Post by BlueShadow on Apr 20, 2019 23:32:57 GMT
~Class Trial in Session~
“Upupupu...is everyone good? Well, let’s kick this killing game off with a bang! Ahem…” Monokuma cleared his throat as he stared at the rest of us, his throne towering over our collection of podiums. “Now then, let’s start off with a basic explanation of the class trial! During the trial you’ll present your arguments for who the culprit is, and vote for “whodunnit.” Vote correctly, and only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong person...I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will earn the right to leave this hotel! Without further ado...let’s get started!”
“So...what hell should we actually do, though?” Sumire asked the rest of us, shrugging her shoulders. “I’m not exactly great at debates or trials in general…”
“I’d suggest talking about the body and crime scene myself, if I’m being honest.” Monokuma replied to the tattoo artist with a chuckle. “That’s a freebie, since you’re so bad at logical thinking. But that’s the only one you’ll get out of me!...Probably.”
“Hints aside, what exactly are you trying to pull with that over there?” Tetsuya asked the monochromatic bear as he pointed at the empty podium between Risa and Yubiseiharukana.
Masakazu had been wondering the same thing, but was too nervous to call it out himself. The empty podium in question was most likely reserved for Ryoma before his untimely death...considering the tasteless portrait of the deceased strongman propped up there.
“Oh, that little thing? I just put that there to help you all cope with that dude’s demise. Dealing with the death of a friend is some pretty heavy stuff, yeah?” The bear mocked as he looked around for reactions. Kasumi glared at him with enough bloodlust to make Masakazu concerned that she’d jump up and start assaulting the bear. Thankfully, she refrained from doing so.
As if disappointed by the lack of resistance yet again, Monokuma sighed. “Anyways, I thought it was pretty mean spirited to keep him out of the class trial just because he died. I mean, who in their right mind wouldn’t want to take part in one of these, eh?...Rhetorical question, you wet blankets. Get to debating already before I get bored.”
“I guess we have no choice then.” Konomi grumbled as she adjusted her headphones. “What should we talk about first?”
Kai folded his arms and closed his eyes in concentration. “Monokuma said to discuss the body and the scene, so...we should totally do that!”
“Not like we’ve got much else to go off on. Let’s do it, then.” Tetsuya agreed, watching the rest of us with inquisitive eyes.
“Ohh, it’s finally starting! Get out the popcorn, because it’s trial time!” Monokuma cheered as we began our first discussion.
Monokuma: Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute! I know I just hyped up the trial and all, but there’s something you all gotta know first! Debates and arguments in this story will consist of several different types of minigames, to keep you readers entertained! The first of which is a Nonstop Debate...which is actually about to happen right now! The students will debate over certain aspects of the case, and some parts of their testimony may contain contradictions, signified with bold text. Our darling little Masakazu will be tasked with finding the contradictions and refuting them with the correct piece of evidence. When he does so, the contradiction will be bolded and underlined to make it easier for you all to see! Man, talk about a long winded tutorial...let’s get back to the action!
NONSTOP DEBATE
Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #1 / Bloody Hand / Kitchen Knife
Takako: Ryoma’s body was discovered in one of the commons areas outside the dorms.
Kai: Sounds pretty alright to me so far…
Risa: He was stabbed in the neck...which is his cause of death, right…?
Kai: I’m pretty sure that’s right.
Kenji: We found him in the morning, just after the routine announcement Monokuma always makes at 7 am.
Kai: That seems correct too…
Kai: Man, this might be harder than we actually thought!
Jack: It was a pretty fucked up sight though, yeah?
Jack: I mean, what psychopath butchers a dude right in plain sight and just walks off like that?!
Masakazu: Wait...something’s off about that person’s statement…
-Truth Bullet Selected: Monokuma File #1-
Masakazu: No, that’s wrong!
BREAK!
“Holy shit, he said the thing! HE SAID THE THING!” Monokuma yelled from his throne. As everyone turned to stare at the ursine, he nonchalantly turned away with a nervous expression. “Carry on.”
“Uh...Ok then. Moving on…” Masakazu tried to ignore the bear’s outburst to the best of his ability. “Something you said just now was a little off, Jack.”
