Shuichi made his way over to the gym to watch Himiko's magic show, passing by Kirumi and exchanging a few lines. He finally entered to gym and was greeted by an extravagant stage.

Woah... This is even nicer than I thought it'd be.

Angie waved to Shuichi. "Welcome to our magic show! Whaddya think? Isn't it divine?"

Shuichi nodded with a smile. "Yeah, it is... I didn't think you would have a real stage set up. Do you and Yumeno-san do all this?"

Angie shook her head. "No no. This would be impossible with just two people. I got others to help us. Momota-kun and Kiibo-kun helped carry equipment from Yumeno-san's research lab... I designed the stage, but Toujou-san sewed the curtains." She giggled. "Everyone is so nice... God deserves all the credit."

"Ah... shouldn't everyone who worked on it get the credit?"

Angie ignored Shuichi's question. "Oh, well, I didn't ask you to help because I didn't know what you would be useful for."

Shuichi sighed. "...Did you really have to say that?"

Angie just clapped her hands together. "Anyway, just sit tight. Once we're done preparing, we'll start right away."

Shuichi blinked. "Done preparing? You're not ready yet?"

Angie merely hummed. "The star of the show needs to settle her nerves..." She eyed Himiko in the corner of the room, who was shaking violently. Angie skipped off to join her, leaving Shuichi to converse with the others.

He talked with a few others, Kirumi, Kiibo, Miu, before eventually getting to Ichika, who was silently swaying from side to side, looking over at Himiko.

"Are you worried about Yumeno-san, Aki-san?"

"Oh, well if it isn't Saihara-san." Ichika smiled up at Shuichi. "Well to answer your question, of course I am, I mean, look at the poor thing."

Shuichi nodded. "Yeah... She's really shaking huh?"

"Apparently those are real piranhas too, so..." Ichika shrugged. "I guess I understand why she's so scared."

"I really hope they thought this out thoroughly..." Shuichi sighed.

"They had Toujou-san helping, with that beautiful woman helping them, I'm sure they'll be fine." Ichika grinned while looking at Himiko. "Though I gotta admit, Yumeno-san is honestly pretty adorable like this." She giggled, licking her lips slightly.

Shuichi stared down at the small girl. "That's... That's a bit..."

"I'm just kidding... Maybe." Ichika snickered while Shuichi merely sighed.

Angie's voice then cut through the crowd. "Ready, Yumeno-san? Did you say your prayers and use the bathroom?"

"Nyeeeh... I said my prayers and went pee." Himiko responded.

"Nyahahaha! Then let's get the show started! Thank you, God, for being with us today!"

"Boo! Booooooo!!!You're supposed to thank us first!" Tenko cried out in a rage.

"Nyahahaha! I present to you the mysterious, the miraculous, The Amazing Yumeno-san!"

"N... Nyeh... Th-The magic I will perform today is the extreme water magic... U-U-Underwater... Escape... Act..." Himiko stammered out.

Angie clapped her hands together. "If you would please turn your attention to the tank in front of you! When the timer above the stage starts, Yumeno-san will enter the water tank. Once she's in the tank, her assistant - me! - will draw the curtain in front of the tank. After 60 seconds have passed on the timer... A separate, suspended tank will open and drop in a school of piranhas! Oh my goodness! After the piranhas have fallen, and the curtain is opened, if, by some miracle, Yumeno-san has been gobbled up, please give a big round of applause!"

"..." Himiko stared nervously at Angie.

"Juuust kidding! It's a joke!"

Kirumi looked at Himiko with concern. "... I'm concerned about Yumeno-san. She's not responding properly to Yonaga-sans jokes."

"I'm really worried... I have a bad feeling..."

"Ughhh... God...! Please protect Yume-" Tenko's eyes widened in horror. "...Wait! What am I doing praying to God!? That's Yonaga-san's schtick!"

"Well, I guess you could pray to some other god," Tsumugi responded.

Himiko spoke up. "Nyeeeh... Well then, let's begin... The amazing Yumeno's magic show!"

After making her announcement, Himiko walked over to the timer and started it. Then, she took a deep breath and jumped into the water.

"Okay! I'm closing the curtain!" Angie cheerfully made her way to the curtain and pulled it over Himiko's figure. They all stared at the tank silently watching, waiting. 10 seconds passed.

"Yumeno-san is still not out," Tenko said nervously.

"She went in mere moments ago," Korekiyo responded.

Another 10 seconds passed.

"W-Well, do you think she's alright?" Tenko was starting to freak out.

