Disclaimer:I do not own Danganronpa. I honestly feel it's pointless to say this by this point, but there is always some lonely loser who gets offended if I don't.

-Read or I'll fart on your face-

A/N: Hey everyone. Here we are with yet another chapter. This is probably the longest one I've ever written, and it would've been even longer if I hadn't decided to split it. I wanted to have the trial for Sakura's death to be one chapter long, but it turned out way bigger than that, so I figured I'd finish it in another chapter or else it'd be too tiring to read it all at once.

Again, if you play the game and read this fanfic at the same time, you'll notice the dialogues are pretty much the same. I made use of it the best I could to make it as close to canon as possible. Of course, it's not just a blatant copy of the events of the game. I made sure to create special dialogues of my own, which are relevant to the story, and scatter them through the story to create and entire new scenario for you guys. I hope you enjoy it.

Please, don't forget to review if you're enjoying it. I know I always ask that, but the very reason I'm taking my time to upload this is to give you guys something to enjoy. So I'd appreciate knowing if my work is being well recieved.

On with it!

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Diiiing Doooong... Diiiing Doooong...

No more than a few minutes after he reached his room, he heard a certain bell he dreaded ring through the entire school, barely giving him enough time to rest or to let him sort out his thoughts from the long day of discoveries he had.

Soon after, all the TVs in the facility blared to life, including of course the one in the young man's room. He frowned in annoyance as he didn't even spare a glance at said tv, as he knew all too well what would come from the useless home appliance. It was used for literally three things only, and unlike an actual TV, providing them with numerous channels to watch wasn't one of them. It was used either to inform them of the time, to let them know a body was discovered, or to summon them to some location. This time wasn't any different, as he expected.

"... ...Whoopsies, I dozed off there! You guys' investigation was so dull, I couldn't even stay awake! Can I do this? Y'all ready? Y'all okay if I do this? A'ight kids, it's Class Trial time! Hurry your butts over to the usual place! The red door on the first floor of the school zone. Upupu, seeee you soooon!"

The young man watched the TV turn off in silence, appreciating the fact that the image of the accursed bear disappeared from sight along with it's annoying voice, at least for now.

Sighing, he got up from his bed. He had the feeliing that they were having less and less time to investigate with each trial, but he figured it would be pointless to think about it. Instead of leaving his room, the young man paid a quick visit to his shower room, where he proceeded to take off his glasses and throw some water on his face. He didn't do so to keep himself awake, but rather to help him focus. He was tired, but not to the point of wanting to sleep. Still, that didn't mean he'd let his tiredness influence his actions, or the facts that he needed to be certain of for the trial.

After studying his reflection for some time for no particular reason, he finally left his room and made his way to the school grounds. Despite being annoyed with the fact he'd have to deal with yet another class trial, he was in a rather good mood, thanks to a little discovery he made not too long ago. Just like when he found out the puppetmaster's identity, he found something he considered pretty interesting by accident, and since under normal circumstances he'd probably never find out what he did, that made the discovery even more satisfying.

It happened when he finally reached his room after a long day of exploring the academy. At that point, his tired body was screaming for him to settle down and relax for a while, but obviously he couldn't give himself the luxury of doing so. He knew the class trial would start soon, and before that he needed to get his facts straight. He thought of going to the library, but he figured there was no better place to think other than his room, as it kept unwanted people away from him. With that in mind, he endured yet another little trip from the fourth floor to the dorms.

That's when he absentmindedly unlocked his room's door and entered. Lost in his thoughts, he welcomed the familiar atmosphere of his little space and sat on his bed. Immediately his body yearned for more, but he refused to lay down as it would be impossible to get up afterwards. Feeling hot, he removed his black jacket and undid a few buttons of his white undershirt. He was sweating after moving around so much in his suit, so he figured he could at least have a change of clothes for the trial. Not that it would make much of a difference, since he pretty much only had similar suits in his wardrobe. Naturally, before removing his clothes, the first thing he did was empty his pockets.

That's when he noticed it.

"...Huh...? Why is my room's key in my pocket...? It should be in-"

When he turned to face his door, he was pretty confused. But as soon as realization hit him, he knew at that moment that he had found out something important... And certainly very fascinating.

The key on his door... Was the key he found on the headmaster's office.

"...Interesting."

He smirked.

He made his way through the hallways, his smirk from minutes ago back on his face as he remembered the reason.

"What happened there... It wasn't just a coincidence. Monokuma explicitly stated that the dorm rooms are extremely secure, with a lock which cannot be picked and sophisticated keys which are hard to replicate. Therefore it's impossible that this key in my pocket is a spare one, specially one for my room. That'd be too random."

On his way to the red door, he saw Fukawa and Hagakure, so he slowed down. They didn't seen to be walking together, both unusually quiet even for their standards. He didn't want to be seen by the woman now, so he waited until they disappeared through the corridors before slowly resuming his pace.

"The key even opened the data processing's door. For it to open such distinct doors can only mean one thing: What I have in my possession is probably some kind of master key. With it, I can enter any room in this academy at will, and not even her can prevent me from doing so."

Finally, he reached the red door. He wasn't surprised to find a few already inside, specially those he saw a while ago. Hagakure had a nervous look on his face, staring fixedly into the wall and tapping his foot, as if avoiding eye contact with everyone. Fukawa blushed furiously at the sight of Togami, fidgeting nervously with her hands and wearing a perverted smile. Togami was more annoyed than uncomfortable at this point. Since the girl stated her obvious attraction towards him, his life became a living hell.

"H-Helloooo..." Surprisingly, she attempted a normal greeting this time. Togami wasn't really in the mood for talking as usual, but figured he should reply. He was arrongant but at least he had some manners.

"Hm." That was his response. For Fukawa, that was more than what she could've expected.

"H-How did... T-Theeee investigation go...?" Her timid tone remained the same. That's when Togami noticed she wasn't in her Genocider persona anymore, unlike before. She kept fidgeting nervously with her fingers. Seriously, how could she stalk him with a straight face and have such a hard time talking normally to him? Then again, the woman wasn't exactly the best example of normalcy.

The scion crossed his arms and looked sideways. "Hmph. Not even worth mentioning. Probably the easiest case I've ever solved..."

Fukawa's face brightened up "As expected of my white knight~! ...W-Wait... Y-You figured... everythiiiing out?" Her expression dropped drastically to one of... concern? That, along with Hagakure throwing a nervous side glance from where he stood, then looking away once the scion noticed it, caught Togami's attention. They were definitely acting weird, even weirder than usual.

It was then that he actually stopped to think about Fukawa's question, even though he never replied back. Had he really found out everything? Now that he thought about it, there were a few factors he definitely overlooked. He hadn't actually tried to figure out how the room had been sealed. Or even, who actually hit Oogami's head with the bottles. Hell, he hadn't even given the supposed 'dying message' he found in the magazine rack any attention. The weird behaviour of the two idiots definitely raised a few flags on his head.