“Huh?” The forger starred at Masakazu, dumbfounded. “What the hell exactly was wrong with what I said, chess boy?”
“You specifically said ‘in plain sight’ just now when we were talking about Ryoma’s body. It’s just strange that you’d think that since the Monokuma File specifies that the body was found under one of the tables in the commons area.”
“W-Well of course I’d say that, I only found his body after the fact, same with most of the others!” Jack argued, holding his podium with both hands. “Besides, I...overlooked that part of the file! Yeah, that’s it!”
“For a guy who’s job is to work with documents, you sure suck at paying attention to detail.” Yubiseiharukana mocked the forger.
“Sh-Shut it, Inspector Gadget! I didn’t want to look at the body anyway! Or the file, for that matter!”
“...So you intentionally avoided crucial knowledge that would help the rest of us out? Are you an idiot?” The detective fired back at Jack, who merely slunk backwards in his podium. “Fantastic.”
“Um...I was actually wondering something.” Risa spoke aloud, catching the attention of everyone. “Like Masakazu said, the body was found under a table in the commons area, right? Why exactly was it there?”
“That’s a good question, actually.” Kenji agreed with the magician. ‘There are much better places to hide a body than a random table in one of the commons areas.”
“Then let’s talk about that next, just in case.” Jirou added.
Monokuma: Hello again! Yes, I am breaking the fourth wall again to give you information and help during the trial, and no, I do not give a damn about universal continuity. Anyways, where was I going with this again…? Oh right, the update to Nonstop Debates! You know how I was talking about contradictions and bold text earlier, yeah? Well sometimes, Masakazu will need to agree with someone’s testimony to continue the case! In circumstances like that, correct statements will be italicized and selected correct statements will be italicized and underlined! From now on, dear reader, you’ll be in precarious spots where both features will be utilized! Don’t worry though, I’ll totally be rooting for you. On the sidelines. Eating popcorn. Watching your despair. Enjoy!
NONSTOP DEBATE
Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #1 / Bloody Hand / Kitchen Knife
Risa: Why was Ryoma’s body under one of those tables, of all places?
Konomi: I’m also finding it a little strange, if I’m being honest.
Konomi: I mean, the dude was completely covered by the tablecloth, right?
Konomi: And yet the body was entirely undisturbed under there?
Kai: Maybe he was under the table when he got killed?
Jack: So he got stabbed while he was kneeling down under a table?
Jack: You do understand how ridiculous that sounds, right?
Monokuma: Hey, watch it! That’s an insult to my killing game reputation!
Yubiseiharukana: Oh my god, are you guys serious? It’s pretty obvious why the body was there.
Yubiseiharukana: Anyone with a brain could tell that all that blood would’ve given it away if it was hidden anywhere else!
Masakazu: Something in that person’s testimony sounds correct…
-Truth Bullet Selected: Bloody Hand-
Masakazu: That must be it!
BREAK!
“Yubiseiharukana’s right.” Masakazu explained to the other students. “Ryoma’s wound had a lot of blood coming out of it, so much so that it completely covered his right hand.”
“What does that have to do with the location of the body, though?” Jirou asked with a confused expression.
“Think of all the rooms in the hotel so far. Out of all of them, there may be a few good places to hide a body. But consider the fact that Ryoma would’ve been bleeding out quite a bit, due to the stab wound on his neck. That makes it very difficult to hide the body and prevent any blood from attracting attention.”
“But why use that table in that room specifically?” Konomi asked as she looked towards the chess player. “Surely that’s still not a very good hiding spot? I mean, several people still found it despite the killer’s efforts.”
Konomi’s right. Even with taking the blood loss into consideration, the killer was still taking a huge gamble by using that commons area to store Ryoma’s body. There must’ve been a reason for that…
THINKING TIME
Question: Why did the killer choose to hide Ryoma’s body in the commons area?
A. They were forced to.
[B. It was out of the way.]
C. There was no reason.
Masakazu: I see it clearly!
BREAK!
“It must’ve been due to the layout of the hotel itself. Every morning, all of us get up and head straight for the cafe to meet up in the mornings...with a few exceptions, of course. If we left the dorms and walked straight there, we wouldn’t even pass the same commons area Ryoma’s body was found in.”
