"Here we go again," Kaede muttered.
She moved out of the storage cabinet and turned around, trying to clear her head for a moment. Why was Angie acting like such an idiot? Two people were dead, for god's sake! But still, it was probably her who killed them. She wanted not to be caught. And to not be caught, she had to lie.
Speaking of lies...
Kokichi wouldn't be so naive to accept that Angie was going to get out alive, would he? He was a massive immature pain, but one thing he wasn't was a follower. His talent was the Ultimate Supreme Leader, after all. Perhaps <em>he</em> could tell Kaede the truth behind this mess...?
It was Kokichi's word against Angie's. On any other day, she would easily choose the latter, but this was not just any day. Maybe she could give it a shot.
"Kokichi!" she called, trying to locate him in the lab. There! He was sitting cross-legged on the dining table, reading the label of some bottle.
"What are you doing?" she said. "I need to talk to you. Alone, please,"
Baffled, he walked outside with the Ultimate Maid's Lab with her.
"What is it, Akamatsu-chan?" he batted his eyelashes innocently. "Are you accusing me?"
"For once, no," she admitted. "It's about the Atua Student Council. I think they're lying about their alibis. Maybe to cover someone up?"
She hoped Kokichi would get the hint on who 'someone' was. He nodded and put his hands over his head. "Nope! Everyone was there! I saw it with my very own eyes. Angie was Himiko's lovely assistant, so there's no way that she could have been the culprit in this! But there is someone who doesn't have an alibi..."
"Who?" Kaede said excitedly, leaning in.
"Chabashira-chan, of course!" Kokichi smiled. "When we went to Angie's lab on our way to going to the Ultimate Maid's Lab, she and the box were missing."
Tenko. Huh. Kaede really hadn't spared thoughts about the Ultimate Akidio Master who had so willingly given them the motive. It was true that there was no one to back her up on her whereabouts at the time of the murder. Could she have written the note, slid it into Kaito's room, and lie in wait fo r him to appear before killing him? Then, could she have been ambushed by Maki as she tried to clean up? Even if tMakiwas the Ultimate Assasin, Tenko certainly had the skills to fight her, and throwing her into the washiing machine and carefully closing the door wasn't so hard. But what was the point of purposefully <em>hanging</em> the body? Was it a futile attempt to hide the real COD? Or whas it another trap of its own entirely?The only problem was that <em>Tenko</em> was the only person in the Atua Student Council who didn't havee a motive to kill. Even if she had decided to kill Kaito as bait for Maki, didn't Tenko love all girls? Besides, even if Tenko hated men, killing was not in her philosophy. Compiling all of these weird, contradictory thoughts, Kaede went back into the Ultimate Maid's Lab and to here Shucihi was--next to Kaito, who was sprawled on the table."C-cause of death is poisoning," Shuichi declared. "We found a bottle of drain cleaner under the table, and the contents matched those in the cup next to Kaito," Kaede took Shuichi's quivering hand and said gently, "I'm so sorry.I know he was close to you. He was close to all of us. During the Death Road of Despair, if he hadn't helped me lead the group, we wouod have never have been able to attempt it so many times. He's been such a great leader, such a good friend,"
Shuichi nodded, and to Kaede's surprise took his hat off and placed it on the table. "It's been an honor being your sidekick," he smiled, before turning back to Kaede."C'mon," he said, with renewed confidence. "We've got a murder to solve,"
<hr>"Wait, so you were alone when the first body discovery announcement sounded??" Kaede asked for what might have been the 15 or 16th time that day.
Kiyo nodded. "I was looking for Maki and Kaito like you asked me to, when I had the sudden brainwave to check the Ultimate Maid's Lab. As soon as I understood what I was seeing, the Body Discovery Announcement sounded, the Atua Student Council came running, and the second Body Discovery Announcement sounded, Tenko with them. You three were last."
"Tenko was with them..." Shuichi mused. "According to Kaede, Kokichi said that she wasn't in the Ultimate Artist's Lab when they went to check on her and that she wasn't with them. Maybe she snuck into the group from the back? Also, if Kiyo alone triggered one of the Body Discovery alarms, doesn't that mean 2 innocent people saw Kaito or Maki's bodies?"
"Probably Kaito's because he was gone first," Kaede added. "But if the other Body Discovery announcement didn't sound, then how does that work?"
"Maybe the killer wasn't alone?" Kiyo offered. "He had an accomplice, who would help with the crime but wouldn't do any of the killing themselves. So, he or she would count as one third of Monokuma's -- 3 people until the Body Discovery Alarm Sounds --requirement. And if Maki rushed into the room and saw Kaito's body-"
"She would be Spotless Number 2," Shuichi whispered. "Then, one of the duo would have to take care of her. Once again, one killer, one spotless. The second killer might be the first spotless, because the two people involved in the crime had two victims who had it all planned out and wanted to escape together--they probably didn't know about the first-come, first-serve rule. Thanks, Kiyo!"
The Ultimate Anthropologist touched the brim of his cap and turned away.
"But according to Kokichi's information, nobody other than Tenko would be able to commit the murder--everyone else had alibis!" Kaede said in a hushed voice. "What are we missing?"
"We have to talk to Tenko first," Shuichi decided, and the two of them walked over to the Ultimate Aikido Master. Shuichi backed away for his own safety, and Kaede gently patted Tenko on the shoulder to catch her attention.
"Uh, Tenko?" she asked. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Tenko nodded, and the two of them went over to Shuichi.
"Kokichi said that you weren't in the Ultimate Artist's Lab when the rest of the Atua Student Council went to check on it, but Kiyo said that you were with them when you rushed to the scene of the crime. Where were you?" Shuichi asked.
"Uh..." Tenko suddenly looked nervous. "I was taking a walk around the Ultimate Academy, since I didn't want to face Angie in her own lab and tell her that I couldn't take care of the motive properly--she can be pretty scary when she wants to! A-And, I couldn't bear seeing the disappointment on Himiko-san's face, so I was trying to think of a way to explain to her why I did it and what I really thought about the Atua Student Council. I joined them when I heard the Body Discovery Announcement, though!"
Just about then, Monokuma made the announcement that the Class Trial was starting soon, and the remaining 12 people sidled towards the doors. Shuichi grabbed Kaede to the side and muttered. "What do you think?"
"I think that she's telling the truth. After all, she has no motive to kill,"
"But she's the only one with opportunity."
"We'll decide that in the Class Trial," Kaede declared, before pulling him towards the doors. "We just have to figure out who did this to our friends."
