You Saw Right Through Me

The Trial of the Era

We've got a long chapter ahead!

We went into the courtroom and saw Kaede and Rantaro's photos. They're faces were crossed out with hot pink paint. We all got to our places and Monokuma explained how the class trial works once more.

"Himiko is suspicious." Angie stated straight out.

"What? Why are you blaming Himiko all of a sudden?" Tenko asked, frantically.

"Well, she is the most suspicious at the moment."

Kiibo said that Ryoma was killed during her magic show as well. "Ryoma and Himiko switched, and he was eaten alive!" Kokichi suddenly sobbed.

"No, that's wrong!" Everyone turned to me. "The Monokuma File stated that Ryoma died of drowning, not by getting eaten by piranhas. It was his body that was in the tank, not Ryoma himself. He wasn't eaten alive, he was already dead."

"So?" Angie began. "Ryoma drowned, Himiko changed places with him, and he was eaten."

Kiibo shook his head. "Himiko only had 60 seconds to escape. Even if Himiko did switch places with him, that's an insufficient amount of time to drown someone."

"If that's the case, then when did he drown?" Kirumi asked. "I believe Ryoma drowned before the show started." Shuichi stated. Kiyo agreed. "Before being eaten by the piranhas, he made no attempt to escape the tank." True... but then when did he die exactly?

"Are you saying that Ryoma's body was hidden until the culprit made it appear?" Kiibo asked. Gonta put a finger on his chin. "Hidden? Where?"

I thought back to how the stage looked during the show. I doubt that he was in the tank with Himiko since we didn't see him before the curtains closed.

"The culprit would have to hide the body near the tank, and show it during the act." Kirumi said.

"Is there a place where the culprit could've hid the body?" Kokichi asked. "Oh wait, Himiko should know since she's the one who performed it."

In a fit of rage, Tenko started scolding everyone. "Why are you all still picking on Himiko?" Kaito scratched the back of his head in annoyance. "Man, we've gotta figure out how the trick works before the body was hidden."

We all began naming different ways Himiko could've escaped the water tank.

"Maybe she just climbed out?" "Nah, someone would've noticed"

"Perhaps a mechanism was set up on the stage"

"The curtain that covered the tank was certainly suspicious."

"What about that square pain of glass we found in the tank?"

"Maybe there was a secret hatch?"

"It must be real magic!"

"Maybe there were two Himikos and one was Tsumugi in disguise."

"I doubt that." I said. "Then what could it be?" Miu asked me. "Well, I agree with Maki. There was probably a secret hatch or a faux wall." Shuichi said. "That would explain the puddle we found backstage."

"That's wrong!" Tenko yelled.

"Huh? W-Why?" Shuichi questioned.

"You're such a degenerate male that you don't know why you're wrong. I'll smash your face in with hot burning steel!" She balled her hand into a fist. "That won't be necessary." I said calmly.

Everyone turned to me. "Just because we figured out how Himiko got out, that doesn't mean we figured out how Ryoma got in. And no, it doesn't prove that you're not a mage, Himiko."