"...That's right... I thought the one responsible for everything was the one I suspect of having poisoned Oogami... But those two... They're definitely hiding something. Are they involved somehow...?"

Eventually, Asahina showed up, which brought Togami back from his thoughts. Her glare didn't falter since he last saw her, and the raw display of anger made her feelings of distrust and accusation written all over her face. Fukawa retributed with a murderous glare of her own, acknowledging the animosity and reciprocrating with her own, while Hagakure grew noticiably more nervous, trying even harder to avoid eye contact. On further inspection, his face was deathly pale and he was sweating, but he, along with everyone else, were in complete silence.

Togami on the other hand remained impassive, ignoring the circus in front of him. New questions had emerged on his head at the worst possible time, as he had no ways of investigating anymore. Had he truly overlooked something, it would definitely come for him at the trial, and the thought made him angry at himself. He tried to think about the things he forgot about, but figured it would be pointless. He'd be tiring himself mentally for things he wouldn't even be able to confirm. He had no choice but to wait for the trial to see what would happen.

Not long after Asahina came Kirigiri, her face emotionless as always. She paid no one any mind and stood next to the elevator, apparently deep in thought. Togami watched her carefully, already expecting her to be a problem in the trial. He had to acknowledge the girl's talent and intuition, as she made interesting discoveries everyone overlooked in the past few trials. Definitely, she was someone to watch out for, and seeing her thinking made Togami wonder if she found out something she didn't.

As always, for some strange reason, Naegi was the last one to arrive, but before anyone could say anything, Monokuma made yet another random appearance.

"The Super Duper High School Fighter, lmao! A sealed room murder, lmao!" It said, earning a confused glare from nearly everyone.

"What are you doing?" Kirigiri asked, her tone implying slight annoyance despite her usual emotionlessness.

The bear chuckled. "I just realized how awesome acronyms are! Doesn't matter how depressing something is, throw an 'lmao' in there and suddenly it's bright and happy! For example: We found a decomposing body at our picnic, lmao!"

"That's just creepy, dude..." Hagakure commented.

"Then how about the other way around? Doesn't matter how happy something is, throw an 'FML' and suddenly it's dark and depressing! For example: I hope I can make a whole bunch of friends, FML!"

"You're right! That is sad, dude!" Hagakure commented yet again. At the very least, he didn't sound so nervous anymore.

"Please board the elevator at the back of the room, lmao! I'll go ahead and meet you there, FML!" And once again, Monokuma vanished and left the confused students behind.

"W-What was thaaaat... all about?" Fukawa wondered.

"Beats the hell outta me, dude..." Hagakure answered. The atmosphere had grown slightly less tense now.

That is, until Asahina butted in.

"Says the ones who 'beat the hell out of' Sakura... How can you be so happy-go-lucky... knowing you've killed another human being?"

Hagakure's nervous expression was back. "I-I'm not really... all that happy-go-lucky... And anywho, I didn't kill anyone either, dude!"

"I- I'm iiiinnocent... Don't you... call me a murderer!" Fukawa was still hostile towards the swimmer.

"Oh really?" Asahina replied, considering how ironic the bookworm's answer was.

"Either way, we'll know soon enough... There's no changing the fact that someone among us is the culprit." Togami said, having had enough of the bickering. His words were enough to bring back an uncomfortable silence.

"It's time to go... And put this case to rest..." With his own words at his back, Naegi took a step towards the elevator.

In silence, the others entered as well... and the door creaked shut. It started it's descent, letting out a low, mechanical grumble as it sank deeper and deeper into the earth. Not a single soul inside the moving machinery could help but notice how spacious the elevator kept getting with each trial. What started as fifteen was now down to six... And this trial could reduce that number even further.

Everyone was silent, deep in their own thoughts. Some griefed the loss of their fallen friends, some tried to hide their insecurities, some wished the whole incident would end soon with no more casualties. But only one had the Super Duper High School Fashionista in their mind. Only that person knew the mystery behind the puppetmaster's identity, and only that person had plans to eventually meet and get answers from said mastermind. The thought made the person somewhat anxious, but he wouldn't falter.

"Once this trial is done... It'll be just you and me, Enoshima Junko. Be prepared..."

And then, as usual, with no sign or warning... the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened, and one by one, the students left, entering yet another courtroom where a certain someone was already waiting.

"Weeeell, it looks like we're down to six... So few! So lonely!" It said.

Totally out of his character, Naegi couldn't hide his anger. "What are you talking about?! It's all... It's all your fault!"

The bear just giggled in it's usual manner. "Is it gonna be even lonelier after this Class Trial... or is this going to be the end of the academic coliseum?" It's anticipation made everyone sick. "Well, let's get this party started! Go find the seat with your name on it!"

The students did as they were told, for the fourth time now.

And with that...

The court was now in session.

...

...

...

"Let's start with a simple explanation! You guys' votes determine the trial's outcome. Finger the true villain, and only the villain gets punished. But make the wrong accusation... and everyone else gets punished, leaving your deciever to graduate, freeee and cleeeear!"

Everyone wondered why the bear would bother making the same explanation for the fourth time, but no one said a thing.

"Leeeet's see... Where should we begin?" It continued.

"We know... who the killer is already!" Asahina started the 'discussion'. There were mixed reactions among the involved, but Monokuma's was one of amusement.

"Whoa! Gettin' some major déja vu here!"

The swimmer continued. "Sakura was killed by... one of you three: Togami, Fukawa, or Hagakure! You all hated Sakura!"

Togami smirked. How predictable. "Hmph... You cretin..."

"I- I had nothing... to do with it..." Fukawa bit her finger.

"Y- Y- Y- Yeah dude! I- I- I wouldn't... K-Kill anyone, dude!" Hagakure was back to being a scaredy-cat.

"No excuses!" The swimmer seemed pretty confident of her statement. "One of you three... Killed Sakura!"

"And why do you think we did it?" Togami asked feeling disinterested. He knew the woman had nothing to support her claims and was accusing them out of spite.

"You had motives! You all hated Sakura!"

The scion rolled his eyes. "That's not even worth justifying with a rebuttal."

"Shut up! There's no doubt... it's because of one of you...! That Sakura's dead!"

"Good riddance."

Everyone's eyes went to Togami at the same time. Some seconds passed in silence as everyone processed the words that just left the scion's mouth.

Asahina was flabbergasted. "W-... What... did you say...?"

"I said good riddance to a worthless piece of junk." He stated, his words as cold as ice. No one could mutter a reply.

"What's wrong?" He adjusted his glasses. "Don't tell me you expected I'd feel any sympathy for the puppetmaster's lackey?"