“Which would’ve dramatically increased the time it took for someone to find him later on.” Kimiko nodded along as she wrote down something on her notepad. “I see, I see…Good thing some of us got up bright and early, then.”
“You know, I think it’s about time we got to talking about that.” Yubiseiharukana suddenly announced, staring at a few specific individuals. “While most of us have alibis for this morning, it doesn’t explain why some of you exited your dorms so early in the morning. Care to explain?”
“If that’s the case, I’ll gladly explain myself, nya.” Hana replied with a neutral expression.
NONSTOP DEBATE
Truth Bullets: Morning Alibis / Kai’s Account / Takako’s Account
Hana: I’ve got nothing to hide, nya.
Hana: After waking up from a peaceful catnap, I decided to try and find some new purr-spectives on this killing game, nya.
Hana: That’s when I found Konomi, nya.
Konomi: What she says checks out. I was gonna visit Risa’s Ultimate Lab with her, but she slept in. I found Hana not long after and the two of us eventually ran into Masa.
Masakazu: And after that, Kai found us. He eventually led us to Ryoma’s body.
Yubiseiharukana: Pause for a second. You slept in, Risa? I thought you said that you went there with Jirou.
Risa: D-Don’t look so angry at me, I was telling the truth!
Risa: I did sleep in, but when I woke up I found Jirou outside my door and the two of us left to visit my lab.
Risa: We were in a hurry to catch up in time, but on the way there we saw Ryoma’s body!
Jirou: It’s true, I can vouch for her.
Yubiseiharukana: Alright then. What about Kai?
Kai: I went out looking for Ryoma this morning before I found his body. I went to go find someone to help, which is when I ran into Masa and the others.
Takako: Tetsuya and I were heading to the cafe for the morning meeting we usually had.
Takako: I was with him the whole time, including when we found Ryoma’s body.
Jack: Looks like that’s everyone accounted for, then.
Jack: I guess you all have pretty solid alibis after all.
Masakazu: Only a few of us were even awake before the morning announcement. Is it really possible for all of us to have airtight alibis?
-Truth Bullet Selected: Morning Alibis-
Masakazu: No, that’s wrong!
BREAK!
“Unfortunately, not all of us have good alibis for this morning. While there were times that some of us were alone, most of us eventually formed groups before encountering the body...Everyone except Kai, that is.”
The surfer’s arms dropped to his side upon hearing Masakazu’s statement. “Huh? Why is my alibi the only strange one?”
“Because you were the one that was alone the longest during that period of time.” Yuuki explained, biting his thumb. “That’s pretty suspicious, if you ask me.”
“But that’s not fair!” Kai complained, staring at the puzzle solver. “I barely had time to look for Ryoma, let alone murder him!”
“It might seem difficult, but isn’t it still paw-ssible, nya?” Hana said with a tilt of her head.
Kai frowned. “How should I know? I was too busy looking for him to know how long it took…”
“You can’t honestly expect us to trust you with that flimsy excuse.” Tetsuya told the surfer as he rolled his eyes.
“Maybe he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s the killer, nya?”
“Now wait a minute, I think it’s a little too early to pass judgement.” Masakazu warned the philosopher. “We still haven’t finished talking about the crime scene.”
“I agree. There’s still much to discuss about it.” Yubiseiharukana backed Masakazu up, before narrowing her eyes at Kai. “Then again, if the evidence keeps pointing to you…”
“Alright already! Sheesh, I get it…”
“What’s left for us to talk about regarding the scene?” Takako asked as she looked at Masakazu and Yubiseiharukana respectively.
“Well, we talked about the scene half to death, so let’s move onto the body.” The detective replied.
NONSTOP DEBATE
Truth Bullets: Strange Cut / Kitchen Knife / Monokuma File #1
Kenji: As stated previously, Ryoma’s cause of death was getting stabbed.
Sumire: Poor guy got finished off with a knife to the neck.
Risa: What a horrible way to go…
Jack: And a pretty bloody end, at that.
Jack: But hold up...I thought we had the motive box problem all handled and dealt with!
Jack: How the hell did someone end up with a knife?!
Jirou: That’s pretty weird, not gonna lie.
Konomi: Now wait a minute, I don’t recall seeing anything like that knife in the motive box when Ryoma and I inspected it!
