"I'd never hold out on you like that! ...Okay, let's begin! Get to your assigned seats!"
⋟Class Trial⋑
🗦All Rise!🗧
"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! So, your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out 'whodunnit' then only they will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong one... Then I'll punish everyone besides the blackened, and the one that deceived everyone else will graduate! Now then, to begin with..."
"We already know who did it!" Hina shouted
"Wuzzat...?"
"It was Hiro." Celeste accused "He does not have an alibi for when the murders took place, and we found him in that suit."
"Don't try and deny it! You killed them!" Hina screamed at him
"I didn't! Someone knocked me out!" Hiro argued "I was asleep the whole time! I don't know anything about it!"
"Shut your murdering mouth, murderer!" Genocider pointed at him
"Who are YOU calling a murderer!?"
"I am sorry to say, Hiro, but we do have evidence..." Celeste showed one of the boxes from Hiro's room "Blueprints for the suit... Parts we assume were used to build it... And all of it was found in your room. You have to admit, the evidence is quite compelling. It points to you as having created the suit and wearing it while committing crime after crime..."
"How many times do I have to tell you!? I...I...! I don't know, I don't know, I don't KNOW!
"Everything we found in your room... The blueprints, the suit parts, they are all proof enough that you are the culprit."
"I-I-I don't know anything about that stuff! It's not true! It's a conspiracy!"
"Hiro, why...? Why did you kill them?" Hina glared at him
"No! Just hold on a second!"
"Are we sure Hiro really made those blueprints?" Makoto questioned
"What do you mean...?" Celeste asked
"Just what he said" Quill pulled a paper from his pocket "This is the note he wrote to gather everyone. The handwriting is drastically different than the blueprints"
"...there's no way you could think the same person made both of them." Kyoko agreed
"Unless that person made it a point to disguise their handwriting..." Celeste suggested
"No, the differences are bigger than that, I think." Sakura said
"Come on, I'm not smart enough to think of trying to change my handwriting anyway!" Hiro insulted himself in defense
"Not to mention the fact that it would be pointless if no one was supposed to see it" Quill added
Hina looked between Makoto and Quill "So, are you two saying you don't think Hiro's the culprit?"
"And they aren't the only ones. I think Hiro is innocent, as well." Byakuya said
"Then who was in that Robo Justice suit!? Is it like Hiro said? Was there really someone running around in a second suit?"
"The suspicious individual hidden within the suit... Go ahead, Makoto. Tell them who it was." And there he goes having someone do the work for him
"So? Who was in the Robo Justice suit?"
"Other than Hiro...I can't think of anyone else it could have been. Obviously he was the one in that particular suit, and we never found any kind of second suit..." Makoto answered
"Then there can be no doubt-Hiro is the prime suspect." Byakuya concluded
"That doesn't make any sense! You JUST said Hiro didn't do it!" Hina shouted
"Hiro was in the suit, but he wasn't the culprit" Quill told her "It's not hard to understand"
"So what you're saying is..." Sakura trailed off
"That the suit was made as a red herring"
"What!?" Hina reacted
"Now that's a bold assumption!" Genocider said
"And what reason do you have to make such a statement? You do have a reason, yes?" Celeste glared at Quill
"Several" he responded simply
"Before we get to that..." Byakuya interjected "There's something else we need to clarify first. So let's get that out of the way."
"Hey, stop trying to boss us around!" Hina yelled at him
"No, there is a certain order we have to do this for it to make sense" Quill told her
"So, what is it? What needs to be clarified?" Sakura asked
"We must clarify the method of transportation for Taka's lifeless body. It would seem that his corpse was moved using certain particular items. Makoto? Quill? Can you tell us what they were?" Byakuya asked. Quill shot a quick glare at him for trying to order him around, but decided there were better things to worry about
"They were...a dolly and a tarp, right?" Makoto answered
"...Tch."
"For clarification," Quill started "when we found Taka's body the second time, it was on a tarp that it wasn't on before, but it was in the equipment room. The culprit used it in order to not leave more bloodstains. Same with the dolly, it was in the equipment room when we found Taka, then not when his body disappeared. It also reappeared in the repository with the body"
"In other words, you think they used the dolly to move the body, am I right? But are you sure you are not mistaken?" Celeste questioned
"Hm?"
