I grabbed the items from the counter, stuffing them back inside of the bag. I raced over to the closet, pressing on the wall panel. After it opened, I immediately stuffed everything inside. I took a deep breath, closing it back up again. I got up from the floor, walking over to the door.
I paused for a moment. Should I get my scarf and gloves. I thought about it for a long moment. No, I'm okay. I don't need to hide my mistakes. I walked through the door, starting to head down the hallway. As I continued down, I watched as a line of people were going towards the elevator.
Imamura led the way, looking absolutely pissed. Followed by Otani, and then Suagi dragging Arima along. And finally, Kawata, who kept his hat tilted in front of his eyes and his head down. We'll probably have to take the elevator on this floor. Or, at least that's what I'm assuming. I picked up the pace, making sure I could come up behind the pack. And then, when they reached it, Imamura turned back. Her face got extra angry, as she took her wheelchair and headed straight for me.
"YOU!!!" She screamed, pointing a finger at me. "WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT LAPTOP!? WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PUT IT!?" I rolled my eyes, reluctantly lifting my arms up as if I was being arrested haphazardly.
"I don't have it." I blurted out. She slammed her fist into the arm rest of the wheelchair.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING GIVE ME THAT HORSE SHIT!!! YOU WERE THE LAST PERSON I WAS WITH WHEN I HAD IT!!! WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PUT IT!?" She yelled. I groaned angrily. This was just getting really tiring.
"Listen, I don't-" I started.
"Oo! Oo! Can you guys get into a battle this time!? We haven't had a fight in a while!" Sugai called out, egging us on. Arima innocently stared from the side, his wrist still being held tight by Sugai. Though, he did seem like he didn't want any part of this. That seemed to knock a bit of sense into Imamura. She took a deep breath, and glared directly into my eyes.
"I hope the killer so you can fucking die for the lies you told us about Hirano. At least then you can repay your sins by going to hell..." she muttered, turning her wheelchair around. I groaned slightly, stuffing my hands into my pockets.
"I'll tell your little boyfriend you said hi." I replied. She stopped in place. That comment seemed to upset her. What part of it, I'm not sure. I could either see it as embarrassment or blind rage. Either way, she chose not to pursue it, opting to continue to the elevator. She hit the button, immediately entering as the door opened. Otani and Kawata followed simultaneously afterwards, not hesitating for another moment. Arima stared at me silently for a moment, before being dragged into the elevator. I sighed, following them inside. As soon as the doors closed, I felt a horrible feeling run over my body.
I nearly shivered from the aura that had just enveloped the inside of the elevator. I paused, glancing around me. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, staring daggers into my skin. I tightened my fist, forcing my eyes to stare forward. But it wasn't that easy to ignore a million people staring at you like you're next up on the chopping block.
Okay, maybe I understand Morita's fear a little bit more. I strengthened my resolve, continuing to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest. I knew people would believe I was the killer but... it feels like there's not going to be any way to persuade everyone otherwise. I felt like I was going to puke. I took a dry gulp, calming myself down. Even if everyone believes I'm the killer now, that still gives me the option to convince everyone I'm not. Even if it seems hopeless. I am not fucking dying.
We all stepped out of the elevator, looking around the trial room. It was a dark red color, and the walls were covered in different weapons. There were coffins handing from the ceiling, and everything seemed to be stained with blood. I glared around. Wait, what the fuck?
"I thought you said that the trial rooms were supposed to reflect the victim." Otani said. Ressa chuckled, jumping down from his throne.
"Well, gotta admit, I wasn't really expecting Daiton to reveal the fact that Hirano Rei isn't Hano Yoshiko right before the trial, so I kind of just, made it based off of that. Oh, and plus she killed Masako so that kind of counts for something." He explained. My eyes went wide, as I stared around at everyone. Wait, hey wasn't anyone surprise about that?
"Wait, you guys knew about Hirano killing Masako as well?" I asked.
"Well DUH!!! She told you all! Get with the program!" Ressa laughed. Huh, well, good thing I decided to make up that lie about Hirano. If I hadn't, that would've been embarrassing. Well, no, it's not a good thing that I made up that lie about her being Hano Yoshiko, it was just convenient. "Now please stand at your podiums! The next class trial will begin shortly!" And with that, we all moved to our spaces. I stood at my podium, staring out at everyone.
This is it. This is the class trial.
(Art has been deleted)
Whatever happens here will change our fates.
(Art has been deleted)
Do the better or for the worst, I'm not quite sure.
(Art has been deleted)
But either way, I'm not letting them get away with this.
I'm not going to let the killer get away with killing Hirano Rei.