Konomi: I-I mean, we could’ve missed it, but...it’s very unlikely.
Takako: So have you or have you not seen that knife before?
Takako: This trial hinges on your memory.
Konomi: I...I…
Masakazu: There’s an easy way to determine the knife’s origin, I just have to show them!
-Truth Bullet Selected: Kitchen Knife-
Masakazu: That must be it!
BREAK!
“Actually, Konomi’s right. During the investigation, I found a knife rack in the kitchen that had a knife missing from it. The size was pretty close to the one found in Ryoma’s neck, so I think it’s safe to say that’s where it came from.”
Konomi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Masakazu’s words. “Thanks for the help, Masa! I knew you were a reliable guy.”
“So the murder weapon wasn’t actually from the box at all, but the kitchen?” Risa asked with a tilt of her head. “You’d think that with all those tools and weapons, the killer would’ve used something in there instead.”
“That would’ve been impossible.” Tetsuya brushed off the magician’s statement. “Everyone’s been fixated on that box ever since Monokuma brought it out, and we even had guards protecting it day after day. The killer wouldn’t have a chance to nick anything from it.”
Masakazu’s face hardened after hearing the waiter’s reasoning. Normally, he would’ve been right, but the chess player knew for a fact he was wrong. He instinctively turned to Kenji, who knew the same truth as him. The kendo fighter shook his head in response before turning away.
Kenji knows as good as I do that what Tetsuya’s saying is wrong, but he’s not refuting it. There must be a reason. Perhaps I should lay back as well on what I know...for now atleast.
“May I inpurr-ject, nya?” Hana asked the waiter, who simply shrugged. “It’s purr-etty obvious that the kitchen knife is the murder weapon, but knowing that actually purr-vides more questions than answers, nya.”
“What’re you saying?” Kai turned to the philosopher with a confused glance. “That’s more info than we had before, after all.”
“Think on the events of this morning, nya. Several of us were awake before the announcement, correct, nya?”
“Yes, that’s what we’ve been saying this whole time.” Jack replied with an exasperated sigh. “Get on with it!”
“If we know that Ryoma was killed with the kitchen knife, then that pokes several holes into our testimonies and what we know, nya.”
“It disrupts our testimonies?” Konomi asked with a nervous stare. “How so?”
“I think I may have an idea as to what she means, Konomi.” Masakazu told the audio technician as he put a hand to his chin in thought.
I’m positive that Hana’s right on the mark with her deduction. If the kitchen knife was used as the murder weapon, there’s a specific event that we all know about that would get violated.
HANGMAN’S GAMBIT
Question: What event conflicts with the knife being the murder weapon?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ o _ ni _n _ - A _ _ o _ n _ em _ _ t
Morni_g_ - An_oun_cem_nt
Answer: Morning Announcement
Masakazu: Here’s the answer!
BREAK!
“She’s talking about the morning announcement that takes place every day at 7 am.” The chess player explained to the other students. “If the knife was used to kill Ryoma, that would mean that the killer took it from the kitchen. But that would’ve been impossible, due to the time frame.”
“You’re talking about the second rule, right?” Takako asked the chess player. “The one about hotel facilities being unavailable during nighttime?”
“Exactly.” Masakazu affirmed the livestreamer’s question. “Nighttime is designated from 10 pm to 7 am, and not a minute earlier. Until that announcement played, no one could’ve gotten into the cafe to take the knife.”
“What if the killer was really quick about it?” Kimiko asked with wide eyes. “You guys didn’t find the body until after the announcement, right? That may be enough time for someone to take it and run out to stab Ryoma!”
“A-Actually…” Kai turned to the journalist with a nervous expression. “I found Ryoma first, and that was definitely before the morning announcement…”
Several of the ultimates looked at Kai with incredulous gazes. “You...you never once thought to tell us that beforehand?! What the fuck, dude?!” Jack asked the surfer in a loud voice.
“I-I’m sorry, ok? I didn’t think it mattered up until now when Masakazu brought it up!” The surfer defended himself from the stares of the peers around him. “Give me a break, I’ve never had to give testimony on seeing a corpse before, dudes!”
“Ignore that for right now.” Kenji instructed those of us who were still upset with Kai’s actions. “Let’s focus back on the topic at hand.”
