[A/N] Just a heads-up, class trial parts will continue until I reach a certain point, regardless of how long they wind up being word-count wise. So this part (and likely the next, as well) will be a bit lengthy. I hope you enjoy!

Yuu
"So where should we start? There's a lot to unpack here," Gou asks.

"Um... if it's not too much trouble... could we clarify whether or not this case could be a suicide? Regardless of the conclusion, we'd solve a lot of contradictions in our evidence if we solve that, would we not?" Sayuri suggests.

"Yes, please. I don't know if I'd be more freaked out if it was her or one of us, but I think I'd feel a lot more comfy if we knew that much," Fujiko concurs, clicking her nails against the arm of her chair.

"Okay then! Let's do this!" Kana rallies.

"We have a few compelling pieces of evidence implicating suicide," Keiji points out.

"Right! The fact that her neck was broken, that her shoes were left at the tree's base, and that there was only one set of footprints," I point out.

"Plus, she was so fixated on that willow tree... who knew it would be the place she'd die?" Fujiko whimpers.

"Maybe these pieces of evidence have an alternate explanation?" Joanie offers.

"What would her motive be, anyway? Wouldn't she need an important reason to do something so... drastic?" Sayuri inquires.

"That's not necessarily the case," Azumi chimes in, concern on her face.

"What? Why wouldn't she have a motive?" Kana asks.

"W-Well, um... please don't take this as a serious accusation... but we DO have the Ultimate Hypnotist here. Maybe he could've convinced her to do it." Her face scrunches up and she grimaces as though she expects to get backlash for this.

Chimon's expression goes shocked. "What?! No! I would NEVER do that! And even if I was ethically depraved enough to give it a shot, it's impossible! Hypnosis can't force people to do something against their moral code or anything like that. It's not like magic, just the power of suggestion. So if I was to suggest anything as reprehensible as that, even using all the tricks in the book, she wouldn't do it unless she already wanted to!"

"O-Okay, good. So at least we know you cannot puppet someone into killing themselves or others. I am terribly sorry for putting you on the spot like that."

"It's okay! Now you know!" he answers brightly.

"Since that's cleared up, let's get back to the task at hand," Nari urges. For the briefest of seconds though, so short an instant that I wonder if I'm imagining it, Chimon's face is filled with bored annoyance so tangible that it shakes me to my core. I look around at the others. They seem not to have seen it. Until, that is, I lock eyes with Tozen, who seems to have been doing the same thing. He widens his eyes at me, as if to ask if I noticed. I give a subtle nod. Anxiety flows through my body and fills my blood.

"If we assume that Hachi was murdered, and didn't kill herself, how would these pieces of evidence fit in?" Gou asks.

"Mayhap a killer laid in wait for the wench in the tree, pinned 'er upper body stationary with their knee, and snapped 'er neck ta make it look like she leapt onto a Hempen Halter. She definitely wasn't a bulky lass, at any rate, so overwhelmin' her physically wouldn't be a hard task."

"That doesn't account for the lack of prints," I mention. "I'm positive that there was only one set. And if the killer tried to wipe their own set away with their hands or feet, it would make very obvious streaks. There was no way to get rid of it. So either a second trail didn't exist in the first place, or some serious trickery is involved here."

"Hmm... I think the answer to that unknown is actually pretty simple. In fact, I have an idea," Ren expresses, putting a finger to his lips.

Azumi beams. "Really? I must admit I'm rather intrigued! What do you propose, Ren?"

"When Bisque, Chimon, and I were scoping out the craft room, we discovered something strange. Despite Bisque having not used any paint brushes within the past few days, a particularly large one was still wet."

"O-Oh! That's right! It's the type of brush one might use to paint a house or something like that!" Bisque confirms, scratching flakes of dry clay off his hands excitedly.

"I think that the killer may have used the brush to convincingly wipe their own tracks away, and then washed the brush so we wouldn't instantly notice the dirt!" he theorizes with a confident hand on his hip. "Would that be an adequate explanation, Yuu?"

I toss the idea around in my head for a while, trying to visualize it. "Yeah, I think that'll do quite nicely."