"Uhh... I'm starting to worry. Should we do something?" Gonta asked.

Yet another 10 seconds passed, and Himiko has yet to emerge.

"Sh-She still hasn't come out! Are you sure she's okay!?" Tenko practically screamed.

"I-I can't take it anymore!" Gonta ran up to the tank's stairs and clambered his way up on the stage.

"Aw, you can't do that! We're still in the middle of the show! Angie cried out.

"B-But if I don't do anything, Yumeno-san will get eaten by the piranhas-"

"Um... Less than 10 seconds remain..." Kiibo spoke up, nervously fiddling with his fingers.

"Heeeeeeeey! Gokuhara-san! Can you see Yumeno-san in there?" Ichika called out.

"Yumeno-saaaaaan!" Tenko screamed out as the timer hit zero and the buzzer went off. The bottom of the tank swung open and the murky water, as well as the shadowy figures inside, fell into the tank below.

"Hey! Can someone open the curtains?" Ichika yelled.

"H-Hurry! The curtains! Open the curtains already!" Tenko ran up to the tank.

"Got it. I'm opening it now!" Angie grabbed the curtain and opened it, but when she did, everyone in the gym froze on the spot.

In the water was Hoshi Ryoma, handcuffed. The piranhas all started attacking Ryoma, devouring him. The water turned into a bright pink liquid and we could see Ryoma's remains fall to the bottom of the tank. It took a few moments for everyone to even process it all.

"Behold! The magnificent Underwater Esca-" Himiko came out but was interrupted by the body discovery announcement.

"Nyeh? A body...? In the gym?" Himiko turned around to look at the tank. "...Nyeh...?"

At that moment, the three that were not present ran into the gym.

"Wh-Whats going on!?" Kaito screamed.

"I-I don't know! I don't know what happened!" Tenko responded.

"You guys need to calm down." Ichika pointed at the glass. "We need to break the tank to get to what's inside."

"Wh- break it?" Tsumugi asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, that sounds good. It'll take too long to drain it by hand." Kokichi agreed.

"But what would we even use to break it-" Shuichi started when Kokichi called out.

"Gokuhara-chan, Kiiboy! You're up!"

Kiibo took a few steps back. "Huh? What do you mean we're up?"

"Gokuhara-chan, throw Kiiboy as hard as you can! Use that robot like a batting ram!

"Who you calling a batting ram!?"

"Then, I'll help too!" Tenko chimed in.

"N-Now wait just a second. You don't need to team up now-" Kiibo started to protest but was ignored. Gonta and Tenko rushed up to Kiibo, grabbed him and chucked him at the tank. The sound of shattering glass and Kiibos screams filled the gym. The sound of gushing water dyed red with blood came pouring out like a tidal wave. After some deliberation, they decided to start cleaning up everything. Soon, everyone was ready for investigation.

"I've... gathered Hoshi-kun's body and belongings in one place." Kiibo looked a little depressed.

Korekiyo cupped his cheek in his hand. "He's been reduced such that he can be carried in one hand... How fleeting and fragile life is..."

"I... put the piranhas in the bucket." Gonta pointed a

"Today, Hoshi is fish food... And tomorrow, he'll be fish shit." Miu commented.

"D-Don't say such things..." Tsumugi shivered.

Tenko rushed to Himiko's side."Yumeno-san, are you okay?"

"This... wasn't an accident, was it? Does this mean... the killing game has started again?" Maki inquired.

"H-How...!? How... could this happen!?" Kokichi cried. "We... swore to each other, didn't we? We swore we'd never let the killing game start up again. So that was all just a lie! You guys are liars! All you liars apologize to Hoshi-chan! He believed the killing game wouldn't happen anymore!"

"Your disingenuous tears mark you as a liar right now..." Korekiyo growled.

"Oh, you figured it out? You've got a pretty good eye there, Shinguji-chan."

A flash of black and white ran across the room towards the students, and Monokuma then stood before them once again. "Heyyy guys! How's it feel now that you've got a second murder victim on your hands?" Monokuma took one look at Ryoma and tilted his head. "...Huh? Hoshi's transparent? Has my x-ray vision superpower finally awakened-"

"Father, you don't have superpowers." The four remaining Monokubs appeared beside Monokuma.

Monotaro sighed. "He's just been reduced to a skeleton."

"Finally! I've been waiting for this killin' game to start up again! That means we can put all this borin' crap on hold and start playin' the blame game!" Monosuke shouted enthusiastically.

Monokuma laughed. "You're rarin' to go, Mono... who are you again?"