“So if Kai didn’t see the body until before the announcement, it means that the kitchen knife was still locked behind the cafe, right?” Risa asked aloud, looking to the rest of us for an answer.
“Then how the hell did it make its way all the way into one of the commons areas and into Ryoma’s neck?” Jack gave the magician an intense glare. “You better find out how, and don’t you dare say it was magic!”
“W-Why is it my job?!” Risa reacted to the forger’s intensity by clutching her top hat with both hands.
Monokuma: Hello again, everyone! It’s your favorite bear here to tell you about another update to the Nonstop Debate! Huh, what’s that? I’m unhelpful because I neglected to explain the last two minigames? Upupupu...how confused you must look right now. Those were so simple that it would’ve been a waste to explain them! Good job powering through them though, I sort of knew you had it in you. Kinda. Anyways...onto the explanation! Sometimes, poor Masakazu won’t have the evidence necessary to continue the case. No worries though! He’s an improviser, and sometimes will be able to use parts of other people’s testimony to his advantage! When doing so, he’ll examine that person’s statement (designated with underlined text) and use it against someone else’s contradiction or agree with them!
NONSTOP DEBATE
Truth Bullets: Kitchen Knife / Strange Cut / Kai’s Account / Missing Item
Konomi: Ok, so the kitchen knife was locked behind the cafe door all morning, right?
Konomi: But if Kai saw it, it must’ve been taken from the kitchen beforehand, right?
Takako: But when and where would it have been removed from the kitchen?
Konomi: I-I don’t know! I’m just going by logic at this point!
Jirou: I don’t mean to be that guy and all...but what if Kai’s testimony is incorrect?
Jirou: Maybe the knife was actually taken after the morning announcement?
Hana: Then how to you explain the small time frame for the murder, nya?
Jirou: I’m just trying to help out…
Risa: Before or after, one or the other…
Risa: Ugh...there’s no way to know for sure…
Masakazu: That knife had to have come out of the kitchen at some point...but when? Think! Think, Masakazu! Use what you know to solidify your argument!
-Testimony Selected: Beforehand-
Masakazu: No, that’s wrong!
BREAK!
“Once again, Konomi’s right on this one. Even if we doubt Kai’s testimony, that doesn’t change the fact that the window for murder would’ve been even shorter if the knife was taken afterwards.”
“Besides, there’s no reason to doubt what I said!” Kai argued alongside Masakazu. “There’s no mistaking what I saw!”
“So, the knife had to have been taken before the murder...” Yuuki recalled the consensus out loud to himself. “Doesn’t that mean that it must’ve been taken the night before, then?”
“That seems to have been the case, yes.” Takako agreed with the puzzle solver. “Although, it’s a bit strange, considering the events of last night.”
“You’re referring to the party Ryoma hosted, yeah?” Tetsuya asked the livestreamer, who replied with a slight nod.
“But was it taken before or after the party?” Kimiko pondered. “I mean, it’ll look pretty intimidating if you went in to grab it during the party.”
“Ryoma and I did a full inventory in preparation of the party.” Tetsuya explained. “Plus, several of the dishes he made required the use of a knife. Everything was there.”
“So that means that it had to be taken afterwards, right?” Risa asked as she looked around the courtroom. “But didn’t we all leave right after the party?”
“Most of us did, but a select mew stayed behind to help clean up, nya.” Hana informed the magician.
“Then one of them has to be the killer!” Jack summarized as he proudly crossed his arms.
“...You do realize you’re one of those suspects, right?” Tetsuya asked while he brushed his hair with a free hand.
“...Fuck.”
NONSTOP DEBATE
Truth Bullets: Party Cleanup / Tetsuya’s Account / Party Attendees / Kitchen Knife
Jack: Before you say anything, I’m totally innocent!
Jack: I didn’t even want to clean up in the first place!
Tetsuya: For once, he’s telling the truth. However…
Tetsuya: I did not take the knife either. I just washed the dishes and silverware everyone used.
Tetsuya: No one used a knife, let alone one that big.
Takako: Konomi helped me out with taking down decorations. We never left each other's sides until we left for the night.
Kai: And I kept my eyes on the box the entire time!