-Class Trial-
In session!
"Alright everyone! Let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial! EEEEEEEEE!!! It's been sooooooooooooooooo LONG since I last did this! Okay, okay, ahem. Everyone who is still alive will discuss the murder of the lovely victim who was killed recently. After the debate, everyone will vote on who they think the killer is! If you're all wrong, well, I'll kill you all off one by one, leaving the blackened alive! If you're all right, then I'll leave you all alive! Well, except for the murderer. Now! Let the class trial begin!" Ressa called out, enthusiastically kicking his legs up and down on the podium.
"H- how... how are we even supposed to start?" Arima asked.
"How the hell are we supposed to know? Don't we just start talking and then figure shit out from there?" Imamura asked.
"Yeah..." Kawata paused, folding his arms as he stared at the ground. "Th- that's... that's basically how it happens." Everyone remained silent.
"Wait, do we actually have no idea where to start?" Otani asked, nervously staring around the room.
"I think I-" I started.
"NO!!! DO NOT, FUCKING SPEAK!!!" Imamura yelled, interrupting me. I sighed, folding my arms and looking away. After a moment, Imamura closed her eyes and groaned, placing two fingers on the bridge of her nose. "God... dammit... I can't believe I'm gonna say this..." Imamura muttered. She made her back straight, glaring forward. "Sugai, do you have any ideas?" Sugai remained silent. It didn't even really seem like he was in the same room. His attention span was directed across the courtroom, as he stared silently.
"Sugai? A- are you okay?" Arima asked. There was a long moment of silence, before Sugai seemed to register the words.
"Oh! Yeah. Yeah. Uh..." Sugai spaced out for a moment. "So uh... I'm the killer. Like always." He stated. I rolled my eyes.
"So, which is it? Is it you, or is it Arima?" I asked. Sugai glared at me.
"Well obviously, Arima did it, and I'M the accomplice. Because Arima messes up everything out of malice. Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiight Arima?" Sugai chuckled. Arima stared at him with an unimpressed and slightly nervous expression.
"Can we... can we just start the trial?" Arima asked, looking slightly embarrassed.
"We would, but where the fuck are we supposed to start?" Imamura asked. Slowly, I started raising my hand, opening my mouth to speak. "NO." She snapped. I glared at her.
"I just want to give an idea for how we can start." I replied. "What the fuck is wrong with that?" I growled, folding my arms in defiance. Imamura grumbled to herself angrily for a minute, before taking a long sigh.
"Fine. What the hell do you want?" She asked.
"I'm curious as to when and Hirano got to the office room." I said, suggesting the idea to the group.
"... yeah... that makes sense..." Kawata muttered, holding his hat in his hands.
Body Discovery Announcement
Murder File 5
Kawata's Account
Note
"Okay, so the question to be answered is..." Otani started. "What time did Hirano go to the office room?"
"Yeah, that's right!" Sugai laughed. "Knowing Hirano, she'd probably head out of her room to get there as early as possible!"
"A- are we sure about that? We don't know why Hirano would head to the room anyway." Arima chimed in.
"OF COURSE WE ARE!!!" Sugai yelled, drowning out Arima. "Since Hirano would probably leave the room as soon as possible, she left earlier into the night!"
"NO, THAT'S WRONG!!!" I yelled. Sugai glared at me angrily. "If you remember correctly, the note Hirano had in her pocket asked for her to leave her room at around 2:00 in the morning."
"Well, sucks to be you! I can't remember because I didn't see it!" Sugai laughed.
"So, we're assuming that Hirano left her room to meet up with someone at 2:00 AM because of that note? Do we know who sent it?" Otani asked.
"No, the note isn't addressed, and the person who sent it cut pieces of magazines out to spell out the words, so we can't figure it out based on handwriting." Imamura said.
"S- so... the killer sent the note to Hirano... a- and she went to meet up with the killer in the Office room at 2:00 AM-" Arima started.
"I doubt that!" Kawata snapped, cutting Arima off. I rolled my eyes, folding my arms, glaring at him angrily.
"What the hell? I thought you were sensible Kawata. Why the fuck are you interrupting!?" I barked at him.
"JUST, LISTEN UP!!!" Kawata yelled. He took a deep breath, holding his hat close to his chest. "It doesn't feel right... Hirano's smart. She wouldn't just go to meet up with someone at 2:00 AM in the morning. That's way too risky." Kawata led on. "I can only see this one way! Hirano had to have been dragged over to the office from her room!" I raised an eyebrow, glaring at him skeptically. Fine, he wanted a reason why Hirano went to the office? I'll give him one.