"Are you absolutely positive the dolly was in the equipment room when we found Taka's body? That dolly was made specifically for moving large objects between the repository and the art room. It would be very strange indeed to discover it had made its way to the equipment room. Is it not possible that it was in the repository all along, and you simply didn't realize it?"
"She's raised an objection. How do you respond?" Byakuya stared at Quill
"There is no shame in being wrong. Nobody expects much from you, anyway. We have all accepted the fact that you rarely understand what is going on around you."
"Excuse me?"
🎵 Dark Pit's Theme - Metal Cover
[Nathan Sharp / Give Heart Records]
If looks could kill Byakuya would have just become collateral damage. "The pool of blood in the equipment room had tire tracks rolling out of it, the dolly not only had blood on it's wheels, but also matched the tracks. But I guess I shouldn't expect a half brain dead, powder-faced bitch to get that" Quill looked at his nails to piss her off more. Or pretended to at least, considering he was still wearing gloves
"Tch-!"
"Well, anyway." Byakuya spoke before Celeste could say anything "That was just something we had to get out of the way. Let's get back to the main subject..."
"Yeah! The subject of how Robo Justice didn't do it! Cuz if it's not a killer robot, then... what kind of robot is it!?" Hina asked
"I'm not sure that really matters..." Sakura told her
"Just look back at how the body was transported, it shouldn't be that hard" Quill said "Taka was killed in the equipment room, then moved to the repository, correct?"
"Yeah, the culprit wrapped the body in the tarp..." Hina spoke "then loaded it onto the dolly and wheeled it off, right?"
"Now, keep in mind that the dolly doesn't have a handle."
"Well, yeah, but even without a handle all you'd have to do is bend over. Then you could push the dolly no problem!"
"You're absolutely right that you could push a dolly without a handle if you stoop down low." Makoto agreed "But if you were wearing that suit, do you think you could actually get into a position like that?"
"Wh-What do you mean...?"
"You said it yourself when you tried to put the suit on" Quill reminded her "You couldn't see your feet or bend at the waist
"Now that you mention it...yeah..."
"It seems like it'd be awfully hard to push that dolly if you couldn't bend over..." Sakura concluded
"Well, what's to stop you from simply pushing the dolly with your feet?" Celeste questioned
"You're suggesting someone not only wrapped the body in the tarp, then put it on the dolly, but they also just kicked the dolly with the body all the way to the other side of the floor, all without being able to see or bend their waist?" Quill sighed "Not to mention in that blocky, rigid suit it seemed as if Hiro could barely move. On top of all that he couldn't have even used his hands in the suit"
"Yeah, it'd be totally impossible! Not that I can say for sure myself!" Genocider agreed before thinking about it more "...Well I mean, isn't that just a matter of taking off the suit when you're ready to move the body?"
"Also impossible" Quill said "the suit had a latch on the back that the wearer couldn't access"
"That's true. It seems impossible to put the suit on or take it off without help." Sakura added
"Then...you really can't take it off by yourself? Hiro wasn't just making it up?" Hina wondered
"O-Of course I wasn't making it up!" Hiro shouted
"If he could have gotten it off by himself, I don't think he would have let us see him wearing it. Showing up in the suit was basically an invitation for everyone to suspect him." Makoto defended
"Y-Yeah, that's right!"
"So...it's really really true that Robo Justice couldn't have moved the dolly...?" Hina repeated
"To be clear, whoever did move the body, it couldn't have been Hiro in the robot suit, correct?" Sakura asked
"No, wait, just a second if you please. Have you forgotten about the picture that I took?" Celeste showed the camera with the picture of Hifumi and the suit "You all got a good look at it, did you not? The image of Hifumi being dragged away by Robo Justice? If whoever was in that suit is not the culprit, how do you explain that? Besides, so you remember what the now deceased Hifumi said...? So long as those facts exist, the proper conclusion is beyond question. The individual inside the suit and the culprit are one and the same. It was Hiro, without a doubt."
"Yeah...! Yeah, that's gotta be right!" Hina was convinced
"H-Hold on a second!" Hiro pleaded
Quill sighed "As I've said in the last two trials, we need to solve every piece of this case before we make a verdict. Why don't we look at this from the beginning, that should clarify some things"
"Pfhah!" Genocider laughed "What a pain in the ass!"
