Third Class Trial

We all took our places at the Courtroom, and Monokuma started things off by reminding us of the rules. Part of me realized that this was almost feeling...normal to me, and this realization shocked me deep inside. This courtroom proceeding wasn't normal. Students killing one another in this...school...wasn't normal. Was I becoming desensitized to this?

I closed my eyes and shook my head quickly. This was no time to lose my nerve. Desensitized or not, our lives were still at stake. I could deal with this feeling later; for now, I needed to focus!

To be honest, I was too lost in these thoughts to hear what Monokuma was saying to us, but I really didn't care anymore. I just wanted this nightmare to be over with, so we could all leave.

As I expected, Kokichi started things off.

"So, Maki, how did little Miss Murder Girl manage to kill Ibuki? Huh?"

Maki's eyes...I almost swore they turned solid black for a moment, but that could've been a figment of my imagination. She didn't say a word, though; she just glared malevolently at Kokichi. She made no response; however, Peko responded to Kokichi.

"Maki could not have killed Ibuki. She was with me, in the Dojo, watching me practice my katana strikes. Afterwards, we discussed various sword techniques, though Maki seemed less interested in the topic than I."

Akane spoke up next. "And ya better believe Peko, too! I passed Peko and Maki as I left the Dojo, after I finished beatin' the crap outta those bags!"

Maki looked over at Akane, still saying nothing, but nodding towards her, seemingly in agreement.

I decided to speak next. "Ok, so we can rule out Peko, Maki, and Akane, for they're all vouching for each other. I can also vouch for Nagito not being the killer, for me and him were speaking to each other in the Courtyard. Monokuma even came out to interrupt us..." I thought for a moment, then decided to go for it. "Didn't you, Monokuma?"

Monokuma turned to face me. "Hey, I'm not part of this Class Trial! I only pass judgment!"

Nagito responded, "But you DID see us there, didn't you?"

Monokuma growled, seemingly annoyed. "Ok, fine, you're both right. Nagito and Shurinku were both in the Courtyard from 12:30am until around 1am."

Byakuya nodded slightly. "Ok so that removes Peko, Maki, Akane, Nagito, and Shurinku from the list of suspects. May I also remove myself, and Kirumi, as well? Kirumi was assisting me in the library, with something."

Kokichi replied, "Oh? With what? Care to share with us?"

Byakuya glared at Kokichi. "We were discussing a few books together. The name of the books does not matter to this trial."

Kirumi nodded. "Yes, this is correct. Byakuya and I were in the library together that night. We left around 1:30am, after arriving just after the Lights Out message. Neither of us left the Library during that time."

I nodded. "So that leaves Kokichi, Hina, or Soda..."

Kokichi started grinning, and I had a gut feeling I wasn't like what he was about to say.

"It had to be Hina! Hina totally smashed poor Ibuki's head in!"

Hina's eyes shot wide open. "What?! It wasn't me! There's no way I could-"

Kokichi leaned forward, grinning more. "Don't lie to a liar, Hina. You killed Ibuki, and I know how you did it!"

Hina looked both shocked and scared, but Akane was the one to respond to Kokichi.

"You're wrong, Kokichi. My gut tells me it couldn't have been Hina, and I'm not just sayin' that because she's my friend!"

I carefully considered the situation, wondering if I should play my trump card now, or save it for a better time. I decided that, if I didn't play it now, the group may vote Hina guilty, but I was sure she wasn't the culprit.

"Guys, I'm with Akane here. I really doubt Hina had the strength to kill Ibuki like this."

Mikan agreed with me. "Y-y-yeah. Whoever struck Ibuki used a large object, and was reasonably strong. I know Aoi is strong, but...I d-d-don't think she was capable of dealing this m-much damage."

Byakuya seemed to perk up at Mikan's words. "Ah, yes. This seems to be a great time to bring that up. What WAS the murder weapon, anyway? Did anyone find it?"

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I found a guitar in the Music Room, that was damaged on the back. Its neck was broken, with only the strings holding it together. Judging from this, I feel that Ibuki was actually killed in the Music Room, and taken to the Shop Room after she died."

