"C'mon, its obvious that I'm not the killer. Don't make me laugh." Kandi chuckled. She smiled ear to ear, a genuine smile that took the group off guard.

"Oh really, then tell me why your fingerprints were on the murder weapon. You didn't know that I had a forensic kit and overlooked that fact." Kyoko Kirigiri of the future foundation asked the younger girl sternly.

  "I'd like to know that as well..." Elizabeth bit her lip. Her best friend, since when was she so crazy? Sure, she had no problem with a dead body or cursing, but this? This was insane. Elizabeth, Kandi, and Noble were from the Hope's Peak Middle School. They were there among other high schoolers. Them, and four older teenagers had survived 'til now. It was impossible for Kandi to have murdered someone.

  "It's obvious that you are the killer, don't make me laugh." Byakuya Togami, also from the future foundation, told the younger girl. The future foundation had just now broken into the cruise. But they needed to get out of this trial to leave, meaning they needed to find out who had killed Akiyama Gushiken.

   "Sis, this is getting pathetically boring." Kandi's twin, Noble, spoke up.

  "Well then, you all know I don't have the strength to kill a grown man. Especially the ultimate craftsman, he's worked with the strongest of materials, and me, I'm just a weak voice actor. Besides, that was... a kitchen knife, was it not?" Kandi still smiled, the smile slowly forming into an evident smirk. The same smirk you could always see when she knew something crucial that no one else knew.

  "Yes, it was! Wow, look at me! Actually helping to solve a murder case! I'm doing amazing!" Zoë Rosas, the ultimate actor, chirped out. She was in a cheery mood, despite the fearful attitude of everyone else.

  "Correct Zoë. Now, do I have the incentive to use a kitchen knife in my day to day life? To, take a knife and use it to spread butter on bread, to cut my microwaved chicken nuggets, to level out the sugar while attempting to bake some cookies?" Kandi asked the group, her tone confident, burrowing into the others' souls as they realized, they may have lost their only lead. Their, only hope. Their, breath of fresh air after drowning in the despair of an unanswered grief.

  "You do, bu-" Makoto Naegi, the final future foundation member started. He was cut off by Kandi.

  "Someone could've used gloves, or even some sort of napkin to conceal their fingerprints. See... you haven't proved anything." Her expression went stoic, before returning to a sly smirk.

"You're smirking. That should mean that you know something we don't. Is it about the knife, or no?" Kisho Imada, the ultimate inventor, turned to look the browned haired girl solely in the eyes.

"True, you don't know it, I probably don't even know it for sure. Hmm, I wonder. There has to be a reason." Kandi teased the group. Her hazel eyes lit up in the excitement of being able to control the group to the "perfect" verdict. The verdict that would fall perfectly between hope and despair, that would solely benefit her.

   "We don't know... the cause of death." Noble mumbled. She continued thinking, needlessly.

   "Ah, my wonderful twin. Great minds do think alike. That's right, there is no specified cause of death. I wonder what it could be." Kandi confirmed Noble's theory.

  "But, the only possible murder weapon was the knife, there was nothing else around. " Elizabeth defied Kandi's theory of another murder weapon. It was an impossible thought.

  "But, that cracked mug, the blood blotches on the skin, and the other signs of poisoning. Could he have been killed with a poison?" Kyoko confirmed. She stopped thinking and faced the group head on. "He was most likely poisoned."

  "But that mug, didn't it look there was coffee in it. Akiyama was smart, he wouldn't take coffee from anyone. But, there was one person he knew he could trust. Who would that be?" Kandi continued. She lead the group through the trial like a kindergarten teacher. Giving them easy or obvious questions, secretly leading them to the verdict.

  "That would be me." Maiko Kamei, the ultimate ringmaster, spoke up calmly. The sickly girl looked as though she was grieving, but still, she radiated a calm and gentle aura. As if Kandi had never asked the previous question.

