Fifth Class Trial

As we always did, we took our places, without even thinking about it anymore. It almost felt as normal as going to bed, or walking into the Dining Hall to get food.

However, this time was different. Instead of Monokuma sitting at his chair, it was...someone else. A young man, maybe a year or two older than us, with red eyes and ridiculously long black hair, perhaps even longer than his body, sat on the chair, his head leaning on his right fist as if bored. He wore a black suit, with a white collared shirt and a simple black tie.

Peko reached back for her shinai, but not drawing it out yet. "Who, may I ask, are you?"

The young man answered, barely even moving his eyes to look at her. "I am called Izuru Kamukura."

Maki cocked her head. "You are called? Don't you mean that's your name?"

"However you wish to put it. I wished to watch this final Class Trial myself, rather than through Monokuma's eyes. I thought this might be less boring." Izuru's voice did not even slightly fluctuate, as if he was either half-asleep, bored out of his mind, or simply didn't care about any of this.

Deciding that Izuru's temperament was irrelevant, I decided to steer everyone back to the Class Trial. "Guys, let's stay focused, alright? We're here to figure out who killed Nagito, not worry about who's officiating this trial, alright? So, where should we start?"

Peko, oddly enough, spoke up. "I'm most curious about -"

Kokichi interrupted her. "About how the Ultimate Assassin killed Nagito? Right, Murder Girl?"

Maki glared malevolently at Kokichi. "If I wanted to kill someone, it would've been YOU, not him, you stupid son of a bitch!"

"Nee-heehee! So you admit you DO want to kill someone, riiiight?"

Maki looked over at Izuru. "You said this was the last Trial, right?"

Izuru responded, without moving an inch. "Yes."

Maki smirked. "Good. I've wanted to do this for a while now!"

Maki leapt over her pedestal, and was upon Kokichi in a flash, her hands around Kokichi's throat. "I. Have had. Enough. Of your taunting. And your lies. And your BULLSHIT!!"

Alarmed, I looked over at Izuru. "Ummmm....are you going to allow this?"

Izuru calmly said, "I don't really care."

Meanwhile, Peko had jumped to Kokichi's defense, and was chiding Maki about a "senseless killing", though I missed most of it. Maki, at the meanwhile, was glaring at Kokichi, who was fake-bawling.

Glancing towards Byakuya, who looked very irritated, I decided to start things with him.

"Ok, so did anyone find anything useful during their investigation?" I asked, trying to get this trial steering in some direction, ANY direction.

Byakuya nodded. "Yes, I discovered that two darts were missing from the Game Room. I believe those same two darts were somehow used in killing Nagito. I saw no signs of a struggle, or foul play, in the Game Room; thus, I find it highly unlikely that Nagito's death took place there."

I nodded in agreement. "I find it highly likely Nagito met his end in that incinerator. And that...brings up the next question. How, exactly, did he end up in there?"

Kokichi snickered. "Nee-heehee! He just climbed right up in there, of course!"

Byakuya scoffed. "Now, what kind of idiot would do that? Even someone like Nagito isn't that stupid."

Maki, oddly enough, agreed with Kokichi. "As much as I hate to, I must agree with the purple gremlin bastard over there, I think he's right. My investigation into the incinerator showed me that there is a safety sensor within the incinerator. It would not turn on if something was within the doorway, and once the gate is pulled closed, there is no way to reach the button. Thus, the only real way I see Nagito dying in the incinerator is if either someone put him in there after death, or if he climbed in himself."

I added, "I checked the camera logs in the Trash Room myself. Only three people entered the Trash Room yesterday. Maki, at 3:55pm, and Kokichi and Nagito at 4:15pm. Now, a question for Kokichi: Did you see Maki in the Trash Room when you entered at 4:15pm?"

Kokichi shrugged. "Who's to say? Being an Ultimate Assassin, she could've hidden herself where I couldn't see her. Just because I didn't see her doesn't mean she wasn't there!"

I took a deep breath. "That doesn't answer my question. Did you see her in there? Yes or no."

Kokichi laughed."Nee-heehee! Who can say?"

Maki answered, again. "Kokichi did not see me, because I was not there. I just threw my trash away and left."

Kokichi grinned. "Oh, but what if that's a lie? I say Maki waited for us there, in the Trash Room!"

Peko spoke up. "No, you didn't, Kokichi. After Maki threw her trash away, she met me at the Dojo around 4:05pm. Thus, you could not have seen her at 4:15pm."

Maki nodded, glaring at Kokichi. "Yes, as Peko stated. I reluctantly sparred against Peko, using a baseball bat from the Batting Cages to fend against Peko's attacks, but never striking her myself. Afterwards, we critiqued each other's styles of 'swordplay', if you will."