Asahina's eyes teared up. "...H-How... can you say that?! You... You monster! You're heartless!" She yelled, not even realizing she was crying.

"Heartless?" He gritted his teeth. "Stop barking already. You claim you're mourning the death of someone who has betrayed everyone since the beginning? Someone who has been giving information and who knows what else to our enemy? Either you're hopelessly ignorant or a complete and utter moron."

"Togami...! You're crossing the line! Y-You can't possibly mean those things...!" Naegi stared incredulously at Togami.

The scion, however, maintained his condescending glare. "I mean it all. I couldn't care less."

"Shut the hell up! Sakura... She never betrayed us! She... She considered us all her friends! She said... She wanted to fix things! She just wanted... You to be friends with her! But you all hated her!" She wiped her tears.

"You seriously suspect us just 'cause of that?" Hagakure asked, despite being clear that in Togami's case it wasn't hatred. He literally felt nothing for someone he believed that betrayed him.

"You're inhuman... not a fiber of humanity in you!" Fukawa defended herself, earning Asahina's glare. Before things could get any worse, or keep straying further from the main topic, Naegi intervened, still refusing to believe someone could say such terrible things.

"The reason you suspect the three of them, Asahina, is because Oogami invited them to the rec room, right?"

She turned to the boy and nodded. "Exactly... Right before she was killed, too! There's no doubt about it! One of them is the murderer!" She faced the three people she was accusing. "Sakura invited you to meet with her. How is that NOT suspicious?! One of you three must be the culprit!"

Togami just crossed his arms and looked away, uninterested. "I admit I recieved her invitation... But I did not go."

"Liar!" Asahina yelled. "You... Just made pretty clear... How much you hate her! I know it must've been you!"

Togami sighed. "And here I was wondering how stupid a neanderthal like you could get. But I won't waste my time arguing with you. As I said, I did not go."

"M-Me neither... I didn't go..." Fukawa followed her 'white knight's' lead.

Hagakure followed both. "M-Me either... I didn't go see her, dude..."

Asahina gritted her teeth. "There's no way none of you went! Someone's lying!"

That's when Naegi remembered something.

"Hagakure, you dropped a small piece of paper while we were talking earlier, didn't you? With red polka dots on it..."

The shaman threw a surprised expression at the boy. "Wh- What is this all of a sudden, dude?!"

Asahina seemed surprised herself. "Red polka dots?" Her glare returned. "That's the same pattern as the wrapper on the candy I gave Sakura!"

"U-Umm... well... you see..."

"As soon as the storeroom opened, I took the entire box with that candy in it back to my room... There's no more candy like that left there!" Asahina gave Hagakure no room for answering.

"That raises the question: Where did you get that candy, Hagakure?" Naegi asked, not really wanting to doubt his friend...

"He could only have gotten it from Sakura!" Asahina accused, using Naegi's question to attack the troubled shaman.

"U-Uhhhh... W-Well, it's true that... Ogre gave it to me... But it happened a while ago! So that has nothing to do with this!"

"When... Did she give it to you?" The swimmer's expression was seriously scaring Hagakure... And Naegi, too.

"The last time you saw Oogami, Hagakure... was when we were in the infirmary with Asahina, wasn't it?"

Togami took a moment to think about Naegi's question. He wasn't sure from where, but he heard about that incident. Apparently, Fukawa- as Genocider Shou- and Asahina got into a fight, and the latter ended up hurt. She was taken to the infirmary by Naegi and Hagakure. There, Oogami showed up, angry at the fact that her 'friend' was hurt by a psychotic serial killer, and stormed out of the infirmary. That's all he knew about the incident, but seeing as how Fukawa was present at the trial, it was safe to assume Oogami didn't chop her head off.

Then again, he couldn't help but remember the supposed dying message he found. But he figured he should watch the unfolding scene before reaching any conclusions.

"S-Soooo... She gave it to me before then, dude..."

Naegi furrowed his brows. "Hagakure... What you're claiming doesn't make sense... Asahina didn't give Oogami any candy until after they left the infirmary. If the last time you came in contact with Oogami was in the infirmary, you couldn't have that wrapper!"

Hagakure wasn't expecting such a revelation. "Well lookit that! W-Well... um... uh..."

Silence.

Then, an explosion.

"Yeah, I saw 'er! Me and Ogre met in the rec room! You got a problem with that?!"

"Wh- What are you getting mad about?" That was definitely the first time Fukawa saw the shaman angry, so it was a natural question.

He went back to being nervous. "But that's all I did, dude! I didn't do anything to her! Please, believe me!"

"Th- That's not suspicious or anything..." Fukawa said. There was something behind her words that made Hagakure angry. Was it... Sarcasm?

His face got red with anger. "You're the suspicious one, dude!"

"Again, why are you getting mad?"

Togami watched silently the two idiots quarrel. Both were suspicious the way he saw it, and from the others's faces, they had the same feeling.

"My anger's justified, man! You're the culprit, 'Kawa! And I've got proof, too!"

His accusation made the bookword bit her finger again. "Whaaaat? Proof? What proof?"

"Her shining message, dude!" Everyone sweatdropped. He continued. "There was a bloody message left at the scene that said 'FUKAWA'." He then noticed the way everyone looked at him and corrected himself. "Right! A dying message, dude! That's what you called it when Mai did it!"

"Hey! I saw that too!" Asahina sounded surprised. At that point, it was weird to see her in anything but her glare.

"See?! Seeeee?! 'Kawa's the killer, dude!"

"Wh- Wh- What are you talking about?! I didn't... I didn't do it!"

The shaman's face got red with anger again. "You don't know when to give up, do ya?!"

"Slow down a bit, Hagakure..." Kirigiri spoke up for the first time since the trial's start. "Could you tell me when, exactly, you saw that dying message?"

"Huh?" He clearly didn't expect that question. "Uhhh... I'm pretty sure... It was when we found Ogre's body, dude..."

Kirigiri closed her eyes and nodded. "That would have to be it. After all, Asahina refused to let you investigate the crime scene... Which means that would have been your only chance to see the dying message."

Togami narrowed his eyes.

"Hold on... That doesn't make sense. If he didn't investigate, he couldn't have found the magazine... After all..."

"When you found the magazine, Kirigiri, it was on the magazine rack, wasn't it?" Naegi asked, oblivious to the look the scion gave him.

"Yes, it was. I took the magazine from the rack and found the dying message inside. After we began our investigation, that is."

Togami glared in silence at the two. As expected... They couldn't be underestimated. Both had noticed the inconsistencies in the shaman's testimony... But then again, he was surprised that the others couldn't. It wasn't really that hard to figure out.

"Which means your testimony doesn't add up, Hagakure." Naegi said, hoping to be wrong on what crossed his head, concerning the shaman...

"D-Doesn't add up? Where'd you learn math, dude?! Everything adds up just fine! I saw the dying message... When we found Ogre's body, dude!"