"I don't disagree, but our lives are on the lines. If this is what it takes, we have to do it." Sakura said
"Plus, maybe we'll get to find out where the heck Kyoko was when everything went down..." Hina added
"Alright then, let's take another look back at what happened. I suppose we could start with this morning... Five of us gathered together in the dining hall-Makoto, Hina, Quill, Kyoko, and myself. We waited there for quite a while, but nobody else showed up. So we went to look for everyone. That was around 8 a.m."
"And as soon as we split up, Kyoko went missing."
"Soon after that, Hina found Celeste in the rec room, and quickly came to get Makoto, Quill and me."
"It seems I was unconscious for about an hour after I was attacked by my mystery assailant." Celeste said "I know it was an hour because I remember being attacked a little after 7."
"That was when we saw Celeste's picture and discovered that her assailant had been wearing a strange costume. As it turns out, it was Robo Justice... It also soon became clear that this same Robo Justice had abducted Hifumi. We were soon joined in our search by Byakuya and Toko, and then went on to find Hifumi in the library. He was injured, so we took him to the nurse's office and resumed our search for the suspect. But not long after leaving the nurse's office..."
"Celeste told us she saw a shadow at the top of the stairs. We decided to split up and search the 2nd floor. And soon after that..." Makoto spoke
"I saw someone moving around on the 3rd floor, and I yelled out to everyone as soon as I did." Celeste added
"And then... we heard Hifumi scream. At that point we decided to divide up into two groups. Celeste, Hina, Quill, and I went back to the nurse's office while Sakura, Byakuya, and Toko chased after the suspect. When we got back to the nurse's office, we found Hifumi...dead. And that's when we heard the body discovery announcement. Quill and I left Celeste and Hina there and headed back to the 3rd floor, to let the others know what had happened."
"Meanwhile, we had just discovered Taka's body, in the equipment room. We must have found both bodies at almost exactly the same time because we heard the same announcement not long after we'd discovered his body." Sakura told her side
"And that's when we told you guys about Hifumi. Then the four of us headed for the nurse's office. But right after we left the physics lab we ran into Celeste, who'd arrived after us, and she told us Hifumi's body disappeared. We rushed back to the nurse's office and saw that she was right."
"Then we remembered we'd left Toko passed out in the equipment room, so we hurried back again. But when we got there, we discovered that now Taka's body had also gone missing. Next thing we knew, we were searching the school for two missing dead bodies. And after some time..."
"Celeste informed us that she'd found the bodies, and we all headed to the repository which is where we rediscovered the corpses." Byakuya finished
"I think that about covers it." Makoto said
"I see... The whole thing sounds exceptionally complicated." Kyoko thought "It certainly seems to me that these are not a simple series of connected events."
"Okay, well...if that's true, then what?"
"Why don't we look at this differently" Quill suggested "We should look at both murders as separate events entirely, that'll show the holes in the story. Let's start with Taka"
"So, regarding Taka's death... I wonder if he died before Hifumi... Or perhaps it was after?" Kyoko hinted
"We already know what order they were killed in! Taka came last!" Hina claimed
"What makes you say that?" Sakura asked
"Because of the numbering of the Justice Hammers!"
"Or the culprit used the numbering to disguise their actions." Quill suggested "There's nothing to show they were used in that order"
"So you're saying the culprit wanted us to think the hammers were used in order but in reality Taka was killed before Hifumi? Okay then, let's see the proof." Byakuya ordered
"Taka's watch. It was broken around 6, and last night he was pointing to his watch as he yelled about it being 10, which means it broke around 6 this morning"
"But if that's true, then he was killed well before Hifumi..." Sakura said
"And before Celeste was attacked this morning, which happened around 7." Makoto added
"That's right. Taka was killed before any of the other incidents took place." Kyoko confirmed
"That simple fact slipped past all of us. We made the wrong assumption about the order of events all because of those Justice Hammers."
"That's exactly why the culprit wrote the numbers on each hammer, and had them increase in size. That way, when we saw how they were used in each incident, we'd easily make that wrong assumption." Byakuya deduced like that wasn't already said twice
"And if Taka died around 6" Quill spoke "everyone's alibi becomes void. None of us had met in the dining hall at that point"
"That may be true in the case of Taka's murder, but all of our alibis still hold true for Hifumi's death." Sakura stated
"That's right... With him at least, we're all safe... When we heard Hifumi screaming, we were all together. Except for Hiro and Kyoko..." Hina remembered "Then we all ran down to the nurse's office, and that's where we found his body..."
