Danganronpa: Boiling Point

Chapter 11: First Class Trial

Beyond the door was a round black-and-white table, with Monorakun's face on it. 16 seats surrounded it, along with a seat for Monorakun further back and higher up. Monorakun's seat resembled a judge's bench, however, and Monorakun scurried up to it, climbing over the table and up the front of his bench, taking his seat.

"Alright, everyone, find your seats! I see poor Ryoma already found his."

I glanced around the table, and sure enough, there was a single podium that had a stand, with Ryoma's face on it. Unfortunately, it was right next to my designated seat, with Teruteru on the other side.

We all took our places in silence, with Kyoko standing next to me, on my left.

Hiyoko spoke up first. "So, Mr. Raccoon, what happens if we all decide not to do this?"

Monorakun shrugged. "If you don't wish to hold a Class Trial, we can go straight to the vote then."

"And if we decide not to vote?"

Monorakun's red eye started glowing. "Then I will reveal the Blackened, and if the majority vote doesn't match, then everyone except the Blackened dies!" Monorakun began shaking his head in dismay. "Seriously, does anyone even READ the rules anymore, or did you all just blindly hit 'I Accept' so you could move on?"

Kyoko spoke up. "So there's no point in defying this trial. Understood. Now, what exactly are the rules here?"

Monorakun turned to face Kyoko and I. "Now, THERE'S a question worth asking! This will be a round-robin discussion. Any topic goes at any time, so long as it's related to the case. I will abstain from this trial unless I am being considered as a witness, and if this becomes the case, I must answer truthfully as a witness ONLY! I will answer no questions irrelevant to my status as a witness. Understood?"

Mondo replied, "Kinda lost me there towards the end, dude. So lemme get this straight; The only time you'll answer us is, like, if someone says they talked to you in a hallway, or saw you doing something? I mean, we obviously can't just ask you who offed Ryoma, and you have to answer us, right?"

"That is correct, Road Rash! I may be a rabid prick of a raccoon, but committing perjury is beneath me, and I won't have a Class Trial tainted because I lied to you! Now, back to Ryoma. Who killed him?" Monorakun leaned back in his seat and began scratching behind his right jaw with his front paw.

Kyoko spoke up. "I believe we should establish where Ryoma was killed first. Did anyone find any evidence of struggle in any other rooms?"

Everyone shook their heads no. Mahiru eventually spoke up. "I think it's safe to say Ryoma died where we found him, in Classroom 1-C."

Kyoko merely nodded lightly. "As I suspected. So we can establish 1-C as the scene of the murder. Now, the murder weapon. Did anyone find anything, other than that rope, that could have done this?"

Korekiyo replied, "I found a rope in the Pool Room, the type used to separate lanes, or shallow ends from deep ends." He produced it for us to see.

I asked to see it, and he handed it to me. I examined the rope's fabric and width, then shook my head.

"This does not match the wounds on Ryoma's neck. This rope is too wide, and the material is too coarse. I do not think this was used."

Kyoko agreed. "Great find, Korekiyo, but I'm with Shishano here."

Korekiyo took it in stride, and Rantaro added that the incinerator was cold and empty, so the murder weapon was not burnt up.

"So it is safe to say this training rope was the murder weapon, then, in Classroom 1-C. Now, does anyone's alibi stand out with the time of death?" Kyoko asked the rest of us.