Kai: Well, I did help out here and there, but…
Kai: I mostly kept to myself.
Sumire: And no one entered the kitchen during that time?
Sumire: That means your alibis are good, yeah? For real this time?
Jirou: That knife still got removed, though! There’s no denying that!
Risa: But if their clean up duties never involved going near the kitchen, then they must be in the clear, right?
Yuuki: Maybe we’re on the wrong track here…
Masakazu: There’s no doubt that the kitchen knife got taken last night, but are the people in charge of the cleanup really to blame? We may be in over our heads here...
-Testimony Selected: Alibis-
Masakazu: That must be it!
BREAK!
“With the information we have right now, I don’t think we can find out who took the kitchen knife.” Masakazu told the rest of the ultimates, which earned him a few concerned expressions.
“Does that mean we can’t figure out who killed Ryoma?” Konomi asked as she turned to the chess player.
Masakazu shook his head. “Not at all. There’s still plenty of evidence to go through, after all. And besides...I’m not convinced that we’ve got everything right so far.”
“What do you mean by that?” Yuuki questioned. “We’ve talked about the crime scene, body, and knife in great detail. Are you trying to say that we got something wrong along the way?”
“Well, don’t leave us in suspense! Tell us just what we got wrong, Masa!” Jack pleaded to the chess player.
“Let’s go over what we’ve talked about thus far. Ryoma was killed with a kitchen knife in the commons area this morning. The knife had to have been taken the night before, due to the morning announcement. And last but not least, everyone that was sleeping in their dorms has an alibi. Is this all correct?”
“Sounds like it.” Tetsuya nodded along as Masakazu addressed the main points the group discussed. “But you don’t seem to think so, do you?”
“No, I don’t.” Masakazu confirmed the waiter’s statement. “If everything that we’ve discussed is correct...then there’s one piece of irrefutable evidence that’s put into question.”
PRESENT THE EVIDENCE
Truth Bullet Selected: Monokuma File #1
Masakazu: I’ve got it!
BREAK!
“It’s the Monokuma File. It supposedly lists everything to do with the case, from the details of the victim’s body down to the essentials.”
“Ok then, what’s wrong with it?” Kai asked with a blank look. “Is there false information on it?”
Masakazu shook his head. “Quite the opposite. It’s got information that’ll open a whole new side of this trial that we’ve not considered yet. The part I’m talking about is…”
THINKING TIME
Question: What part of the Monokuma File is the most important?
A. Victim’s body
B. Crime scene
[C. Time of death]
Masakazu: I see it clearly!
BREAK!
“The piece of evidence that’s the most important part of the Monokuma File...the part that turns this entire trial on its head...is the estimated time of death.”
Masakazu looked around the courtroom at the other ultimates surrounding him. Most of them looked confused before it finally clicked for them.
“If the rest of the information on the file is correct, then the time of death has to be to. Therefore…”
“Ryoma was killed sometime around 10:20 pm, way after the scheduled period for nighttime!”
CLASS TRIAL POSTPONED
Hoo boy, this was a nightmare to format with all the bold and italicized text. But the first part of the trial is finally done! The 'minigames' are actual mechanics from the Danganronpa games themselves, to give you all the real Danganronpa experience!
Before I say anything else, huge thanks to CJ for designing Ryoma's portrait! Every Danganronpa game has death portraits for the characters that die, and I just couldn't have this story exist without some form of representation of that. Besides the character design from Liquid and the design of the X from me, everything else was done entirely by her, so kudos to her!
For this trial and future trials, I'll be leaving the QOTD out to prevent potentially spoiling something. Besides, these trials are bound to influence some pretty great theories and predictions regardless!
That's all for today's ending segment. Until next update!~
-♞ Chess Boi
Before I say anything else, huge thanks to CJ for designing Ryoma's portrait! Every Danganronpa game has death portraits for the characters that die, and I just couldn't have this story exist without some form of representation of that. Besides the character design from Liquid and the design of the X from me, everything else was done entirely by her, so kudos to her!
For this trial and future trials, I'll be leaving the QOTD out to prevent potentially spoiling something. Besides, these trials are bound to influence some pretty great theories and predictions regardless!
That's all for today's ending segment. Until next update!~
-♞ Chess Boi