"You just talked about the weather? What kind of conversation is that?"
Kaito asked, raising an eyebrow and a skeptical look toward Kokichi.
Kokichi's claim of having engaged in small talk with Maki was already sounding very fishy.
"Yep! We just had a nice little chat about normal stuff! We talked, she laughed... it was totally normal!"
Kokichi insisted, his tone becoming increasingly defensive as he tried to justify the conversation with Maki.
"So you're telling me that you met with Maki just to talk about the weather?"
Shuichi pressed further, his tone skeptical as he continued to poke holes in Kokichi's story.
"Uh... well... uh..."
Kokichi hesitated, obviously not knowing how to respond to the skepticism that was being directed his way.
The class stared at Kokichi, waiting for an answer as he became increasingly nervous and uneasy under their gaze.
"Uh... okay... fine!"
Kokichi finally broke.
"Of course I talked about more than just the weather! We talked about other things too!"
His tone was now defensive as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for his interaction with Maki.
"What else did you talk about then?"
Shuichi asked curiously, pressing him further as Kokichi seemed less and less credible with every word he spoke.
"Ah... um... we talked about..."
Kokichi seemed lost for words as his attempts to explain the conversation with Maki was failing.
Shuichi was definitely getting suspicious now, and the rest of the class was watching the scene play out with eager interest.
"Let me step in here."
Ayanokoji spoke up, stepping into the middle of the conversation as he directed his attention toward Kokichi.
Both Kokichi and Shuichi were shocked by his sudden involvement, and the rest of the class was startled by his abrupt intervention as well.
"Now, you're saying that you were the last one to talk to Maki before her death?"
Ayanokoji's voice was calm and collected, and his manner was completely at ease despite the tense atmosphere in the room and the mounting pressure on Kokichi.
"Yes, I was!"
Kokichi responded swiftly, sounding much more confident after Ayanokoji's involvement in the conversation.
It was obvious that the presence of such a well-respected figure such as Ayanokoji had made Kokichi feel much more confident in his statements, but this only made Shuichi even more suspicious of him.
"You do understand how this looks from our perspective though, right? You were the last one to speak with Maki, and now we have no idea what happened between the two of you in the period of time between your conversation with Maki and her death."
Shuichi spoke with a tone of caution, not wanting to sound too aggressive towards Kokichi but still trying to get him to be more informative.
"This is highly suspicious..."
The class was stunned by this new revelation, as Tsumugi held up what looked like a weapon, which she said had been found next to Kokichi's seat when they had awoken from the virtual world.
Everyone's attention was now directed towards Kokichi, who seemed visibly uncomfortable and nervous by the discovery of this new evidence.
"So... this was the murder weapon that was used to kill Maki?"
Tsumugi pointed to the object in her hand, and her tone was clearly accusing as she continued to address Kokichi.
Kokichi seemed shocked by the reveal of this new evidence, and the class's attention was now focused on how he would respond to this development.
"I had no idea that this was next to my seat..."
Kokichi's voice sounded surprised and defensive as he tried to explain himself.
The class remained silent, waiting for him to provide a reasonable explanation for the weapon's presence next to his seat.
Kokichi could see that the suspicion towards him was growing, and he seemed increasingly nervous and uncomfortable with the lack of control over the situation.
"Kokichi would never hurt anyone! You're all just jumping to conclusions!"
Gonta spoke up earnestly, defending Kokichi with a look of indignation on his face.
His unexpected intervention was a welcome surprise to Kokichi, who now looked slightly more confident with Gonta's defense.
"And anyway, how do we know that the murder weapon belongs to Kokichi?"
Gonta continued, his tone firm and persuasive as he added another argument to his defense.
His words caused the class to raise their brows once more, as the mystery of which character the weapon belonged to was suddenly in doubt.
"Yeah, that's true!"
Kaito, who had been remaining silent until now, chimed in to add his agreement. There was a note of uncertainty in his tone, as he seemed to be considering Gonta's argument and its validity.
The class was still debating the matter when...
"Alright everyone, time for a split debate!"
Monokuma proclaimed, setting the sides and teams for the debate.
The class was already divided on the matter of Kokichi's guilt or innocence, so this split debate would be an opportunity to organize everyone's thoughts and present evidence for a more organized and efficient discussion.
As per the split debate, Shuichi and Ayanokoji had been placed on the team arguing for Kokichi's guilt, while Kaito and Gonta had been placed on the team arguing for his innocence.
This divide would certainly cause a clash of two opposing viewpoints, but it would also allow for a thorough examination of evidence and arguments.
The class stood waiting for the debate to begin, as it seemed that everyone was eager to jump into the fray and take their respective sides.
"Ayanokoji and Shuichi, you two better start your team off with something strong if you want to convince the rest of us of Kokichi's guilt."
Monokuma spoke up, his tone amused as he waited for Shuichi and ayanokoji to begin their arguments.
"And Kaito and Gonta, you need to make sure that your team offers a compelling reason for us to believe that Kokichi is innocent."
The bear's words were clear and direct as he directed his attention towards the teams on either side. It was clear that the pressure was on both sides to present their strongest arguments to sway the class.
"This split debate will be decided by all of you. Whichever team has the most votes for their argument is the winner!"
Monokuma concluded, and now the two teams prepared their arguments to present to the rest of the class and win them over.
"We'll present evidence of Kokichi having committed the murder."
Shuichi spoke sharply and confidently, his tone showing no hesitation as the debate began.