"Monosuke! You should at least remember your own kid's name!"

"...MONOPHANIE, ARE-YOU-OKAY?" Monodam looked at a queazy Monophanie.

"Four..."

"Hmm?" Monotaro tilted his head. "Are you counting Monophanie? Why are you counting...?"

"Because... three... I'm seriously... two... gonna puke... one... NOW!" A white vomit came pouring out of her mouth. "...BLRGHBLRGHBLRGHBLRGHBLRGH!"

"Ah! She puked again!"

"Listen up! We're going to make sure the killin' game goes smoothly, capice?" Monosuke barked.

"Also, to keep me company," Monokuma added. "And new mascots presents lots of exciting business opportun-"

"Shut up, you failure!"

"What!? Me too!?"

"Hey, hey!" Angie chimed in. "This conversation is fun and all, but we should really get this over with! Don't we need to start investigating or something?"

Ichika nodded. "Also, I think someone needs to call emetic for Monophanie."

Miu stared at Ichika. "Did you just-"

"Alriiiiight! I'll get the culprit this time for sure! Hurry up and give us the thingy!" Kokichi chirped.

"You mean the Monokuma File, right!?" Monokuma pulled out the black tablet. "I also investigated the cause of death this time, so read it to your heart's delight." Monokuma and his cubs soon left, leaving the students to investigate.

"In any event... let us begin the investigation." Korekiyo suggested.

"Investigation... So it's really going to start again." Kiibo mumbled.

"I can't believe it... One of us killed Hoshi-kun..." Tsumugi's face was pale.

"No more... Gona no wanna suspect friends... No wanna suspect friends..."

"Then don't do it." Maki snapped. "I'm not going to investigate, either."

"Huh?"

"You'll be fine if you're short a person, and I doubt a child caregiver would be much help."

"Harukawa-san, wait!" Shuichi called out to her, but she didn't even turn around and just kept walking.

"The fuck is that bitch's problem!?" Miu barked. "She seriously not gonna investigate!?"

"That seems... rather irresponsible." Kiibo sweated.

"We shouldn't worry about it." Ichika sighed. "I mean, I don't think she'll do anything. It's not like she's dangerous or anything." She smiled innocently.

Korekiyo pulled his hat down a bit. "She likely assumes someone else will take care of it... and I suppose she isn't wrong."

"Well, I'll have a talk with Harukawa later. For now, we should start investigating." Kaito clenched his fist. "I'm seriously pissed we gotta do this, but it's our only chance to survive."

"Yup! I'll do my very best, too!" Kokichi grinned. "Gokuhara-chan and I have to work especially hard so we can regain everyone's trust!"

"Oh, yes... you're right." Gonta nodded.

"But we don't even need to investigate." Kokichi rose a finger to his lips. "It's pretty obvious who the culprit is. Hoshi-chan was murdered during a certain little magical girl's show, right?"

"Nyeh...?"

"So I think we need to be more suspicious of that little magical girl..."

"Nyeh!?"

"Buuuut... she's so suspicious that it seems not suspicious."

"Nyeh...?"

"But then again, she's made herself look not suspicious, so now she's super suspicious!"

"Geez, shaddup already!" Tenko barked. "How dare you toy with Yumeno-san's pure heart!?"

"You just said Yumeno-chan, didn't you? But I never mentioned her name."

"Aaahh!!! Shaddup, shaddup! Yumeno-san would never do something like that! I know her best. Right, Yumeno-san!?"

"No..." Himiko mumbled.

Tenko looked taken aback. "This is the part where you agree with me!"

Kokichi put his hands behind his head. "Yumeno-chan, can you at least tell us the trick behind the Underwater Escape act? If we know how the trick works, we can try to figure out how the culprit killed-"

"That's not possible..." Himiko mumbled.

"Not possible? Why not?" Shuichi asked.

"There's no trick to the Underwater Escape. Cuz it was my magic..."

"Hah-hahaha! How long is that donkey-lipped midget gonna keep sayin' that?" Miu laughed obnoxiously.

"Yumeno-san... in order for us to find the culprit, it's plain to see we need your help." Tsumugi said nervously.

"Nyeeeh... my answer won't change, no matter what you say."

"How long are you going to keep that bullshit up?" Kaito snapped. "Listen, if we don't catch the culprit, we're-"

"Th-That's enough! If Yumeno-san says it's magic, then it's magic!" Tenko glared at Kaito. "Fuaaaaahhh! I'll use my Neo-Aikido to obliterate any male delinquent who bullies Yumeno-san!"

