"As of right now, our prime suspect...is Shimura." I declared with a firm nod. I expected everyone to hear me out, yet when I opened my eyes and saw each of my friends' reactions, I got very mixed signals.
While Satoshi and Kenjiro were momentarily frozen from confusion, Shouko grinned and cheered. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I knew it! I...I actually knew it. I did!"
"Y-You knew what?!?" Kenjiro blinked, still not understanding a thing. "How could you have known? I mean- Shimura! He's...dead."
"Nuh-uh." Shouko shook her head with an exaggerated sigh.
"Nuh-uh? W-What do you mean nuh-uh?!?" The psychologist helplessly repeated, oblivious to everything.
Satoshi on the other hand was still frozen, yet not from his usual panic or fear. Instead, the utter bewilderment he was feeling was enough to make him as still as a statue as he desperately tried to make sense of what Shouko and I were saying.
Honestly, I can't blame Satoshi and Kenjiro for acting this way. If I was a normal person who had assumed Shimura was dead for literal weeks, the sudden idea of him killing someone last night would freak me out too.
Actually...I'd make fun of such an idea instead of freaking out - but same difference.
Too bad I'm not a normal person.
"It's finally time for my talent to be useful in a trial!" Shouko grinned, the happiest I had seen her in ages. Although I'm pretty sure her happiness derived from the fact that she could blabber on about ghost hunting rather than actually purposefully help the case. Good thing she's technically doing both, even if the accidental helping wasn't intentional.
"Your journalism, forensic and psychology knowledge may be...uh...way more useful than ghost hunting," Shouko admitted. "But in situations like these, I-I get to shine!"
"Shimura's...the killer?" Satoshi mumbled, finally snapping out of his puzzled daze a few minutes late only for his confusion to skyrocket once again. "More importantly, Shimura's alive?!? T-That's...that's just not possible! I mean, he...you saw his body!" He pointed at me.
"He was convincing." I shrugged.
"Shouko...how in the world is Shimura alive? It...it makes no sense." Kenjiro struggled to comprehend it all.
"I was ghost hunting one night- Er...actually, it was more than that." She stumbled with her words. "Crap...this is a long story."
"Might as well get on with it. There's no point in trying to shorten it all. Besides, you were going to have to explain it to them at some point." I guided Shouko.
"W-Wait, Chiyo?" Satoshi faced me. "You...also think Shimura's alive? H-How?!?"
"Not for the same reasons as Shouko. I can assure you that." I stated, directing my attention back to the ghost hunter. "Go on."
"Oh, well...I was investigating the state of our dead classmates." She attempted to explain.
"State? You mean...how they're all dead?" Kenjiro claimed the obvious.
"No- Uh...Yes! But no at the same time." Her explanation grew flimsier by the second. "Just let me explain!"
"...Go ahead?" Satoshi replied, questioning everything.
"Well, our dead friends...er...They are dead! But they're...not? Uh-" Shouko tried her best to explain.
"They're being held somewhere. Somewhere...not on these camping grounds, that's for sure." I covered for her.
"W-What?!?" The utter bewilderment on Kenjiro and Satoshi's faces was immeasurable yet again.
Now I understand why Shouko didn't want to tell us at first.
"They're definitely dead! They just haven't been...put to peace yet? Like walking, talking, corpses...?" I continued.
"Z-Zombies?" Satoshi wondered.
"No! Now that's just not possible." I sighed.
"So zombies aren't possible...But our dead friends not being dead but somehow looking like corpses are?!?" Kenjiro exclaimed.
"When you put it like that..." Shouko trailed off.
"Just- Ugh!" I struggled with my words. "Just ignore the dead friends for now! Let's just call wherever they are...Purgatory! Sure, that's it! Purgatory!"
"I'm still confused," Satoshi stated.
"Same here." The psychologist reciprocated.
"You guys- Ok, the main point about purgatory is that-"
"Shimura wasn't there!" Shouko interjected.
"Thank you!" I exhaled a deep breath of relief when she finally assisted my explanation.
"Although, I didn't see purgatory that clearly. Maybe he was there and I just didn't see..." she mumbled, yet we all very clearly heard.
"S-Shouko?!?" I called out to her. "What the hell happened to you backing up my point?"