"Yes, Akiyama trusted you very much. But, you could've... poisoned him, no? You could've gotten desperate, no?" Kandi pushed on further. Her smirk was at it's peak, being the one genuine "smile" in the group.

  "I do not believe that I killed Aki. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding." Maiko didn't lash out or defy Kandi in shock. She simply smiled and politely objected.

  "Well, you have no evidence that you didn't kill him. And you had all the motive. Our motive was, and I quote, 'kill someone within the next twenty four hours or you will all have to face your biggest fears!'. That's exactly what Monokuma said. Y'know, could it be that your fe-" Kandi was cut off mid sentence by Kyouko.

  "I just realized. You are quite cunning for an eleven year old girl." Kyouko noted, stunning the group.

  "Why, thank you for the compliment. But I will need to ask you to elaborate." Kandi's smirk didn't faulter. She devoted her eyesight to Kyouko, who was staring at her with a penetrating glare.

  "Initially when you mentioned poisoning, I though of the switched poison and sugar from the infirmary and kitchen. Trust me that the two were in fact switched. I thought that you were implying that someone had switched the two for when Akiyama made his daily coffee. But you said something very strange. You said, 'Aki was smart, he wouldn't take coffee from just anyone.' This meaning, that you knew Aki had accepted the coffee as a gift. Because, any other normal circumstances, you should have asked about how the poison got in the mug. But you went headfirst and said that someone gave him the coffee. This, and the fact that you've seemed to have predicted everyone so far. You know too much about this case. You haven't seemed surprised by anything. And, you have been smirking the whole time." Kyouko finished. She crossed her arms, her glare instantly becoming more lethal.

"As you saying that..." Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock. The ultimate designer stepped back an inch, shock still consuming her.

"...She's the murderer?" Noble finished. She looks impressed by Kyouko's intellect, more then she seemed concerned about her twin anyhow.

"Actually, it seems highly more likely that we're all her puppets. That she's the puppet master of this case. Also, that would explain the knife, she was simply throwing us off." Kyouko corrected Noble.

  "So what relation does she have to the case?" Kisho asked Kyouko. Instead if Kyouko, Kandi answered.

"I set the case up. Arranged it as if I were playing with my dolls. Altering the meaning of that simple cup of coffee." Kandi finished with a smrik ever present. The entire group looked shocked.

"So, you know who the killer is. Go ahead and tell us now, will you?" Byakuya adjusted his glasses momentarily. He used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off of his 'perfect' face.

  "Yeah Kandi, tell us." Elizabeth persuaded.

  "I think it would be easier to understand if me and Naegi explained it together.

  "Why me?" Makoto asked the younger girl confused. His light brown hair was dripping with sweat.

  "I did my fair share of research on the previous killing games. Apparently, you always summarized the cases before hand. Isn't that right?" Makoto nodded. "Everything will become clear after we do that." Kandi finished her sentence, now smiling sincerely at the group.

  "A-Alright." Makoto stuttered whilst nodding.

(Description of The Comic)

  "First, let's talk about the murder's preparation." Kandi spoke. The first comic box showed the kitchen. Kandi was in the next, two containers in her hands. In the next, she's switching the contents of the two. In the final box, she's placing the container, labeled sugar, down, her smirk evident.

  "The key to this trial was the switched up sugar and poison. Before the trial, Kandi went to the infirmary and took the poison of her choice. She brought it to the kitchen, switching the contents of it with that of the sugar container. This made it, so that the next person to use the 'sugar', would actually be using poison." Makoto started. Kandi nodded in agreement.

  The next slide showed Kandi walking up to a gray figure. The grey figure turned to her on the next. Kandi was telling the gray figure something in the next. In the one after, the gray figure nods. In the second to last slide the figure is walking off. And in the final slide, Kandi is smirking.

  "I'll explain next! After that, I found the 'blackened'. I proceeded to tell them that Akiyama needed a coffee. Obviously, it was a lie. They told me they would go make him a coffee. One more detail, I told them that he wanted sugar in his coffee." Kandi grinned at her own excellence.