"That's totally true! We're all in the clear!" Genocider exclaimed
"Oh, I know! They must've recorded him screaming on a tape or something, then played it later on!" Hiro claimed
"If that's true, where's the tape?" Hina questioned him
"I dunno."
"Don't just go makin' stuff up!"
"Anyway, we all have rock-solid alibis for when we heard Hifumi scream." Sakura brought the conversation back "Since all of us were there together, clearly none of us could have killed him."
"And it does not stop there." Celeste said "There was also the moment when we discovered the body had disappeared... When his body vanished from the nurse's office Hina and I were in the bathroom together, while everyone else was in the equipment room, correct? And then there's the disappearance of Taka's body from the equipment room... At that time, we were all gathered together in the nurse's office because of Hifumi going missing."
"Well, don't forget, I was passed out in the equipment room the whole time!" Genocider reminded them
"Wait, then what if Genocide Jill did it!? She could've dragged Taka's body out of there right then!" Hiro accused
"Even if she could pull that off, there's no way she could have done the same with Hifumi's body. Because, as we just established, she was passed out in the equipment room when his body disappeared." Byakuya shut him down
"Besides, I didn't do either of 'em anyway!" Genocider laughed
"In other words, it is impossible that any of us could have killed Hifumi, or moved either of their bodies. On the other hand, Hiro and Kyoko had disappeared. So they most certainly could have done those things." Celeste said
"Hmm... So what now?" Makoto looked to Kyoko and Quill
"For now, we can't get fixated on who did it, or we'll just keep going around in circles." Kyoko told him
"Let's move to how Hifumi's body was moved" Quill suggested
"We searched everywhere, but we couldn't figure out how to explain his body disappearing. And according to what Celeste said... His body apparently disappeared in the one minute her and Hina took their eyes off it." Makoto remembered "But to carry that much weight from the 1st floor up to the 3rd, in that short amount of time..."
"...Oh man, yeah! There's no way! It'd be impossible!" Hiro exclaimed
"Well, what if I told you there was a way to make the impossible possible?" Kyoko hinted
"What? How!?" Hina asked
"Simple" Quill said "the body moved itself"
"Huh...?" Makoto reacted
"Th-The dead body m-moved on its own!?" Hina stuttered
"N-N-N-No! Not another gh-gh-gh-ghooooossst!" Hiro screamed
"I don't think it has anything to do with the occult. I think what they're implying is we thought Hifumi was dead, but perhaps in reality he was still alive." Byakuya concluded
"He was...alive!?" Hina gasped
"Are you saying Hifumi wasn't carried out of the nurse's office, but simply walked out on his own?" Sakura asked for clarification
"But I mean...we found his body! He was dead!"
"Perhaps he was simply playing dead." Byakuya suggested
"That... it is impossible. Hifumi was dead, without a doubt..!" Celeste claimed
"What makes you so sure?" Quill questioned
"Surely you heard the body discovery announcement along with the rest of us... Hifumi's dead body had been found...and that is why the announcement was made."
"Was the body discovery announcement that was made really intended for Hifumi?" Makoto wondered
"Of course it was. The announcement played right after we discovered his body."
"But it just so happened to be at the same time the others found Taka's body" Quill mentioned
"That's right. It wasn't long after finding his body that we heard the announcement." Byakuya confirmed
"So there's a good chance we've made a mistake in there somewhere. I think we've confused whether the announcement was for Hifumi or Taka." Maketa added
"First of all, if two bodies had been found, there really should have been two announcements."
"Maybe Monokuma simply got lazy and rolled them together into one..." Celeste reached
"Well? Monokuma?" Quill looked to the bear
"Well, it's a very sensitive issue, so I can't go into too much detail... But what I can say about the body discovery announcement is that... it's only broadcast when three or more people find a dead body for the first time!" Monokuma explained
"That didn't answer our question, man! We're asking if you're a lazy bum!" Hiro complained
"No, that explicitly gave us our answer" Quill said
"Huh?"
"It's only broadcast when three or more people find a dead body for the first time. So then, why was it broadcast again far later?"
"Huh? Far later!?" Genocider tilted her head
"Exactly. We heard the body discovery announcement twice." Makoto said "We heard it a second time in the repository when we rediscovered the two bodies. It didn't seem weird at the time...but it contradicts what Monokuma just told us, doesn't it?"
