Masked Hope (Nagito x Fem!Reader)

Chapter 2: Class Trial Pt. 6

"Peko. . . is it you!?" Hajime asked.

She did not respond.

"Hey. . . what are you being quiet for?" Hiyoko questioned. "They're accusing you of being the killer. . ."

"Then I should ask you this:" She turned to me. "Why do you believe I'm the killer?"

"Wh-When we were all meeting up to go to the beach. . . When you came into the diner you were. . ." I tried to force out the words. "You were out of breath and covered in water. . . You said you'd been swimming."

Hajime realized how much I was struggling and helped me. "If the killer really did wash the blood off with water bottles, they'd have to drench their entire body. . . But there were no towels in the beach house, and it would've taken a while for the water to fully air dry. . . So you said you went swimming so you'd have a cover story."

If Peko was the killer, it'd also make sense to think she used her skill set to leave the beach house with out leaving footprints. The window in the shower room is too high to reach alone, but with her swordcase. . . she could've balanced on it and then pulled it up by the strap afterwards.

She didn't deny either of our statements.

"D-Don't just stay silent!" Kazuichi started to sweat. "Say something!"

"Hold on, you bastards!" Fuyuhiko cut in. "You saw her at the diner. . . You never saw her near the beach house, right!? So maybe she really was swimming!"

"No one even saw her swimming!" Kazuichi reminded him.

"No. . . I saw her. . ." He revealed.

". . .Huh?"

"I. . . after I ran into you bastards at the diner, I crossed paths with her on my way home. . . S-So. . . there's no doubt, she would've arrived at the diner from the opposite direction of the beach house."

"Didn't you say it was just a coincidence you passed by the diner?" I questioned. "You said you didn't even pay attention to the beach house and that you didn't see anyone on your way back to the hotel."

He clenched his fists and started to sweat. "N-Not so fast. . .! It's too soon to decide she's the killer! We haven't established how the killer was able to leave the beach house! The roadside door was blocked, and if it's impossible to leave from the beachside without leaving footprints. . . Then how the fuck did the killer escape!?"

"Um, why are you all fired up, Fuyuhiko?" Ibuki asked. "You're not the suspect, Peko is."

"Wh-Who cares about that!? Answer me!" He ordered, turning back to me. "If you have an explanation then show me what you got!"

Why does he care about Peko so much?

". . .We might have an answer." Chiaki stated.

". . .Huh!?"

". . .Do you really?" Peko spoke up. "This mystery seems unsolvable."

"Well, if Peko is the killer, then I might just have an answer to that mystery. . ." She elaborated.

"I see. . . That let's hear this alleged method of escaping the beach house!"

"First. . . let's establish how the killer escaped. . ."

"If the roadside and beachside doors aren't an option, the only other thing I can think of is. . ." Hajime trailed off as he thought.

I stopped listening again. I knew where this would go. Hajime is smart, I have no doubt he'll figure it out. My main concern is Fuyuhiko. He's defending Peko more than she is, but why? He couldn't care less about any of us, so why is he so insistent on proving her innocence?