Inescapable Despair (Song of Despair AU)

Chapter 1: Class Trial

Everyone was now standing in their places in the class trial room, and Ichiro was still processing what had happened. He was so in shock that he hadn't found any clues, and would just have to watch this go down.

"So, let's narrow down the suspects right away. Jirou, what did you find?" Jikkō asked.

Jirou seemed to think for a moment. "Well, Tomi was weird but not any more than usual, Momo seemed a little happy, Riku was nervous, even for him, and Jikkō, you were acting really off too..."

"I guess I'm gonna be suspected in every trial for both universes." Tomi said with a shrug. "Oh well."

"I'm not the killer..." Jikkō spoke quietly. "Just, Michio... I..." She paused for a moment. "We were pretty close, that's all."

Jirou nodded. "Yeah, I was about to say, you seemed more sad than anything."

"But why would Momo be happy?" Ichiro asked a little nervously. The short girl had always creeped him out a bit.

"Because she- um..." Satchiko started talking, but stopped herself, letting out a small nervous laugh. "Okay, it might not be a great reason but I know Momo! She's not a killer, she's a great friend!"

"Thanks, Satchiko." Momo said with a small smile. "She's right, I didn't kill him."

All eyes now turned to Riku, and the short blue haired boy appeared to be shaking. He wasn't saying anything, but just looked terrified.

"Don't even bother questioning Riku." Tomi said, tilting his head a bit. "He's too pure to do anything. I mean, he's a massive pervert, but he can't even look at blood. It's actually kinda funny."

"Y-yeah..." Riku stuttered, and after a moment, his eyes widened as he stared at Tomi. "W-wait, pervert? D-did you see...."

"Your hentai collection?" Tomi smirked, and Riku's face went bright red. "You have some interesting stuff in there."

"Wait, Riku has hentai?!" Natsumi exclaimed, a shocked look on her face.

"Let's get back on topic." Jikkō quickly said. "Let's talk about the circumstances of the death."

"Yeah, Michio's neck was snapped..." Haru said with a slight wince. "I dunno who could've done that...."

"Whoa, they'd have to be super strong!" Mai exclaimed, "Like a professional athlete!"

"Don't make yourself suspicious, Mai..." Willow said quietly.

Jikkō let out a small sigh. "They wouldn't have to be strong, did you all forget where the body was?"

"The bottom of the stairs..." Akio stated thoughtfully. "You think he was pushed down?"

"Not think. I know." Jikkō replied. "I heard it, and came to the bottom of the stairs soon after. I saw Riku, Satchiko, and Kaiya at the top. It had just happened."

"We came out just before you. We didn't see it happen." Kaiya said, and Satchiko nodded in agreement.

"That leaves one possibility." Jikkō sent a glare towards the manga artist.

Riku finally broke, tears running down his face. "I-I'm sorry! I'm so... s-sorry... I didn't mean to, I swear! We were gonna go down at the same time, and I bumped into him... I-I never thought he'd..." he trailed off.

"Ahaha, looks like it's time to vote! Boy, that was fun!" Monokuma exclaimed.

Everyone casted their votes, and it was correct. Riku Hanazawa, the ultimate manga artist, was the killer.

~*~

Riku found himself in a pure white room, the floor and walls made of a material he immediately recognized as canvas. Soon, art supplies started flying at him. First, it was paint and ink, then moved onto markers, then pencils. He was trying to dodge, but there was just too much. A pencil stabbed into his leg and he let out a cry of pain, before one went into his arm as well. Pens started coming, a few of which stabbed him as well. Then came the xacto-knives, which left him with many cuts for paint to drip into. Riku was now laying on the floor, crying out in agony. Then the giant canvases acting as walls all collapsed on top of him.

15 left.