"That it does, yes." Quill affirmed "If we were rediscovering both bodies, there would be no announcement"
"Then in reality, when the two dead bodies were rediscovered, one of them was actually... being discovered for the first time!"
"So when we found Hifumi the first time in the nurse's office, he wasn't actually dead yet... Meaning he wasn't actually found dead until we came upon him in the repository." Sakura simplified
"And that's just part of it... There's one other thing that leads me to believe he was still alive in the nurse's office..."
"Oh! Oh! I know! I know!" Genocider cut in "Because he was super good at playing dead! Badda-bing badda-boom!"
"That is the worst logic I have ever heard... But honestly, I do not think there's anything that can prove he was still alive." Celeste said
"Okay then, let's take another look at the events surrounding the discovery of his body." Kyoko suggested "Then it should become clear whether he was really alive or not."
"This whole thing is pointless..."
"You're confusing this trial with your own life, try to get that sorted out" Quill shot
"Well here's one thing we do know..." Hina started "The first time we found Hifumi's body was in the nurse's office. And then, while me and Celeste were in the bathroom his body disappeared!"
"And the next time we saw his body it was in the repository." Byakuya continued
"But when you compare his body before being moved, and his body after being moved... Other than the change in how it was positioned, there was no notable difference." Celeste said
"Oh, there very much was" Quill argued
"...Perhaps you'd like to fill the rest of us in?"
"His glasses. When we found him first in the nurse's office, his glasses were covered in blood. Yet, when we found him in the repository later, there wasn't a spot of blood on them. On top of that, I found this in the nurse's office trash can" he showed the bloodied cloth "A glasses cleaning cloth with one of his anime characters, covered in blood. He used it to clean his glasses, then tossed it"
"The character was...Princess Piggles, from 'Demon Angel☆Pretty Pudgy Princess' I think..." Hina said
"... Why is that the thing you remember?"
"I highly doubt anyone but Hifumi would have brought something like this to school..." Makoto added
"I see your point." Sakura said "And the only people here who wear glasses are..."
Everyone looked to the three alive who wore glasses. First Byakuya "I wouldn't be caught dead using a tacky piece of garbage like that."
Then Genocider "A few tissues is all I need to keep my glasses clean!"
And Quill "These aren't real" he stuck his finger through the frame to prove the lack of lens
"Then there's no question-it belonged to Hifumi." Makoto concluded
"Mm, mm... So what you're saying is...what exactly?" Hiro asked
"What I'm saying is, the blood on his glasses was wiped away using his own glasses cleaning cloth."
"Even if that is true, it does not mean he wiped the blood off himself." Celeste said
"... See, the problem with that is no one but the one wearing them would benefit from that, so it would be pointless for anyone else" Quill spoke in the condescending tone someone would speak to a toddler with. Celeste was having a hard time keeping her composure
"That's a good point..." Sakura agreed
"Then it must've been him...right?" Hiro guessed
"So let's assume that Hifumi was still alive in the nurse's office." Kyoko started "He pretends to be dead, then when he's alone, he wipes his glasses clean so he can see... Then he stands up and walks out on his own two feet. And with that, the impossible task of moving his copious corpse...becomes possible, wouldn't you say?"
"But then, if he was just pretending to be dead... what was with all that blood? Was it paint or somethin'?" Hina asked
"The fridge contains numerous blood packs, he could have easily used one of those" Quill told her
"He figured if he was gonna play dead, he should go all-out! So he just dumped it everywhere! But he got crazy with it, and had to wipe his glasses off when he was done! God, what an idiot!" Genocider insulted
"And if Hifumi was still alive at that point, the disappearance of Taka's body is easily explained." Kyoko said "It should be perfectly obvious who must have moved Taka's corpse..."
"It could only have been Hifumi." Makoto concluded
"While we were all gathered in the nurse's office, he went to the equipment room and took Taka's body..." Byakuya added
"That also explains how the door to the repository got locked."