He winks at me and blows a kiss. "Thank you ever so much for the vote of confidence. Your expertise on the matter makes me even more sure of my little solution's accuracy."

"Flattery doesn't suit me. Your words are like honey, but I recoil from the taste."

"Ah, that's a fun response. Thanks for humoring me," he appreciates, sticking his tongue out playfully.

"Save your theatrics for later, guys! I mean, it's funny, but now's not the time! So, if the footprint problem is cleared up, and the neck problem is cleared up, then is it possible that Wakumi was right?" Chimon wonders.

"Course I'm right! Me deduction skills and me noggin are more skilled than I get credit for! Arrr!" she yells, tilting her hat a bit.

"I have some problems with that," Joanie interjects immediately.

"GINNY! Ye git! Yer just arguing with me flawless logic 'cause it came from me own head, aren'tcha, ye harebrained scallywag?!"

"Calm yourself and lemme explain. And don't you go putting that second eyepatch on." She starts twirling her staff around with an animated expression. "You can't turn a blind eye to the truth! Heavenly Blessing-Granter Aika will assure it!"

"Go on then! I dare you!"

"Before I do, I'd like to ask just one question. That'll determine whether I have one objection or two. Ren, what were you, Bisque, and Chimon doing in the craft room in the first place?"

Bisque perks up. "Oh! Oh, I can explain that part! The other day, a sgraffito tool-- used for carving details-- disappeared from the craft room! So I wanted to show those two in case it was important to the investigation. And a second one had disappeared! Keiji found a bloody one in the dirt near the tree!"

"Thank you, Bisque. Two objections it is. First of all, how would the killer know Hachi would go to the tree so they could take her by surprise? She was supposed to be going to the party, right? Second, your theory only takes the neck into account. Not the bloody sgraffito tool or the... other bodily injuries."

"You'll have ta get through me first! I'll hang ye from the yardarm!" Wakumi bellows. "Ye have no proof that nobody summoned Hachi ta that very spot! Fer all we know, the lass coulda gotten a note and hidden it somewhere. It wouldn't have been hard; the lassie's been practically BEGGIN' ta go there."

"Even if that wasn't conjecture, what about the second problem?"

"Maybe they used the sgraffito tool on top o' snappin' her neck! Nobody checked the top o' the trees, did they? The killer coulda done all the extra stuff ta stop her from struggling, snapped her neck, covered it all with the blindfold, and strewn her up. And since nobody looked at the tree, we'd be none the wiser!"

"I'll cut through your words! We may not have seen the treetop, but we saw the rope! It would've tipped Hachi off if the rope was on the ground, so, if your theory was correct, then the rope would be with the killer in the trees getting splattered. So! Was there blood on the rope, guys?"

"Now that i think about it, It was almost entirely clean!" Tozen remarks.

"Darn. I guess I need ta yield. Me thinkin' wasn't flawless after all. Shit."

Kana takes a deep breath. "It's okay, Wakumi. Don't forget the stuff we found. Knowing what we know now—that being that there's practically no way for a killer to keep the garden clean— I believe we have to consider the possibility that the garden was NOT the crime scene!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kana

My words ring out and suddenly the room goes silent. I can feel my hand shaking slightly, but I'm proud I was able to keep my voice level while making my declaration. Monterio takes my hand and rubs it with his thumb. Underneath his typically stoic exterior, I can sense a hint of a smile, and it steadies me.

"Well?" Keiji glares expectantly. "Are you going to back up your claims at all or are you just going to sit back in self-satisfaction?"

"Of course I'm going to explain myself! What the hell do you take me for?!" I shout. Monterio squeezes my hand a bit more, both to offer me support AND to make sure I don't get too angry to think straight. "So here's the thing... while Fujiko and Joanie were helping me when I got sick and Wakumi was laughing about it, we discovered some things. I think the most important thing we found indicating that Hachi MIGHT have been killed in the girl's bathroom is her charm."

"Exhibit A!" Fujiko cheers, taking the charm out of her pocket. "This is the charm from Hachi's wisteria necklace! From what I've heard, she bought it for herself during a game of hide and seek with Chimon. And from then on, she wore it all the time. So what was it doing all the way in the girl's bathroom if she was in the garden?!" She shivers a little and then smiles. "Oooh, that felt so cool!"

