We went inside the Shrine of Judgement and found a rather... disturbing statue inside. "What is this?" Kaito stared upon the statue with the body of a man and the face of Monokuma as I covered Himiko's eyes with my hand. "Honestly, nothing important."

The statue threw the goblet it was holding and disappeared into the fountain, being replaced with a bridge leading to the door behind it. "Is that an elevator?" K1-B0 asked.

"It looks like it. I think that's where the trial room is."

We all went into the surprisingly spacious elevator and it descended into the underground.

"I suddenly feel like I need to go to the bathroom." Himiko said. I put my hand on her shoulder. "Don't be nervous. We'll be fine!" I looked at Kaede and Shuichi. They seemed to be having a serious talk so I decided not to say anything to them.

The elevator slowed and opened, revealing a courtroom with different stands for each student. Monokuma began to explain the Class Trials and how they worked. I gulped at the word execution. We have to guess right or we die? That's... hardcore, isn't it? "I haven't been in a trial in like, forever." Kokichi announced. Wait, he's telling the truth?!

"Oh... so you have experience with trials?" Tsumugi asked, nervously. Why does she look concerned? "Yeah, I've done a lot of evil stuff, so it's happened." Kokichi replied. "Where are we even supposed to start?" Kaito asked. "It's not like I've done this before."

Kiyo cleared his throat. "Well, one thing I found curious was why the culprit didn't take advantage of the first blood perk." Miu laughed. "That's because Monokuma's the culprit! He's the one who designed all this. Boo-yah! I'm a genius!"

I thought for a moment. "Wait, Miu, I don't think that's the case. If you look at Monokuma, for one, he doesn't look strong enough to move a bookcase. Another thing, if he were able to, he wouldn't be able to reach the card insert. Besides, it says in the rules that he can't directly attack someone."

Monokuma nodded. "We've got a smart one in the house! That's expected of someone with a 170 IQ!" My eyes widened. I don't even know my own IQ, so how does he? "So, you can't directly attack someone, but that doesn't apply to the person controlling you, does it?" Kaede questioned.

Monokuma hummed in confusion. "Is it possible that the mastermind controlling Monokuma killed Rantaro?" I put my hand on my chin.

That would make sense. He found out about a vital secret in this school, so the mastermind wouldn't want him knowing. "Mastermind? Wuzzat?" Monokuma asked.

All of the animatronic bears in the room denied their knowledge of this mastermind. "Don't play dumb with me! Who's the mastermind controlling you guys?" Kaede questioned, a bit more firmly. "Odds are, it's one of us." Ryoma stated.

Kokichi put his hands behind his head. "It's Kee-boy over here! Everyone thinks so!"

"Now, Kokichi, we can't accuse someone without any proof." I reminded. "Besides, despite the fact that K1-B0 claims he was in his room at the time of the murder, his metal would've shown at least a little bit because of the flash from the camera." Kaede nodded. "We've gotta get to the bottom of this."

I straightened up and clapped my hands. "Alright, the victim was Rantaro Amami. He was found dead in the library, and was last seen in the game room with Himiko, Kaito, Tenko, Angie, and Maki. Gonta was in the A/V room watching a bug movie. Any objections?"

Everyone was silent. "So, Rantaro's body was found just before the time limit, at about 9:20pm." Tenko stated. Angie also added that, "He was alone in the library, so someone could've snuck up on him!"

"What was Rantaro doing in the library anyways?" Ryoma wondered.

"He was there to open the bookcase because he knew about the hidden door!" Kaito concluded. "That means Rantaro was masterminding this whole thing!"

My eyes widened. "No! That's wrong!" Everyone looked at me. "If Rantaro was the mastermind, the killing game would've been over because there's no one to control Monokuma or the Monokubs. Also, when we examined Rantaro's body, no keycard was found to possibly open the door." Shuichi agreed. "Even if the keycard was taken from him, the photos show that he didn't have the keycard on him. It was his Monopad."

"What if Rantaro stumbled across the library like Shuichi did?" Kokichi asked. Ryoma assumed that, "Maybe the mastermind told him about it."

Angie tilted her head. "Why would they do that?" I looked to the floor, knowing exactly what Ryoma was about to say.

"To lure him into the library and kill him." Ryoma stated. "Does that mean the culprit and the mastermind are one in the same?"

