like a small flame being stomped on to diminish it.

A bead of sweat had formed on Kaito's forehead. "Oh... Sorry for forgetting..."

"So now that we have that in mind, then a lot more possibilities have been opened up," Kokichi continued on with the trial. "We assumed that only council members could've killed Angie, since her body was in her lab... But if she died somewhere else, then we can't suspect just the council members anymore."

"So the culprit didn't enter her lab, but waited for her to come out of it?" Miu asked.

"I'm not sure if the culprit waited for her, but they probably killed her when she came out. Well, I thought that was more likely from the start. So I went to places Angie might've gone, and checked all three empty rooms."

"Places she might've gone?" Himiko repeated quizzically. "Why did you check the empty rooms, then?"

"Hm? The empty rooms were the only places I could think of that Angie would go."

"Did...Angie have business in rooms?" Gonta asked.

"Kehehe... It seems Kokichi's up to his usual misleading nonsense again..." Korekiyo chuckled.

Kokichi rested his hands behind his head, seeming to be totally unfazed. "Nishishi... I do lie a lot, and I could be lying right now too..." He suddenly brought a finger to his lips, a smug look on his face. "But, I'm pretty sure someone's panicking right now because of my lie."

The anthropologist stayed quiet at that.

"Lemme explain," Kokichi started. "The art research lab is not where Angie was killed... She was killed in the empty room instead!"

"She left her lab on her own...?" Kaito asked him.

"But why would she go into an empty room?" Korekiyo inquired. "There shouldn't have been anything in there."

"Except for candles..." Kiibo remarked.

"That's it!" Miu exclaimed. "She wanted a candle!"

"That's it!" Shuichi suddenly spoke up. "Angie went to that room to get a candle!"

"Yeah! For kinky waxplay!"

"Uh, no... Angie was gonna use it for the ritual. According to the Necronomicon, to resurrect the dead, once the effigy is prepared, the Necronomicon should be burned to ashes."

"Then, did she seek out a candle so she could burn the book?" Kiibo asked.

"That's right! There's nothing to start a fire with in Angie's lab, so she went to go get a candle from one of the empty rooms!" Kaito claimed.

"And that's when the culprit attacked her!" Miu declared.

You placed your thumb and index finger up to your chin in thought. "That would explain the dried bloodstain under the floor, huh?"

"Which means, Angie was attacked in the same room the seance was held!" Kokichi announced. "It's a good thing Himiko chose that room for the seance. If we hadn't done the seance in that room, then Tenko's murder would've been in another room. If that happened, no one would've discovered Angie's bloodstain under the floorboards."

"That's right," Maki spoke. "Shuichi and I only checked under the floorboards where Tenko died."

"Hold on," Korekiyo interjected. His voice was cold and stern; it felt like he had stabbed through the conversation with a mere two words. "You're all acing as though you've proven that as fact already. You claim Angie was murder in the empty room and then moved to the lab? Then how do you explain the large amount of blood in the lab? It may be possible to carry a body, but blood cannot be moved."

"I think she was still alive after the attack in the empty room," Shuichi commented.

"Hm...?" The anthropologist's eyes had widened a little.

"She was killed after she was carried to her lab. You see, the fatal wound was a cut to the back of her neck from a katana. But she also showed signed of blunt force trauma, and I think I know why." The detective paused for a moment before continuing. "After Angie was knocked unconscious in the empty room, she was killed in her lab."

"So the final blow is what caused the large pool of blood," you observed.

"Hah! It's all clear now!" Kaito exclaimed. Angie was attacked in the empty room, carried to her lab... And it was there that the culprit finished her off!"

Korekiyo put a hand up to his face. "All clear...?" he asked slowly. "This...is all clear? Kehe..kehehehe... What are you all talking about...? All...clear...? wh-What...is...a-all clear...?" His tone and face full of nervous sweat showed that he was growing more distressed with each passing second. "What is... What are you... A-All clear...? Wh-What are... You all...you. You what? Wha-Wha-What are--"

He broke.

