(3rd Person POV)

CLASS TRIAL...RESUME!

Hiro: So we can be totally sure the murder happened sometime between 10 at night and 9 in the morning.

Sora: For me, I already fell asleep before nighttime hit. So I don't really have an alibi after 10'o clock... But I'm pretty sure I met up with everyone else before 9 this mornin'.

Hina: We ran into each other in the dining hall, right? That was around... Oh yeah! Right around 7:30! I remember checking right before I went in, so I'm totally sure about it.

Hiro: Which means from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., you don't have an alibi.

Sora lightly bit her thumb.

"The murder happened between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m. And I don't have an alibi from 10 p.m. till 7:30 a.m. Okay then, it looks like the game has begun... If I can't provide an alibi for that period...then I just have to prove the murder didn't happen during the time I don't have an alibi!"

---

NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUEMENT!

Byakuya: We've established a timeframe for the murder. It took place somewhere between 10 o'clock at night...and 9 o'clock in the morning.

Hiro: Yup. And Shirayuki doesn't have an alibi for most of that time.

Hina: Yeah, from 10 o'clock...to 7:30.

Byakuya: That's more than enough time to commit murder, I should think. So Shirayuki, if you have any objections, now would be the time...

Sora: I'm thinkin', okay?!

Makoto's Truth Bullet: Sprinklers

"NO, THAT'S WRONG!"

---

Makoto: Actually, the murder couldn't have happened anywhere near 10 o'clock. It had to have taken place way later!

Byakuya glances at Makoto.

Byakuya: And what makes you say that?

Makoto: Because of the sprinklers in the garden. The sprinklers are set to go off right at 7:30 every morning, right? So if the body had been in the garden before 7:30...then it should have been completely soaked!

Toko: H-Hold on! I remember this part p-perfectly! The body w-was wet! Dripping wet, in fact...

But Makoto shook his head.

Makoto: Sorry Fukawa, but you're wrong.

Toko looked confused, but then that confusion quickly turned into anger.

Toko: I'm wrong? H-How? Are you saying o-only the mouth down south was wet!? How dare you spew s-such indecent words!?

Sora: The mouth down-? The hell does that mean...?

Hina: Trust me, you don't wanna know.

Makoto: No... I'm saying that the body was wet, but not because of the sprinklers.

Toko: What do you m-mean...? By d-denying the sprinkler...are you trying to deny my e-entire existence!?

Sora: ...What.

Hiro: Man! You're totally wacko!

Toko: If you r-really think it wasn't the sprinkler....y-you'd better tell us why!

Makoto awkwardly scratches his cheek. He needs to prove that it wasn't the sprinklers that got the body wet. All he has to do is hit Toko with certain evidence, and that should do it...

---

BULLET TIME BATTLE: THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!

Bookworm with an Inferiority-Superiority Complex - Toko Fukawa

"It's a l-lie!"

"I a-admit nothing!"

"I h-hate you!"

"I curse you!"

"Shut up...!"

"N-No no no!"

"I d-don't know anything!"

"That's e-enough!"

"It's a l-lie!"

"I a-admit nothing!"

"I h-hate you!"

"I curse you!"

"Shut up...!"

"I curse you!"

"Shut up...!"

"N-No no no!"

"It's a l-lie!"

"I a-admit nothing!"

"I h-hate you!"

"That's e-enough!"

"H-How can you say it wasn't the s-sprinkler!?"

Makoto's Truth Bullet: Exploded Body Analysis 

"THIS SHOULD PROVE IT!"

---

Makoto: Just remember what the body was like after the explosion and you'll see why it wasn't the sprinklers. The top half of the body was wet, yes, but the bottom half was completely dry. If the sprinklers got the body wet, shouldn't the whole body have been wet?

Toko: S-So they only got the top wet? The bottom was c-completely dry!? What a brutal m-maniac!

Hina groaned, getting tired of Toko's innuendos.

 Hina: I'm so sick of her...

Sora: Seriously, what is she talking about?!