Kiyo put his hand on his face in a thinking manner. "It seems possible. Maybe the mastermind knew about Shuichi and Kaede's trap." Kaede looked at him, curious. "With the photos taken by the cameras, this would've been over already. So, the mastermind exploited it to commit their crime." Hm, good guess.

"So after the mastermind murder Rantaro, they arranged Kaediots and Poo-ichi's cameras to arrange the perfect crime!" Tsumugi looked worried. "Does that mean that we've come across an unsolvable crime?" I looked up from the floor. "Wait! How did the mastermind mess with the cameras if they were taped down? Remember, Shuichi said that Kaede taped hers down really tight!" Kaede confirmed this information with a nod.

"Well here's the cold hard truth." Kokichi began. "I already know who killed Rantaro."

Monokuma gasped in panic. "Why are you surprised?" Maki asked. "Because if he gets it right, this would be the fastest trial in history!"

I looked at Kokichi. "So who do you think it is?" Kokichi explained. "I think it's you!" He pointed to Miu. "You're the one who made the cameras, right? You would know all the blind spots!" I looked at Miu, waiting for a response.

"Well, the only time she could've snuck by was before breakfast." Ryoma recalled.

"What the heck brought this on, all of a sudden?" Miu shuddered. "I-I just designed the cameras! I didn't know they'd be set up in the library!"

"If someone asked me to build cameras, I totally would've asked what they were for!" Kokichi claimed. Angie tilted her entire upper half. "How come you didn't ask what they were for?"

Miu folded her hands in front of her. "I-I pulled an all-nighter making them. After I finished... I just sorta passed out." Everyone was suspicious. "Come on! Let me off the hook already!" Miu ordered. "Do you want money? Is that it?" Everyone was suspicious of Miu... but...

"But... Miu didn't even go to the basement at the time. Right Kiyo?" I peered at Kiyo and he answered with a singular nod. "She was making her drone at the time, in the dining hall. That's her alibi."

Miu scoffed. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" Then, Tsumugi made an anime reference... I believe. "Another reference we don't get. You really must be a hardcore loser." Kokichi said.

"Don't act all high and mighty!" Miu yelled. "You put me in the hot seat earlier, you lying little abortion!"

Kokichi looked down. "I was just trying to find the culprit..." he whimpered. Suddenly, "WAAAAAHHHHHH!! YOU'RE SO MEAN! 'Kay, I feel better now." Was that really necessary? "Tsumugi and Kirumi were in the dining hall as well." Kiyo added.

"Wait, but didn't you say Tsumugi went to the washroom for a period of time?" I asked. Kiyo nodded. "And according to Kaede, Tsumugi physically cannot disguise herself as someone else."

Maki put her hand on her chin. "So we know Kiyo, Tsumugi, Kirumi, and Miu are not the culprit."

"So it's one of the people who went down to the basement!" Miu concluded. "Wait, who went down to the basement?" Kiyo asked. Kaede counted her fingers. "Gonta, Kaito, Maki, Himiko, Angie, Tenko, and Rantaro. So seven in total."

Kiyo held his finger in front of the zipper of his mask. "Why not torture the truth outta them?" I waved my hands in front of me. "Th-that won't be necessary!" They started blaming each other, but I yelled. "WAIT!" Everyone looked at me. "We've heard everyone's alibi, and they seem to be true."

I thought back to the investigation. "Both Maki and Tenko have the same alibi, meaning that what they said is true. Kaito was with Tenko, meaning that he didn't leave Tenko's side while the rest stayed in the game room. Gonta, who claimed to be watching a bug movie, was in the A/V room. When we investigated, we confirmed that one, there is a bug movie in there, and two, the projector was on for at least the past hour."

Miu decided to add in her statement. "But the other exit leading to the library was there! He could've easily gone from the A/V room to the library and killed Rantaro!"

My eyes widened. "No, that's wrong!" I looked at Shuichi, signalling for him to add to his discovery. "The sliding door couldn't be opened. The widest it could go was wide enough to fit your arm through! There was no sign of a forced open because the dust at the bottom of the door was still there."

Miu crossed her arms. "So I was wrong... how rare." Kokichi giggled as he put his hands behind his head. "No it's not! Your entire existence is a mistake." I slapped him in the back of the head. "Kokichi, one, that isn't nice, and two, it's not helpful."

"See? Gonta is not culprit!" He claimed, but Kirumi objected. "That doesn't mean he isn't the culprit. It simply means he didn't leave the A/V room." She explained how the layout of the school would allow Gonta to throw the shot put ball at Rantaro's head. "It is definitely possible." Gonta seemed to be the new person in the so-called "hot seat" now. "I'd like to believe you, but without evidence, I cannot." Kiyo stated.