"Sweet Korekiyo, calm yourself..." an unknown voice spoke. Your eyes widened at the sight before you. Korekiyo had taken his mask off, revealing...red lipstick. "Their words are all hollow. There is no meaning to any of them..." The anthropologist's lips were moving, but his voice was higher, obviously trying to imitate that of a female's.

"You must teach these ignorant children a lesson." Within a flash, it seemed like, the mask was back on. "Y-Yes, you're right... Okay, I'll teach them," Korekiyo mumbled, this time speaking normally. But at that point, what even was normal when it came to him?

"Is this...even still Korekiyo?" you whispered. "I'm honestly getting scared." You could even feel your eyes change color to further prove your statement.

"Don't worry!" Kokichi whispered over to you. "I'll protect you!"

"Wh-What the hell are you mumblin' about?" Miu asked, cringing. "You're givin' me the goddamn willies..."

"Kehehe... Not yet. Nothing is clear at all. It's full of doubts! Of mysteries! Of a dense, impenetrable fog!" Korekiyo was screaming at the top of his lungs at that point. "Nothing is clear at all!!!"

Kokichi turned over to you, a terrified expression on his face. "I-I'm sorry... I can't be your knight in shining armor this time..."

Meanwhile, Korekiyo started his debate with Shuichi. "Angie was attacked in the empty room first, and then carried into the research lab? Impossible! Impossible! That's nothing but a delusion! You intend to poison our minds with delusions!?"

"It's no delusion," Shuichi countered. "Angie's two external wounds tell the story. After she was struck in the empty room, she was carried to the art research lab and then killed!"

"You say the culprit carried Angie's body? And not a single drop of blood fell? The hallway and empty room had no bloodstains! Even if you wiped them down later, there'd still be traces of evidence left behind! But there was no evidence anywhere, was there, Shuichi!?"

"That's where you're wrong," the detective responded. "There was evidence left at the scene! The bloody tape under Angie's body!"

"What...?"

"It was wrapped around her head to stop the bleeding while she was being carried."

"Bloody tape...? Gonta didn't notice at all."

"It was under the body," Maki told him. "It's most likely evidence the culprit should've gotten rid of. But since it was hidden, the culprit didn't notice and failed to dispose of it."

"It must have fallen as the fatal blow was dealt, and ended up under her body," Kiibo observed.

"Now we know most of the mystery behind Angie's murder," the female went on.

"I'm convinced," Shuichi started. "There's only one person who could have killed Angie... It's you, Kiyo! You killed Angie!"

"Hiiiiiiagh!"

"What the f*ck!?" Miu cried out. "So it's true!"

"Well, that was obvious," Kokichi spoke in a flat tone. "Such a boring, obvious answer..."

"You...killed both of them..." Himiko said slowly, shadowing most of her face with her hat. "Why...? Why did you kill them!?"

"In terms of pure logic, only one victim was necessary to win," Kiibo commented.

Gonta was infuriated. "Why!? Why you kill them both!?"

"...I think one of the murders was an accident," Shuichi said. "I don't think Angie's death was part of the plan, it was just an accident."

"What?" Gonta asked. "Tenko wasn't accident?"

"That's right. Kiyo originally planned to kill someone with the seesaw trick. But while he was making preparations in the empty room, Angie walked in, so he decided to kill her in order to keep her from talking."

"What bad luck that she just so happened to walk into the room that the culprit was setting up in..." you mumbled.

Himiko looked down at the ground, dejected. "He should've just stopped there. Once he killed Angie, there was no reason for him to kill Tenko!"

"He only needed to kill one for this game," Kokichi commented. "Killing two is pointless. If you get bonus points for killing more, then sure. Otherwise, it leaves more clues behind."

"Why, Kiyo? Why you kill two of our friends?"