Note
Ultimate Lab Key
Office Room Key
Glasses
"You're saying that Hirano went to the Ultimate Lab to meet up with the killer..." Kawata started.
"But it wouldn't make sense for her to go to office room for no reason!"
"Especially at 2:00 AM."
"I understand that it doesn't make sense for her to go to the office..." I started. "But the notes states that they wanted to talk with her."
"But it only asks for Hirano to come to the room to discuss something! We don't know what that something is!" Kawata retaliated.
"There's nothing that suggests the discussion would give her information she wanted!"
"No! That's wrong!" I yelled, cutting him off. "Kawata, remember how devastated Hirano was over hearing that she was Hano Yoshiko?" Kawata remained silent. "In the note, the person addressed her as 'Hirano Rei'. Hirano wanted to make sure people knew she wasn't a serial killer, so she went to the office room to get that information." Kawata stared at me quietly, sweat running down his face.
"So... if it said Hano Yoshiko... then she wouldn't have headed over to the office?" Kawata asked. I nodded. He closed his eyes, his teeth gritting in despair. "Dammit..."
"A- are we sure the killer sent that note?" Arima asked.
"What do you mean?" Otani replied. Arima took a long sigh.
"I- I mean, it's not really certain that the killer was the one who sent the note to Hirano." Arima said. Imamura rolled her eyes.
"Well, of course we can't fucking tell if the killer sent her the note. But we know for a fact that her body was found in the office." Imamura snapped. Arima remained silent for a moment, thinking to himself. A sweat droplet ran down his face, as he took a long sigh.
"Well, uh, I don't know. I- it was just a thought." Arima replied. Imamura folded her arms, and glared forward towards the group.
"Anyway, I don't think we should discard the theory that Hirano was actually killed somewhere else and brought to the office room. I think that it makes a lot of sense." Imamura said.
"No, Hirano had to have been killed in the office." I replied. Imamura glared at me.
"No, it's ENTIRELY possible she was killed somewhere else and brought to the office room." Imamrua insisted.
What evidence proves that Hirano had to have been killed in the office room?
1. Office Key
2. Glasses
3. Pocket Placement
4. Basket of Objects
"Hirano's glasses were further from her body. If she was killed somewhere else, the killer would've put her glasses back onto her face." I explained.
"That's incorrect!" Imamura yelled. "The killer could've easily just put the glasses somewhere else. It's stupid to assume that they'd put them back onto her face." I rolled my eyes, glaring at her. Great, now I'm back in one of these arguments so soon. It kind of feels like they just don't want me to be right.
Office Key
Secret Passageway
Pocket Placement
Frayed Shirt Pieces
"The killer obviously wanted to create a scene to create some sort of distraction about the murder..." Imamura started. "Obviously, the killer wouldn't just put the glasses back on her face if they wanted to create some sort of narrative."
"I understand the idea that they wanted to create a 'scene'..." I said. "But there's no evidence that the crime scene was deliberately changed."
"That's so fucking stupid Daiton..." Imamura groaned, glaring at me. "Of course there'd be no fucking signs that the killer changed the look of the scene! That's the whole point of making it look different! Plus, there's no evidence that the killer DIDN'T change the scene!"
"That's wrong!" I snapped. "Imamura, on the ground in the carpet in between the door are pieces of frayed, burnt shirt. If the killer deliberately set up that scene, it would mean they'd have to move a bunch of small pieces of shirt over to the door. They're so tiny, I barely even noticed them! Wouldn't the killer want their evidence to be obvious?" I explained. "Hirano had to have been killed inside of the office room." Imamura grumbled, her arms folded angrily.
"Whatever... fuck you..." she muttered, her head turned away. I glared at her angrily.
Jeez, I knew that everyone would be against me, but it feels like I have to fight to get this evidence out there! What the hell!? I shouldn't have to explain these things to other people! Especially Imamura! I thought she was one of the smarter people in this group!
No, she's still a smart person. It could've been entirely possible that the killer moved everything to the office to make us think the incident occurred there. It is very reasonable to suspect that of the crime scene isn't the correct one. But in this case, it is.
"H- hey, about the crime scene..." Arima started. "Shouldn't we talk about what happened there?"
"Yeah, that's probably the next smartest move." Otani replied.
"Okay... but where would we start with the crime scene?" Kawata asked.
"OOO!!! OOO!!! I GOT ONE!!! PICK ME!!!" Sugai yelled, raising his arm up in the air.
"Sugai, will you actually ask a good question?" Otani asked. Sugai nodded eagerly.
"Fine, what the hell is it?" Imamura replied. Sugai chuckled, a sly toothy smile on hid Ave.