Kirigiri shook her head. "I found the dying message during my investigation... I took the magazine from inside the rack... and I saw the dying message inside it."

Hagakure gritted his teeth. "What're you tryin' to say? I don't see anything wrong!"

But Togami knew he was lying. And so did Naegi

"When we found Oogami's body, the magazine was inside the rack. Kirigiri didn't take it out of the rack until after we begun investigating. Therefore, you couldn't have seen the dying message, Hagakure, because you weren't in the room!"

Togami kept observing in silence.

"Hm... That explains why he was acting so strangely. It's clear... That he is the one who wrote that message. What an idiot..."

Hagakure's anger dissipated, and his face was now filled with... despair...?

"Bwaaaah!" He yelled, exasperated.

Naegi sighed. "Hagakure, tell us the truth... When did you see that dying message?"

"H-Hold on... Don't change the subject! When I saw it... isn't the issue! What matters is that Ogre's flying sausage says 'Kawa is the culprit, dude! No bout adout it!"

Asahina sweatdropped, pretty much like everyone else. "Th- There's so much with that... I don't even know where to start!"

Fukawa glared at him. "That's... what he's going for!"

Kirigiri brought her hand to her chin, implying that she was thinking. "First of all... was that 'dying message' actually even written by Oogami?"

"Say what?" Hagakure was taken by surprise again... "O-Of course she wrote it, dude... There's no question... Ogre wrote it, dude... Ogre 100%, absolutely, undoubtedly wrote it! I said it, so it had to be true, dude!"

Togami watched as Naegi tried to present the evidence that the shaman was lying, but the latter refused to let his speak, blurting out stupidities and, ironically, even demanding proof. But at that point, it was clear to everyone that Hagakure had some kind of involvement in the incident. Togami hadn't even considered it, taking into account that said shaman was a complete moron, if not retarded. Once again, he let something pass unnoticed by him... But not to Naegi...

"There's no chance Oogami wrote that 'dying message'. It appears to have been written with someone's finger... But both of her hands were perfectly clean. Not even a drop of blood on her fingers!" At some point Naegi managed to make his point to the shaman, who seemed genuinely surprised.

"Reaaaallyyyyyyy?" His face got blue.

"Then, who did write that 'dying message?" Asahina eyed him with suspicion.

Kirigiri spoke up. "Perhaps... Hagakure planted it there... It would explain how he knew about it."

"Nnn...nnnnn...nnnnnngh!" After finally realizing there was nothing he could say, Hagakure sighed. "Yes... That's correct..."

Asahina's eyes widened. "Whoa- He admitted it!"

"I thought that might have been the case..." Kirigiri confirmed her suspicions.

"But... Why would you plant fake evidence?" Naegi asked him.

"W-Well... You see..." His voice was weak... until it suddenly became a desperate yell. " 'Cause I killed Ogre!"

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Will you hear me out? Will you listen to my final words?" He sighed, not waiting for anyone to say anything. "Like it said in Ogre's note, I went to the rec room just before lunch..."

Finally, Togami spoke up. "You just went like it was no big deal? You're an imbecile..." It was beyond his understanding how someone could reach such levels of autism.

Hagakure decided to ignore the comment- mostly because it hurt.

"So, I showed up, dude, and... She told me to sit down, so I did, dude... But she said nothing, so I got nervous... Then she said she was sorry for making me wait, and that she was expecting others... I said it was ok... then she offered me the candy, dude..."

He paused, having a hard time talking about it. After all, in his head, he had murdered someone.

"After that, Ogre didn't say anything else, and the silence started wearing on me, dude... But then, outta nowhere, Ogre started whisperin' to herself... Somethin' like, 'This is the end... Today... It ends... Today, I'll put an end to everything'... When I heard that, it hit me! Ogre was planning to kill me! She was gonna kill me and get outta this place! I... I flipped, and then... and then... I saw an opening, so I grabbed one of the Monokuma Bottles on the cabinet and clocked her with it! I caught her by surprise, dude, whacking her with one good, hard thunk! She went limp... And then she never moved again..."

He sighed, closing his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Finally realizing what I'd done... I knew I'd be executed if I didn't do something... So I wrote 'FUKAWA' in blood in the magazine on the table and got right the hell outta there..."

"Y-You little- ...There's a special place in hell for people like you!" Fukawa was outraged.

"And that's everything that happened, dudes... Do anything you want with me, I'll take it..."

Asahina's glare was back, yay. "We're not just going to do anything... We're going to execute you... for murdering Sakura..." She turned to Monokuma, who was silent the whole time. "We can cast our ballots now, right? We've got our culprit right here!"

But Kirigiri interrupted her. "I don't believe Hagakure's done testifying yet..."

"Huh? What do you mean, not done?" The swimmer was visibly confused.

"What he's told us so far doesn't explain everything he did... And until everything's been explained, we can't stop asking questions."

Naegi brought his hand to his chin. "Now that you think about it, you never explained why you hid the magazine, did you, Hagakure?"

"Huh?"

"When we found the body, the magazine with the 'dying message' had been returned to the rack... Why would you intentionally make it more difficult to find? That defeats the purpose of the red herring." The luckster continued.

"Actually... About that, uh... I didn't hide it anywhere... I left it right there on the table..."

"What?" Naegi seemed surprised.

"L-Liar! He must be lying!" Fukawa blurted.

Kirigiri shook her head. "Having already confessed to the murder, I can't imagine he'd start lying now..."

"Then he's... telling the truth?" Asahina seemed conflicted, her expression a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Which would mean someone other than Hagakure put that magazine back in the rack... Which means he's not the only person who was in the rec room around the time of the murder..." Togami concluded.

"More than likely, that hypothesis is exactly right..." Kirigiri confirmed with a nod.

"...And it was you." The swimmer directed her glare at Togami and pointed her finger at him. He simply raised an eyebrown.

"...The hell?"

"Admit it! No one other than you... You say such cruel things about Sakura... That means... You must've helped to kill her! A monster like you... Is completely capable of that!"

Togami sighed. He adjusted his glasses, willing to waste some of his time to deliver his message.

"I grow tired of this. Let me make this clear so that I won't have to explain this to you again: I couldn't care less if you're angry at me for the things I've said and done. If you're going to accuse me of anything, then you better have evidence to support that. We're not here to listen to baseless assumptions, so it's in your best interest to stop provoking me and start doing something useful to help find the culprit."

"You-!"

"Asahina... Please. I know how you feel... But I honestly don't think Togami is the one we're looking for here." Kirigiri's voice was... soft.

It made the swimmer stop on her tracks and forget her anger, even if momentarily. She then looked at the white-haired girl, confused.

"Th- Then, who else was there?!" Asahina asked, tears forming on her eyes again.