"Wh-What...is...?" Korekiyo was basically sweating bullets at that point. "What on earth are you talking about? N-No...I'm not the culprit...! S-So...why is everyone looking at me like I am...? Why! Why are they!? Why is it--"

"Calm yourself, Korekiyo," the anthropologist said in that weird girl voice.

"Y-Yes..."

This bullsh*t again? you groaned inside your head.

"You mustn't raise your voice. You mustn't stutter. You mustn't lose your composure. You mustn't become flustered. You mustn't waver. Look at their horrid faces. This sorry lot is not worth agonizing over."

"Y-You're right... Yeah... You're right."

Wow! Great to know how you truly feel about all of us! I really appreciate it.

"There he goes again..." Kaito had a disturbed look on his face. "What the hell's wrong with him?"

"It almost seems like...he's talking with someone," Tsumugi whispered.

"Someone?" Miu snapped. "He's just talkin' to himself! And why the hell is he wearin' lipstick!?"

"Kehehe... No matter how loudly you protest, this is a trivial matter..." The anthropologist was back to his calm self. "I will never acknowledge your allegations. Not a single one of them. For you see, there is no evidence that I killed Angie! Kehehe... No, I will not acknowledge it. I will only acknowledge facts, true events. I won't acknowledge fiction, mystery. I won't acknowledge...your deductions or guesses."

"Well said... Good job, Korekiyo," he told himself.

"Yes...thanks."

"Blauuuugh! Creeps me the f*ck out!" Miu squirmed a bit.

"You're wrong. There is evidence," Shuichi countered the other male.

"What? You do realize bluffs like that won't work, yes?"

"The weapon that was used to knock Angie unconscious in the empty room... That weapon tells us the whole story, Kiyo!"

"Grgh...!"

"Hmhmhm...that's not possible. I think you may have misunderstood. Apologize. Come on, apologize."

"Apologize, apologize, apologize..."

"Come on, apologize. Apologize, apologize. Apologize apologize apologize apologize."

"S-Seriously...what the hell's happening?" Kaito sputtered.

I don't think that any of us will ever understand. You sighed quietly, just waiting for Korekiyo to come out of his denial and admit defeat.

"I have nothing to admit," the anthropologist claimed. "You are simply wrong. Yes... I'm not the culprit... So, I have nothing to confess. Why must you enforce your delusions on us? Logic...? That's merely a delusion!"

"Well said, Korekiyo."

"To continue this debate is meaningless. I told you I am not the culprit... So why are you looking at me like that...? You're all wrong, not me!"

"Korekiyo speaks the truth. Such a sorry lot..."

"Apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize...! Come on, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize."

"You have no proof that Korekiyo is the killer..."

"Kiyo hit Angie with the same floorboard used in the seesaw trick!" Shuichi declared. Korekiyo let out a small yelp.

"I seeee. And how do you know the floorboard was the murder weapon?" Kokichi asked.

"There was a small patch of dried blood on the underside of the floorboard. Blood that splattered there when the culprit struck Angie with the board. But that's not the only piece of evidence that proves she was hit with that floorboard. There's also the bloodstain under the floor to consider. For that to be there, the floorboard must not have been in place at the time of the attack."

"Good point," Kiibo said. "Had the floorboard been in place, her blood wouldn't have splattered beneath it."

"Kiyo's earlier confession is further evidence that the floorboard was used!"

"H-How?" Korekiyo stuttered.

"If the weapon used to hit Angie is the floorboard from the seesaw trick..." Maki trailed off.

"It means the culprit knew about the seesaw. So the same person killed Tenko and Angie!"

"Ah, so you've doomed yourself even more, huh?" you thought aloud.

"Ah... Aah... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

"Augh, shut up before all of our ears bleed!" you spat angrily.

Shuichi, ignoring the disturbance as best he could, went on with his explanation. "I believe that while Kiyo was setting up the seesaw, he was holding the board...when Angie walked in."

"And he coldcocked her with the floorboard!" Miu interjected.

"All you can do now is accept it. You even confessed to Tenko's murder already," Maki said plainly. A cold expression was on her face.