Makoto: (Sweatdrops)  Let's just...move on... The reason only the top half was wet was because...while the body was still on fire, I doused it with water. But only the part on fire--the top half.

Toko briefly widened her eyes before sighing.

Toko: O-Oh...then I guess the sprinklers r-really didn't do it...

Makoto: So if the sprinklers didn't get the body wet, then the murder must have taken place...sometime after the sprinklers turned on at 7:30 in the morning!

Hiro: Which means she must have been killed sometime between then and when the body was discovered at 9.

Hina: But Shirayuki's alibi was only missing from 10 o'clock last night to 7:30 this morning, right?

Hiro: So there's no way Shirayuki could have done it! (Turns to Sora and smiles at her) I guess you had an alibi, after all. Good for you!

Sora: ...Huh. My name got cleared and I didn't even have to do anything. Nice. Thanks, Naegi.

Makoto: (Nervously rubs the back of his head) O-Oh, it's no problem...

Byakuya: In which case, the only one left without an alibi...is Kirigiri.

The progeny stared intently at the mystery woman, who simply stayed silent.

Kyoko: ...

Sora folded her arms and closed her eyes. Kiri's the only one here without an alibi. Which means that...the one who killed Mukuro is... It can't be, right? Kiri murdered someone? That's...

Kyoko let out a sigh as she opened her eyes and looked at all the students.

Kyoko:  ...I'd just like to say one thing. If you vote for me, and I die here, the mystery of this school will stay hidden forever. Which is why...I can't let that happen!

"What the...?"

Byakuya: So are you saying...you're not the culprit?

Kyoko: Of course I'm not. I have no reason to kill anyone. This is a trap the mastermind has laid for us.

Hina: A trap...?

Suddenly, Monokuma burst into another fit of laughter up on his throne.

Monokuma: Ahahahaha! We're this far into the game, and now you decide to blame me? Stop wasting time! Stop wasting energy! You really think your little trick is gonna work!?

But Byakuya quickly glared up at him.

Byakuya: Shut up, you!

Monokuma: (Gives a thumbs-up) You got it, boss! Shutting up now!

Byakuya: Anyway... Kirigiri, you actually did have a reason to kill her.

Sora: ...Really?

Byakuya: She thought Ikusaba was the Ultimate Despair. In other words, the mastermind behind everything... So she killed her to try and put a stop to all this. Isn't that right, Kirigiri? But you made one catastrophic mistake--Ikusaba wasn't the mastermind at all. And as a result, we were forced into another trial, something I'm sure you weren't at all expecting.

Toko: So th-that was her motive...?

Hiro: If she had a motive, and no alibi, well then...I think it's pretty clear Kirigiri's gotta be the culprit...

Kyoko: ...

Kyoko once again closed her eyes, before opening them as she looked towards a certain blonde artist.

Kyoko: I'm not the only one without an alibi. Naegi's explanation is still insufficient. Which means that Shirayuki's alibi is false.

The blonde in question blinked twice in confusion.

Sora: ...I'm sorry?

Kyoko: The sprinklers didn't get the body wet, but that doesn't mean the murder happened when Naegi said it did.

Sora: Kiri, what the hell are you-?!

Kyoko: Because you see, there is a way the body could have avoided getting wet.

Byakuya: ...Interesting. I'm listening.

Kyoko: All it would take is covering the body with a certain something to keep it from getting wet.

A "certain something" at the scene was used to cover the body? Could it have been...?

---

PRESENT KEY ITEM: SHOW YOUR PROOF!

Sora's Truth Bullet: Tarp

"E-EASY PEASY..."

---

Sora: (Frowns) The tarp. That's what your talkin' about, right?

Kyoko: You catch on quick. You're right. All you'd have to do is cover the body with the tarp, and that'd take care of the water. In fact, that's exactly what the killer did. The dirt pattern on the tarp can attest to that. Only one side of the tarp got dirty, because that's the side that got covered in water. The side that faced down over the body, meanwhile, kept perfectly clean. This proves that the killer used the tarp to keep the body from getting soaked.