"Sorry." She lowered her head once again. "B-But there's more evidence than that! He was speaking with the mastermind just a few weeks ago!"
"The mastermind?!?" Satoshi and Kenjiro's panicked voices got even higher, the confusion just piling on.
We're not helping at all, are we?
"The mastermind- Er, Kei - Is not important right now! In fact, we don't even know if he is the mastermind or not, so settle down!" I commanded. "But let's face it, no one talks to dead people-"
"I do," Shouko interjected once again.
"...No one talks to dead people - except Shouko - so he definitely wouldn't talk to Shimura unless he was alive and in hiding somewhere!"
"Kei? As in...Kei Shizuka?!?" Satoshi paused. "He can't be the mastermind! I mean...He's...He's Kei Shizuka! What business does he have killing us?!?"
"I just said we didn't know if he is or not! And you're just saying that because you like him!" I repeated. "But again, that's not the point of our conversation now, is it? Shimura is definitely alive, and I'm trying to explain that to you as best as possible!"
It was true that by 'best as possible', I meant I was trying my best and failing miserably. I probably wouldn't get this either.
"The real point is that Shimura was never poisoned. He used his chemicals to affect his own heartbeat and body so as to appear dead. Ryoko stole his wristband and now he's the prime suspect in Ryoko's murder." I elaborated.
"B-But wait..." Kenjiro paused. "If Shimura were alive-"
"Which he is!" Shouko interrupted one more time, adding her opinion while Kenjiro blinked in response.
"...If...he were alive." Kenjiro insisted. "Then...what does he have to do with the case?"
"Huh?"
"Right." Satoshi nodded. "Let's say Shimura were a-alive-"
"Which he is!" Shouko repeated once more, insisting on the fact.
"...If Shimura were alive, then why would he be our top suspect? How is he directly involved with the case to warrant that?" He wondered, pushing Shouko's opinion aside for a moment.
"That's easy! Just think about his talent." I hinted.
"You mean...as a toxicologist?"
"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Remember..."
-
Select Truth Bullet
> Ryoko's Motive Video <
"This should prove it!"
-
"...The motive!" I carried on. "We all agreed Ryoko had to prepare the poison to kill us all herself, right?"
"Yeah...?" Satoshi nodded.
"Well, it's true that the canisters had the recipe on them. But let's face it - Ryoko wanted to be certain we'd all die. And for that, she wanted to make sure everything was perfect and accurate." I continued. "And when it comes to poison, she must've wanted a helping hand from the expert himself."
"You mean...Ryoko went to Shimura, handcuffed him and forced him to help her?" Kenjiro thought out loud.
"Yes."
"And instead, he knocked her out, tortured her and then finally killed her?" Satoshi carried on.
"...Yes."
"T-That makes no sense! Only you and Shouko assume Shimura is alive-"
"It's not an assumption! I-It's true!" Shouko interrupted once again.
"...Are you saying Ryoko also assumed Shimura was alive and...knew where he was?!?" He resumed.
"Don't ignore me!" Shouko exclaimed. "I'm right!"
"I-I'm sorry!" Satoshi frantically apologised. "It's just...extremely hard to believe."
"No, it's not!"
"Look, I know exactly what will prove it." I sighed and pulled out my handbook. "Shimura was hiding himself in the morgue-"
"T-There is a morgue as well?!?" Kenjiro stammered. "What else don't we know?"
"This is why I love class trials." Monokuma sighed in satisfaction. "Seeing the looks on your faces is priceless!"
"The morgue is irrelevant!" I declared. "Just know he was hiding there, ok?"
"...Ok?" Satoshi weakly nodded.
"Right. Now, don't get mad-"
"W-Why do you assume we're going to get mad?" Kenjiro asked.
"...No reason!" I awkwardly laughed.
"You...only tell people to not get mad when you did something that would make them mad." Satoshi sighed.
"Ugh! Fine, I'll just tell you!" I took a deep breath. "I've known that Shimura was alive since the end of the third class trial, ok!"
"What-"
"And I've been helping him out! Especially since Akihiro died and Aki was helping him originally-"
"Akihiro knew?!?" Shouko widened her eyes.
"Shit! Yes, he did!" I groaned, clutching my head. "Can we please just calm down and go through this easily?!?"
"That's hard to do when something shocking is revealed every damn second...!" Satoshi responded.
