"I suppose we could start with this morning... Five of us gathered together in the dining hall- Makoto, Y/n, Hina, 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.", Sakura said
"And as soon as we split up, Kyoko went missing", Hina said
"Soon after that, Hina found Celeste in the rec room, and quickly came to get me, Makoto and Y/n".
"It seems I was unconscious for about an hour after I was attacked by my mystery assailant. I know it was an hour because I remember being attacked a little after 7", Celeste said
"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 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 leaving the nurse's office...Celeste had saw something moving around at the top of the stairs", Sakura said
"When Celeste told us that, we decided to split up and search the 2nd floor. And soon after that...", Makoto said
"I saw someone moving around on the 3rd floor, and I yelled out to everyone as soon as I did", Celeste said
"And then, not long after that, Hifumi had let out a blood curdling scream", you said
"At that point we decided to divide up into two groups", Makoto said. "Celeste, Hina, Y/n, 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".
"Me and Makoto had left Celeste and Hina there and headed back to the 3rd floor, to let the others know what happened", you said
"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".
"And when me and Y/n 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 something very surprising. 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 said
"I think that about covers it", Makoto said
"I see... The whole thing sounds exceptionally complicated. It certainly seems to me that these are not a simple series of connected events", Kyoko said
"Okay, well...if that's true, then what?", Makoto asked
"Rather than a single series of events, I think we have to consider each murder a separate situation. And from there, we can uncover the contradictions surrounding all of them. Now then, let's get started, beginning with what happened to Taka... So, regarding Taka's death...I wonder if he died before Hifumi... Or perhaps it was after"?
"We already know what order they were killed in!", Hina said. "Taka came last"!
"What makes you say that?", Sakura asked
"Because of the numbering of the Justice Hammers"!
"It's true that Hifumi was killed with Justice Hammer 3...while Taka's death came from a swing of Justice Hammer 4", Byakuya said
"See? So it's obvious Taka came after"!
"Hold on, there's no reason to assume that the hammers were used in the same order as their hammers!", Makoto said. "If anything, that's just another way the killer tried to disguise their actions".
"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 said
"Taka's wristwatch! See? Look. It broke with the hands pointing just past 6 o'clock".
"It must have gotten broken when he was attacked by the killer. Because as of last night...Taka was irritated that I had shown up late and he pointed at his wristwatch and said it's almost 10 o'clock", you said
"So if it wasn't broken after 6 last night, then he must have been attacked around 6 this morning", Kyoko said
"And that would be his official time of death", Makoto finished
"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".
"That's right. Taka was killed before any of the other incidents took place", Kyoko said
"That simple fact slipped past all of us", you said. "We made the wrong assumption about the order of the events all because of those Justice Hammers".
"That's exactly why the culprit wrote the numbers on each hammer, and had then increase in size. That way, when we saw how they were used in each incident, we'd easily make that wrong assumption", Byakuya said
"Now, if Taka *was* killed around 6, then everyone's alibis for his murder go out the window", Kyoko said. "Because when he was killed, we hadn't met up in the dining hall yet".
"That may be true in the case of Taka's murder...but all of our alibis still hold true for Hifumi's death", Sakura said
"That's right... With him at least, we're all safe...", Hina said. "When we heard Hifumi screaming, we were all together. Except for Hiro and Kyoko... 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!", Genocide Jill said
"Oh, I know! They must've recorded him screaming on a tape or something, then played it later on!", Hiro said
"If that's true, where's the tape?", Hina asked
"I dunno".
"Don't just go makin' stuff up"!
"Anyway, we all have rock-solid alibis for when we heard Hifumi scream. Since all of us were there together, clearly none of us could have killed him".
"And it does not stop there. There was also the moment when we discovered his 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", Celeste said
"Well, don't forget, I was passed out in the equipment room the whole time"!
"Wait, then what if Genocide Jill did it!? She could've dragged Taka's body out of there right then!", Hiro said
"Even if she could pull that off, there's no way she could've carried Hifumi's body as well", you said. "Because, as we just said, she was passed out in the equipment room when his body disappeared".
"Besides, I didn't do either of 'em anyway"!
"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 certainly could have done those things", Celeste said
"Hmm... So what now, Kyoko?", Makoto asked
"For now, we can't get fixated on who did it, or we'll just keep going around in circles. So instead of 'who' I propose we start talking about 'how'... In particular, I think we need to figure out how Hifumi's body got moved", she said
"That's true. 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. 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 said
"Well, what if I told you there was a way to make the impossible possible?", Kyoko said
"What? How!?", Hina said
"If the dead body...were to move itself".