"So it's true... This...is the truth..." Himiko mumbled.

Korekiyo wrapped his arms around himself protectively. "Uh... Uhh... Uuuhhh..."

"Looks like we're almost at the end," Kaito sighed in a relieved manner. "All right, Shuichi! I'll leave the finale to you! Bring down the house!"

"Shuichi...please. Put an end to this..." Himiko practically begged. "For Angie and Tenko's sake... End this class trial!"

"...I understand. I'll go over everything...one more time!"

You sighed as the detective began to confidently explain how the murders happened. You tried to put a smile on your face. Ah, he's grown a lot since this first trial... You sighed again, but this time, with more yearning and frustration.

"Let's look back at the first murder. It was late at night. The culprit was in the empty room on the fourth floor. They were preparing the seance murder they had planned. To use the floorboard as a seesaw, they had to cut the crosspiece supporting it. The plan was to make the same preparations for all three empty rooms. This would divert suspicion away from the culprit and to whoever picked a room."

Ah, yes... So smart, you thought, staying quiet.

"To cut the crosspieces, they needed a saw. I imagine they got one from the warehouse. They were planning to cut the crosspieces in all three rooms. However, when the culprit was working on the middle room, the unexpected happened...

"Angie walked into that room and saw the culprit making their preparations. She needed some fire for the ritual, and had gone to the room for a candle. At that point, the culprit had not finished the setup and was just cutting crosspieces. Angie might not have concluded that it was tied to some kind of murder plan."

You felt a light tug at your sleeve but you ignored it.

"But now that Angie had seen it, the culprit couldn't use the seesaw trick. Any other person would have just given up, but not our culprit. The culprit took the floorboard they loosened and struck the unsuspecting Angie in the head. The culprit did not want to give up on their plan and had to improvise."

The tug was stronger this time, yet you ignored it.

"They wrapped duct tape around Angie's injury to stop the bleeding. Then they picked up her unconscious body and carried her to her research lab. While she was unconscious, the culprit hurried to tie up this loose end. But because they were in a hurry, they made a crucial oversight. They didn't notice the duct tape had peeled off, and was under Angie's body. Without that evidence, we may never have figured out the culprit's trick.

"Carrying the supplies they needed, the culprit returned to the Ultimate Art Lab, locked the front door from inside, and took out the katana they brought from their own lab. They then stabbed Angie in the back of the neck, finally killing her. Then, to further confuse us, the culprit attempted to make a locked-room mystery."

Finally, you heard a quiet sigh. You swore you could hear a mumble of something like, "Fine, we'll talk later..."

"First, they used rope from the warehouse and hung four effigies upside-down. There were two reasons for this. To overwhelm the room with an occult atmosphere... And the other was the key to locking the room. The culprit stuck the katana into Kaede's effigy near the rear entrance and spun the effigy around to twist up the rope. After enough turns, the culprit let go and headed for the rear door. Once released, the effigy began spinning, and the gold leaf katana with it. the handle of the katana then hit the sliding lock, locking the door.

"A difficult trick, but remember that the lock was so loose it moved at the slightest touch. The culprit also would have had the opportunity to attempt it many times. Once complete, the door was locked, but the duct tape was left behind. Perhaps the culprit noticed it, but by that point it was too late. The room was sealed. There was no way for them to get back inside.

"Then, this morning, we opened up the room and discovered Angie's body... But the culprit wasn't finished. They wanted one more murder. To do that, they manipulated us into performing the seance!

"Of the three empty rooms, the middle one was chosen for the seance. I was invited by Kokichi to take Kiibo's place in the seance. Tenko volunteered to be the medium, but... She never imagined that it would get her killed. To perform the seance, the culprit claimed they needed something for Tenko... A small stone that Himiko had brought from the courtyard. Tenko, at the culprit's request, bowed her head until it was touching the stone. That position was instrumental in making sure the murder went as planned.