Byakuya: But why would they go to all that effort just to keep the body from getting wet?

Kyoko: Most likely so they could cloud the issue of when the murder actually took place.  In other words, they hoped that someone would create an excuse just like how Naegi helped Shirayuki get a false alibi.

Sora: ...

The accused blonde's eye twitched as he lightly clenched her arm.

"What the hell...? Why is Kiri...? Is she tryin' to make me look like the culprit. ...No, I can't think about that right now. That tarp... If it was used the way Kiri said... The tarp must have touched the body, right? But...the body..."

Sora: Wait a minute. Somethin' ain't right here.

Kyoko: And what might that be?

Sora let out a sigh. She doesn't have time to worry about Kyoko's motivations. If she doesn't so something, everyone's gonna think that she's the culprit. She has to come up with an argument that refutes what Kyoko said...!

---

NONSTOP DEBATE: MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT!

Kyoko: By covering the body with the tarp, the killer prevented it from getting wet.

Hiro: So the reason the tarp was only dirty on one side...is because the sprinkler got that side wet!

Makoto: But the underside of the tarp...It was totally spotless, right?

Hiro: It's cuz that side was protected from the water! Since it was facing down toward the body...of course it didn't get dirty!

Sora's Truth Bullet: Body Before The Explosion

"I DOUBT THAT!"

---

Sora: Hold on...one side being clean is pretty strange when ya think about it... Because...the blood wasn't dry before the body got blown up. Togami said it himself--not to touch it or you might get some on you. If you put a tarp on a body in that state, it absolutely would have gotten blood on it.

Hiro: Well...maybe the culprit washed it, so nobody would know they'd used it.

Byakuya: If they had, they would've washed both sides. Just washing the one side wouldn't hide anything.

Hiro: Oh...yeah, true.

Kyoko: More than that, what if the very blood we saw on the body was meant as a kind of camouflage?

The blood...was camouflage? What does that...?

Kyoko: What if, after the killer used the tarp to avoid the sprinklers they then covered the body in blood that didn't belong to the victim?

Toko: Y-You mean...someone else's b-blood? Where would they get something l-like that?

Hiro: I know! They coulda grabbed some of the blood packs from the nurse's office! That's what Yamada did, right?

Kyoko: No, that's not what happened this time. The killer got the blood from right there in the garden.

They got blood from right there in the garden, right? Which must mean...

---

PRESENT KEY ITEMS: SHOW YOUR PROOF!

Makoto's Truth Bullet: Chicken Coop Chickens

"I GOT IT!"

---

Makoto: Could it have been...chicken blood?

Hina: What!? Chicken blood!? 

Makoto: When I checked the chicken coop before the murder, there were five chickens. But after the murder, there were only four...

Sora: Oh yeah, I noticed that, too...

Hiro: S-So you're saying...someone killed a chicken and then covered the body with its blood!? Man, that's messed up!

Hina: Killing a living thing just to do something like that is awful! They should have at least eaten it!

Kyoko: I wonder if the killer had to get the blood from the scene so they wouldn't be spotted walking around... Anyway, there's no denying that a chicken went missing, which provides a basis for my theory.

Byakuya: Perhaps, but even so...there's one thing that still doesn't make sense. You said the culprit used the tarp to avoid the water, and then covered the body in blood, right? But if that's the case, then the blood should have soaked into the ground around the body. But that's not what we saw. Only the victim's clothing had blood on it. The ground was completely clean.

Kyoko: I have to agree, that certainly is strange... Maybe they didn't apply the blood at the scene. Maybe they covered the coat in blood beforehand.

Sora: ...Huh? What do ya mean?

Kyoko: When you discovered the body, was it wearing the coat like you normally would?

Sora: ...Yeah? ...Wait, no, hold on... The head was through the neck hold, but the arms weren't in the sleeves.

Kyoko folded her arms, a smirk creeping onto her face.

Kyoko: Then that settles it.

Hina: ...Sorry, I'm having a tough time keeping up. What settles what...?