"The door was locked?" Genocider asked
"Well, after the bodies disappeared, we all went looking for them, right? So me and Sakura headed for the repository. But when we got there, the door was locked!" Hina said
"However, the repository can only be lock from the inside, meaning someone was already in there by the time you got there." Quill clarified
"And it could only have been Hifumi, who'd just finished stashing Taka's body there." Byakuya added
"He convinced us all he was dead, and when he saw his chance, he dragged Taka's body to the repository. So, Hifumi wasn't just another victim in this case-he was one of the assailants." Kyoko claimed
🎵 Cross-Examination ~ Allegro 2016
[Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice]
"B-But...that means he took part in the murders...!" Sakura realized
"I...I just can't believe it..." Hina muttered
"If that's the case, there is another piece of evidence to show" Quill said
"Th-There's more!?" Hiro recoiled
"Yes, something directly linking him to the case. Makoto, you still have it, correct?"
"You're talking about the note Hifumi had hidden away, aren't you?" Makoto asked
"A...hidden note?" Hina repeated
"That's right. We found it stuffed in his pants."
"What!? In his..."
"...pants!?" Genocider joined
"Hrm. Yes. His pants..." Sakura muttered
"Okay, well, forget about the pants for now." Makoto told them "Take a look at what the note says... [I found a hole maybe we can use to escape. Monokuma can't find out, so don't tell anyone else for now. Let's meet in the equipment room at 6 a.m.]"
"Ah!" Hiro gasped "That's the note I was telling you about! The one that told me where to go! ...Huh? Wait, this one's a little different. In my note, it said... 'Monokuma can't find out, so don't tell anyone else for now. Let's meet in the rec room at 1 a.m.'"
"I see... Then this note isn't the same one Hiro got."
"It's...not the same?"
"In other words, the killer got in touch with another person besides Hiro. And that person could only have been... Taka! The killer used this note to draw out Taka and murder him!"
"Hello! Over here! Objection! Objection!" Genocider cut in "I don't really understand what's going on, but...Hifumi had that letter, right? So whoever wrote it wasn't drawing out Tick Tock! They were drawing out Huffy!"
"Ummm...just to be clear, Tick Tock is Taka and Huffy is Hifumi...right?" Hina asked her
"Ugh, yes! Why must you ruin it EVERY TIME!?" She pointed her scissors at Hina "Huffy had the note, right? Then the person it was intended for must have been Huffy!"
"But remember what the note said. What time did it say to meet?" Kyoko hinted
"6 a.m., I believe..." Sakura restated
"The time doesn't matter! The note has nothing to do with Tick Tock!" Genocider shouted
"No, it connects to him without a doubt" Quill said
"Wh-!? What the hell are you talking about!?"
"Taka died around 6, we proved that with the watch. not only that, but the location. The note says equipment room, which is where he died. Both the time and place match between the note and his death"
"Hmm...well, when you put it like that... No further objections! Kyeeehahahaha!"
"Then someone used that note to trick Taka, just the same as me... Gh-! The culprit really is a cold-blooded monster! Telling people they'd found a way out...!" Hiro growled
"But if they gave the note to Taka...what was Hifumi doing with it?" Hina wondered
"Stuffed down his pants, no less!" Genocider laughed
"Most likely, Hifumi stole it off Taka's corpse after he died." Makoto guessed
"Huh? He stole it...?" Hina reacted
"Where's your proof? Go ahead, show us." Byakuya ordered
"When I searched Taka's body, I saw that his lifeless hand was gripping a small scrap of paper. If I'm right about this, the sheet of paper this piece came from is..." Makoto lined the scrap and the note together "I knew it! It fits perfectly with the note we found hidden on Hifumi!"
"Then Taka's scrap and Hifumi's note..." Hina trailed off
"Yup. They're from the same piece of paper."
"Hifumi had the note meant for Taka, while Taka's corpse still grasped a small piece of that note... There's only one way to explain it..." Kyoko said
"Taka died clutching the note. Hifumi tried to free the note from his death grip leaving behind only one small scrap. Did I get all that right?" Sakura compiled
"That means Hifumi knew the note was important..." Byakuya deduced
"Which would prove him to be an accomplice in this case, would it not?" Quill asked rhetorically
"Whoa...! Yeah, after seeing all this, Hifumi was super involved in this whole thing for sure! In fact... He was behind the whole thing! In FACT, he's still alive!" Hiro claimed
"...No. We found him dead in the repository, the announcement went off"
"So then...who killed Hifumi?" Hina asked
"Whoever did is the mastermind...the true killer." Sakura reasoned
"He was killed in the repository, so he must have been killed not long after transporting Taka's body." Kyoko said
"So he must have been killed after Taka's body vanished but before we found both bodies in the repository..."