"You're doing great!" I tell her. She giggles pridefully.

"Wait. You mean to tell me that she bought a necklace in the MIDDLE of a game?" Yuu emphasizes, probably in disbelief.

"It was Hachi. Why are you so surprised?" Chimon points out.. "She even showed it to me once she found me. She was rather fond of it."

"So... you found a charm. Is that supposed to be enough to convince us that she was killed in the girl's bathroom? As you said, it was Hachi. She may have simply dropped it," Keiji objects.

My brain frantically bounces around as I try to come up with something. Just because we may have found a passage in the wall doesn't mean it was used, and I don't want to bring it up until I have something a little more substantial. To my surprise, though, Azumi swoops in. "I do not believe that is the case in this particular circumstance. Though it would be in-character for Hachi to lose something due to inattention, she had reason to be paying a particular amount of mind to the charm tonight. Look at this. This list was found in Hachi's bedroom. It details what she'd need for her costume and whom she might request objects from. If I may read a brief excerpt... 'My own necklace charm could be a cape clip.' If she intended to use it as an incremental part of her costume, she would not have simply lost it at the last minute. Does that make sense?"

Sayuri clicks her tongue softly. "Cape clip? But she did not even have a cape, did she? Could we have possibly missed it somewhere? Even with all our time looking?"

"Maybe the killer disposed of the cape! They could've stuffed it into the wash or something! When I would hurt myself and get my clothes dirty, my parents would shove it in with a load of laundry immediately!" Bisque offers.

"Not a chance. I did the laundry, so they would've had to interrupt a load to put it in. When I looked with Azumi and Yuu, nothing was out of the ordinary," Nari counters.

"Then maybe they burned it?" Fujiko says.

"That's even more out of the question. The only thing they could use is the stove, and Tozen was in and out of the kitchen during the party. Plus, it would probably make a gross smell and the smoke alarm would go off," Gou waves a hand across his face as if wafting away a nasty odor.

"They could've just hidden it. Y'know, stashed it away somewhere like their room," Ren points out with a shrug.

"Now that's more likely. But... what if they left it somewhere in plain sight?" Chimon argues.

"That's it!" Tozen cries out. We turn to look at him. "That thing about hiding in plain sight! I was thinking that the blindfold was familiar to me! It's a tablecloth! She asked me for one around four days ago! I can't believe I forgot!" He pulls it out from a plastic bag and starts to inspect it thoroughly. "Wait. There's... there's a small hole in each of these two corners. It's really small, so I'm not surprised we missed it." He passes it to Nari next to him so that she can confirm it.

"Yeah, I can see them."

"Ooooh! There was a safety pin attached to the charm! Look, I have it right here!" Fujiko bounces in delight.

"So that pretty much proves that Hachi was in the bathroom shortly before we found her in the garden! Thank you for your assistance, Tozen! I am pleased you were able to come to these conclusions!" Azumi praises. He blushes a little bit and thanks her profusely. So Yuu doesn't do flattery, but he clearly does. I hear a tiny huff of laughter from Monterio, and I realize that I'm pouting in mild disapproval.

"Very well then. I am satisfied. I will contend that it is possible that Hachi was murdered in the bathroom," Keiji gives in.

"May I ask a few more questions? This is a trial, so we should go until we are all satisfied, yes?" Sayuri asks, cleaning her glasses.

"Lassie, I doubt you'll e'er be satisfied, but we can't exactly stop ye if we tried. So I'll strike colors. Have at it," Wakumi shrugs.

"Strike colors? Oh, nevermind. First, how would the killer have carried the body to the garden without being seen? If they'd been caught, it'd be all over for them, correct?"

I open my mouth to explain with a smile, but Wakumi cuts me off. "EY, EY! Lemme do it! I need ta redeem meself after me earlier blunder!" I nod begrudgingly. "When the three wenches and I were in the bathroom, I started kickin' the walls in frustration and stumbled upon a different sound. Accordin' to Kana, it sounds deep and hollow. And I trust in 'er trained ears. That there's a secret tunnel!"

"Did you actually confirm this?"