"Huh...?", Makoto said
"Th-The dead body m-moved on it's own!?", Hina said
"N-N-N-No! Not another gh-gh-gh-ghooooooooosss!", Hiro yelled
"I don't think it had anything to with the occult. I think what she's implying is...we thought Hifumi was dead, but perhaps in reality he was still alive", Byakuya said
"He was...alive!?", Hina exclaimed
"Are you saying Hifumi wasn't carried out of the nurse's office, but simply walked out on his own?", Sakura said
"But I mean...we found his body! He was dead"!
"He was probably just *playing* dead", you said
"That... It isn't possible...!", Celeste said
"Hell yeah it is. Think back to when the body discovery was made. Me, Hina, Makoto and Celeste heard it when we found Hifumi. But on the other hand, Sakura, Toko and Byakuya heard it when they found Taka's body".
"And what is you point? The announcement still played right after we discovered his body", Celeste said
"That's true. But like I said, Celeste, that was the same time that Taka's body was found".
"That's right. It wasn't long after finding his body that we heard the announcement", Byakuya said
"So there's a good chance we've made a mistake in there somewhere", Makoto said. "I think we've confused whether the announcement was for Hifumi or Taka".
"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 said
"No that can't be it. After all, the body discovery announcement was played again in the repository when we rediscovered the two bodies. Remember that the announcement is only played when three or more people discover a body", you said
"Exactly. If we were actually 're'discovering both bodies, the announcement shouldn't have played", Byakuya said
"Then in reality... When the two dead bodies were rediscovered, one of them was actually...being discovered for the first time!", Makoto said
"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 said
"That has to be it", you said
"So that settles it! Hifumi was still alive when we found him in the nurse's office!", Hina said
~~Time Skip brought to you by this long ass trial that I will not bore you with lmao~~
After a long and somewhat hard trial, in the end, the culprit behind everything was Celeste. She had Hifumi as her accomplice from the very start and convinced him to kill Taka. Then soon after Hifumi did that, Celeste backstabbed him and killed him...
"It's basically a formality at thus point, but once again you're totally correct! The blackened this time...the true killer who devised the whole stinkin' scheme, was...Celestia Ludenberg! Or more precisely...Taeko Yasuhirooooo!", Monokuma announced
"I lost... Well, that suck", Celeste said. "I guess trying to work with someone else was a mistake, after all. Hifumi's ineptitude was beyond all my calculations".
"So you really did approach Hifumi with this plan?", Kyoko asked. "But how did you get him to agree? I can't imagine he would have happily agreed to commit murder".
"I'm sure she relied on her specialty- lying", Byakuya said
"My specialty? Don't make me laugh. I didn't have to lie to get him to agree".
"Then did you use...you know..."?
"I knew you'd figure it out, Kyoko. You're absolutely right. To get Hifumi to act as my accomplice...I used 'her'. For everyone who's still left, I'll avoid mentioning it by name, but...it was the one thing Hifumi and Taka were both super into".
"What? What what what!? What are you talking about!?", Monokuma said
"Don't interrupt. We're in the middle of a very important conversation here", Kyoko said
"I'm totally out of the loop, as usual. How sad...".
"Then you're the one that stole it?", you asked
"That's right".
"And you used it to drag Hifumi into the plan you'd come up with".
"Right again. Last night, after we had our meeting about it'd disappeared, I paid Hifumi a little visit".
~~~
"Oh, um...what are you doing here?", Hifumi asked
"I was hoping I could talk to you. Alone", Celeste said. "It is about what was stolen. I know who did it...".
"What..."?
"It was Taka. He stole it".
"What"!?
"And I have proof. Would you like to see it"?
Celeste then showed a picture of you-know-what in Taka's room earlier...
"Grrn... So it WAS him! But how did he do it!? She was supposed to yell if either of us got close to her"!
"You are correct. Which is why Taka forced me to steal it".
"Whaaaaaaat"!?
"Please forgive me. He...he threatened me".
"H-He did..."?
"He came to my room last night unannounced, and then... It's hard for me to even say... He...abused me...".
"What"!?
"And he...he took pictures. He said if I did not do as he asked, he would show them to everyone... So I...I had no choice...".