   The third page was appears next. Akiyama is sitting at his room. Then, the door is shown, with symbols showing that it's being knocked. Akiyama then opens the door in the next slide. After that, Kandi is walking into the room, before telling Akiyama something in the fifth. Kandi then leaves the room, still smirking.

  "Allow me to continue. After that, I went to Akiyama's room. I told him that the culprit wanted to see him in the third class hallway. He believed me and went there."  Kandi explained this section of the comic. She began twirling her hair, obviously bored.

The next slide showed Akiyama in the hallway. After that, it showed the culprit bumping into Akiyama. They both looked puzzled in the third. In the fourth, the culprit is giving Akiyama the coffee, a mixing spoon in it. After that, the culprit is leaving, heading towards the stairs, while Akiyama is resting on a nearby bench to drink his coffee.

  "I'll go next. When I studied a map of this cruise, it showed that the kitchen is at the end of the third class hallway. Akiyama must've stayed near the stairway, which is at the middle of the hall, because the culprit managed to find him before heading upstairs to his room. There also must've been some confusion, as Akiyama never said he needed coffee. Regardless, he took it and sat on a nearby bench. The culprit may have wanted answers from Kandi, so they headed upstairs." Makoto rested his chin in his hand, thinking aloud.

"Fun fact, it wasn't an instant poison. The poison instructions clearly stated: "The poison becomes fatal after ten minutes of consumption. It is possible to render the poison harmless, with the proper drugs."" Kandi added. "But Akiyama didn't know it was poisoned, and if he did, he wouldn't have known that a drug could save him. So it was at that moment, that his near death became inevitable." Kandi explained. "Making the one who handed him the coffee the killer." The whole gasped, before becoming enveloped in silence.

  "That means, even if the killer didn't mean to kill Akiyama, they still killed unintentionally and against their will. And that there was nothing they could do to save him, as Kandi would most likely not reveal the antidote. Oh my god." At this moment, Elizabeth realized the true nature of this trial. Of the victim, the killer, even those investigating it. But most importantly, the nature of the puppet master.

  "Indeed. What a tragic loss." Noble shrugged. She had realized the nature of this trial the second Kandi accused Maiko.

"Let's continue regardless of any mental therapy we need." Kisho instructed the group.

"Right." Kandi nodded.

  The next slide showed the culprit walking up the stairs, unaware that they had just become a killer. Akiyama was drinking his coffee in the next. In the slide after that, Akiyama had started to cough repeatedly. In the following, he attempted to get it of his seat in order to find help. In the next, Akiyama has fallen to the side, leaning against the wall, a tiny box besides it showing the mug breaking. In the final box, the lifeless corpse of Akiyama Gushiken, the ultimate craftsman, is shown.

  "The culprit had left the scene after handing Akiyama the coffee. They left unaware that they had killed the person closest to them. Akiyama then proceeded to drink the coffee, not realizing that it was poisoned, and that it would be the last he would ever consume. Ten minutes later, the poison was ready to kick in. Akiyama started to coughing repeatedly, no doubt. He didn't know this was because of the poison, so he attempted to head upstairs. Unfortunately for him, he collapsed, resulting in him leaning against the wall. It's noteable that the area of the wall he was leaning in was behind the half wall/banister of the stairway. He dropped his mug in the process of this, it breaking besides him. This, was the moment that Akiyama died." Makoto finished the sentence forcefully. By now, tears were forming in the eyes if multiple.

In the next slide, Kandi is shown emerging from the rec room. She quickly grabs a knife from the kitchen, and stabs Akiyama's corpse in the heart. In the next slide she rums upstairs, before running into the girls public bathroom in the second class hallway.