"Assuming the're the person who hid the magazine... That would make them someone who would be inconvenienced if it were discovered..."

"The answer is obvious." Togami thought.

Apparently, Naegi reached the same conclusion. "It was Fukawa, wasn't it?"

The bookworm, still biting her lip, was caught off guard. "What?"

"I mean, who else would be inconvenienced by a 'dying message' other than the person whose name is on it?" Naegi explained himself.

Asahina turned her attention to the bookworm, her eyes full of suspicion. "Is it true? Did you go to the rec room, too?"

"Wh- Why... Would I?" Fukawa seemed nervous for a moment, but suddenly gritted her teeth in anger. "N-No, forget about that... N-None of this even matters! We already know... Who the killer is! H-He even... confessed to killing her!"

Luckily for her, the mentioned person confirmed her statement. "Yes, it's true. I did it."

But to their surprise...

"No, you didn't." Naegi spoke up;

"Wh- What are you doing speaking for him?!" Fukawa glared at the boy.

He dismissed the glare and continued. "Yes, Hagakure struck Oogami with a bottle. But that's not where this case ends..."

"It doesn't end there? What do you mean?" Asahina asked.

Kirigiri closed her eyes. "He means that Hagakure isn't the murderer..."

Fukawa sneered. "Wh- Wh- What are you talking about?! That's... That's not possible!"

"In that case, why don't we have him recount his testimony for us?" Kirigiri crossed her arms. "That would make it abundantly clear that he is not the culprit in this case..."

Hagakure didn't quite get it, but he was more than willing to not be framed as the killer. "Umm... So, whaddya want me to do?"

Kirigiri turned to him. "Just tell us exactly what you told us before... About when you attacked Oogami..."

"N-Not sure what the point of all this is... But you got it, dude!" He straightened himself. "I... whacked her upside the head... With one of the Monokuma bottles on the cabinet... One good, hard thunk from behind!"

The white-haired girl brought a hand to her chin. "When you say 'one good, hard thunk'... You're saying you only struck her once, right?"

"Yeah, I just hit her once, dude. When I did, it broke the bottle... And then... Ogre went limp..."

Fukawa grinned. "See? It's settled... Hagakure... Is the culprit!"

Naegi shook his head. "If Oogami died from Hagakure's blow, it doesn't explain why she had two wounds on her head..."

The shaman's eyes widened. "Huh? Two wounds?"

"Yes... She had two wounds on her head." Kirigiri nodded.

Togami frowned. He had examined the body and hadn't noticed the woman had two wounds. It was obvious she had been struck with something, but saying it was twice... That required some medical expertise he didn't possess... But somehow, that person had it...? Once again, the white-haired girl proved just how dangerous she was.

"So says the woman who makes a habit of touching every corpse she comes across. I see no reason to doubt her." The scion smirked.

Hagakure was at a loss. "But I only hit her once... So why did she have two wounds on her head?"

"Because she was actually struck twice- with a Monokuma bottle each time."

"H-Hold on a second! H-How can you... tell all that just by looking at the wounds on her head? Not only that she was struck twice... But that both were with Monokuma bottles?"

Now that was a question Togami himself was interested about. He wanted to see how much exactly the woman was able to deduce from something so vague as a look into one's wounds. That is, it that's all she did...

"Her wounds aren't the only evidence I have... The Monokuma Bottles at the scene support it as well. There was something obviously not right about the Monokuma Bottles I found there... And when you realize that, you'll know why she had to have been struck twice with Monokuma bottles. Think back to the rec room after the incident... There were four Monokuma Bottles on the cabinet, right? In addition, there was a single bottle's worth of shards and one Monokuma figure on the floor..."

"That's the bottle Hagakure broke when he struck Oogami, isn't it?" Naegi asked, trying to follow the girl's logic.

She nodded. "In other words, there were four full Monokuma Bottles and a single bottle's worth of shards at the scene... However, there should have been six Monokuma Bottles. One's missing...

Fukawa grew stiffer. "How... do you know there were a total... O-Of six bottles?"

"Easy. Just look at the pattern hidden in the set of bottles, and you'll understand."

Togami had to admit, he was impressed. Just as he expected, she figured out about the bottles by analyzing the pattern between the bottles. He hadn't figured it out until she brought it up, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. By looking at the scene and not paying attention, one would be led to believe only a single bottle was used. But it was clearly not the case.

Because the pattern was in...

"That's right! The chess pieces!" Naegi exclaimed. Togami 'hmph'-ed. Seemed like the luckster had the same deduction. "Every single on of the Monokuma figures in the bottle is holding a chess piece. King, rook, bishop, pawn... They are, indeed, all chess pieces. And then the figure in the broken bottle... Was holding a knight."

"Wh- Where are you... going with this?"

"You don't seem to be very familiar with chess. Then allow me to explain... There are a total of six different pieces in chess: King, queen, rook, knight, bishop and pawn. However, at the scene, there was only the king, rook, bishop, pawn... and the knight on the floor."

"Oh! There's no figure holding a queen!" Asahina stated, finally grasping the situation.

"Exactly. There were only five Monokuma bottles at the crime scene- one fewer than there should have been." Naegi confirmed.

Fukawa gritted her teeth. "Wh- Whaaaat? What does this stuff about chess matter?!"

Hagakure nodded. "We're in Japan, so it should be shogi, dude!"

"Precisely! ...Not! What I'm trying to say is... Sure, there may be a bottle missing... But there's no evidence linking that... To this murder... Not one bit... Maybe one... One had already gone missing... B-Before the murder!" The bookworm said, glaring from behind her glasses.

"Nope. The missing Monokuma Bottle is clearly connected to this case." Kirigiri stated confidently.

Fukawa pointed an accusing finger at her. "I-In what way?!"

"Consider what state the missing Monokuma Bottle would have to be in... and it should be obvious." She looked away, giving no more hints.

"In all likelihood, the missing Monokuma Bottle was broken into pieces..." Naegi told them.

Fukawa started sweating. "A-And how... do you know that?!"

"Because... There was evidence left behind..."

"Evidence?" Asahina asked Kirigiri, slightly confused as she didn't really do any investigation.

Naegi's expression got serious. "Evidence suggesting there wasn't just a single broken bottle at the scene."

"Wh- What evidence?" The bookworm bit her lip even harder.

"Earlier, Kirigiri and I did a little experiment. We compared the weight of an unbroken Monokuma Bottle to that of the fragments scattered on the floor. And what we found... Is that the fragments weighed more. The reason for that being... There was more than one bottle's worth of fragments at the scene."

"Ah!" Fukawa's eyes widened in surprise.

And so did Togami's. He didn't expect the two little detectives to conduct such an experiment. He thought they had reached the conclusion thanks to the chess pieces... But they had gone even further beyond. He remained silent as he mentally cursed them for exceeding his expectations.