"Th-That's a crime! An absolute crime! He...! I mean, I knew he'd gone a little crazy, but...! I never imagined he would...would go that far! I'm about to say something I've never said before in my life... I'm going to kill him! I'm going to f...f...f-fucking kill him"!
"Wait, please! If you go now, you will be playing right into his hands"!
"Huh..."?
"Taka is planning to use her...to escape. And he made *you* his target...".
"Escape? You don't mean..."?
"Taka is going to try to kill you".
"Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat"!?
"And all so he can keep her to himself...".
"Th-That bastard! Bastard bastard bastard BASTARD"!
"Can we allow him to continue with these barbaric acts"?
"Absolutely not! How could I!? She...she... I have to save heeeeeeeeerr"!!
"Then...would you like to join with me? It just so happens, I have come up with a plan...".
"Huh..."?
"I have devised a way to reclaim what he has stolen, and escape this dreadful school. Hmhm... Hehehehe... And with that, it is complete...".
"Huh? What are you talking about"?
"Oh, nothing...
~~~
"Hifumi agreed without a second thought. Hmhm. The effect that item had on him was...remarkable. The power of love... Even a love as twisted as that can still drive people mad, it would seem".
"You disgust me...", Hiro said
"I have another question for you. Was that strange costume Hifumi's creation?", you asked
"Yeah. It was a real pain in the butt, too. All I asked him to do was make something to hide the face and general body size. I had no idea he'd make something like...that. But it's my fault for picking him".
"So...why'd you decided to make me the suspect?", Hiro asked
"Because you're stupid", Celeste said
"That's it"!?
"And in that regard, I made the right choice. I'm so glad your stupidity surpassed my every expectation. Life must have been tough on your parents, though".
"I feel like I could cry...".
"But when you were explaining your plan to Hifumi, how did you explain the part about him playing dead?", Sakura asked
"What she's asking is, what was Hifumi supposed to do after that, assuming you had actually let him live?", Byakuya said
"That's simple. After he did his part and pretended to be dead, once someone showed up...I told him to say he'd been seriously wounded, he was on the verge of death, but he just barely held on".
"And he really believed that?", Hina said
"Well of course, that wasn't all there was to it. As I explained it to Hifumi, the plan was... While you were all questioning him about what had happened to him, I was going to murder someone else. At that point, Hifumi would have an alibi, so nobody could doubt him. I told him that, and he believed it".
"It all seems very...straightforward. Stereotypical", Byakuya said
"I just matched the lie to the level of the opponent. In fact, Hifumi ate it up. He believed the lie wholeheartedly, right up until the moment of his death".
"So you had planned to kill him all along!", Sakura said
"...But of course. There would have been no point to my plan if the one who pretended to be dead did not end up dead himself".
"How can human life mean so little to you...?", Hina said
"That's a non-issue. I simply did everything in my power to win".
"Now you sound like Byakuya !", Hiro said
"No, he derives his pleasure from the thrill of the hunt. In that aspect, we are nothing alike".
"Then...what made you take things this far?", Kyoko asked
"Was it really...just for money?", Hina asked
"Are you talking about the ten million dollars Monokuma offered us? That *is* a lot of money, it's true. But that's not all there is to it. From the moment our new life here began, my only thought has been escape".
"B-But...all along you've been saying how we have to accept living here!", Hiro said
"Obviously that was a lie"!
"Hyah"!
"I couldn't take it! I hated it from day one! More than anyone anyone ANYONE else in here! I wanted to get out! Every day was fresh torture! And do you wanna know why? HUH!? Because...I had a dream. And accepting a life here would have meant nothing less than giving up on my dream forever... And there was no way...that I could ever do that. In the underground world of gambling, I risked my life to make a metaphorical killing. And it was all for that dream...".
"And what was this dream of yours...?", Makoto asked
"To live in a European castle".
"A c-castle"?
"And gather handsome men from all over the world to serve as my butlers-slash-bodyguards. I was going to make them dress up like vampires and satisfy my every need. Once I obtained that, I would have created a perfectly aesthetic world of decadence... Living the rest of my life there was my only dream, my only goal... That's what life is all ABOUT! Combined with my own winnings, Monokuma's ten million dollars would have made that dream a reality. I got right to the edge, but... Unfortunately, my dream has been scattered to the wind. Still, I don't have any regrets. I pursued my dream till the very end, so why would I"?