I looked at Kirumi, then thought of the photos. "I doubt that... Remember, in the photos, it showed that the bookcase was still opened. If Gonta were to throw the shot put ball, it would've hit the bookcase, signalling to Rantaro that there was someone watching him, making him leave."

I took one of the photos out of my pocket and showed it to everyone. "See? He's reaching out to the camera in this picture, but the bookcase is still opened. Besides, it was on the brink of closing when we came in anyway."

Angie laughed. "Atua gifted you with this ability and intelligence! I shall thank him." Ryoma sighed. "So... we're out of suspects then." Miu scoffed. "The only other piece of evidence we have is the shot put ball? What the heck?"

"Where did the culprit get the ball anyways?" Maki wondered. I looked at the ground again. "Y/N, you seem to be deep in thought. Care to share?" Kirumi asked.

"When we examined the body, it was determined that Rantaro had no other injuries, right?" Shuichi nodded. "So no one used some other means to kill him and staged the ball... it had to be thrown."

"But where did the culprit... get... the ball?" I looked at Kaede, pure fear indicated on my face.

"K-Kaede... when I found you in the warehouse... you were looking at something... right?" Kaede nodded. "Do you happen to remember... What that thing is?" Kaede thought for a moment. "Y/N... what are you saying right now?" Shuichi asked. I looked to the ground again. "N-Never mind! It's nothing..."

"Atua has spoken to me! The way the culprit wasn't in the cameras was because they avoided them completely!" Kaito looked at Angie. "W-what? How?"

She explained. "The culprit was hiding in the library while Shuichi and Kaede were putting up the cameras, in the hidden door!" Kaede looked at Angie. "That's wrong! When Shuichi and I were investigating, the dust we put in the card insert to make sure we knew if someone got in the hidden door."

Ryoma contradicted that statement with the fact that there are a lot of books in the library. "They could've been hiding in the books, and once the deed was done, they went back into hiding. When everyone was called back into the room, they made it look like they had just run in."

I turned to Kaede. "I have something to say about that." She asked me for the front entrance photos and once I handed them to her, she showed everyone in the room. "These photos have everyone entering the library. The culprit couldn't have made it look like they walked in like everyone else if the camera shows that everyone ran in together!"

Ryoma pulled his hat down. "Ah... I guess that covers everyone." Kaede smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's better to look at all possibilities. Right Shuichi? Y/N?" We both looked up at her.

"A-ah."

"Right."

I adjusted my tie as Shuichi and I looked at each other uncomfortably. "How did the killer avoid being caught by the cameras?" Kiyo wondered. "It's almost like they were invisible." I glanced at Himiko, knowing that she was hinting at magic. It could be possible, but it was unlikely.

"But both doors had cameras on them."

"Maybe the culprit went through the vents?"

"But Shuichi and I were on the lookout the whole time."

I remembered seeing Shuichi going down to the basement to check where the group of seven went, leaving Kaede... alone. "No...." I accidentally said aloud. "What is it, Y/N?" Kirumi asked me. "I-I mean, Kaede stacked books in front of the vent so nobody could've gone through the vent without- without making them collapse!" I laughed nervously. "Yep... the vents are out of the question..."

"Ah ha!" Miu exclaimed. "The culprit got into the library through the front door!" K1-B0 looked at her, clear annoyance present on his artificial features. "If the culprit did, they would've been caught by the camera. Were you even listening?" Miu scoffed. "Of course I was, but between each shot, there are intervals. They snuck into the library between camera shots to avoid showing up in the photos! The culprit had to have known about the intervals!"

Kaede seemed confused. "Wait, Miu, what are these intervals you're talking about?"

"Oh, now you're asking me. Well, the intervals make it so the camera can't take photos for 30 seconds. I told your little betaboy." Kaede looked at Shuichi. "This is the first I'm hearing about this." Everyone turned to Shuichi. "A-ah... I guess I forgot." Kiyo eyed Shuichi. "I forgot... a pitiful excuse."

"The only other person who knew about the intervals was Shuichi." Maki stated. "Shuichi?" Everyone eyed Shuichi, suspiciously. But he was silent. "No! Me and Shuichi were together the whole time!" Kaede claimed.

"The whole time?"

Kaede faced the ground. "Okay, maybe not the whole time, but Shuichi wouldn't murder someone!"