Kyoko: Here's what happened--the murder took place before the sprinklers went off. But the body didn't get wet, because the killer covered it with the tarp. Then, later, at the same time the killer was gathering up the tarp, they pulled the coat over the body. The coat they'd already covered in blood. This series of cover-ups was meant to disguise the actual time the murder occurred. They wanted us to think the murder happened sometime after the sprinklers had gone off, at 7:30.

Sora: ...

Byakuya: If that's actually what took place, it certainly becomes possible that the murder happened earlier...

Hina: But...to pull all that off...wouldn't they have had to go back to the garden after the sprinklers turned off?

Kyoko: That actually wouldn't have been all that difficult.

Sora: ...?

Kyoko: They already had the coat ready. So they just had to grab the tarp and pull the coat over the body. They'd be done in no time.

Sora: Y-Yeah, but still...

Kyoko: Hina. After you met up with Shirayuki in the dining hall, did you two stay together from that point on?

Hina: (Shakes her head) Oh, no. I headed off to the gym, and Shirayuki didn't show up till later.

Kyoko: Then she had plenty of time to spare, wouldn't you say?

Sora: What the hell?!?! Th-That's isn't even-!

Kyoko: Don't bother saying it's not possible.

Sora: (Pounds her fist on the trial stand) Grgh...!

Byakuya: I must admit, Kirigiri's reasoning is sound. Shirayuki's alibi is...inadequate.

Sora: ...

"Shit... Now I'm a suspect again. Seriously, what's Kiri's deal?! Why is she gangin' up on me like this?! Doesn't she know that if they vote for me, we're all gonna die?!"

Kyoko: ...

Truth Bullet: Disguised Dead Body

Byakuya: Well then, it looks like we're back to square one. Shirayuki's alibi is no good, so once again our suspects are her and Kirigiri.

Hiro: For serious, man...which one of 'em did it? Hey, why don't we let luck decide? Let's flip a coin! Fifty-fifty odds!

Suddenly, Hina widened her eyes as she pounded her fist into her palm.

Hina: Oh--!

Hiro: See? Pretty good idea, right?

Hina: No, not that! I just remembered something super serious!

Byakuya: Well, don't just stand there. Out with it.

Hina: You know that knife we found all black and burnt?

Unbeknownst to the students, Sora felt her heart drop. She had the same expression, but in her head, she was panicking.

"No...No...No no no no no no no no no no no!!"

Hiro: The one we found stuck in the body before it exploded, right? According to the Monokuma File, the knife went all the way through, from front to back.

Hiro: So? What about it?

Hina: I'm pretty sure I'd seen that knife somewhere before... That's what I thought when I first saw it. I just remembered!

"Shit shit shit! This ain't good!"

---

"Listen, more important... Now that we have the knife, what are we gonna do with it?"

"I don't w-want it anyway! It's too dangerous..."

"So...what do we do with it?"

"Why don't you hang on to it, Shirayuki?"

"...What."

---

Everyone widened their eyes at this revelation.

Toko: I-It's...the knife we g-gave to Mistress!?

Sora: ...

Byakuya: You don't seem surprised. You must have noticed earlier...

Sora: ...Yeah...

Byakuya: Then why did you hide that fact?

Sora: W-Well... I, uh, didn't really hide it. It's just...

"I couldn't tell anyone. They wouldn't understand. Hell, I don't even understand what happened that night. If it wasn't for the fact that the knife was gone, I would've thought that it was just a dream. I thought...maybe I did kill her..."

However, the blonde's trail off and sudden silence only spoke volumes.

 Hiro: Suspicious... Very suspicious indeed! The knife we found stuck in the body came from Shirayuki! Now I'm totally convinced she did it! Twelve thousand percent convinced!

"Considering everything up 'till now, I should be able to make it clear..." 

She took a deep breath and faced the others, eyes shining with newfound determination.

"I gotta prove that I didn't murder anyone! I'm NOT the killer!"

Class Trial: On Hold

To be continued...?