Kokichi chuckled. "Yeah, that was a lie. I never saw Maki there."

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I resumed. "So Maki was not there when Kokichi went to the Trash Room with Nagito at 4:15pm. However, that was over 13 hours before his death. Furthermore, was shown entering the Trash Room, alone, at 5am. I'm thinking someone followed Nagito into the Trash Room and killed him then...but one thing still eludes me."

Maki and Peko tilted their heads. Kokichi was grinning like an idiot. Byakuya asked the question.

"And what might that be? How the killer got Nagito into the incinerator without having their picture taken?"

I nodded. "Precisely. The Trash Room door is heavy, and shuts itself, so it doesn't stay open on its own. This forces the question: How was Nagito burnt up in the Incinerator without the murderer being photographed too? And how was the door kept open?"

Maki replied, "To the second question, I believe this dart was wedged into the doorway to keep it open. With the way the door opens, it would still give a clear shot to the incinerator's on/off button."

"Which brings up an interesting theory. I believe the second dart was thrown at the incinerator's on/off button, to hit the button without themselves showing up in the camera photos."

Peko responded, "For me, this leaves me with a list of 5 people who could've pulled this shot off. I'll list them by order of likeliness, if you don't mind."

Byakuya and I nodded, but Byakuya spoke first. "Proceed."

Peko nodded back. "Byakuya could pull this shot off, and hates Nagito enough, but I highly doubt he did it."

Byakuya looked mildly insulted that he was considered a suspect, but seemed accepting of Peko's logic.

Peko continued. "While I don't doubt that Nagito could pull off some sort of miraculous trick shot, Maki has already proven that he could not have done this himself. The incinerator will not turn on if the incinerator's door is open, or if there is something triggering the safety sensor in the doorway. Thus, I deem this impossible."

Maki, Byakuya, and I nodded in agreement. Kokichi, meanwhile, was looking at Mikan, who was looking back at Kokichi with confusion.

Peko resumed. "In my eyes, this leaves three likely suspects who could've pulled this shot off, and gotten Nagito to accompany them to the Trash Room. Maki, Shuri, and Kokichi."

Wait...what? Me again?

Kokichi shot back, "Seems convenient to leave yourself out, eh, Miss Katana Killer?"

I came to Peko's defense. "No disrespect intended, but Peko couldn't have pulled this shot off. She's great with melee weapons, but her dart throwing skill leaves much to be desired. I don't think she could have pulled this off."

This leaves us with three suspects: Maki, who hates Kokichi more than Nagito, but certainly had the skill to pull something like this off.

Kokichi, who was already plotting with Nagito, who was willing to die to be a stepping stone for "hope", whatever that meant...did that mean murder, though?

And...me, as much as I hate to admit it. I was the one who found the body, and likely one of the first ones up today. Not to mention, I had just played Peko at darts, and she could attest to my dart skills...

But I already know it wasn't me. I did not kill Nagito.  So was it Maki, or Kokichi?

Kokichi, once again, spoke up. "Since I know Shuri didn't do it, that leaves you and me. So, once again, how did you kill Nagito, Murder Girl?"

Maki's eyes...I swear I saw a hint of smoke come from them, she was so pissed.

I interjected. "Ok, ok, let's go back over what we know. At 5am, Nagito was photographed going into the Trash Room, nothing in hand. This means either Nagito had the darts in his pocket, or he did not have them at all. Five minutes later, Nagito burned to death. It takes several minutes to burn to death, so it's likely Nagito went straight into the incinerator, again, with nothing in hand. Thus, it's impossible for him to have gone to the incinerator for any other reason..."

A thought occurred to me. "Izuru, if I may?" I have a few questions only you can answer, regarding the Trash Room camera."

Izuru answered immediately, "The camera takes a picture any time a person's body crosses the threshold by more than 12 inches, due to a sensor underneath the floor. Opening the door, in itself, does not take a picture, because the door is on the other side of this sensor, and the doorknob is too high. There is a one-second delay on the camera."

...Izuru answered my questions on the camera before I even had a chance to ask them. Shaking the awestruck feeling out of my head, I continued. "So the killer could not actually enter the room to kill Nagito. I hate to say it, but it sounds like Nagito was working, perhaps even cooperatively, with their killer.

And if that was the case, there's only one person I could think of.

Kokichi.

Something else occurred to me. I turned to face Kokichi. "Weren't you and Nagito working together on something? A plan, of sorts?"

Kokichi grinned at me, and I didn't like the look in his eyes. "Wooooww! You still remember that detail, don't you, Shuri? Yes, me and Nagito were working together on a plan to get everyone out of here. And I even made a deal with Monokuma to..."