"In other words, two Monokuma Bottles were broken at the scene... But someone disposed of one of the figures and some of the bottle fragments... Though, whoever it was mistakenly left too many fragments on the floor. Admittedly, it would be difficult to get exactly the right amount..."

Asahina was starting to understand. "But... Why would they need to get rid of some of the bottle fragments?"

"Because they hold some bearing on this case. The disposed bottle... Was used on the second attack on Oogami." Naegi explained, taking the opportunity to review his facts.

Kirigiri crossed her arms. "The two wounds on Oogami's head... The two broken bottles... Taking both into consideration, that's the only conclusion you can draw..."

"By getting rid of only one bottle's fragments, the culprit made it look like there had been one attack."

"In which case, the person who struck her second would have to be someone other than Hagakure." After presenting her evidence along with Naegi, Kirigiri finally locked eyes with the bookworm. "Isn't that right, Fukawa?"

"Ehhhh?!" She grabbed both her twin-tails, nervously.

Kirigiri didn't stop. "There's also the fact that you hid the magazine... Making it very likely you were at the scene."

Finally, Fukawa was able to interject. "W-W-W-Wait, wait... So maybe... She was attacked a second time... B-But where's... the evidence... That I'm the one... who did it?!"

"There's no question! You're the culprit, dude!" Hagakure, who had been silent for some time- silently appreciating he wasn't the focus of the trial anymore, pointed his finger at the bookworm.

Fukawa glared daggers at him. "Y-Yoooou! Were you not just saying it was you who did it?!"

"I'm not afraid to admit my mistakes! I'm just that kinda guy, dude!" Feeling confident out of a sudden, Hagakure started talking with a tinge of excitement. "Plus, I just remembered something that seals the deal!

Togami sighed in annoyance. "On the off chance there might be something to it, we'll hear you out..."

The shaman nodded nervously. "Just after I recieved Ogre's invitation... I was kinda wiggin' out about everything, so I went up there early and staked out of the rec room. A little bit later, I saw her... I saw 'Kawa goin' into the rec room! Ogre showed up and went in not long after... Since I thought 'Kawa was in there, too, I was feelin' a little better about things and went in on myself... But Ogre was the only one there! 'Kawa had vanished into thin air, dude!"

"And why would you wait until now to tell us something so vital?" Togami glared at the shaman through gritted teeth, in total disbelief at how the man kept proving himself to be an idiot with each passing second. Had he gone straight to the point minutes ago, they wouldn't be wasting their times as they were now.

"I was in so much shock at having committed a murder, dude, I completely forgot about it!"

The scion shook his head, having had evough. "Someone, go find this fool his marbles."

The shaman redirected his attention to the bookworm. "Yo, 'Kawa! Where'd you disappear to?!"

"Y-You're confusing me for someone else... I didn't... didn't go to the rec room!" The girl nervously held a tight grip of her shirt.

"Maybe she didn't disappear, but was just hiding... Somewhere in the rec room." Kirigiri said to no one in particular.

Fukawa gasped. "What?!" She started shaking. "I-I-I wasn't hiding in the rec room... Why would- Why would I do that?! Wh- Wh- What's wrong with you?! Making all these baseless accusations! Y-Y-Y-Y-You accursed... v-v-vermin!"

Togami sighed and shook his head silently at the pathetic display. Fukawa desperately tried to prevent Naegi from exposing the evidence that placed her at the scene. Still, that made the scion wonder what exactly it was. Had he overlooked something again? Her behaviour was definitely suspicious, but what exactly proved that she was the one there? Where could she possibly hide in such a small room.

That's when it hit him.

"Impossible... She was *there*...?"

His suspicions were confirmed by a certain boy.

"Were you aware of that handprints had been left in the rec room's locker? In all likelihood, someone was hiding in that locker, and that's when they left those handprints... Do you recognize them, Fukawa?"

Fear was evident in the bookworm's face now. "N-No, I don't!"

Kirigiri's expression darkened. "Then let's compare your hands with these handprints. That should tell us just what we want to know."

"..."

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!" After a moment of silence, the bookworm let out a deafing scream, feeling utterly cornered and helpless.

Togami had grown tired of it all. The trial wasn't progressing, and at that point, there was nothing the girl could say that would prove her innocence, since she clearly wasn't inoccent after all. He decided to intervene.

"Don't waste my time, Fukawa. Give me a straight answer..."

"Yes. They're my handprints."

Suddenly composed and speaking properly, she gave him his answer before finishing he could finish his sentence, making him unsure if he should be satisfied or annoyed. Her obssession for him was convenient at times, but definitely weird as well.

Hagakure was amused. "Whoa... Down without a fight, dude!"

Asahina clenched her fists. "Then... It was you who killed Sakura, too... Wasn't it?!"

"N-No way... I- I would never!" Her stuttering was back.

"The truth." The scion demanded.

"I killed her, probably..." And it was gone again.

"And again, not even a struggle!" Hagakure couldn't hide his surprise and amusement at the girl's antics.

But Asahina wasn't in a good mood. "What do you mean, 'probably'?

"Fukawa. Would you please tell us- in detail- what happened between you and Oogami?" Kirigiri asked politely.

"..." The girl was silent, struggling internally and avoiding eye contact. That is, until-

"Speak." Togami ordered.

"Wh- When I saw... Oogami's invitation... I decided I would... Show up a little early... Th- There's no saying what she'd have done if I didn't come... But I was still scared to face her directly... S-So I figured... I'd sneak in before she got there... and I hid... Inside the locker..." Once again, she complied without a fight.

Hagakure had a sudden realization. "Did you, by chance, see everything? Like, uh, the part where I clocked Ogre?"

The girl replied with a nod and a murderous glare. "A-And the part... Where you fabricated that dying message... Using my name!"

"Welp, uh... This is kinda awkward, dude..." He nervously scratched his head.

Fukawa brought her hands down and nervously fidgeted with her skirt. "S-So as soon as I saw you were gone... I got out of the locker... And put the magazine... Into the rack..."

"And when you did... You accidently put it back upside-down, didn't you?" Naegi asked.

"D-Don't blame me... I was in a hurry!"

Togami shook his head as gave everyone a condescending side glare "Imbeciles, every last one of you..."

Asahina dismissed the sweet comment and the magazine. "Never mind that... Why'd you attack Sakura?" She asked.

"R-Right after I put the magazine back... I heard... What sounded like a beast... Snarling behind me... A-And when... I turned around... There Oogami was... Covered in blood... G-Glaring at me!" She closed her eyes and placed both hands on her head, as if she had a headache. "I-I passed out... In front of the magazine rack... Because of the blood... S-So I don't... remember what happened after that... Only she... Can tell you..."

Before Naegi could ask who- as if it weren't obvious-, Fukawa sneezed. And the moment she did, she became a completely different person.