"It didn't open from that side, but it was definitely wide and tall enough for a person to crawl through. Even someone on the bigger side," I insist.

"I assume it would be wise for the purpose of the investigation to trust that this is a passageway, yes? Then I will move onto my next question. If Hachi was already dead, how could she have left her prints in the dirt? Aren't her shoes much too small for anyone else to wear comfortably? Even given her short stature-- a stature which Chimon and I share-- her feet were quite small, right?"

We're all left thinking about her question, stewing in silence for a while. I look around the room, trying to get a grasp of people's emotions. My eyes settle on Bisque, who's acting peculiar, even for him. He's staring at his hands and squinting really hard at them, even moving them up and down a little. Then he gasps, beams, and shakes them back and forth. "Ha! Ha! I think it got it! Monokuma, do I have permission to get out of this chair? It'll only be a moment! And besides, don't people learn best by doing?"

"Well, I guess there's no harm in a small break for everyone to stretch! Getting your blood pumping will help those skillful brains of yours stay in tip-top shape!"

We all stand and start to stretch a little bit, grateful for the chance to move. Bisque marches right to the front of the room where all of us can easily see, and bends into a downward-dog-like position. The only difference is that his feet are spread way further apart. "Look! So imagine my hands are holding Hachi's shoes! If I waddle like this, I can imitate her footprints! And since my legs are so far away, I can wipe my own with the paintbrush without disturbing the fake set!"

"Bisque, that's brilliant!" Azumi exclaims.

"What?! Aw, that's so nice of you!" he thanks. How compliment-starved ARE these people? In the process of trying to stand back up, he slips and nearly does the splits. "OW! I'm fine, I'm fine, don't worry!"

"Knowing what we know now, I think I can conclude why the rope was frayed," Tozen nods. "The middle probably got ran along the branch she was hanging from as the killer hoisted her up post-mortem. All of this was done to throw us off the scent-- in more ways than one."

Nari's expression is grim as her hair shades a portion of her face. "Yeah, but now we're left with no suspects."

"I have my suspicions. But none of you are going to like it," Yuu announces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gou

"...What do you mean 'we aren't going to like it?' What's going on in your head, Yuu?" I ask, heart pounding. It's like a rush from accelerating in my car, but less pleasant.

"Think about this. Who knows the craft room and its tools better than anyone? Who would know to use a pottery tool for murder and a paintbrush for cleanup? Who would come up with the idea of walking Hachi's shoes?" He doesn't even say it. He just lets the words sit there.

And then we all explode. "I have SEVERAL objections!" Azumi scolds.

"Me too!" says Tozen.

"Uh, SAME. Starting with the fact that Haruto was with ME," I growl.

"You could've been the one he promised to take with him, for all we know! Your testimony and alibis hold no water! Aside from Wakumi, you two were the last ones to the party, so you could've had the time to clean and set up the new crime scene if you worked together! Plus, Haruto's costume has a raincoat, which he could easily wash blood off of without issue!"

"WHAT?! NO! I WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING SO AWFUL! Please, you have to believe me!" Bisque begs, clenching his hands together. A few hours ago, we were literally playing cards, joking around, having the time of our lives, and now we're both being dragged across the coals.

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down. Bisque has been so cooperative this entire time. Why would he give away so many important bits of information regarding the murder if he himself committed it?" Tozen defies.

"Precisely because he's banking on that line of reasoning! He's extremely likeable, and he knows it. You all tell him so practically every time he so much as breathes."

"Um... thanks? I don't know how to respond to this!" Bisque panics. Tears threaten to pool in his eyes, which are turning red from withholding them.

"Azumi, what did we conclude about that list again? That those written on it may be among the last people to see her alone?"

"Yuu, you have to stop. I won't let you see it again!"

"Ah-ah-ah! We call that, 'obstruction of evidence' my little chickadees! You may be good at contortion, but you can't bend your way out of this one, missy!" Monokuma refuses.

"I...I!" She scrunches in on herself. She's cornered.

"Hey, c'mon now!"

"Ms. Hirabayashi, rules are the hallmark of civilization and are designed to be obeyed! Please, reveal the list!" Monoinu insists.