"Next, Kokichi and I placed the iron cage over Tenko, in the middle of the magic circle. The culprit then volunteered to drape the white cloth over the iron cage. We didn't realize it at the time, but that was a deliberate decision by the culprit. They needed to set up the murder weapon that was used to kill Tenko. While they were covering the cage with the cloth, they secretly placed the sickle. Finally, four of us placed the wooden statue on top of the cage. The culprit used the weight of the statue to keep the murder weapon in place.

"After the preparations were complete, we began the seance. In complete darkness, we each stood in one corner and sang "The Caged Child" song. When the song was finished, the soul of the dead was supposed to enter the medium...but our culprit had another plan--to commit a murder in the darkness. Right after we started singing, the culprit began making their way toward Tenko. It would have been quite difficult to do in total darkness, but our culprit had a guide.

"They used the lines of the magic circle drawn with salt. The culprit felt for the salt and used it to guide them along. And when the culprit reached the center of the circle, they found the floorboard that had its crosspiece cut off the night before. Then they lifted up their foot and stomped down hard on the floorboard! The floorboard lifted up like a seesaw and pushed Tenko's body up toward the ceiling of the cage. Tenko was stabbed in the back of the neck by the sickle on the top of the cage... She was killed right before our eyes and we didn't even see it!

"After committing the crime, the culprit followed the salt back to their corner, finished the ritual, and had us light the candles. We followed the culprit's directions and removed the equipment used for the seance...and discovered Tenko's body. While we were all focused on the body, the culprit picked up the sickle and dropped it under the floor through the hole in the corner of the room.

"Ironically...the final step of the murder was unwittingly carried out by us. The culprit had planned the murder so that we would unintentionally destroy some of the evidence. That evidence was the magic circle that the culprit used to navigate in the dark. However, the culprit didn't know that Kiibo had taken a picture... He really saved us. Without that, we wouldn't know what changes were made to the circle. But now we know for certain. And we know the culprit drew the magic circle...

"Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist! You're the culprit behind these murders!"

You sighed. It was finally over.

"Uh... Uuuhhh..." Korekiyo breathed heavily.

"Sweet Korekiyo," Korekiyo number two started, "there are times when it's necessary to admit defeat."

"A-Admit...?" He paused for a second. "...Yeah... Okay..."

"So you...finally admit you did it." Himiko was glaring from beneath her hat.

"Unfortunately...yes. Yes... It's unfortunate. Very, very unfortunate. My one regret... My only regret...was not being able to make one hundred friends."

"One hundred...f-friends?" Gonta asked, puzzled.

"Kehehe... It was my dream to make one hundred friends. Ooh, it's so unfortunate! I was so close to one hundred!"

"What an asinine sputter," you remarked. "I bet this man has gone into a tame hysteria."

"Whoa, I don't even know what that word is," Kokichi commented. His eyes sparkled a bit. "So smart," he mumbled.

"Really, though," you continued, "what are you going on about, Korekiyo? None of us can make a single ounce of sense out of you."

"Who gives a f*ck!?" Miu barked. "Let's vote for this kooky b*stard and be done with this already!"

"Roger that!" Monokuma chimed. "One Voting Time, comin' up! The heart-racing excitement as the blackened and the spotless finally face off!"

"It's... VOTING TIME!!!" Monokuma and his cubs yelled in unison.

When the small screen appeared for you to vote with, you immediately smashed the picture of Korekiyo's face with your finger. You touched another button to confirm your decision before it finally went through. I'm getting tired...so tired right now, for some reason, you thought. Let's just...make this quick...

"Now then, it seems the voting has finished. Let's see the result... Who'll be chosen as the blackened!? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one!?" Monokuma looked as the verdict as all of the Ultimate students walked away from their podiums. "Wow! Seriously!? You're correct again! A-Amazing! This is the third correct verdict in a row!"

"If you manage to get twelve correct verdicts in a row, you'll proceed to the bonus round!" Monotaro cheered.

"This game can't last that long!" Monophanie told her brother.

"...It's finally over," Kiibo suddenly spoke.

