Danganronpa: Shattered Sun (School Idol Mutual Killing)

Ch.1 Deadly Life: Ice Cold Lust Class Trial

As we descended, we were all dead quiet, unsure of how this would play out, and definitely not prepared for the part that came after we discovered the culprit. I played with the cuffs on my jacket until we felt the elevator settle beneath us and the doors opened, revealing the all too familiar trial room. We each found our places and looked around the room, "Is the portrait of Dallas really necessary for the trial HikaKuro?" Font asked, appearing to have to resort to being on their tippy toes to see over the podium before ink.

"Of course it is, we can't let the deceased miss out on all the fun!" HikaKuro said with a smile before sitting on her throne in the back of the room so we can begin the trial.

"Alright, get the party started! Who killed the Ultimate Novelist, Dallas Conte in cold blood? You better find out and send them to their doom or you'll be sending everybody but them to the underworld!" HikaKuro said with a giggle as Argentum locked eyes with me from her podium.

"We know Dallas fell from the catwalk after being pushed. She was there to meet her killer after inviting them to meet. Likely because of the motive at hand," Argentum said, as she gave each remaining student a quick look over. "The killer didn't have to be very strong, as Dallas was rather short and had a thin frame, much like her Writer's Den partner, Font. Though, I doubt Font is behind this, as ink was with Echo and Monarch in the auditorium when Dallas was found, plus Dallas would have never asked Font to meet her. My theory is that Dallas asked one of the masc presenting members to join her, possibly as a romantic gesture."

"That does check out," Font said, a bit nervous, "Dallas was known for writing Romance Novels and she was fascinated by romance. I could hear her quite literally daydreaming out loud from behind the curtain, especially about all the boys that she found super cute here."

"I see," said Slate, who had been quiet all day, even before Dallas was discovered. "Dallas was a bit eccentric, that's for sure. I did notice that she was indeed fawning over many of the masc presenting people here, such as Chord, Caution and myself. So I don't doubt one of us was the target of the note that was left."

"Slate, are you saying that one of you was in fact the culprit and the recipient of the letter?" I asked, playing with my hat, a bit nervous.

"I believe that much is obvious, the three of us were the only ones Dallas actively thought of as attractive. So I'm saying Chord or Caution are behind this murder. As I am not the kind to indulge such a desperate human's want for affection," Slate said in a calm and collected way, it seemed almost rehearsed, well, he is the Ultimate Politician, so his words do carry that sort of persuasive weight to them.

"How did you know that Dallas was after a romantic encounter without having ever read the letter that she wrote?" Font asked Slate, as ink pulled out the missing half of the note Argentum and I found on the catwalk.

Slate seemed to pause, for a very long time, I could see the gears turning in his head as he formulated the correct words for his response. "She was a very romantic person, from the motif of her side of the Writer's Den, to her manner of speaking, she had a very overwhelming amorous aura. It's merely a clever use of context clues from the situation at hand."

"That's a bunch of fancy gibberish to me," Pixel said, staring at Slate, her pinkish-purple eyes scanning him for any clues, almost as if she were doing a player analysis in a video game, "You speak like a scripted NPC would in a court case where you're clearly the guilty party."

That blew Slate away, he clearly wasn't expecting the Ultimate Gamer to see this situation as a game, although it definitely seems like a blessing to have her here. And to be honest, I agree with her, the analysis of his speech is something I never thought to do.

"Font, can you agree with Pixel on this? Since you're a writer. Is Slate speaking like a guilty party in a court case? Or is he just a polished speaker due to his ultimate?" Monarch asked the shortest of the students in the courtroom.

"Pixel has the right idea, but I think that Slate is both a persuasive politician and calmly lying through his teeth. Nova, you and Argentum found the second half of the note that I have on the catwalk correct? This piece was found next to her body at the time of discovery, one of Monarch's Devas found it before you arrived. Monarch, can you send one of your Devas to fetch the second half of the note? So we can read it fully," Font asked Monarch and I after answering Monarch's question about Slate's speech pattern.

Soon enough, the smallest of Monarch's Devas, Maga-Z, zipped over and pulled the letter from my back pocket and ran it over to Font, who pulled out a thing of clear tape and repaired the paper before reading it to herself and passing it in my direction as everyone else read it besides Slate. When it got to me, I read it aloud,

"Dearest Slate,

I would like to ask you to meet me in the auditorium before Echo's concert. Maybe on the catwalk? It's much more private up there and I have something to discuss with you.

Sincerely yours,
Rome"

With the letter clearly stating who Dallas had been summoning, it was time to lay it all out.

"Alright, here's how the whole scene went down!" I said, somehow finally knowing the sequence of events that led to our trial here, " First, Dallas summoned our culprit to the catwalk in the Auditorium just before the set start time of Echo's concert, about four hours. When the two met, Dallas tried to get cozy with her killer and it ended in tragedy when they shoved her away, causing her to fall off the catwalk. But she was still holding onto their coat, and when she fell, it tore off a piece and that fabric scrap was found by the Devas as the investigation began. And as far as I know, only two people here wear expensive black suit coats, Sharp and Slate, but the true culprit is the one that the letter was addressed to, isn't that right Slate? You're the one that killed Dallas!" I said, the satisfaction of knowing I was right filling my mind.

Slate stumbled backwards, "This can't be happening, my arguments were solid. I should have been able to persuade my way out of this, how could you see through my bluff? It's all her fault!" Slate said, pointing to Pixel, and then to Font, "Those two, they saw through me. I admit it, I killed Dallas, but it was merely self defense from an unwanted show of affection." he said, glancing at HikaKuro, who yawned.

"Took ya long enough, well everyone! Place your votes with those fancy Hikapads of yours by selecting the icon for the guilty party and then my fun can begin!" HikaKuro said as the Hikapads showed all 16 participants in this game and we made our choices.

"The votes are in! And the guilty party is indeed the Ultimate Politician! Now, let's get going, I've prepared a special punishment for Dashian Kovner the Ultimate Politician! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIt's PUNISHMENT TIME!!!!" HikaKuro said as she pulled a black and white hammer from nowhere and used it to hit a button in front of her throne.

From one side of the wall, a greyish chain attached to a collar emerged and wrapped around Dashian's neck, dragging him off to his execution.