Byakuya cut him off. "You made a deal with Monokuma? Are you...never mind. Of course you're insane."

I resumed. "What was this deal, Kokichi?"

Kokichi smiled, his hands behind his head. "I made a deal to stop the killing game and let everyone go free, of course!"

I glanced at Izuru, who did not even acknowledge that anything was said, then refocused my attention on Kokichi. "And what did this 'deal' entail?"

Kokichi shook his head. "You already know what the deal was, Shurinku. Put it together!"

I closed my eyes and thought about every conversation I've ever had with Kokichi. How he saw a "Medusa Man", which must have been Izuru. How he had made a deal with Monokuma to let Monokuma eat Nagito, so everyone can go...

Home...

...Kokichi, you stupid son of a bitch!!

Just then, everything clicked. Kokichi lied about letting Monokuma eat Nagito, but was telling the truth about seeing Izuru, about making a deal with Monokuma, and this morning, carried out this plan with Nagito.

I thought more...How, exactly, did he do this? I faintly heard someone say my name, but was too focused in thought to tell who was speaking to me. I just put a finger up, then tapped my forehead a few times.

"Here's my theory. The previous day, at 4:15pm, the two must have finalized their plan, with Nagito's obsession with Hope, and wanting to die to be someone's stepping stone, playing into Kokichi's plans to get everyone out of the Killing Game..."

"Nagito entered the Trash Room, by himself, at 5am. Nagito entered the incinerator, by himself.  Kokichi used a dart to lodge the Trash Room door open, then threw another dart at the incinerator's on/off switch, striking it and turning it on, burning Nagito alive in the process."

"As for Kokichi's afterplan, he either planned on pinning things on Maki, the Ultimate Assassin, to escape with his life, or knew we'd figure out whodunit, sacrificing himself to truly set the rest of us free..."

"Yes, the second option seemed more like Kokichi. He sacrificed Nagito, who was willing to be used in this manner, so the rest of us could go free, even though he knew he would be caught and...executed."

Kokichi looked down, sorrowfully, then started his play-bawling again.

"WAAAAAHH-haaaaa-haaaa! You figured it all out! Oh well, you all hate me anyway, but at least I wasn't boring, was I?"

Not able to comprehend what he just asked, Kokichi continued. "Alright, Izuru, go ahead and kill me, but you better hold up your end of the bargain! Otherwise, I'll come back as a ghost, bend you over, and poop in your butt! Nee-heehee!"

Gazing into Kokichi's eyes, I could tell he was putting on a facade. His eyes screamed terror, but he was putting on a show to hide it from the rest of us.

Izuru finally spoke, with almost no life in his voice. "Are we finished here? If so, let's vote."

For the final time, the voting panel appeared. I chose Kokichi.

For the final time, the Craps dice rolled on the screen, this time settling on Kokichi.

For the final time, the platform we all stood on spun around, until Kokichi's back was to the Execution Room. The door opened, and a manacle shot out, grasping Kokichi by his neck and dragging him backwards. Looking up, I saw a sign above the entryway reading "Kokichi Oma's Execution: Coup d'Etat.

Kokichi ended up pinned to a pillar, tied up with the chain that dragged him. Kokichi was alongside 11 other people, each dressed like Kokichi, but with clown masks on. Kokichi looked at the clowns, terrified, as if maybe he recognized them...perhaps they were his agents?

Monokuma walked up, with a pistol in his hand, and shot each clown square between the eyes, blood splattering from each wound as the head flew backwards. Kokichi closed his eyes, tears streaming from his face, as each clown was killed alongside him.

After the eleventh clown was killed, Monokuma raised his left hand, then quickly lowered it, causing each of the masks to fall off, revealing...mannequins with red food coloring pouches on their foreheads. Monokuma chuckled. "Awww, did you think these were your DICE members? Nope, it's a lie! A-hahahahaha!!"

Kokichi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at this, but then Monokuma aimed the pistol at Kokichi's head and pulled the trigger, splattering Kokichi's brains all over the pillar as his head flew backwards, blood flowing from his head wound, dripping down his nose, as his head lowered and his body went limp.

Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, was dead.

I looked back to where Izuru Kamukura was sitting, but he had already vanished. We walked ourselves out of the courtroom, silently. We all headed to our dorms, except Byakuya, who headed upstairs, likely to the Library. I wasn't even hungry for breakfast anymore, after witnessing Kokichi's execution.

Instead, I went back to sleep, the clock reading 10:30am, wondering what would come of the deal with the devil Kokichi made. Would it be honored?

We would find out later tonight.