"L-Look, I told Shimura I wouldn't tell anyone! He had his reasons, ok-" I tried to explain.
"Oh, I'm not mad about that." Satoshi brushed it off.
"What?!?"
"If I was secretly alive, I'd want to hide it too." He shrugged.
"Does this mean you finally believe he's alive?" I hoped.
"I-I need to see proper evidence first." He shook his head.
"I've got the evidence right here!" I held up my handbook and quickly tapped on the messages app, revealing the texts between Shimura and me.
"Aki...knew Shimura was alive?" Shouko repeated.
"Yes! Yes, he did!" I groaned in frustration. "Look, I know this is a lot of shocking information for you all, but we actually have to solve Ryoko's case! So can we get a move on already?"
"Right. You were saying?" Kenjiro nodded, looking back at me.
"My handbook. As you know, I helped Shimura stay hidden and retell everything that occurred to him. And that also included sending him messages." I displayed my chat logs with the Toxicologist, handing my handbook over for Satoshi to see.
He read over them for a moment, yet with each new message his eyes only widened.
"It's...it's legit. With messages as recent from a few days ago. U-Unless someone stole Shimura's handbook, he's been able to keep contact with Chiyo." Satoshi informed the other two.
"It's doubtful that s-someone would take his handbook. So..." Kenjiro trailed off. "...Shimura really is alive."
"Of course! I wouldn't lie about this stuff." I sighed. "That's not even it. My handbook is also the reason Ryoko knew that Shimura faked his death before you guys."
"How does that work?" Shouko wondered.
"Remember when Ryoko tried to murder me a few weeks back?" I winced just at the memory of that.
"That would be pretty hard to forget," Satoshi replied.
"After knocking me out," I carried on. "She apparently took my handbook and that's when she discovered the messages between me and Shimura. Not only that, but she even managed to lure him out and confirm it for herself - using me as bait yet again."
"S-Seriously?!?" Shouko gasped.
"Every time Ryoko comes up...it's like she becomes even worse! Is that even possible?"
"Apparently," Satoshi murmured, passing my handbook back to me. "So Ryoko must have gone to Shimura for help. Knowing her, she might have held the fact he was alive as blackmail or maybe something worse..."
"Either way, Ryoko managed to convince him to come with her somehow. Then they were handcuffed, he broke free and afterwards knocked her out. From there he tortured her at the clocktower and killed her by pushing her off." I ran through everything. "But...is that really it?!?"
"What do you mean? It...sounds plausible enough." Kenjiro said.
"It's just...some things are missing! And it's too early to be certain of anything right now. Shimura is suspicious...But there has to be more." I pondered for a moment, my fists clenching as I thought.
Shimura...Just what happened?
"It's rude to speak of someone when they're not present. It's basically akin to talking behind their back." A voice announced from the elevator, their sighs being heard by us all as we turned our heads towards the source of the noise.
That voice...it's so familiar.
Wait-
"However, I suppose since I'm actually here now...you guys can talk about me all you like." The voice continued - their snark so evidence I could feel their smirking. "If you're praising me, then please, continue. If you're not...I'll just pretend not to listen."
But before I even saw the figure I knew exactly who it was.
Shimura had finally bothered to arrive.
He walked out of the elevator, a yawn leaving his mouth as his hands were stuffed in his pockets. Shimura just casually approached the circle of podiums as if he'd been a regular here like myself and the others. After blinking and looking around for a few moments, he hummed with a shrug.
"So this is the infamous trial room I've been hearing so much of, huh? It's not as intimidating as I thought it would be." Shimura nonchalantly spoke, pausing when he saw his own death portrait before trying to contain his laughter. "Oh geez...that's what you guys had up to commemorate me? How considerate."
We all just watched, our jaws dropped in silence as Shimura travelled around the room to his podium, picking up his portrait and setting it aside.
"No use for this anymore, is there? I am here, aren't I?" He smirked, but cocked an eyebrow once he saw each of our faces. "What?"
How...
How is he acting so casual right now?!? Not only are my friends shocked to see him even alive, but he's our prime suspect in Ryoko's murder!
So...how is Shimura so relaxed?