"No," Himiko corrected, "not yet. I haven't...heard his answer yet. Kiyo...why? Why did you kill Angie and Tenko?"

Gonta joined in. "Yeah! He no need to kill them both, no matter what motive he have!"

"Motive?" the blackened repeated.

"Did your motive have something to do with the transfer student who was resurrected?" Tsumugi asked. "Even if it did, though... How did that trigger a murder?"

"Don't tell me... Were you actually scared if the resurrection ritual, Kaito?" Kokichi asked with his hands behind his head. A cheeky grin was on his face.

"Sh-Shut up! I never said I was scared!"

"Kehehe... The resurrection ritual had nothing to do with it," Korekiyo spoke up. "Because we're friends--" Friends? Yeah right, you thought, "--I'll tell you... I never once believed in the ritual. I would never kill someone over such a silly thing as that."

"...So it has nothing to do with the motive?" Maki wondered.

"Th-Then...why?" Himiko asked.

"For the one that I love..." Korekiyo was holding himself at that point. "There is...someone that I love. From the bottom of my heart. Someone so dear...someone I long for. I love her with all my heart. And she loves me with all her heart. Yes, we vowed an endless love to each other...forever bound by fate. None can come between us. We are bound by an intense love... No matter what anyone says."

"Braggin' about your perfect love life!?" Miu stammered. "F*ck you! Some of us aren't that lucky...!"

"So you basically went yandere...?" you quietly spoke your question.

"That's why you killed Angie and Tenko? But, why did you need to kill both--"

"If you asked if I did it to escape this place, my answer would be... 'No.' Because I have no need to escape this place. The one I love...is inside."

"D-Don't look at me! I...I'm not his lover!" Miu needlessly spat out.

"Calm down, no one would want a disgusting sh*t-stuffed b*tch like you anyway."

You bit your lip, glancing at Kokichi. The thing that really catches my attention is how Kokichi can say something like that with such a smile on his face... Well, at least he's confident in something... I guess? You looked away and stopped biting your lip before anyone could catch you and might get the wrong idea.

"Wh-Wh-What the what!?"

"Kiyo! Who is it!? Who's this person you love!?" Kaito shouted.

"Mmm... When I say 'inside,' I do not mean 'inside this academy.' I mean...inside me." Korekiyo spread out his arms in a blissful manner. "Yes, the one I love lives inside me. My dearest Sister."

"S-Sister!?" Gonta looked terrified.

"D-Don't look at me! I...I'm not his sister!"

"Well, duh. If you were his sister, he would've killed himself already," Kokichi spoke innocently.

You slowly walked over to the boy, snaking your hand up to his mouth in order to shut him up. He groaned in annoyance but he didn't try to fight back.

Tsumugi had a grim look on her face. "Your sister? But...didn't you say she was your lover?"

"Kehehe... It is not that difficult. My sister is my lover. I loved her so deeply... And she loved me so deeply... The fact that we were siblings...meant nothing to us. They called it 'forbidden love,' but none could stop the love we shared... Ooh... How I long for my sister's warmth. The only time I felt at peace...was when I was enveloped in my sister's warmth! That is why...for my beloved sister...I had to-"

"Y-You had to escape from here, right?" Kaito practically growled.

"No. I had to kill for her. Sister was very sickly... She was always in and out of the hospital ever since she was a child. Because of that, she didn't have many friends. She always seemed so lonely... Even if I could be her little brother and her lover, I couldn't be her friend. So I thought I'd find her some friends. Friends for my dear deceased sister."

"Deceased...?" Shuichi repeated with a horrified expression locked on his face.

"My sister is now a ghost, so her friends should be ghosts, too, right?"

You stared at him long and hard. You were scanning the creep to see if he was just trying to trick everyone, or if he was just over-exaggerating some small story... He wasn't. That was just terrifying to you.

"For Sister's sake...I've killed many! To send her one hundred friends! They were all wonderful people! Worthy of being Sister's friends!"

