Danganronpa Midnight: Lantern Lament (Fanganronpa)

Chapter 3 - Class Trial 1

"Before we begin, let me explain the basic rules of the class trial!" As usual, Monokuma began the trial with his normal rundown of the rules. "You all will discuss the case and try to figure out who the killer is! Once time has run out or you're confident you know who it is, a vote will be cast. Your votes will determine the results! If you can-"

"We get it." I shut him down. "We find the blackened, vote them, they die. If we get it wrong, we die. We've gone through this enough. You're just wasting time."

"My, someone's feisty today!" The bear chuckled. "What's ruffled your feathers now?"

"I think you know the answer to that." I folded my arms and glared at him.

"Oh, Chiyo..." Ryoko chuckled. "Always so bold."

"Don't you start too!" I told Ryoko.

"P-Please can we get along!" Kokoro pleaded. "I just want to find out who did this...It already hurts to see you all like this!"

"I...understand." Satoshi sighed.

"Of course, he would understand." Ryoko then turned her attention to him. "Being responsible for two murders...Two! I've never heard of someone so despicable."

"C-Can you not?!?" Satoshi then deeply sighed, avoiding her gaze.

"You ignore the truth. Such...denial." She tilted her head, playing with her hair. "It's quite a shame really. Everyone is way more...down than usual. Just look at Shouko and Yuna for prime examples. The only thing coming out of them is the ability to completely ruin the mood."

"You do that by yourself," I mumbled, bad-talking Ryoko.

"Akihiro is gone..." Shouko reminded us all. "T-The only one who gave me the time of day in ages...Is d-dead! And for once I'm not...intrigued?!?"

"I think that's just you being...upset." Kenjiro assumed.

"N-No! All the other deaths had interested me but Akihiro's...I don't feel any interest a-at all!" She admitted. "Instead my heart...it feels like it's going to collapse along with my head! I-It's terrible."

"I-I just think you're being miserable after what happened to Aki..." Kokoro added, trying to help him out.

"She should be miserable. It was her friend that passed after all." Ryoko carried on. "And let's not even waste time on Yuna. She's still upset over some camera. How pathetic."

"H-How could you say-"

Ryoko just cut off Yuna with a yawn, completely ignoring her.

"C-Can we please not cause a ruckus so early on?" Kenjiro spoke up taking a deep breath. "There are more...pressing matters at hand. A murder to solve."

"Or two." Kokoro chimed it. "Ah! I don't know what to believe anymore though! Are there one or two killers?!?"

"That's what we need to solve." I stood up straight, glaring around the group. "Whoever killed Akihiro..."

"...And Finn." Satoshi finished my sentence.

"But...Finn was found after Akihiro." Ryoko mentioned. "Are you saying we must find Finn's murderer too? What's the point?"

"Justice." Satoshi and I said at the same time, us both throwing angry glances at her.

"I'm sure that's it...Or maybe you just want to think about it for a moment. If Finn's killer does get found, you'd all have to live with a murderer!" Ryoko then paused. "Oops. I meant two murderers. How could I forget Satoshi's past!"

"Stop bringing that up! T-That's not important right now." Satoshi firmly stated. "Finding the truth...is the top priority."

"Well...if you say so." Ryoko shrugged. "Akihiro and Finn's murderers, hm?"