Before any of us could speak, Monokuma chose to break the silence after sharing our surprise. "Y-You! You're...you're meant to-"
"Meant to be dead?" Shimura finished his sentence for him, his face full of disinterest in the bear. "Yeah, obviously I'm not. You should chalk that up to your incompetent running of this game rather than my skill. Though, I suppose I should still get credit for that."
"Why you- I could execute you for that, you know!" Monokuma exclaimed.
"Oh, you can threaten me all you want. But I know I won't be getting executed. Well- not now at least, but that's an issue for later on." Shimura pushed his glasses up. "And besides, someone faking their death isn't something you planned, is it? It's not my fault once again that you're incompetent."
"Call me that one more time-"
"S-Shimura...?" Satoshi stared in disbelief.
Seems like even after all my evidence, it had to be Shimura being right in front of him to finally convince Satoshi.
Same for Kenjiro as it seemed as if he had to wipe his glasses just to check if he wasn't seeing things. "You really are alive...I...This is...uh-"
"You guys are still shocked?" Shimura scoffed, crossing his arms. "Chiyo was meant to soften the blow for you by telling you all I was alive. I thought you'd be ready to see me again and we'd get to skip over this part. Seems not..."
"H-Huh?" I stammered.
"Chiyo was a great subordinate after all." Shimura continued, completely oblivious to all of our now shared confusion.
"Y-You...predicted this would happen?!?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, gripping my podium. "Does that mean-"
"Well, don't underestimate me after our long partnership, Chiyo." He scoffed. "I predicted how this whole trial would play out. Glad to see my planned entrance met the right cue."
"D-Does that mean...?" Shouko trailed off, her words getting caught in her throat.
"Does that mean I killed Ryoko?" Shimura assumed. Yet his stance was cold and calculated - it almost seemed like he wasn't being accused of murder right now. "How about I test your knowledge, hm? I haven't seen most of you in a while and Chiyo hasn't given me the glorious reputation I wanted to have before my entrance, but oh well."
"Test? We don't have time for that! We-" I tried to reason with him.
"Oh, we've got plenty of time." He cut me off. "And besides, time isn't something you need to be concerned with. Not when I'm here at least."
Huh? What does he mean by that?!?
No, not only that. Even through all of my surprise, there was one thing I couldn't shake off - something was different about Shimura. He was off.
Why is he talking like that? Like some emotionless robot?!?
It's true that when we first arrived here, his first impression did give off...well, an emotionless robot. But I know Shimura is more than that! So why is he acting this way?
"Now let's think." The toxicologist took the lead. "If I predicted this trial, what does that mean?"
"H-Huh?" Kenjiro stammered. "Doesn't that mean...you knew Ryoko was dead?"
"Aha. Ding, ding - we've got a winner, folks." Shimura then smirked once more, crossing his arms. "It's good to see you all aren't as stupid as I initially thought you were. But now you must be thinking how I knew Ryoko was dead, aren't you?"
"Isn't that obvious?!?" Satoshi interjected. "You must have heard the announcement."
"Ah, what a lucky guess." He sighed. "While it's true I heard the announcement, that doesn't tell me who died. Yet I seemingly planned this whole trial with Ryoko's death in mind. Either I'm a very morbid individual or..." Shimura trailed off, attempting to lead us to the answer.
"You predicted this trial and knew Ryoko died...b-because you are the one who murdered her, aren't you?" I stuttered, the words still sounding unbelievable. "But-"
"That's right." Shimura interrupted me.
"He's just going to admit it?!?" Shouko gasped.
"Of course. It's true: I was the one who killed Ryoko. And I'm surprised none of you did it sooner." Shimura then concluded, his eyes meeting my own for a split second.
No. No...it can't be true. It can't be!
All the evidence points to him. Shimura just admitted it! Yet...I still can't believe it.
After everything that happened to Shimura like Akihiro, his family, and hell, even me...
...Shimura really murdered Ryoko.
"You guys can thank me for the service later. I'm sure you all were glad." He continued.
"T-Thank you?!?" Satoshi stammered, not believing what he just heard. "Thank you for killing Ryoko?!?"
"Why, of course. None of you were going to do it, so I took the mantle and did it myself. I won't even lie...it was satisfying." He just carried on.
"No." I blurted out. "No!"
Shimura paused and then looked over at me. "Hm? Chiyo? Is there a problem?"
"A problem?" I scoffed. "Yes, obviously there's a fucking problem! You...You'd never kill!"