Ayanokoji remained silent and stoic behind him, offering Shuichi his complete support and allowing him to make his argument first.
"Evidence? What evidence?"
Kokichi spoke up immediately, his tone defensive and angry as he rejected Shuichi's statement.
The split debate had begun in full force, with Kokichi's quick reply showing that the battle for public opinion had already begun.
"You were the last one to talk to Maki. Your 'conversation' with her before her death is suspicious.
And that weapon that was found near your seat could have been used to kill her."
Shuichi stated the known facts in a clear and concise manner, without leaving room for questions or argument.
"That's some flimsy evidence..."
Kokichi said with a dismissive wave of his hand, clearly not swayed by Shuichi's argument.
"I never even saw the weapon near my seat, and my conversation with Maki was just normal conversation, not suspicious at all! Even Gonta was there and he can vouch for me!"
Kokichi raised up another argument to counter his guilt, this time bringing Gonta into the mix as his alibi.
"So what if Gonta vouches for you? What does that prove?"
Shuichi replied with a note of frustration in his tone, his patience clearly starting to run thin.
He was eager to convince everyone that Kokichi was guilty, but the latter's defiance and denial were starting to frustrate him.
"It means that Gonta was there with me the whole time, and he can say that I didn't kill Maki!"
Kokichi's tone was full of confidence as he defended himself, but Shuchi saw right through it and was eager to counter this rebuttal.
"And what if Gonta is lying too? How do we know that you didn't threaten or blackmail him somehow?"
Shuichi responded with a sneer, implying that Kokichi was manipulating the kind-hearted Gonta to help him in his coverup.
"Wha-"
Kokichi's face grew red as he tried to protest Shuichi's insinuations.
He was starting to feel cornered and pressured, as it seemed like every possibility was being considered to show his alleged guilt.
"Kokichi..."
Ayanokoji spoke up with a sharp tone, his eyes staring directly at Kokichi as he continued.
"Could you please tell us what kind of conversation you and Maki had?"
"We were just talking about normal stuff! You know, the weather, small talks, etc."
Kokichi replied, his voice a bit shaky as he explained their conversation in a generalized way. He avoided giving too many details about the conversation, preferring to make the points as broad and unspecific as possible.
"That's the same thing you told us earlier, but is that all there was to it?"
"The conversation between you and Maki couldn't have been that uninteresting. It's just strange how vague you're being about it."
Shuichi pressed on, not satisfied with Kokichi's explanation of their conversation.
"We talked about other things too, but nothing important. It really was just some normal conversations."
Kokichi insisted, his voice starting to sound less confident as the interrogation continued.
"Gonta thinks Kokichi's conversation with Maki was normal and not suspicious at all!"
Gonta interjected, defending Kokichi's version of their conversation as he spoke up for his friend.
"Okay, let's say that your conversation was benign and ordinary..."
Shuichi responded, his tone sounding a bit dismissive of Gonta's arguments.
"But can you prove that this conversation did indeed take place?"
"We can't prove it, I didn't record it or anything. But Gonta was there! He heard everything we said!"
Kokichi responded instantly, trying to bring Gonta into the argument as his alibi again.
"That's true!"
Gonta chimed in to back up Kokichi's version of events, affirming that he had indeed been present during their conversation and was a witness to its normality.
" We can't prove it either way" said kaito.
"Okay, Gonta can vouch that he was present during your conversation. But that doesn't prove the conversation was as normal as you say it is."
Shuichi continued to press Kokichi's claims, his tone growing increasingly stern as he did so.
"And then, you were the last person to be seen with Maki before her death, and now this murder weapon has turned up near your seat..."
Ayanokoji added his own accusation toward Kokichi, reinforcing the previous point that was made by Shuichi.
" kokichi oma.... you're lying aren't you?"
" What?" Said shuichi in confusion.
"W-What?"
Kokichi stuttered with surprise, his confidence shaking at Ayanokoji's sudden accusation.
He quickly recovered, however, and put up another defense.
"Hey! I'm not a liar! I wouldn't lie! You have no proof that I've done anything wrong, I swear!"
" You didn't meet her at all.."
"W-What proof do you have of that?"
Kokichi spoke with sudden nervousness, his tone shaking as he looked at Ayanokoji.
He knew he didn't have much of a leg to stand on, but he was still adamant about maintaining his innocence.
" I was the one who last saw maki harukawa before her death, not kokichi oma which makes his claim about seeing her all the more suspicious"
" H-Huh?!..."
" The knife...the bloody knife we found next to your chair speaks more than truth than your act , kokichi oma.."
This time, there was no rebuttal from Kokichi.
He froze with shock and realization, realizing how badly his lie had been exploited by Ayanokoji. There was no way he could defend against this, and he could see that the class's opinion was starting to turn against him.
It seemed that his fate was sealed, and he could do nothing but wait for the final vote...
"So... it seems that the verdict is out.
After this split debate, the class was unanimously convinced that Kokichi was guilty and responsible for Maki's murder."
Monokuma spoke up and announced their decision.
His tone was filled with satisfaction as he declared Kokichi's guilt, with no one daring to dissent otherwise.
The class was now split among themselves, as Gonta and Kaito began to raise their voices in protest against the verdict.
"There is no way Kokichi did this..."
Gonta insisted, defending his roommate's innocence with a firm conviction.
"Right! This is a setup! No way it's this easy!"
Kaito agreed excitedly, feeling the mystery was still ongoing.
" We have to avenge maki roll! And I won't let anyone make the wrong choice here!"
" Kaito..."