[Non-Stop Debate]
🔫The Headmaster's Photograph
🔫Monokuma Control Pad
🔫Class 78 Student Profile
🔫Bio Lab's Secret
🔫Morgue Lights
🔫Kyoko's Notebook
Monokuma: So...who was it that killed Byakuya Togami?
Kyoko: ⌖Byakuya was not killed by either Chihiro or myself...⌖
Kyoko: It was ⌖the Mastermind behind the killing game who offed him. ⌖
Mondo: Ok, so first off...The Mastermind...
Mondo: Are they really even in the school?
Kiyotaka: Yes! He or she absolutely is!
Kiyotaka: ⌖The Mastermind has to be inside the academy! ⌖
Mukuro: Why do you think that?
Mukuro: ⌖You have no way of knowing⌖ whether or not...
Mukuro: The Mastermind is here...
Mukuro: Or if they're somewhere far away.
Mukuro clearly isn't saying Taka's wrong. She's just trying to get him to elaborate, but in order to do that, I need to give it straight...
Monokuma: So...who was it that killed Byakuya Togami?
Kyoko: ⌖Byakuya was not killed by either Chihiro or myself...⌖
Kyoko: It was ⌖the Mastermind behind the killing game who offed him. ⌖
Mondo: Ok, so first off...The Mastermind...
Mondo: Are they really even in the school?
Kiyotaka: Yes! He or she absolutely is!
Kiyotaka: ⌖The Mastermind has to be inside the academy! ⌖
Mukuro: Why do you think that?
Mukuro: ⌖You have no way of knowing⌖ whether or not...
NO! THAT'S WRONG!
"Taka, you seem fairly certain that the Mastermind is somewhere in the school," Chihiro observed "can you elaborate on that?"
"Of course," Taka saluted "after we split up to search the academy, as Chihiro instructed, I went to the Data Processing room. There was a door there with Monokuma's face on it."
"Oh yeah, I remember that door," Mondo recalled "what was on the other side of it? Assuming it was open..."
"It was," Taka said "and on the other side, I found a control panel. I experimented with it for a bit, and I reached a conclusion: The Mastermind is using that control panel to control Monokuma. There's no doubt about it, they've been in the academy this whole time!"
"You do realize you're effectively suggesting that one of us 5 is the Mastermind, right?" Mukuro asked "do you remember what it was that I told you? Only us 16 students entered this academy alive..."
"But we still don't know the identity of this mysterious 16th student hiding in the shadows," Taka reminded her "that's who I'm putting my money on."
"Fair enough," Mukuro said "I will go along with this."
"Haven't we already kinda talked Byakuya's murder case to death though?" Mondo asked "every time we think of a new idea, a new bit of evidence pops up that suggests otherwise. We're at the point where the only two people in the room with Byakuya, were Kyoko and Chihiro..."
"We've already proved at this point that neither of them are the killer..." Taka said "but...our suspect pool is dry in that case, simply because no one else could have been in the room with them..."
That's not true...Someone else could have been in the room with us...I just need to figure out how and why...
[Non-Stop Debate]
🔫Bio Lab's Secret
🔫Morgue Lights
🔫Gift Box
🔫The Headmaster's Photograph
🔫Monokuma Control Pad
🔫Class 78 Student Profile
AlterEgo: Master, Kyoko and Byakuya were lured into the Bio Lab by the Mastermind...
AlterEgo: When they were inside, the door was slammed on them...
AlterEgo: ⌖The lights went out...⌖
AlterEgo: And when they came back on, Byakuya was dead...
Kiyotaka: He had the combat knife lodged in his chest...
Kiyotaka: But ⌖that must have been inflicted post-mortem. ⌖
Mondo: The real cause of death was blunt force...
Mondo: His ⌖head was slammed into the machines on the wall...⌖
Mondo: And it ⌖left a bloodstain...⌖
Kiyotaka: Logically speaking, ⌖Kyoko and Chihiro were the only two people who could have committed the crime...⌖
Kiyotaka: They were the only two in the room.
Mukuro: Were they though?
Mukuro: Don't you think there's a chance that...
Mukuro: ⌖Someone else was in the room with them? ⌖
Mondo: That's impossible!
Mondo: That room is almost empty save for that table!
Kiyotaka: Indeed, ⌖there would be nowhere to hide...⌖
AlterEgo: Hm...Nowhere you say...?
I don't think that's necessarily true...There is one possibility we kind of overlooked here...
AlterEgo: Master, Kyoko and Byakuya were lured into the Bio Lab by the Mastermind...