"But! I!"

"My name isn't on there! And if it is, she never came to ask me!" Bisque asserts. And he's probably right. But even if he is, I know why she's trying to hide it.

She sighs and looks down at the ground as though giving up. "Not yours, Haruto. 'Traffic cone to make a hat? Ask Gou.' If Yuu's going under the assumption that you are the killer and Gou is your accomplice, this would mean there's a chance that he'd know where she'd be."

"She asked me for that cone ages ago. It's not related," I say with a firm tone.

"We have no way of knowing that."

"But wait! Monoinu stated that guys can't go into girl bathrooms and girls can't go into guy bathrooms! An alarm will blare and they'll get punished! If either Bisque OR Gou tried to sneak in, we'd all be alerted immediately!" Fujiko explains.

"Unfortunately... that's not exactly true. He said that the door comes equipped with these precautions. If Bisque used the tunnel, he could get in without any consequences. I'm... sorry. I hate that it makes sense, but it makes sense," Joanie clarifies. She takes off her wig and holds it to her heart like she's showing her respects.

"It's okay. I don't blame you. But it's not me. I promise!" His voice cracks and one or two tears slip from his eyes, even as he tries to force a smile.

"I'm not buying it yet. I need more definitive proof one way or another. But Yuu does make an awfully compelling point, so I expect a serious turnabout if you wanna clear his name," Kana touts.

We can't let it end like this. Bisque gets convicted for murder and I for being an accomplice and we all die? We can't lose here. Not so soon.

People start talking over each other loudly.

"I think we can clear Bisque and Gou if anyone saw either of them between 5:50 and, say, 6:15 pm," Tozen estimates.

"If we don't have evidence to prove that those two didn't do it, why don't we try and find any evidence that wouldn't make sense if they were the guilty party?" Monterio suggests.

"Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Yuu asks. "You're the one who would know how to defend yourself, if you're seriously innocent."

"Why that specific timeframe?" Sayuri asks.

"Hmm... We already said that the list, alibis, and craft tools make sense. And his testimony could be described as trying to play innocent," Keiji reiterates.

"I-- um-- I can't think straight! There's so much noise!" he wails.

"The Monokuma File says she died around 6. That timeframe would include the approximate amount of time needed to kill Hachi, clean the bathroom, and set up the fake scene in the garden before they showed up to the party."

"Maybe the rope. Would Haruto have the strength to hoist Hachi up like that?" Kana asks.

"Hey, leave him alone!" I demand.

"Azumi, Tozen, and I were with Yuu fer like an hour before the party gettin' last-minute adjustments fer our shoes and shit. I ain't about to let me boots be in anythin' less than perfect condition. So we didn't see crap," Wakumi clarifies.

"Maybe not, but Gou definitely could. What about the charm?" Ren dismisses.

"I'm sorry! I wanna defend myself, but I feel so wrong! It's loud, and the chairs are really uncomfy, and I just--" Tears stream down his face.

Yuu pulls tight at his tie in anger. "Exactly. Nobody would've seen them. They already testified that they were together in the game room at that time. Regardless of whether they were lying, it's highly unlikely that anyone would see them."

"I think we're on the right track. The tablecloth might come into play again," Monterio suggests.

"EVERYBODY STOP!" I yell. They all quiet down, except for poor Bisque, who's weeping. "Monterio, why do you think the tablecloth might not make sense if we're guilty?"

"Because of the splatter we saw on it. The presence of the splatter implies that it blood swung onto the tablecloth when the tool was swung back and forth... aka when the stabbings happen. If Yuu's so sure that Haruto simply washed blood off of his raincoat, then why would the splatter be there at all? It's my belief that the tablecloth was worn by the killer to prevent their clothes from getting bloody, and that simply wouldn't matter for those two."

Bisque sniffles and wipes his tears away. "Thanks," he murmurs.

"Plus... I got sick when I saw Hachi's body because she smelled of cologne, which makes me nauseous. And, though I haven't spent time with EACH of you individually, I'm pretty sure that neither of those two wear any," Kana brings up.

Nari suddenly blanches, going paler than a ghost. "Cologne? Oh my God. I think I know what's going on now."