"But you just labelled him the prime suspect-"
"Not now, Kenjiro!" I interrupted the Psychologist harshly. "Shimura would never kill. Sure, the evidence points to him, but he'd...never. And why would he even do it?"
Shimura chuckled at my words. "Why? Why I killed Ryoko?"
"I-Is he going to test us again?" Shouko shivered in fear.
"Oh no, the answer to this is so obvious that I'll just tell you." Shimura then cleared his throat. "It's true that I murdered Ryoko. And the reason behind that..."
He paused for a moment, allowing the silence to simmer until his laughter commenced once again.
However, his laughter this time around was laced with...malice. A darkness I had never heard from Shimura.
"Well... because I'm the mastermind of course."
...
What?
Shimura...is the mastermind?
I can't lie to myself and say I never suspected him once or twice. He was secretive as hell.
But that and hearing he's behind Ryoko's death...I-I can't believe it! Even if Shimura is the one saying it.
"I-I knew it!" Shouko exclaimed. "Er, well...I knew he had something to do with the mastermind."
Satoshi and Kenjiro just stood in shock for what felt like the fifth time this trial.
"So, you're telling me that not only Shimura is a-alive...and he killed Ryoko..." Satoshi began.
"...But he is also the m-mastermind?!?" Kenjiro finished his sentence.
"What? Is it unbelievable?" Shimura tilted his head. "You'd think the guy who faked his death would be at least a little bit suspicious, no? Or is it because I don't act like what you envision as a mastermind?"
"It's none of those! I just...can't believe it!" I yelled, trying to capture Shimura's attention.
But he ignored ne.
When he told me to go along with whatever he did last night, I didn't fucking expect this! What the hell am I supposed to do or say...when I don't even believe it myself?!?
"If it's the latter," Shimura carried on. "Then I can assure you - whatever picture you have painted in your mind as to whatever a stereotypical mastermind acts like, I'm worse."
With a twisted grin on his face, Shimura dove his hand into his lab coat and pulled out...
A gun?!?
The grin remained as he spoke, pointing the gun at each one of us teasingly. "Ryoko's death was worth it if I managed to take this off of her. I wonder...If I kill one of you right now, would you believe me? Would I be this terrifying mastermind you imagined?"
Satoshi's eyes immediately widened at the sight of the weapon as he nervously stepped back. "W-Wait...I..."
"S-Shimura!" Kenjiro panicked when he saw Satoshi's reaction, turning to the toxicologist. "Put that away!"
"Yeah! Y-Yeah! We can see you're the mastermind and the culprit! W-We get it!" Shouko pleaded.
Yet I was the only one who couldn't speak. Instead of the shock that was apparent on everyone's faces, I was just perplexed.
What is going on with Shimura?!? He'd never do this.
"You guys are obviously just saying that." Shimura sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose while lowering the gun. "This is how you treat me after weeks of hiding - you don't even believe me? What a shame. Even if in the mastermind, I'm still disappointed."
"The mastermind?!?" Even Monokuma sounded confused. "But-"
Out of nowhere, Shimura then pointed the gun to the side of his head. "Maybe this will get you guys to believe me. You guys sure are making things hard, you know? But oh well, I suppose."
That's when the panic finally hit me. "N-No! Don't do-"
For the third time in this killing game, I expected to hear the booming sound of a gunshot which would echo and screech against my ears for ages as Shimura pulled the trigger.
As soon as his fingers lowered on the trigger and fired, Satoshi covered his face, refusing to bear witness to such an act while Kenjiro and Shouko stared in horror.
Yet, there was no sound except for the click of the trigger.
Shimura stood still, the gun by his head, but nothing had been fired. A smirk slowly crept back onto his face as his eyes opened, an air of cockiness surrounding the guy who I could call a close friend as he clicked the recovers trigger another five times.
Nothing.
...What is going on with him? This is not Shimura!
The toxicologist's chuckling resumed and grew louder, the gun finally being put away. "You guys really fell for that? Of course, I took all the bullets out beforehand. I expected some more intelligence from you all."
"H-How...How could you?!?" Satoshi trembled, trying to call himself down. "You used to be calm and collected...W-What happened?!?"
"That was an act, obviously. What sort of mastermind would just act this way all the time? It's common sense." Shimura kept his hands in his pockets.