"You sound so passionate, but...you were really able to kill your own friends for it?", Hina said
"Are you asking me to feel guilty? That's a pointless endeavor. I think nothing of sacrificing others for my own ends. I feel nothing. That's all there is to me. That's what makes me...complete. Hmhm. Isn't it terrifying how different our values are? There's simply no room for understanding".
"Th-That's what *we* should be saying. And plus... How can you be so calm? Don't you realize you're about to die? Why aren't you scared..."?
"Hmph. My ability to lie is unrivaled, and I take pride in that. It's not just other people- I can even fool my own emotions. The conscious deceives the unconscious".
"And that's why you're not scared?", Makoto said
"That's right. I don't fear death. Kill me however you like. But you know, id I could be reincarnated... If I had a choice, then...I think I would like to come back as Marie Antoinette".
"You'd just get executed again...", you said
"Hmhm. Hehe...hehehe".
"You all done? Okay, then let's get rollin'! The blackened disturbed the peace, and must pay the price!", Monokuma said. "Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for...her! The Ultimate Gambler! Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME"!
"I guess I'll let Kyoko hold on to this", Celeste said
"This is..."!
"Will it really give you the hope you're looking for? I can't say I ever saw it that way... Which is why... Actually, it's not important. Well then...take care, everyone. Perhaps we'll meet again, in another life".
"Isn't it just awful? Someone couldn't cut free of their regrets from the outside world, and so ore people had to die... You guys are still young! You need to place more value on your lives! Jeez... And here I thought you guys were gonna pass the torch of hope to the next generation"!
"Wh-What do I care about hope!? I'll throw it in the trash if you let me out of here!", Hiro said
"You really think he's gonna do that?", you said with an eyebrow raised
"Well! It was worth a shot"!
"You're all the embodiment of hope, whether you like it or not. And it's my destiny to knock you down one by one! It's sad, yes it is. But that reality just can't be avoided".
"Don't talk like you're not responsible...", Makoto said. "How long are you gonna make us keep going through this!? What do you want from us"!?
"God, I'm so sick of people asking me that! Give it a rest already! So anyway... Kyoko, did I see you get some kind of key-type object from Celeste? So uh...what's the deal with that"?
"..."
"Huh? What's the matter"?
"I'll answer your question, if you answer mine. What did you do? What did you...do to me"?
"...What"!?
"Answer me. What did you do to my body"?
"Uwaaaah! Oh man, oh jeez... Oh man, oh jeez! What do you mean, what did I...do!? I-I have no idea! I don't know anything about it..."!
"..."
"Okay, things are getting kinda awkward. I think it's about time I got out of here... Meanwhile, you guys can go on enjoying your school life. If you get lonely, gimme a shout! Not that I'll do anything about it, of course! Puhuhu... See ya"!
"Hey, Kyoko. Monokuma already mentioned it, but... What's the key that Celeste gave you?", Makoto said
"Most likely...it's the key to one of the dressing room lockers".
"What!? Then that means...!", Hina said
"Celeste probably hid it in there", you said
"I suppose sometimes it's easiest to miss what's right beneath your nose. Well then, we'd better go check", Sakura said
"Good idea".
Everyone then left the courtroom and headed to the dressing room. Once you all had got there, Kyoko looked back at everyone and said...
"I'm going to go on alone from here. Everyone else head to the dinning hall. I'll check in with you later".
"Why, exactly, are you going alone?", Byakuya asked
"Do you even have to ask?", Kyoko said
As she spoke, she glanced quickly ate the surveillance camera...
"That's not what I mean. Why *you*? There's still the risk of a spy, you know".
"..."
"Then I'll go, too", Makoto said
"You..."?
"Please, let me go"!
"Standing here arguing is just going to draw more attention to us".
"Then stop your bitching and haul ass to the dinning hall", you said
"Hmph. Do whatever you want".
"Thank you, Byakuya. And thank you, Y/n".
"No problem! Good luck you two".
"Then it's up to you now", Sakura said
"I'm gonna go to the dining hall, okay?", Hiro said
"Huh? So Makoto and Kyoko are gonna go...together?", Hina said. "Ahh! Does that mean what I think it means!? Good luck, Makoto! Girls like her are total pushovers when you show a little backbone"!
You and everyone else headed to the dining hall, leaving Makoto and Kyoko alone...