  "I have the answers for this next part. You see, I had hidden in the rec room after meeting with Akiyama. Once I was certain that he was dead, I quickly, but quietly, headed to the kitchen. I took a kitchen knife, and brought it back to Akiyama. I stabbed him straight in the heart. You see, I do have a heart. But, I also can't stand to see hope or despair dominate. So, because I knew this case was already one lump of despair, I decided to give the culprit some hope. I stabbed Akiyama so that the culprit would initially be certain that someone else had killed Akiyama. This would give them hope that they could help avenge Akiyama's death. I then ran into the girl's public bathroom in the second class hallway, which was conviently placed near the stairway connecting the second class hall to third class hall. I then went to the bathroom." Kandi explained what she had done perfectly. Every detail was vivid in her mind, but she kept brief for time's sake.

"I see." Maiko commented quietly.

  Then following slide showed the culprit screaming upon discovering Akiyama's corpse. It then showed Kandi exited the bathroom and meeting with Kisho and Elizabeth at the top of the staircase. The three of them walked down the stairs I the next, and discovered Akiyama's corpse in the final.

"I heard the culprit's scream as I exited the bathroom. I met with Kisho and Eli at the staircase. All we did was exchange worried looks, beofee we hurried down the staircase. After quickly walking down the staircase, we saw the culprit. When we asked what was wrong, she pointed to Akiyama's slightly hidden body. I assumed at that point that they had come down to check on Akiyama. After discovering he wasn't there, they then searched for him, before encountering his body. After the three of us got there, the corpse discovery announcements played." Kandi eyes lit up, as if she were telling the group an interesting and engaging story, which, in a way, it was.

"By now, both the culprit's identies should be clear!" Makoto announced. On the final screen, two sides were sectioned off. On the right, Makoto was in the center, striking his famous, "YOU'VE GOT THAT WRONG!" pose. Kyouko was off to the side, chin resting in her hand, a quizzical look on her face. Togami was just glaring. Kisho looked confused, his head tilted slightly. Zoë looked shocked, as she always did when the killer was revealed. But now, she looked even more shocked. Noble looked bored, stoically gazing nowhere in particular. And Elizabeth, she looked petrified. "The one gave Akiyama the poisoned cup of coffee, the one who had prepared it in the first place. The one who killed Akiyama was..." Makoto gulped. It was agonizing to announce that she had killed the one closest to her.

  "You, Maiko Kamei." He said quietly. The gray figure on the left side of the screen changed to show Maiko. She stood up straight, her arms at her side. She had a calm gaze, and smiled softly.

  "But the one who orchestrated this cleverly tragic case. The one who switched the sugar for the poison. The one controlling us like puppets. The "puppet master" of this case," Makoto paused for dramatic effect, "is actually Kandi Rosenstake!" He screamed. He let out all of his anger for the little girl in that scream. She looked unfazed though. Behind everyone on the screen, Kandi appeared, smirking victoriously. (A/N Kinda like how Nagito appeared during his trial)

  "But, why?" Elizabeth choked out. Why had her friend caused this mess.

"Isn't it obvious?" The other girl said weakly. "Why I went through all the trouble to do this?" She looked at the group with pleading eyes.

  "Could you be... Eh!" Noble thought aloud once more. The whole group turned to her eager for answers. "My dear sister, could you be the mastermind's mole?" The survivors of the first killing game stepped back in surprise.

  "Yep, right on the mark." Kandi smiled, proud of her older twin.

  "What does that mean? Is she like the traitor?" Zoë asked, puzzeled. She bit her perfectly manicured nails.

  "No, she has direct orders from the mastermind to kill someone, but she is not working with the mastermind." Kyouko explained. "Something similar happened with us, though, she killed herself."

"But why did you go through with it?" Kisho asked.

  "Because, I had no choice." Kandi's voice started to waver. "If I didn't kill someone before thr first two months were over, everyone but the traitor, including me, would d-die." The whole group gasped. In a way, she did this to save them.

  "But, why didn't you kill yourself. Then, everything would've been easy. Physically and emotionally." Elizabeth then slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, that came out wrong!" Kandi shook her head.