AlterEgo: When they were inside, the door was slammed on them...
AlterEgo: ⌖The lights went out...⌖
AlterEgo: And when they came back on, Byakuya was dead...
Kiyotaka: He had the combat knife lodged in his chest...
Kiyotaka: But ⌖that must have been inflicted post-mortem. ⌖
Mondo: The real cause of death was blunt force...
Mondo: His ⌖head was slammed into the machines on the wall...⌖
Mondo: And it ⌖left a bloodstain...⌖
Kiyotaka: Logically speaking, ⌖Kyoko and Chihiro were the only two people who could have committed the crime...⌖
Kiyotaka: They were the only two in the room.
Mukuro: Were they though?
Mukuro: Don't you think there's a chance that...
Mukuro: ⌖Someone else was in the room with them? ⌖
Mondo: That's impossible!
Mondo: That room is almost empty save for that table!
Kiyotaka: Indeed, ⌖there would be nowhere to hide...⌖
NO! THAT'S WRONG!
"Mukuro, you think that there's a chance another person could have been in the Bio Lab with us three?" Chihiro asked "how do you figure?"
"Unlike what Taka said, there actually is a place that the Mastermind could have hidden," Mukuro stated "they encased themselves inside one of the morgue containment units and hid in there?"
"Containment units? Morgue?" Taka repeated.
"Oh, right...I suppose I forgot to tell you," Mukuro said "the Bio Lab is being used by the Mastermind as a morgue to store the dead bodies of everyone who has died during the killing game...Sayaka, Makoto, Leon, all of them..."
"For real!?" Mondo exclaimed.
"Yes. Kyoko and I found Byakuya's body being stored in one of the containers." Alter Ego corroborated Mukuro's testimony.
"Hold on though, if the Mastermind was sitting in there waiting for them, then how come they didn't freeze over?" Taka asked "correct me if I'm wrong, but what you're inferring is that when the Mastermind opened the door to the Bio Lab, they hid in the refrigerated containment unit, waited for the three of them to enter, shut the door, turned off the lights, climbed out of the container, killed Byakuya, got back in, and then turned the lights on again?"
"That's what I'm saying, yes," Mukuro nodded "is there a problem?"
"There are a few problems actually," Taka said "first of all, if the Mastermind was sitting in that refrigerated container for who knows how long, waiting for Chihiro and the others, why didn't they freeze to death?"
"There's actually a fairly simple answer to that..." Mukuro said.
1 – The refrigerator they hid in was off. 🔫
2 – They hid behind the refrigerator, not in it.
3 – The killer was one of the corpses of the dead students.
"Let me guess," Chihiro said "the refrigerator they were in was switched off?"
"Precisely," Mukuro said "in the Bio Lab, on the table, there is a manual detailing how the morgue works. The refrigerators have an automatic shutdown mechanism installed in them. If the body inside the fridge is detected to still show vital signs, or signs of breathing, the refrigeration is cut. They wouldn't have frozen, at least not fast enough to kill them, because their container wasn't activated."
"Hiding inside the refrigerated container!?" Monokuma exclaimed "poppycock! Balderdash! There's no way those containers could have been used, even if it was off! You have no proof!"
"Actually, I do, in terms of testimony actually," Mukuro said "thanks to what someone told me, I can suggest that the Mastermind was in the container during the murder..."
[Select a Truth Bullet]
🔫The Ultimate Despair
🔫Gift Box
🔫The Headmaster's Photograph
🔫Monokuma Control Pad
🔫Class 78 Student Profile
🔫Bio Lab's Secret
🔫Morgue Lights
🔫Kyoko's Notebook
🔫Mondo's Notebook
🔫Mukuro's Belt
🔫78th Class Emergency Interview DVD's
🔫Chihiro's Photograph
🔫Group Photograph
"As I already mentioned, the fridge automatically shut down if a living person is inside of it," Mukuro said "but there's another measure in place to signify that. The light panel next to the fridge door lights up red in the case that there is a living person inside, and if the person struggles, then an alarm goes off that alerts anyone nearby."
"But if an alarm goes off, then how come no alarm went off when they hid in there?" Mondo asked?
Well, that's easy...it's because...
1 – They deactivated the alarm.
2 - They didn't move. 🔫
3 – The lights were broken.
"It would be so easy, they just wouldn't move!" Chihiro explained "if what Mukuro says is what was on the manual, then struggling would have set off the alarm..."
"But if they didn't struggle, then no alarm would sound," Alter Ego suggested "I suppose that is in place in case someone get stuck, but is dismissed if a person inside is there for maintenance purposes."