"When did the killer... cough cough, Arima, cough cough, arrive at the crime scene?" Sugai asked, saying Arima's name under his breath
"I- is that really relevant to the case?" Kawata asked, placing his hat back onto the top of his head.
"Actually, that's a good question..." I said.
"W- would we even know that? I- I don't think there's a- a way of knowing when they got there." Arima replied.
"Wait, actually..." Imamura stopped to think for a moment. "The door to the office room was locked when I checked it before nighttime."
"Are you saying... the killer locked themselves inside of the office before night?" Otani stated, making an assumption based on her comment.
"That means... they were there all night?" Kawata asked, sweat running down his face.
"Jeez, I can't imagine staying up for that long! It would be SOOOOOOO BORING!!!" Sugai said, as he yawned. "Gasp! Maybe I'm the killer! Because I'm soooooooo tired!"
"No, that makes no sense. The killer wasn't in the office room all night." I said.
"Oh yeah? How the fuck would you know that?" Imamura asked.
How do we know the killer wasn't in the office all night?
1. Kawata's Account
2. Arima's Account
3. Otani's Account
4. Imamura's Account
"Kawata said that he saw everyone enter there rooms after the night time announcement, except for Imamura." I said. "Unless you're trying to suggest that you or Kawata are the killer, that would be impossible."
"Stop!" Arima called out, stopping me from continuing.
"Jeez, are we fucking doing this again?" I asked, leaning forward as I groaned angrily.
"I- I'm sorry Yamazaki, but that still doesn't make any sense." Arima said. I was slightly surprised that he called me that name, but I was more just pissed that I had to argue with someone one on one again.
Ultimate Lab Key
Note
Office Key
Wall Indent
"J- just because the office room was locked, doesn't mean the killer was inside." Arima said. He folded his arms, continuing on. "The killer could have locked the door, and then pretended to go back to their room for the night, and then headed back to the office and locked themselves inside." He explained. I took a long pause. Jeez, what the fuck? That was a strangely intelligent thought coming from Arima. I thought the only thing to worry about with him was his athleticism. Now he has a slight bit of brain in his head? It doesn't matter. There has to be something here.
"I..." I muttered. I took a deep breath, glaring forward at him. "Why would the killer lock the office room before they could go there for the night?"
"I- I don't know. But the killer locked the door, r- right?" He asked. "Th- they just, locked it from the inside and waited for Hirano to arrive!" Finally, I heard it.
"No! That's can't be right!" I yelled. "Arima, the office key was on the outside of the door."
"S- so?" He replied.
"The only way to lock the door on the inside is to stick that key in the lock, same with the outside of the door." I responded. "The killer would need to have the key inside with them."
"Th- then, maybe they didn't lock the door when they got back." Arima said.
"Then the key wouldn't need to be at the crime scene. And we already stated that this wasn't staged-" I replied.
"Nuh uh uh!" Sugai yelled, cutting me off. "That's really really wrong, emo! I thought you were supposed to be smart!" Sugai teased, using a pouty voice at the end. I groaned, putting both of my hands to my face and sliding them down. Why the fuck is this happening again? I'm getting fucking exhausted at this point.
"What the FUCK, do you want?" I asked. Sugai chuckled.
"Well, I think you're forgetting something murder murder face!" Sugai laughed. He tilted his head to the side. "There's a really easy way to have the door locked, and be inside at the same time!"
Office Key
Ultimate Lab Key
Smashed Drawer
Secret Passageway
"The killer could have easily entered the room after it had been locked from the outside." Sugai laughed. "In fact, you're the one who told us about it, buddy boy!"
"What are you getting at Sugai?" I asked, glaring tiredly.
"Well DUH, they could've just, used the passageway!" Sugai chuckled.
"Sugai, you've gotta be FUCKING KIDDING me..." I groaned, placing a hand over my face in frustration. "The fridge had been dropped down on top of the drawer. Remember, IT WAS BLOCKED." I snapped.
"Oh! But goth, you don't understand! Maybe the killer pushed the fridge down on top of the drawer to make it SEEM like no one could get through the secret passageway!" Sugai chuckled. I groaned, shaking my head back and forth.
What piece of evidence proves the killer didn't break the entrance to the secret passageway?
1. Basket of Objects
2. Sugai's Account
3. Missing Keys
4. Secret Passageway
"Sugai... you literally fucking TOLD ME that Arima destroyed the fridge, remember?" I barked at him. Sugai chuckled. He knew exactly what I was talking about. I could see it in his eyes.