"Kaede, you can't let emotions get the best of you here." Kiyo said. "I-I'm not! I'm just making a contradiction!" Kaede answered frantically. "Shuichi couldn't have committed the murder because... the sensors only went off because of Rantaro!" Kokichi looked at Kaede.

"Are you sure it was Rantaro? Did you check if Shuichi had even set the sensor behind the bookcase? What if he brought the sensor up with him and only set it off once he killed Rantaro?" Kaede looked to the ground, nervously. "I-I guess that's possible. B-but that's not the only reason! Another reason is because..."

Everyone began arguing amongst themselves. Some of us thought Shuichi was innocent, and some did not.

"I guess it's debate time!" Monokuma exclaimed. Our trial sections were organized into two groups: the defenders and prosecutors. I looked in front of me and was face to face with Kokichi. "Y/N, I hope you know what you're doing." He said with a smirk. Why the heck was it actually kind of cute?

Everyone began debating whether or not Shuichi was the culprit while I looked next to me and saw Shuichi's uncomfortable expression. I put my hand on his shoulder. "I know you're not the culprit, Shuichi." He shook his head. "That's not the problem." I looked back at the debate. "I know."

The defenders won... leaving us with nothing. "We've already looked into all the possible suspects. Who else could it be?" Kiyo said.

"Not all..." I pursed my lips uncomfortably. "We didn't really talk much about the murder weapon, did we?" Everyone listened to me intently. I gulped. "W-well, first of all, Kaede, Shuichi did tell you about the intervals." I showed everyone the photos. "Notice how none of these have Shuichi and Kaede leaving? It's because..." Shuichi took a shaky breath and straightened up. "I did tell Kaede about the intervals. That's how both of us left without appearing in the photos."

I covered my mouth and blinked rapidly. I can't believe I'm saying this. Shuichi pulled his hat over his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Y/N, Shuichi, you're afraid of telling the truth... aren't you?" Me and Shuichi both looked at Kaede. "You have to tell us... not only for me, but for everyone."

I faced down and breathed, shakily. "Sh-Shuichi... I-I can't..." Shuichi nodded and looked at everyone. "Well, the picture taken right before the murder shows Rantaro reaching for the camera, right? The flash made him notice the camera, so he reached to turn it off." I looked up and continued explaining. "The flash was on to distract whoever would open the bookcase so whoever did would try and take down the camera. The intervals, which the culprit knew about, was the time used to kill Rantaro."

Kaito spoke up, "Kaede... you've been acting kind of strange." Kiyo added to that remark. "Your last few remarks carry more conviction than before."

"Do you know who the culprit is?!" I couldn't take it anymore. I fell to my knees and saw small droplets fall on my knees.

"Whoa, Y-Y/N!" Kaito exclaimed, shocked. He turned to Kaede. "Yes... I've known who the culprit is for a long time now."

Kokichi kneeled down next to me and hugged me. "Come on, Kaede. This isn't getting any easier."

She sighed. "Both Shuichi and Y/N have known for a while... ever since the murder weapon was mentioned. I'm sorry Y/N... Shuichi. You guys were silent this whole time... when Shuichi was accused... during the debate... when we spoke about how the culprit hid from the cameras. You knew, didn't you? Guys... I want you to carry on my wish... and protect everyone."

"Kaede is the culprit." Everyone looked at Kaede in shock. "Just kidding!" Shuichi and I looked at Kaede, confused. Shuichi then remembered something and turned m to me while everyone was glad that Kaede wasn't the culprit. "Kaede," I began. "W-we know that you're the culprit. We're not kidding."

"Explain." Kaede said. "I was in the classroom the whole time, and we know the murder happened from the library." Shuichi yelled. "That's wrong! You killed him from the first floor! You rolled the shot put ball down the vent and it hit Rantaro!"

My eyes widened. "W-wait..." Everyone looked at me. It was a rather timid counter, but I still said my statement firmly. "S-sorry for the inconsistency, but wasn't Rantaro hit in the back of the head? Not the top?" Everyone stared at me, confused. "A-ah.. never mind."

"Wait, but the vent is so far from Rantaro's body. How'd he get hit from all the way over there?" Tenko said. "She was the one who arranged the books, remember? It was obvious that a camera couldn't fit there, but she tried anyway, resulting in the books leading to the camera facing the bookcase." He borrowed Miu's floor plan made by her drone. You could clearly see the bookcases were slanted.