"During that time, we'd all split up and were searching for Taka's missing body." Byakuya reminded everyone "In other words, during that time...none of us have alibis."
"Wait, but me and Sakura were together!" Hina defended herself
"As were Makoto and I" Quill added
"Anyway, when they were killed bothers me too, but there's something that's been bothering me even more!" Hiro shouted
"And what might that be?" Celeste asked
"The weapon they used to kill Hifumi!"
"The weapon...?" Sakura repeated
"Yeah, cuz I mean...according to the Monokuma File... The way Taka and Hifumi were killed was almost the same, with them having similar fractures and all... But Justice Hammer 3 and 4 were still laying around in the nurse's office and equipment room, right? So if Hifumi was killed in the repository, the culprit woulda had to grab one of the hammers, kill Hifumi, then put the hammer back where they found it. But wouldn't that be seriously risky for 'em?"
"...I'm surprised. It seems there's some semblance of a brain knocking around that skull of yours, after all." Byakuya commented
"Hell yeah, it's packed in there good and tight!"
"He's right, though." Sakura said "I don't understand it, either. The Monokuma File makes it clear that they were killed using similar instruments... But if the hammers were already laying around those other rooms..."
"So the question is, how could the culprit have gotten their hands on either of the hammers? Personally, I haven't a clue." Celeste said
"That's not surprising" Quill insulted "But it's simple really. The file says similar weapons, not the same. something like another hammer, for example. On the back wall of repositories there's a rack to hang hammers, with four slots coincidentally empty. All of the hammers were covered in debris, all except the biggest one, which was not only completely clean, but still wet. It would have had to be cleaned to wash the blood of after using it for murder"
"If that's true, that would explain the Monokuma File's note about the wounds being similar..." Sakura commented
"So Hifumi moved Taka's body to the repository, where someone then used a hammer to kill him." Byakuya simplified
"And whoever did that is the true killer-the one Hifumi was working with...and the one who betrayed him...!" Hina realized
"Hold on a moment." Celeste halted progress "I still think it's strange to assume someone was working together with him. The way the graduation rule works, there is no benefit to helping someone else carry out a murder. So the idea that anyone would work together like that is simply ludicrous. We talked about this, did we not?"
"Since there were two murders, it's at least plausible that more than one person was involved." Makoto claimed
"...What do you mean?" Sakura asked
"If there'd only been one murder, then yes, the idea of an accomplice isn't really worth considering." Kyoko said "Naturally, if only one person can be saved per murder, an accomplice has no risk versus reward benefit."
"Risk versus reward...benefit?" Makoto repeated
"The payoff for working together-the reward that balances out the risk of taking part in the scheme. There's no point in being someone's accomplice if there's no benefit to you. However, if there were some potential mutual reward for the risk, then cooperation becomes possible."
"You're saying that two people could act as each other's accomplices to commit two separate murders." Byakuya concluded
"That's most likely what the culprit told Hifumi" Quill added "based on the timeline we have, they made Hifumi commit the first murder so he wouldn't be able to back out"
"So in this case, there wasn't one single person committing multiple murders..." Makoto started "Instead, each person killed someone, creating two separate incidents. And it only looked like one person because that's how the true killer designed it to look. A single suspicious individual, a similar weapon used in each crime, disappearing bodies... By creating one seamless set of circumstances, they made it look like one person was behind it all!
"The mastermind picked their target and managed to convince him to go along with their plan. And then, to avoid the 'no accomplices' rule, they simply...killed their accomplice." Byakuya stated "Which, if true, means that betraying Hifumi was part of the plan from the very beginning."
"Th-That's just...awful! How could anyone be so cruel!?" Hina recoiled
"You think so? I can't help but admire its cunning. Still, their choice of accomplice seems...odd."
"Let's be honest, out of all of us Hifumi and Hiro are the easiest to manipulate by a long shot" Quill said
"I understand how an accomplice could be involved, but then who was the one pulling Hifumi's strings?" Sakura asked
"That's problem numero uno right now!" Genocider added
"You all just need to put everything together, it's not to hard" Quill told them
"... Quill" Makoto called for his attention "... Do you already know how the culprit is?"
⋟Class Trial⋑
🗦Suspended🗧
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The Canary's Birdcage
Vanilla Valentine - Vanilla Vanguard
9/23/2023