"I-I'm not bullying her. It's her fault she's being so stubborn..."

The students all then parted ways to investigate the crime. Ichika noticed Kiibo still moping in the corner, his body still noticeably wet. Ichika walked up to him.

"Hey, Kiibo-san. Are you feeling alright? Here, let me find a towel, you're still wet. Yumeno-san probably has one..."

"What makes you think Yumeno-san has a towel at her disposal?" Kiibo asked curiously.

"Well, it's just common sense. She jumped into a tank of water and would need some way to dry herself after coming out of the tank to make it seem convincing." Ichika walked over to Himiko.

"Hey, Yumeno-san, can I have the towel you used?"

"Nyeh? What towel."

"The towel you used to dry yourself."

"I didn't dry myself... because I used magic to dry myse-"

"Oh, found it, thanks Yumeno-san." Ichika had peeked backstage and found a towel discarded on the floor behind the tank.

"N-Nyeh? How did you find that?" Himiko exclaimed.

"Well... I mean... you did a pretty bad job at hiding it..." Ichika explained nervously with a small smile and walked back to Kiibo.

"Here you go, you can dry yourself off with this, but it's a little damp."

"Ah, thank you Aki-san. It's nice to know at least one person cares." Kiibo kinda mumbled that last part, making Ichika let out a nervous laugh. Ichika left Kiibo to dry off and went to investigate. Ichika was investigating behind the stage when Shuichi and Kaito walked up to her.

"Hey, Aki-san?" Shuichi said.

Ichika tilted her head. "Oh hey Saihara-san! Wat-er you doing here?" she grinned.

Kaito blinked at her. "Was... that a pun?"

"Yup! I wasn't shore if you'd get it." Ichika chuckled.

"H-Hey! Now isn't the time to be making jokes!" Kaito barked.

Shuichi cleared his throat. "A-Anyway, I'm here to ask you about your alibi. You were one of the people who weren't at the meet and greet."

"Oh, right!" Ichika gasped. "Weeeell as you know, I was with you until Gokuhara-san knocked you out!"

"Yeah... I remember that..." Shuichi grimaced.

"Aaaand then after that, I ran away, hid in a tree, then found Iruma-san! Then after that, we both hid in her lab until about 11pm!"

Shuichi hummed. "I see... So you two were together for most of the night."

"How does that help us with finding out the culprit though?" Kaito asked.

"Who knows. Besides, this crime is certainly quite the sofishticated one, huh?" Ichika smirked.

"How can you be so happy in a situation like this!?" Kaito growled, clenching his fist.

"Geez, it was just a joke. Calm down. Besides, always being happy, no matter what, is much safer, y'know?" Ichika then skipped away.

Kaito sighed. "Geez, why the hell would she make jokes like that at a time like this? Doesn't she understand what's happening?"

Shuichi hummed. "Well, that aside it seems Aki-san and Iruma-san are witnesses to each other's alibis."

"Seems like it. Let's go and talk to some more people."

"Yeah..."

***

The investigation time came to a close, and the remaining fourteen students made their way to the shrine of judgement.

"... Is everyone ready?" Kiibo asked.

"It's not like we have a choice, right?" Gonta responded.

Korekiyo giggled. "Kehehe... You are quick to understand. It's as though Monokuma has you trained."

"We got nothin' to worry about. Right, assholes? We'll figure out the culprit, won't we?" Miu asked, clearly terrified.

"But of course we don't need to worry. The top suspect is super obvious this time." Kokichi chimed in.

"..." Himiko started to shake a bit.

"How dare you bully Yumeno-san, you delinquent! You want me to Aikido-chop your head off, huh!?" Tenko screamed at Kokichi.

"This matter will be discussed in due time. You should save your arguments until then," Kirumi interjected.

"Yeah, let's put an end to this class trial!" Kaito agreed.

The Monokuma statue started to move and once again, the door appeared before them. After a pause of hesitation, the students all stepped towards the door. Everyone was silent and their unsteady breathing filled the silence. They made their way down the same dark tunnel until the elevator came to a sudden halt. The students all stepped out into the same trial room and were greeted by Monokuma.

"Welcome! You've hopelessly arrived once again! Hm? Did you wanna come here again because of how wonderful it is? Isn't it wonderful? I put so much effort into building this place, it should be a monument!"

The students all made their way to their respective podiums. The second class trial had begun.

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woAH okay so, how tf did this get over 300 reads!? Thank you so much! I didn't really think that this would actually get that many reads! Thank you again!

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