"What about you and Akihiro?" Shouko interjected - her care for her best friend coming through. "We know he helped you when you were hidden! So...was that just an act too?"
"Akihiro?" Shimura briefly paused, his features softening for a moment before his grin reappeared. "Me and Akihiro? That...That was an act, of course. And he was none the wiser. Quite...pathetic if you ask me."
That's it! Now that's a fucking lie! Shimura has to be lying! This whole mastermind role he's taking up...
Trying to act all sinister and manipulative...
That's not Shimura! The real act here...is this mastermind act! Up until this trial, he's been genuine.
So...why is he doing this now?!?
"I...have a question though," Kenjiro spoke up.
"Hm? I assume that question is for me." Shimura shrugged. "Fire away, I guess. It's not like I have anything to lose at this point."
"It's just....why would you, the mastermind, go out of your way to murder Ryoko? A-And in such a way like that too!" Kenjiro said.
"Kenji has a point..." Satoshi nodded along. "You could have just gotten Monokuma to deal with her. So why did you do it yourself?"
Shimura just scoffed again, averting his eyes. "I do you guys a favour and instead of being thankful, you just question me? That's just rude, no? Not even a thank you."
"We never asked for Ryoko to die!" Shouko butt in.
"Now that is the biggest lie here." The toxicologist rolled his eyes. "We all did. It's nothing to be ashamed of. As I said, she deserved it."
"Then...why exactly did you do it?" Satoshi wondered.
"Isn't it obvious?" He began. "Ryoko messed with my killing game by setting her own motive up, so I had to get involved to dispose of her. She had it coming to her anyway, so there were no problems."
"How cold." Satoshi lowered his head.
Suddenly, Shimura's gaze shifted over to me. He inspected my face for a few moments before finally speaking again. "Chiyo, you've been awfully quiet. Did the realisation that you were helping the mastermind all along finally get to you?"
"No." I firmly said, my hands forming fists as I glared in his direction. "Quite the opposite, actually."
"Huh?" He cocked an eyebrow at me, confused by what I meant.
"You're not the mastermind, Shimura. Admit it." I concluded, announcing my realisation to everyone.
"W...Why would you suggest that?" Shimura was initially speechless, but quickly recovered to question me.
He wasn't expecting me to disagree with him. Is this what he meant last night by going along with whatever he said? Did he really think I'd listen and accuse him of being the mastermind?!?
"Chiyo...I know you're really smart..." Shouko started.
"Thanks?"
"...But how can you say that?!?" She finished her sentence. "You were there when I showed him and Kei talking. I know you heard it!"
"Yes I did - but that has nothing to do with whether he's actually the mastermind! Sure he may be related to Kei in some way, but Shimura can't be the mastermind. It... can't be this easy."
"But...I mean, why would someone like Shimura lie about being the mastermind?" Kenjiro asked.
"No one would want to willingly do that," Satoshi added on.
"Like hell if I know!" I sighed in frustration. "I wish I did! But we can only know the answer to that through Shimura himself." I turned to face the toxicologist.
Shimura just remained still for a few moments, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought in silence.
However, instead of actually defending himself or admitting the truth, he just laughed and played my accusations off. "Ha! Really, Chiyo?" He crossed his arms. "Do I actually have to shoot myself for you to believe that I'm the mastermind? If that's what I have to do, then so be it."
"What?!? No!" I exclaimed.
"But he's not-"
"W-We believe you! There's...no need for that!" Satoshi interjected in fear, cutting Monokuma off.
"Huh? No, don't believe him!" I then turned my attention to the others. "Shimura can't be the mastermind! Akihiro and I helped him survive and stay hidden for ages...so...there's no way! We trusted each other! And sure, he killed Ryoko! But Shimura isn't the mastermind."
Shimura was at first amazed by what I had just said but soon shook his head. "So you fell for my deception. Do you want an award or something-"
"Shimura!" I gripped the edges of my podium and glared at him, making sure he could hear my yell. "Stop fucking around! Cut the shit and the snark. You know what I want - the truth!"
"The...truth?" He repeated.
"Yes! Why the hell are you claiming to be the mastermind? Sure, even I suspected you...but you'd never do this! So...so just admit you're lying!" I pleaded.