"Yahoooooo! I've made my glorious entrance!" The bookworm, now as her serial killer persona known as Genocider Shou, laughed as she picked up her beloved scissors from who knows where.

Hagakure was visibly intimidated, even using his arms to protect himself from nothing in particular. "So you're behind all of this!"

"My behind! My white knight's behind! When our two behind collide, we'll reach new heights!" Genocider Shou wore a perverted expression as she started fantasizing about her beloved, who happened to be right in front of her and not in the mood for such foolishness.

"Do not speak unless spoken to... Did you kill Sakura Oogami?" He ordered, then went straight to the point. He wouldn't allow this trial to be delayed for stupid reasons anymore.

Genocider rested a hand on her hip and let out her tongue, wearing a thoughtful expression.

"Weeeell, to start- and this is important- me and Little Miss Gloomy don't share the same memory!" She explained, expecting it to be relevant information and being fully aware that it was. "As a result, I'm not exactly sure what happened... All I know is, I was cathin' some primo Zs and someone had the tenacity to start frickin' shaking me!" She gritted her teeth in anger. " 'Is it my prince?' I wondered, and opened my eyes... And wowzers, splatter everywhere! Scared the pants right back on me! I was so scared... I smacked her with a nearby bottle! I mean, c'mon, that was scaaaary!" She started laughing.

"Sakura was just concerned about you... and yet... How awful!" The swimmer clenched her fists in anger.

The psycho pointed a scissor towards the girl. "She's the frickin' awful one! Thanks to her, I killed my first no-man hunk!"

"And after that, you disposed of the Monokuma Bottle fragments to get rid of the evidence?" Kirigiri inquired, having beeen carefully thinking about Fukawa's testimony in search for inconsistencies or important information.

"If I'm going down, I want it to be by riding my White Knight's corpse, not 'cause I killed some chick!" Genocider stated defiantly, a scissor in each hand. Togami clenched a fist in anger.

"Go off and die an empty, meaningless death somewhere- alone..."

Taking it as a joke(?) Genocider grinned and continued. "It wasn't just anyone's lucky day... The stars were aligned in all the wrong ways... I mean, really. Ogre'd have normally no problem brushing off a hit from a silly bottle!"

"As tough as she may be... She had still yet to recover from the damage Hagakure's attack inflicted..." Kirigiri explained.

"Well, uh... Not sure what to say..." Hagakure stood there, awkwardly. But suddenly got cheerful. "...But hey, that's great news, dude! I didn't actually kill Ogre!"

Then, something caught Togami's attention.

"Anyway, that settles it! Come on, let's cast our ballots!" A determined expression in Asahina's face.

"...?"

"Come on! What's the hold up, guys?! You know what to do! Cast your ballots!"

He studied the swimmer silently. Something was off. He didn't know her all that well and he certainly didn't want to, but there was definitely something about her behaviour that made him on high alert. The lack of reaction on her part when someone just made a rude comment about her deceased friend was out of her character. Not just that, but she was being unusually pushy for the votes...

And he knew why.

"No... There's still more." He said.

She stared at him in disbelief. "Huh? More? More what?" Her tone grew more aggressive with each word. But the young man didn't feel intimidated in the slightest.

"Did nothing strike you as off about Fukawa's story? No, it had to have. There's no way it couldn't have... Unless, of course, you all are as idiotic as I consider you to be."

"Huh? Whaddya mean, 'off'?" Hagakure asked, his face being clear evidence that he had no idea what the scion was talking about. Maybe they really were as idiotic as he thought...

"There was Hagakure's attack... Then Fukawa's attack... But the case doesn't end there." He turned to the homicidal maniac. "Oy, Fukawa... Give us your testimony one more time. Everything that happened after you passed out... As airheaded as there nimrods may be, even they should be able to catch on, hearing it a second time."

"Roger, darling!" Genocider was pleased with the request, even going as far as letting out a rather erotic moan for seemingly no reason. "I was just catchin' some Zs... And Ogre shook me awake! I woke up in front of the magazine rack!"

"Seein' Ogre all bloody, you freaked... And bashed her with the Moonokuma Bottle, didn't ya?" Hagakure tried to follow so Togami wouldn't look down on him.

The serial killer nodded, letting out a sickening, maniacal laugh. "You got it! Ogre got gored!"

"And where did you strike Oogami?" Togami asked, already knowing the answer. The reason for his question was simply to lead the others and see if they were capable of grasping the situation at hand.

"Same place I woke up! I did her by the magazine rack!"

That's when something clicked on Naegi's head.

"Oogami passed away sitting on the couch... If the blow she suffered in front of the magazine racck was her cause of death, then how did she get there?" He finally caught Togami's point.

"About time you realized..." The scion commented.

"Easy! That homicidal maniac is lying!" Asahina blurted out.

Hagakure teamed up with her. "You really knocked Ogre while she was sittin' down, didn't ya? Well? How 'bout it?" He pointed an accusing finger.

"No, she was undoubtedly struck in front of the rack. Anyone who saw the scene would agree with me." Togami interceded. Those idiots really couldn't make a basic assumption from such clear evidence...

Or... A certain someone was refusing to see them on purpose...

"She was attacked near the magazine rack. The blood in front of the rack is all the evidence you need of that." Naegi confirmed Togami's claim.

Hagakure started getting confused again. "Couldn't Genocider just have moved Ogre's body after killing her? That way, it'd look like I was the killer, since she was sitting down when I wacked her!" He said confidently, leaving Togami surprised that something that made actual sense left his mouth since the start of the trial.

However...

"Whoa, whoa, hold your horses! I can't carry anything heavier than these Genoscissors! There's no effin' way I coulda moved that monstrous mass o' muscle!"

The shaman's confidence disappeared as soon as it came. "Then... what the hell, dude?"

"So? Are you still going to try and tell me there isn't anything else to this case?" Togami asked the swimmer.

"B-But..."

"Besides, we still haven't answered this murder's biggest question: How the sealed room was constructed." Kirigiri, wearing a thoughtful expression, shared her thought as it came back to haunt her. "Until we solve that mystery, we can't say we've solved this case..."

"How she constructed the sealed room? Easy!" Asahina grew angrier and more impatient with each passing second. "After killing Sakura, Fukawa got back into the locker!"

"I gotcha! She was hidin' in the locker until you guys broke the seal!" Like a roller coaster, Hagakure was once again in high spirits. "Then, she took advantage of the confusion to slip outta the locker and into the crowd!"

"No, I don't think that's how it happened." Naegi said. Hagakure gave the fuck up. "You were there with us, Asahina, before I broke the rec room door's window. So you would have seen... That the locker was already open. There's no way Fukawa could have been hiding in there between then and when we broke into the room."