"This is too impossible to understand...!" Kiibo exclaimed. "Too...impossible!"

"Kehehe... Sister is very happy."

The teen slowly slipped off his mask, revealing his red, lipstick-covered lips. "Yes, Korekiyo... I am very happy. Thanks to you, I am not lonely."

"C-Could it be...that the lipstick version of Kiyo is..."

"I am Korekiyo's older sister," the Korekiyo with his mask off spoke. "Thank you for looking after my little brother."

"Wh-What the hell!?"

"After I lost my beloved sister, I was so distraught, I nearly went mad." His face was intense and dramatic. "But Sister came to save me. She visited me during one of my seances and stayed inside me... Kehehe...now I can see her whenever I want. I'm never lonely..."

"That's wonderful, Korekiyo. Your love made the impossible, possible."

"A-Are you serious!? Is this...really a spirit!?" Kaito asked frantically.

"He's just delusional..." Maki told him.

"Hmhmhm... What a sad girl who can't even believe in the power of love..." Korekiyo's 'sister' commented. That only earned a cold glare from Maki.

Creepy, creepy, creepy...! You glanced over at Monokuma. Come on, you damn bear! Just use that hammer of yours...! In a protective manner, you dragged Kokichi (who you found was still in your arms) away from the deranged other.

"Oh? What's going on here?" Korekiyo's sister was turned over to the two of you. "I do believe that I remember Korekiyo saying something to you about..."

Kokichi was able to pull away the hand from his mouth with ease. "Ooh, you were talking about me!?"

Your eyes widened and you tensed a bit. "Whatever you're thinking about, Kiyo...it isn't like that!!" You could feel your cheeks growing red, but you were sure that it was just from irritation.

"Are you sure about that?" Kokichi asked you nonchalantly. You looked down, ignoring the confused looks being shot at you every once in a while, and also... Why did it feel like your eyes were changing color...!? "Nishishi...!"

"Anyway... E-Either way, Kiyo's outta his mind. I mean...he killed for a dead chick." Miu shivered a bit.

With slightly limited movement, Kokichi put a finger up to his lips. "You said you killed a lot already, right? So it wasn't just the two you killed here? Nishishi... Seems like he was already crazy before he got here... You didn't kill to escape from here--that wasn't your purpose from the get-go... You just wanted to slaughter a bunch, huh!?" There it was. That...ominous face that we wore from time to time. You didn't like it.

"Do not make me out to be some bloodthirsty, indiscriminate killer." Korekiyo was back to...semi-normal, and he was glaring at the purple-haired supreme leader. "I only kill girls who I think are worthy of being Sister's friends."

"Only girls?" Shuichi piped up. "I see... So when we were deciding on who should be the medium...you said it would work best with a girl."

"I spent my time evaluating all the girls here..." the creep admitted. "And besides Maki and Miu, they were all worthy! All worthy of being Sister's friends!"

"All...worthy?" Himiko repeated.

"Hey, how come I'm not included!? I mean, not like I care!" Miu shouted a bit too loudly.

Miu, just... Just cut it out. You sighed. Your exhaustion was only getting worse.

"Then...the second victim...could've been me?" Himiko asked slowly. "Tenko...died in place of me?"

"Himiko would've been great, but Tenko volunteering made me so happy..." Ah, he was doing it again. His arms were spread out in pure bliss. "Her noble, earnest heart made her a perfect friend for Sister. She even infiltrated the student council to protect Himiko."

"But...how did you...?" Shuichi started to trail off.

"Kehehe... It was obvious to me. I have studied many people. Yes! She stood up against the darkness of this school all by herself! All for her beloved friend! I was so touched by that! Wonderful! She was a perfect friend for Sister! Kehehe... I can't understand why you didn't like her, Himiko."

"..."

"Though...I was planning on having you become Sister's friend too...eventually."

"Wooow, you did all that just to kill. For you to go that far...that's pretty impressive." Kokichi was smiling. Again. Then his grin turned more sinister. "You were interested in The Caged Child, just so you could use it to kill someone, right?"

