Danganronpa: Shuri's School

Chapter 31: Fourth Class Trial

As always, we went to our assigned seats. I glanced at all the portraits of those who have died here, which matched the number of us remaining. Monokuma, as always, sat in his seat, staring down at us.

"Wow, all that work for the Eating Contest, just to have the contestants die on you. What a dud! Now, who ruined this for everybody?" Monokuma's red eye flared up for a second, then returned to normal.

Kokichi spoke up. "Obviously, it was Maki! Murder girl did it!"

Maki...I swear I saw flames dancing in her eyes. "I did not murder those two, you stupid son of a bitch!"

Sighing, I looked over at Kokichi. "Red isn't always sus, you know..."

Kokichi put his hands behind his head and leaned back, smiling at me. "Nee-heehee! That was a lie. I already knew that Maki-"

"Shut. Up." Maki uttered, menacingly, at Kokichi, who then pretended to cry, his "feelings hurt by her meanness". I just rolled my eyes.

"Anyway..." I retook control of the conversation, to avoid Maki killing Kokichi in front of us. "I think we can safely eliminate Byakuya, too, as he had nothing to do with any part of the contest."

Peko nodded. "I believe that is a safe assumption to make."

Nagito and Maki agreed, as did Kirumi.

I continued. "I doubt Peko, Mikan or Kokichi had anything to do with this, either. In my mind, that leaves us with two suspects: The waiter, and the cook."

Kirumi spoke up. "And one other person...You."

I looked at Kirumi, confused. "Huh? Me?"

Kirumi nodded. "From my observations, you have shown a rather...unhealthy obsession with the Chemistry Room. According to my questioning of Nagito, you even went in there with him, a few hours before the murder, and even asked Nagito about Potassium Cyanide, specifically."

Byakuya pushed his glasses to his face, using his fingertip along the bridge of his nose. "Yes, that does sound rather suspicious, Shurinku. Why were you asking about THAT specific poison, rather than poison in general?"

A chill went through me. Crap, they were accusing ME? And nothing, that was said, was a lie. This was bad.

Taking a breath to steady my nerves, I responded, "Because I've heard that Potassium Cyanide can smell like bitter almonds, and was thinking the killer used this knowledge to their advantage."

Kirumi and Byakuya considered this information, while Nagito spoke up. "When Shurinku and I left the Chemistry Room, he didn't have any poison in his hands, nor did I notice anything in his pockets. I don't think he took the poison with us to the Dining Hall, so he couldn't have-"

"That merely means Shurinku brought the poison in beforehand, and tainted an ingredient used for the almond pie with the poison," Kirumi interjected.

Byakuya nodded. "A likely scenario, but..." He then trailed off, doubt written on his face.

"I never touched the poison, nor did I ever use it anywhere!" I shouted back.

Kirumi shook her head. "I'm sorry, but you're the only one who has shown any interest in the Chemistry Room. You're the only other person, aside from Nagito, who even spoke about Potassium Cyanide. You were also present at the Eating Contest, so you could very well have done it. I was too busy preparing the food, and Nagito was the server. Also, I am confident Nagito is innocent, as I never saw him touch anyone's food; only their plates. Thus, Shurinku Kansatsu, you did it."

My breath caught in my throat. My hands were shaking lightly. I knew I needed to speak, but my panic had my voice. I also didn't know if it was Nagito or Kirumi, but I was CERTAIN it was one of them. But with no proof, an empty accusation would seal my fate.