At first, he didn't reply. In fact, he adverted his gaze entirely, trying his best not to let a hint of his real thoughts or feelings leak through. Then, he spoke once again.
"Why would I lie? It's no lie that I'm the mastermind." He smirked again, yet it felt forced as hell.
That's it! Why won't he admit it?
I didn't want for it to come to this but seems like I've got no choice. This is my final option after all. I have to bet that it either works or gives me some leeway to prove the truth about Shimura's identity.
"Well, I can't help it then." I pretended to helplessly shrugged, exaggerating my already overacted yawn. "What can I do? I mean, we're all split. Split right down the-"
"S-Split?" The bear sitting above us on his throne perked up at the mention of the word while I grinned, the self-awareness spilling onto my face.
"Yeah, Monokuma. We're totally split. We can't decide whether Shimura really is the mastermind or not!" I informed him.
"W-What do you mean, Chiyo? We-"
"If it were up to me," Monokuma cut Shouko off. "The answer would be clear! But it seems you guys want to battle it out, huh?!?"
"No!" Satoshi exclaimed.
"Well too bad," I sighed. "I'm sorry you guys, but if this is what it takes for you guys to see past Shimura's lies and allow us to fully solve this case, then so be it. It's for your own good."
"For once, I agree with her!" Monokuma chimed in. "Let's set the record straight!"
That's...surprising. But I guess, for once, I'll let the bear slide.
He finally pulled out the large key and inserted it into the keyhole before him, twisting it into place as our podiums shook accordingly. As always, they rose and aligned themselves into place, yet...
I was alone on my side, my gaze meeting the four people before me.
Shimura really has convinced them all, huh? I get it, I suspected him too. And considering where he's been this whole killing game...it's understandable why he'd be the most likely candidate for the mastermind.
But no. He can't be. Shimura would never do or act like this. I just need to convince everyone of that.
-
- Scrum Debate: Begin! -
Is Shimura the mastermind?
He is:
- Kenjiro
- Shouko
- Satoshi
- Shimura
-
He can't be:
- Chiyo
-
- Begin! -
-
-
Satoshi: Shimura faked his death...probably to watch the game from the shadows...
"Hold on!"
Chiyo: Yes, he faked his death, but not for that! He wanted to find the truth!
-
Kenjiro: Chiyo...Shimura must have manipulated you! He has to be b-behind this.
"Wait a second!"
Chiyo: The only ones being manipulated are you guys! You have to listen to me.
-
Shimura: You say that, yet I've used you and Akihiro this whole killing game. Isn't that shameful?
"I got it!"
Chiyo: What's shameful is whatever the fuck you're doing right now, Shimura!
-
Shouko: Chiyo...w-we saw Kei talking to him! If Kei is the mastermind, Shimura must be helping him!
"I got this!"
Chiyo: We don't even know if Kei is actually the mastermind yet!
-
Shimura: This is...pathetic. The truth is that I'm clearly the mastermind!
"That's it!"
Chiyo: No. The only way we'll find the actual truth is if everyone realises you're innocent of being the mastermind!
-
"This is my answer!"
-
As our podiums got into place once more, I exhaled a deep breath. "Do you guys understand now? You can suspect Shimura all you want, but figuring out the mastermind isn't how we win this trial. It's by finding Ryoko's killer. True, he admitted to it, but we still don't know what fully happened!"
"...Ok." Satoshi slowly nodded. "Then, let's figure out the rest of the case. That...does sound fair."
"Even if I still think he's the mastermind, hopefully, things can go smoothly with Shimura's cooperation...r-right?" Kenjiro glanced over at him.
"He's still weird. Uh...but so am I. So I can't judge that much, I guess." Shouko rubbed the back of her head.
As we all watched Shimura, he rubbed his temples before shaking his head. "Fine. Believe what you want. Ignore the truth even and solve the case. That..." he hesitated. "That won't change who or what I am."
"So you're still sticking to that mastermind act?" I scoffed. "Even Monokuma is helping by denying whenever you say you're the mastermind! And seriously, you had to steal Ryoko's gun? As the mastermind, you could've just had your own from your room! Well- if it even was yours."
"Oh please." Shimura just rolled his eyes. "Just carry on with the case. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
He's right...
If we want to put an end to things, we must figure out how exactly this crime took place.
...Even if we already know who the culprit is.
-