Kirumi nodded in agreement. "Ibuki smelled of cleaner, so I went to the Kitchen to investigate. There's a cleaner in there that's great for cleaning up blood, chocolate, wine, and other hard-to-remove stains. I believe this was used around Ibuki's body, to remove blood from her so the lack of a blood stain or puddle wouldn't be noticed."

Mikan agreed with Kirumi, adding that she smelled this chemical as well around Ibuki's head injury, but doubted that the cleaning agent could have been used to kill Ibuki. She firmly believed that the blunt force trauma killed Ibuki.

Kokichi smiled again, clearly up to mischief at this point. "Wooooww! So Shuri found the murder weapon and location! Maybe Ibuki killed herself with her own guitar, then!"

Byakuya sighed. "Kokichi, as hard as this request may be for you, try not to be stupid. There's no way Ibuki could have killed herself with a guitar. Or are you implying that she swung the guitar and struck her face and arm hard enough to kill herself?"

Kazuichi, who had been quiet up to this point, decided to speak up. "We can't rule that out, guys! She could've used the electric cord connecting it to the amp, and then swung the bass guitar like a pendulum to kill herself!"

Bass guitar...Oh no. Soda, you idiot!

My eyes shot wide open, and I felt a shiver go through me.

"Ummmm...Soda? I never said it was a Bass Guitar..."

Byakuya glared at Soda. "Shurinku's right, he never mentioned that detail. How did you know it was a bass guitar, Kazuichi?"

Soda looked flustered. "Well, it doesn't matter! Ibuki was killed with a bass guitar!"

Kirumi turned her head sadly, and looked at Soda. "Regretfully, it does matter, Kazuichi. How did you know this information without Shurinku revealing it?"

Soda replied, "Hey! What a wicked way to back me into a wall!"

I shook my head. "Soda, it's too late. You've already, unwittingly, confessed to killing Ibuki. I never said it was a bass guitar, and no one should've known that, either."

Kazuichi grabbed his head in frustration, gritting at me. "Shut up, Shurinku! Shut up forever!!"

Monokuma sprang up to his feet. "Well, it sounds like voting time! Everyone cast your votes, and let's see who the Blackened is!"

Everyone's screens changed, and we all cast our votes. I chose Soda.

After everyone cast their votes, Monokuma's podium screen lit up, and rolled two 16-sided dice on a Craps table. Both dice bounced off the far wall, then rolled before coming to a stop. Soda's face shown on both dice.

Monokuma started clapping. "Corrrr-ecto! Ibuki Mioda's killer was Kazuichi Soda, the same guy who voted Ibuki in the last Class Trial! Honestly, I'm sure a few of you already saw this coming."

Kazuichi just stared at the floor. "Just kill me right now. Then this nightmare can end, and I can see my..." Kazuichi took a deep breath. "My Miss Miu again."

As had happened far too many times already, the door to the Execution Room opened. Suddenly, the entire table spun in a circle, until Soda's back was to the Execution Room's door. A manacle shot out gripping Soda around his neck. The manacle's chain dragged Soda out of the room. In hindsight, I suppose it had always spun like that, but we were all too focused on the Blackened, and too in shock, to notice the floor moving. We all ran after Soda, dreading the moments to come.

Soda was wrapped up in the chain, manacle still around his neck, and was being pulled into a large rocket, with a tank-like barrel sticking out of its side. A sign shown above us read "Kazuichi's Execution: Tanks A Lot!"

Kazuichi was pulled head-first into it, manacle and all. The tank barrel then pointed upwards, at about a 45 degree angle, and fired. However, instead of a cannonball coming out, it was a shower of blood and bones. Nothing else was left of Kazuichi Soda.

At the previous executions, I had felt a strong, almost crushing sense of sadness. With Soda, however, I was just...Annoyed? Angry? I just felt like Soda threw his life away because a pretty girl he liked got voted as the Blackened. I expected more from Soda, but he clearly lost it when he couldn't believe Ibuki wasn't held responsible for Keebo's death, and must've felt the need to "right a wrong". That's the only sense I could make of all this.

Eventually, we all left the Execution Room, and went our separate ways. Strangely, not even Hina cried for Soda, though that may have been because he tried to claim she was Ibuki's murderer.

Fortunately for us, the next few days held some fun things in store for us. At this point, we needed it.