"Mmmm... Then, where was she hiding, dude?" A troubled Hagakure struggled to continue in the discussion.

Genocider shrugged. "Beats me. Anyway, what's all this about a sealed room?"

"You're the culprit, man! How could you now know?!" The shaman stared at the serial killer incredulously.

Earning an innocent smile from her in return. "Maybe, like, I'm not the culprit or something?!"

"Y-You're lying!" Asahina barked.

Togami smirked. "She isn't lying... As I've been saying, there's still more to this case."

"And why should we take your word for it?" The swimmer glared at him.

Togami took a deep breath, which almost sounded like a snarl thanks to how annoyed he was. "I swear, if you bring up the fact that 'I hated Oogami' again..."

The swimmer wasn't intimidated. "No... That much is pretty obvious to everyone by now... My point here is... Why should we listen to you when you're friends... with him?!" The girl pointed at the dual-colored bear, maintaining a piercing glare as she did so.

"Oh?" The bear tilted it's head and brought a hand to it's mouth. No one could tell if it was from confusion or amusement.

Asahina continued. "That's right... I mean... You know who is behind all this... Yet you didn't tell us? Sounds to me you're protecting whoever it is... How can we trust you?!"

"My white knight's defending meee? I trust him with every fiber of my bodyyy~!" Genocider let out a moan, beaming with happiness.

Togami on the other hand was about to blow up from anger. Seriously, the swimmer brought up the most random of facts at the most random times possible. If she wasn't doing it to piss him off, then he didn't know what it was for.

"Asahina... He made it pretty clear that he'd explain it all to us once the trial ended. Bringing this up now won't be of help..." Kirigiri interjected. It seemed like she, too, was also getting tired of Asahina's accusations, which was convenient for the scion.

The swimmer eyed her incredulously. "How is it not?! I mean... He hated Sakura for being the puppetmaster's mole... But suddenly he gets to know it's true identity? For all we know... He could be the new mole! There's no way we can trust him!"

"Asahina, please..." Naegi tried to reason with her, but to no avail. She sure was stubborn when she wanted to be.

"I don't need your trust. I have facts, and that's all I need to prove my point. And if you absolutely need to know, I'm not affiliated with that scoundrel in any way." Togami said seriously, referring to Monokuma. He managed to remain composed, but there was no denying he was being provoked and was hopelessly falling deeper and deeper into his anger.

The bear seemed downcast. "Ow... Togami-kun is so mean... And here I thought we were starting to be buddies..."

"I'd rather kill myself than develop any kind of relationship with the likes of you. Now be a good boy and shut the hell up." Togami stared at the bear in disgust.

"Aye..." The bear looked down with a sad expression.

Hagakure was amazed, yet a little intimidated himself. "Wow... Toges' got Monokuma tamed, dude..."

"Did he? I thought I just heard they were 'buddies'... And we're supposed to believe him?" Asahina's suspicious glare became more intense. Togami tch'ed at Monokuma, who silently giggled to himself. So that's was it's plan...

But he remained composed, calmly crossing his arms. "You believed in Sakura, didn't you? And she was the puppetmaster's mole." Asahina wanted to say something, but the words never left her mouth. Togami continued. "And you still believe her, as you keep 'defending' her, even after it was clear she was involved with that thing. In other words, you don't believe me because I could be a mole for that garbage over there... You're talking out of nothing but spite."

"You're wro-"

"Am I?" He raised his chin as he glared at her. "Then prove me otherwise. No matter what you say, the truth is obvious."

"You think you-"

"Enoooooough!" A sudden yell from Monokuma brought everyone's attention to it. "You're boring me! Stop discussing pointless things and go back to the main topic already!"

Togami sighed. "Hmph. To think I'd ever agree with something you said. But very well. Disregarding certain petty accusations, I can say for sure that Fukawa is not the culprit." He stated. Asahina glared at him, but said nothing this time.

"But if Genocider ain't the culprit, that means the blow to her head isn't what killed Ogre..."

"And what of it?" Togami asked him. The question took the shaman by surprise, considering how serious he scion sounded.

"Th- There isn't... any other explanation... for how she died..." A confused Asahina tried in vain to reason with Togami, as he didn't show any weaknesses at all.

"Are you sure you haven't overlooked some other possibility?" The scion went back to his smirk, clearly mocking the others.

Hagakure tried hard to keep up. "Uh... Assuming Ogre's cause of death wasn't the blow to the back of her head... Then, what did kill her?"

"There're no other possibilities... Her cause of death... Was the wound on her head- nothing else!" Asahina insisted on her version.

"So it's back to being on me?!" Genocider asked, her tone implying she was surprised but her expression being one of amusement.

Naegi shook his head, apparently in deep thought. "The Monokuma File says that Oogami had vomited blood... Could that possibly have something to do with how she died? There were even traces of it left on her corpse..."

"She could have just... Bit her cheek or her tongue when she was hit on the head..." The swimmer suggested, not really believing her own words.

Nor was Kirigiri. "If she had just bitten herself, the Monokuma File surely wouldn't have said she had 'vomited' blood. Furthermore, there weren't any cuts or bite wounds inside her mouth..."

Genocider seemed genuinely surprised. "You investigated that closely?! Damn, girl, you must loooove you some dead bodies!"

"It's not the dead bodies I'm interested in- just solving mysteries." Kirigiri replied, giving no satisfaction to the disappointed, psychotic murderer.

"But dude, if she didn't bite the inside of her mouth, then what made her puke blood?"

Togami finally decided to stop wasting his time by waiting for such mongrels to reach a conclusion themselves. The fact they couldn't see something so simple seriouly made him sick.

"It would have to be something that occurred internally. Chances are... Sakura Oogami was murdered by poisoning..." It was so obvious. Yet he made a mistake by expecting them to see it.

Hagakure's face betrayed no trace of how the possibility never crossed his mind. "She was... Poisoned?"

"Precisely! And don't waste your time questioning it- After all, I'm the one who reached that conclusion." The scion made no effort to hide how superior he considered himself to be compared to everyone else.

"Hnnnngh! Hawwwt!" Genocider made perverted sounds as she blushed and hugged herself tightly, in what seemed to be herself controlling her urge to strip and get slapped by Togami.

Asahina tried to ignore the awkward scene. "Sh- She was poisoned? That's stupid!"

"Don't believe it? Then allow me to explain just how the culprit got Oogami to take the poison..." As the words left his mouth, he turned a menacing glance towards Asahina, who couldn't help but feel nervous and confused.

"Y-You think you can explain it?" She made a pathetic excuse at trying to argue with the scion.

"Damn right, I do. Let's get started." He smirked.

The time for him to show just how superior he was from everyone else had come.

...

...

...

To be continued...

Well, there we have it. It's a pretty long trial, so I'll try to finish it on the next chapter, which is already being written. Don't forget to review! See you soon!