"Oh yeah! Hmmm... Arima... why did you decide to do that, hm?" Sugai asked, an evil gleam in his eyes.
"Arima, you fucking DESTROYED THE FRIDGE!?" Imamura yelled.
"What!? How do you even do that!? And why!?" Kawata replied. Arima's face became a bright pink from embarrassment, as he nervously twiddled his thumbs.
"I- I didn't mean to do it! I- I was trying to get Sugai-" Arima started.
"You know what? We can deal with whatever the hell you fucking chaos mongers did after the trial..." Imamura said, looking extremely frustrated. "Let's just continue."
"... everyone..." Otani croaked out, taking a deep breath. He looked really scared and nervous. "... what if... there's an accomplice?"
"H- huh? What do you mean?" Kawata asked. Otani put his hands together, staring at the ground.
"I- I mean... if there was an accomplice... they could have easily locked the killer behind the door." Otani explained.
"Oooooo! So they could have been hiding in there!" Sugai laughed. He stuck his tongue out at me. "I'm right! You're wrong! Ha ha!"
"So wait, this 'accomplice' just, locked the door for the killer? They locked them inside?" Imamura repeated.
"I- I guess that makes sense..." Arima stated. "B- but, why would they do that? Why would they help the killer?"
"I'm not really sure... it's just a theory." Otani said.
"Well, I can see that being the case." I replied.
"So... just rehashing." Kawata responded. "The accomplice locked the door for the door at first. Then, the killed and the accomplice pretended to go back to their room. Afterwards, the killer and the accomplice went back to the office, and opened the door. The killer went inside, a- and the accomplice locked the door behind them."
"Well, that's easy for you to say, MURDERER OR ACCOMPLICE!!!" Sugai yelled out, pointing at Kawata. His eyes went wide in shock.
"H- huh? What?" Kawata replied.
"You heard me! We know that it was you! You were either the killer, or the accomplice!" Sugai laughed. Kawata glared at him, his hands tightening into fists.
"What!? I- I didn't do anything! You can't just accuse someone of that!" Kawata said.
"Well, the thing is, I recall YOU being the person who patrols the hallways during nighttime!" Sugai chuckled. No one seemed to disagree with that statement. Kawata closed his eyes tight, gritting his teeth in shame.
"I promise... I didn't..." he started, tears appearing in his eyes. I sighed, folding my arms.
"Then why are you getting so beat up over it huh? Feeling guilty about your little murder accomplice thing?" Sugai teased, a sinister look in his eyes.
Why is Kawata getting so beat up about his accusation?
1. Kawata didn't patrol last night
2. Kawata is just getting really depressed
3. Kawata is the murderer
4. Kawata is the accomplice
"He didn't patrol last night." I said.
"How the fuck would you know that?" Imamura asked.
"Kawata told me about it." I replied. Imamura rolled her eyes.
"What if he just, oh, I don't know, fucking lied?" Imamura snapped. I groaned, glaring at her.
"Well, I didn't see him last night when I went for a walk." I responded.
"Then... wouldn't you and Kawata be the murderer and accomplice?" Otani asked. My eyes widened. Shit, I've just backed myself into a corner.
"Guys..." Kawata started, his eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry..." I glared at him. No, he better not be perpetuating this lie. I swear to fucking god if he blames this on ME. "If... if I had been out there last night... Hirano wouldn't have died..." Everyone remained silent, as Kawata tried his best to calm himself down. He was getting frustrated with how he couldn't get himself to calm down. "Fuck! I- I'm sorry..."
"... let's..." Imamura stared at him blankly, before taking a deep breath. "Let's just talk about something else right now."
"I- I agree." Arima said. "There's s- still a lot of stuff to figure out before we can d- draw conclusions." Sugai looked annoyed, as he folded his arms.
"Fine..." Sugai replied, as he pouted.
"So Hirano went to the office, right?" Otani asked. "But... the door was locked. How would she have gotten inside?" I paused, placing a hand on my chin to think. Huh... how would she have gotten in? Is there something I'm missing?
"Was Hirano the one with the office key? But that doesn't make any sense." Imamura said.
"No, w- when I was with Hirano, she didn't buy that key. Sh- she only bought the ultimate lab key. A- and she was only given one coin, s- so she couldn't have bought another." Arima explained.
"Are there more keys?" Otani asked.
"Nope! There's only one key for each room sold at the supermarket!" Ressa chuckled.
"D- do you think the killer let Hirano have the key?" Kawata asked. Everyone remained silent.
"I- I guess they could have..." Arima said.
I continued to think, before suddenly, my eyes went wide. Wait... did they? Wow. This would be crazy if this was the case.
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