  "No, don't be sorry. I should've killed myself. You're right." Kandi slightly smiled.

  "Why did you use the one method that didn't mean you would die, are you afraid of dying? Weak little girl." Togami made a tsk sound. He shook his head in exasperation.

  "N-No, not exactly. It's actually something you can relate to. I'm afraid of letting those close to me down. I'm afraid that all my family would feel is disappointment if I died during the killing games. That I wouldn't finish what I needed to finish. In that way,  I couldn't let myself die. I know, utterly selfish." Kandi hung her head in shame. Her personality had done a complete 180°.

  "Don't be ashamed. At least your reason us perfectly valid. It's not that you're afraid of dying, but you're afraid of being dishonorable. The last compliment I will ever give before I die, I've decided who will receive it. You, Kandi." Maiko spoke gently. Everyone looked Maiko straight in the eye. She was serious.

  "I'm the reason you're dying." Kandi spoke flatly. She was in as much disbelief as the others.

  "That doesn't matter. You were trying to be honorable for your family. You're the most honorable person I have ever met." Maiko said firmly.

  "Um, okay. Thank you Mai." Tears sparkled in Kandi's eyes as she smiled.

  "What would have happened if we didn't realize your plans?" Noble asked her sister.

  "What is this, Q&A?" Kandi chuckled. "I would've told you guys, duh. I did all this to save you." Kandi stated as if were obvious.

  "Are we ready to vote?!" Monokuma suddenly yelled. A few people spared nods for him, while a few grumbled "yes". Everyone voted for Maiko, except for Kandi. She voted for herself.

"Just a warning Kandi, if you set up a murder, at least vote for the actual killer!" Monokuma giggled. Kandi grit her teeth. "Any last words, Ms. Kamei?!" Monokuma jumped up.

  "Good luck everyone." Maiko stated simply, and please don't gang up on Kandi."

  "Could we send Kandi instead?" Kyouko asked absentmindedly. Kandi sighed.

  "We couldn't." All eyes flashed to her. Some even mouthed, "Why?"

  "Because I'm not a murderer." Kandi looked up at the group firmly. Despite the tears in her eyes, she still flashed them a smirk. This smirk symbolized everything that had happened so far. Most importantly, it symbolized how she used her cunning wit to manipulate everyone, saving them in the end. She opened her mouth, and spoke. "I'm worse."

°| Bonus Scene |°

  "Upupupupu! It's punishment time!" Monokuma used his gavel to slam the button right in front of him. The pixelated screen seemed normal, but Monokuma didn't use a lasso Maiko. Instead, she walked right besides him. A chain then reached out, pulling Maiko to her death.

^| Maiko's Execution |^
°| "Sickly Trapeze Show" |°

  Maiko is put at the top of a platform. In front of her, is the flying trapeze set. But lava was set beneath it all. If she fell, the 100 foot drop would lead to lava. Maiko confidentially and successfully completed the challenge before her. The group got hopeful, what possibly could happen? Maiko then faints on the platform. An ambulance full of Monokuma arrives. It takes Maiko to the hospital. There, she falls asleep. But, she never wakes up. She died the one way she didn't want to die. To her illness.

  "Can we finally leave?" Zoë squeaked out. Kandi looked down.

  "That would be too easy. Monokuma is preparing something, I know it." Kandi said sharply.

  "Upupupu! You're right!" Monokuma announced gleefully. The whole group moaned. Now, all of them had tears in their eyes. Except for Togami. He's a prick. ;)

~3720 Words~

I made this for a friend, who I used a fake name for (Elizabeth). This borrows characters from Despair in Desperatiom, but this trial is not canonical with the story. Completely different people will survive, and Noble, Kandi, and Elizabeth won't even be there. Zoë is lovergirl525 's oc.

(In case it doesn't work, here's the tag again. lovergirl525)

Please ignore typos, I'm sleep deprived.

And friend. Please don't nearly reveal my name again. That was quite traumatic.

~3800 words with the A/N~