Running This Game With You || Saiouma Mastermind AU

Chapter XVII - The Artist's Trial (Part I)

A/N: Hello everyone. I know it's been months since I have updated the fic, but I thought; "Hey, what if I just write something down and posted it?" Which, I've decided to do because it made me sad to just abandon this idea entirely.

(Please consider checking out my other fic if it seemed like something you'd be interested in.)

~3rd Person~

The navy-haired boy leaned forward onto the wooden post standing in front of him. He gazed around the room and the people all trying to stay calm.

The trial had been going on for a bit now and the students had seemingly gotten nowhere. It was just people going over the same goddamn evidence over and over again, reaching no conclusions.

"Does no one have a properly functioning brain around here?" Shuichi thought, squinting as if it would finally allow him to see the other's trains of thought.

"Guess I have to do something," he complained, mentally preparing himself to deal with his so called classmates.

"How about we try to get a rough time of when the murder could have occurred?" the detective suggested, grabbing the attention of the others in the room. He was still confused at how no one had brought up that simple idea before him.

"Well, we already know it was 5:30 p.m., right? So whoever doesn't have an alibi for that time is the killer!" the inventor spouted.

"What if the killer and Yonaga were already interacting before she died?" he continued.

"But the monokuma file said that she died instantly. Can't you read, Dasaihara?" the blonde replied.

"It did say that, but there were signs of a struggle in the dorm room. It's possible that the killer and the victim were fighting before the murder," Shuichi pointed out.

"Oh, that's what that was? I just thought that the artist girl was doing some freaky shit and banged up a wall or something..." Iruma muttered under her breath. Shuichi just rolled his eyes.

"So that means the people who don't have alibis right before 5:30 are also suspicious!" the astronaut added proudly. Shuichi nodded. He cringed at the fact he was agreeing with the maroon haired boy.

"So, let's go over the alibis one more time with this new information," the detective suggested. He looked around at his classmates once more.

"I was in the garden. Although, I was all by myself..." he admitted, looking down as to not meet the confused look of some of the others.

"I wasn't part of the murder this time, I didn't know I would need to get a good alibi!" he thought about yelling at them, but decided against it.

"Don't worry, sidekick! I believe you!" Momota exclaimed as he gave Shuichi a thumbs up. This caused the blue haired boy to internally face palm.

"I was was with Maki-roll!" the astronaut continued.
"Maki-roll..?" the girl in question asked with a displeased look on her face.
"Yeah!" Momota replied, pleased with himself.

"Is he really that ignorant to social cues?" Shuichi wondered. "Is that true?" he asked the brown haired girl.

"I guess," she begrudgingly replied, "I ran into him on the my way to my dorm."

"I was preparing dinner in the kitchen," the maid claimed, slightly bowing forward, "Ouma was there as well."

"Huh!?" the purple haired boy gasped, "How did you know?"

"You were, frankly, being rather loud attempting to find whatever you required in the fridge," the woman replied in a calm manner.

Shuichi placed a hand onto his mouth to try and stifle a laugh as Kokichi pouted and crossed his arms.

"I was sleeping," mumbled the so called mage, seemingly about to start sleeping again.

"Wait, Yumeno," Shuichi said, "Tojo said that she saw you leaving Yonaga's room before the murder."

"That is true. I happened to witness her leave as I was walking to the kitchen," the woman agreed.

The red-haired girls facial features showed slight surprise which soon changed to a mix of offended and scared.

"I just talked to her, that's all. I would never do that to Angie!" she defended herself, doing something that was the equivalent of a turtle going into its shell at the sight of danger.

"Dasaihara," interrupted the blond, "what about the girl with the pigtails I saw? There's no way "Ms. Magic" over there could have long enough hair to make pigtails anywhere close to the length I saw. And trust me, I'm a great judge when it comes to length..."

"You didn't have to add that last part," Shuichi thought, disgusted, "But that is a reasonable argument, I guess."

"Did you see anyone when you were leaving Yonaga's dorm room?" he asked the cowering girl.

"Uh... I ran into Tenko and we talked for a little in the hallway. She said she was looking for me, but I turned down her offer to hang out because I had planned to meet with Angie again later. But now..." Yumeno replied, small tears forming in her eyes.

All eyes, except Yumeno's, were now focused on the green haired girl. She held up her hands in a defensive position as if her classmates were all going to attack her at once.

"What did you do after you met with Yumeno?" Momota questioned.
"Does he seriously expect an honest answer from her at this point?" Shuichi asked himself.

"I just went back to my dorm! Why, are trying to stalk me, you degenerate male!?" she yelled back.

"Oh... that's weird," Kokichi stated with a smile plastered on his face. "I was looking for you so I stopped by your dorm, but I never saw you even pass by... Are you... lying!?" he gasped.

"That's!-" Chabishira started to attempt to defend herself.

"Where could you have possibly gone? Not to your dorm, not with Yumeno, not outside, not to the kitchen, so where?" Kokichi asked.

"So that's how you're gonna play," Shuichi thought, holding back a smile, "To make someone confess they were lying, you have to back them into a corner."

"You couldn't have... gone to see Angie, did you?" Kokichi smirked.

The aikido-masters face shriveled into one of anger and annoyance. She breathed in and out in an attempt to calm herself. Little did she know, after this trial, she might not breath any longer.

~End of Chapter XVII~