"Ok, so...moving on then," Taka said "while I do legitimately believe that the morgue could be used as a hiding place, how would the Mastermind have escaped from it?" he asked, and then elaborated "the Mastermind would have to shut the door and turn off the lights to make their trap work, but if they were inside the container, then they couldn't do that."
"Plus, there's something else that's been botherin' me," Mondo said "Taka found the Monokuma control room in the Data Processing Room, yeah? If the Mastermind was hidin' in the morgue, then how would they have gotten past us to get into that Monokuma room? Monokuma appeared in the Data Processing room when we got there, so the Mastermind must've already been in the control room by the time we arrived, right?"
"And also!" Taka added "how would they have known to grab Byakuya when the room was pitch black? It's not like they have some sort of night vision, do they?"
Mukuro was silent for a moment, till she finally gave her response.
"You make a good point..." she sighed "as for your first question, the doors and lights may shut off automatically. It wouldn't be out of place given Monokuma's security measures...as for those other queries...I suppose I overlooked them...my apologies..."
"It's cool..." Mondo sighed "though I really was beginning to think we were onto somethin'..."
"No, we're definitely onto something," Chihiro cut in "there actually is a way we can answer both those questions."
"How so?" Taka asked.
"First of all, there is a way that the Mastermind had an opportunity to get past us and down to the room before us," Chihiro said "it's because..."
1 – We were distracted. 🔫
2 – There was another Mastermind.
3 – There was a secret passage.
"You guys remember that after we received the Data Processing Room key from the Bio Lab, we didn't go straight there," Chihiro reminded them "we actually made a quick pit stop..."
"I know how you feel Mukuro...and it's not like we're just going to ignore and abandon Byakuya...despite our history," Taka said "but we may find some secrets and clues in the Data Processing room that can help us out."
"I'm down," Mondo huffed "c'mon, we'll be in and out, kay?"
"Alright..." Mukuro succumbed "but since we don't especially need it, let me go put this pickaxe back first..."
"The pickaxe-!" Mukuro gasped.
"Before we went back to the Bio Lab, we all went as a group to go put the pickaxe back in the garden shed," Chihiro reminded everyone "we could have split up, but I think at that point we were scared to be left alone."
"Now that I think about it, I lost my memories..." Mondo said "that pickaxe having that "Crazy Diamond" shit written on it makes sense now..."
"Let's not go back to that mess of a discussion just yet," Taka told him "but what you're saying is that while we were together and putting the pickaxe back, the killer snuck past us? I can believe that, but that still leaves the problem of how they located Byakuya in the dark..."
"Who's to say they "located" anyone?" Kyoko suddenly asked. Taka seemed confused so she added "think back to what the Mastermind's reason for murdering Byakuya was, and what their grand master plan was. If you think about that, it will all make sense..."
What Kyoko is implying here...She seems to know the answer as to how and why the Mastermind was able to locate Byakuya in the darkness...
1 – They had Night Vision Goggles
2 – They followed the sound of his voice.
3 – They didn't.🔫
"Wouldn't it be wise to assume that the way the Mastermind located Byakuya...is that they didn't?"
"Huh?" Taka frowned "how does that make any sense?"
"Give it a bit of thought Taka," Chihiro said "the Mastermind's goal was to off Kyoko by weaponizing the class trial. In order to actually hold a trial though, they needed a body. And remember, Byakuya wasn't the first murder attempt that they tried to pull off..."
"Oh, I remember now!" Mondo exclaimed "someone broke into your room and tried to have at you with the knife while you were feeling feverish!"
"If not for Kyoko, I very well may have ended up a victim," Chihiro said "but the point is that the Mastermind didn't make any attempt to locate Byakuya, because they weren't strictly aiming for him. Any one of us could have died in that room. All the Mastermind would need to do is grab any random person near them, smash them into the machines, and then hop back in their hidey-hole."
"But what if they'd killed Kyoko?" Monokuma jeered "did they think to consider that? What if they'd grabbed her and killed her there?"
"Your goal was to kill me from the start," Kyoko frowned "had I been the victim in that room, it would have been all the better for you, and you'd likely just pin the blame for my death on Chihiro or Byakuya."
"That...That all checks out," Taka bowed "I have no more room for argument."
"So that settles it," Mondo cracked his knuckles "we figured out how the killer managed to hide in the room, and how they killed Byakuya. Now all we need to do is figure out who did it!"