"It interested me as an anthropologist, of course. But more than that... I wanted to kill for Sister! I cannot deny that overpowering feeling! Allow me to explain, though. I did not plan to kill both of them. I knew I would have plenty of chances after escaping this place. But Angie walked in on me preparing and I ended up killing her in a different way. So, I figured I may as well kill someone else, too. After all, it would be a shame to just waste the seance trick I prepared."

Tsumugi had some small beads of sweat rolling down her face. "Y-You're talking like...you killed her just because you could..."

"No, not just because I could... I was sending another friend to Sister."

"Korekiyo, you're such a thoughtful little brother. But it was bad to get greedy."

'Cut it out with that sh*t!' That's what you wanted to say. That's what you imagined yourself saying...but you couldn't. You didn't know what brought this weird feeling on all of a sudden.

"You're right... Because of that, now I can't send one hundred friends to Sister."

"Do you understand now? Those were the circumstances of Korekiyo's crime."

"I...I do not understand," Kiibo sputtered. "This is all too impossible for me to understand."

"Th-That right... Killing two friends for your dead sister!? That..wrong! That so wrong!" Gonta looked down at the ground, eyes looking extra glossy.

"Kehehe... Oh, don't get so worked up," the anthropologist replied. "Death only changes a person's form. The soul lives on as a ghost."

"That's right." Korekiyo's other personality hugged himself with a weird smile. "Even though I'm a ghost now, I am always by Korekiyo's side."

"Thank you, Sister... I love you."

"C-Cut it out already!" Himiko tried to demand. "I don't understand anything you're saying. Nothing's make sense. It's not fair! Why did Angie and Tenko have to die for something so unfair!?"

"Because death is unfair," Monokuma suddenly spoke up. "All deaths are unfair deaths. Why do you think news stations get such high ratings when they're reporting about death? Because...everyone likes unfair deaths."

"Well if you look at it like that," Kokichi chimed in, "this whole killing game embodies that philosophy, right? Gifted high school students forced to play a killing game... Man! If people were watching this, they would get a kick out of it!" Kokichi smiled ominously once more, but there was a hint of foreboding to it.

Maybe I can talk to him about it...later...

"Knock off the bullsh*t! Only sick f*cks would enjoy watching this!" Miu claimed.

"Hell yeah!" the boy responded excitedly. "If I wasn't in this killing game, I would have so much fun watching!"

"Kehehe..." Korekiyo chuckled. "The nature of this killing game is yet shrouded in mystery... But my role in it is over. I have finished my explanation to you, friends. I think I shall go and see her now... My beloved sister... I was unable to send her one hundred friends, but at least I can see her again now."

"It's alright, sweet Korekiyo... Come to me."

"Looks like you're already prepared," Monokuma cooed. "Now then, let's get started. It's the moment you've all been waiting for--Punishment Time!"

"My beloved sister..." Korekiyo was holding himself again. "At long last... I'll finally get to see you again.."

"Yes... From now on, no one will try to stop us. We can be together without having to hide our love from others..."

"W-Wait! I can't accept this!" Himiko cried out.

"Like I said, there's no such thing as a death that can be accepted. Why do you think so many different cultures have funeral rites? Why do you think rumors of ways to resurrect the dead never cease? The living must find a reason, however forced, to accept death when it happens. How you come to terms with death also determines how you live, yes? How will you live a life that faces death?"

"I've prepared a special punishment for the Ultimate Anthropologist, Korekiyo Shinguji!" Monokuma's shrill voice cut through the conversation.

"I will watch over you all as a ghost! As your friend, I will watch over you!"

"It won't just be me and Korekiyo... All those who died will be watching."

"Kehehe... I'll be watching to see how you face the death of your friends. I will be watching...forever and ever..."

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIME!"

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Word Count: 9428
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[(After thoughts/commentary linked to this text in a comment since the chapter is already too long.]