"That's where the big problems lie," Mukuro said "if the killer really was hiding in the morgue, then we can rule off Chihiro and Kyoko as suspects for definite now. That just leaves myself, Taka and Mondo as potential suspects."
"But that's impossible," Taka frowned "we were with each other the entire time that we were waiting on Byakuya and Chihiro. We didn't let each other out of our sights. Our alibi's are unassailable."
"I agree with you on that one, but that then leaves one possibility," Chihiro said "whoever the Mastermind is is this 16th enigma student who we haven't met yet."
"Then we just need to figure out who that is!" Taka exclaimed "though...that's easier said than done...How do we even know this 16th student really truly exists?"
"Well, I got an idea," Mondo spoke up "Chihiro bringin' it up reminded me, but do you guys remember what happened to him last night? The thing that made us suspect him 'cause he lacked an alibi?"
"Oh, right!" Mukuro realized "you mean when Chihiro was attacked by that person wearing the mask!"
"Woah, woah, woah! Hold your horses!" Monokuma snapped "maybe Chihiro was attacked, but who's to say the Mastermind was the one wearing the mask!? It could have been any one of ya'll posing and trying to pin the blame on me! All of this is nothing but conjecture!"
"Sadly, he is correct," Alter Ego stated "I think we should start by proving that the person in the mask wasn't someone currently here."
"Alright, I'll agree to that...Not that I have much choice," Kyoko sighed "Chihiro, if there's anything you can remember, then please, tell us now..."
"Well, I was laying down in my bed and unable to get up...But from what I could see of their body..." Chihiro recalled "I don't think it was Mondo or Taka..."
"No shit..." Mondo sighed.
"Damn straight!" Taka exclaimed.
"And why is that?" Mukuro asked.
"Well, their physique was too small...Mondo and Taka are a bit more...beefy...let's say..." Chihiro explained "and speaking of physique, judging from their height, I also don't think it was Byakuya..."
"In which case it's either Mukuro or Kyoko!" Monokuma declared "that is what I assert!"
"And do you have proof that it was one of them?" Taka asked.
"Puhuhu! Do you have proof that it wasn't?" Monokuma teased.
Even if it seems plausible for it to be one of those two, there's absolutely no way that Mukuro or Kyoko attacked me, Chihiro thought by comparing what I know about the masked attacker to Mukuro or Kyoko, and focusing on one distinguishing feature, then I can absolutely prove that it wasn't either of them.
[Hangman's Gambit]
_ _ _ _ _
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
H A N D S
NOW I UNDERSTAND!
"Actually Monokuma, I have proof that neither Mukuro nor Kyoko could be the attacker..." Chihiro said.
"Wazzat!?" Monokuma snapped "proof my ass! You're bluffing!"
"No, I'm not," Chihiro said "and my proof lies in the fact that I distinctly remember seeing the attackers hands!"
"What do their hands have to do with anything?" Taka asked.
"Mukuro has a wolf tattoo on her right hand," Chihiro observed "the symbol of the terrorist group she worked with. But the masked figure who attacked me had no such tattoo. So it's not possible that Mukuro was my attacker!"
"Hate to be suspicious an all..." Mondo said "but ain't it possible Mukuro coulda' covered the tattoo with Foundation or whatever that stuff is called?"
"Monokuma took all of my equipment I needed to disguise away from me when he exposed me to the group," Mukuro said "I don't have foundation on me anymore."
"On top of that, Mukuro was with us at the time Chihiro got attacked," Taka reminded him "she has an alibi, so she couldn't be the attacker even with the hand gesture."
"W-Well, she's telling the truth there and...when you put it that way, fine, I guess it couldn't be Mukuro..." Monokuma seemed dejected "but that still doesn't mean it could have only been me! Kyoko's still on the table, isn't she?"
"It wasn't Kyoko, it couldn't be," Chihiro asserted "she's the one who saved me from the attacker!"
"Ah Ah Ah! She could have been lying about that!" Monokuma exclaimed "and I want to hear her speak for herself! Let's hear your excuse Kirigiri!"
Kyoko initially didn't say anything. Monokuma seemed quite pleased with himself.
"Oho? Did I hit the nail on the head?" he asked "what's up with the silence?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself..." Kyoko sighed "if you want proof...I'll show you..."
"Huh? Show me what?" Monokuma tilted his head.
"Proof that I couldn't be the one to attack Chihiro..." Kyoko explained "just for clarification, Chihiro, you're sure you got a good look at the killers hands?"
"Yes, I did," Chihiro replied "why?"
"Did the killers hand...look anything like this?" And saying this...
The enigmatic detective removed her purple, studded gloves...