Danganronpa: Old Secrets to New Hope (Fanganronpa)

Chapter 1 Part 5: Clean Up at Party Central

I walked up to the elevator, and stood there. After a few minutes, everyone was there... except Itsuki. Almost everyone looked nervous. I didn't know what to think of this whole situation.

I turned around to see Monokuma pulling Itsuki by the hand to the door. When they reached us, Itsuki looked anxious. I didn't really care. I just wanted to get this trial over with.

"Wow! I can't believe that Itsuki was the one who didn't want to come!" Monokuma laughed.
"I wanted to come... I just needed a little more evidence..." he explained.
"I doubt that. No matter what you say Itsuki, I think you are the killer. If not you, my next guess is Katon." Sin'ichi replied. Itsuki looked surprised, but he didn't say anything.
"Alright! Everyone get into the elevator, and then the trial will begin!" Monokuma announced. We all walked in, and the giant elevator started moving down.

This was intense, even if we were just in an elevator. This could bring us to victory or doom. I didn't know how I was supposed to know what this trial was about? I'm only Average. I can't figure out what was happening.

The elevator stopped. We were all silent as the door opened. It was a bunch of podiums, arranged in a circle. They all faced the inside of the circle. Monokuma sat on a throne. Right next to him, Pengin was in a glass box.

We walked in, taking our places at the podiums. Mine was next to Asahi and Kira. I stared at Monokuma. His smile made me mad. This wasn't something to smile about.

"Um... Monokuma? Before we begin... what is that?" Kira asked. I looked over to where she was pointing. A giant sign was right next to her. I almost gasped when I saw it.

"Oh that? That's Mikako! In spirit form anyway." Monokuma explained.
"But... why put it up? She's already dead! We don't need a reminder!" Asahi responded.
"I guess. But why not? I mean, it's only right to acknowledge her!" Monokuma replied.
"But... we just want to forget about this... sure it's her death... but she wouldn't want everyone to remember the pain..." Kira said.
"Well, you're right, BUT LIFE IS PAIN!!! THIS GAME IS BASED AROUND IT!!!" Monokuma laughed hysterically.
"MONOKUMA!!! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA BY PUTTING A STOOL AT MY PODIUM!?!" Hana yelled.
"Well, you're gonna need it." Monokuma replied.
"This sucks..." Hana said under her breath.
"Ok, time to start the trial! But before we start, I'll tell you how this works! You'll begin by trying to figure out who the blackened is, by showing evidence from your investigation! When you come to your conclusion, you get to vote! If the majority votes correctly, then the the blackened will be punished. But, if the majority votes incorrectly, then everyone besides the blackened will be punished!" Monokuma announced. "I will answer questions that I'm allowed to any time you want! Now let the trial begin!" Pengin was smacking his hands on the glass. He must have been trying to get out, though I think it was sound proof.
"Okay, so to begin this trial, should we figure out how she died?" Imoka asked.
"But we already know how she died! Someone threw a ninja star into her throat!" Sin'ichi explained.
"Yes, but what about the events leading up to it? We need to figure out how this went down." Imoka responded.
"Well that's easy!" Asahi began. "During the blackout..." "Katon killed Mikako!" "He was supposed to protect her!" "So, he took the opportunity to strike..." "Since he knew where she was!" I paused for a second. This wasn't completely correct.
"Wait, Asahi, did you say that Katon knew where Mikako was?" I asked.
"Yeah, cuz he did!" Asahi replied.
"But last I checked, Katon didn't know where she was before the death." I explained.
"How would you know!?" Asahi said back.
"Because before we found her body, Katon asked me if I knew where she went." I responded.
"Ok, we've solved that, but when did he ask you this? If it might have been earlier, he could've found her by then!" Hana replied.
"Unfortunately, after I asked Takahashi, I was stopped by Genki, who was asking me a few questions." Katon explained.
"Yep, he's telling the truth!" Genki confirmed.
"Ok, but what about the ninja star!? That's his, and I doubt that anyone else knows how to use it!" Ena yelled. "We know that the victim was killed with the ninja star..." "and Katon is the only one who knows how to use it!" "He threw it into Mikakos neck..." "killing her, and getting away with the perfect crime!" There has to be some kind of evidence here, something I can use.
"What if... the culprit didn't throw the ninja star? Just stuck it in her neck?" I asked.
"WHERE'S YOUR PROOF!?" Ena yelled. "If you stick it in someone's throat, that would be way riskier!" "You'd get blood on your hands!" "The only way to not do that..." "is by throwing it!"
"They could have washed there hands after." I replied.
"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!! She died when the power went out... so that means they couldn't have washed their hands during the time period!" She explained. You could tell that anger was coursing through her veins.
"What if... they used two of their fingers instead on all of them? The culprit could have avoided getting their fingers dirty!" I responded.
"Or, they were wearing gloves." Itsuki said. He held up his file, and in one of the pictures, were plastic gloves covered in a small amount of blood.
"Where... where did you find that!?" Kira asked.
"In a trash can in the very back of the stage." He replied. He's the only one who found that? Something is up... I thought.
"Oh Itsuki, you're just using that evidence to save your skin." Sin'ichi responded. "YOU'RE THE KILLER!!!"
"W- what!? Why me!?" Itsuki asked.
"You're the only one we didn't see the whole time!" Sin'Ichi replied. "You could've killed Mikako anytime!"
"But it couldn't have been him..." Hana responded. "Itsuki was in his room the whole time!"
"How would you know!?" Sin'ichi asked. Hana put her hands together, spinning her fingers back and forth together.
"I have my reasons..." she replied.
"I DON'T care! The culprit is either Itsuki or Katon!" Sin'ichi yelled back.
"Or... maybe it was Takahashi!" Ena replied.
"I doubt that Ena, he doesn't seem like the type to kill." Tomio said.
"W- what!? W- why me!?" I asked.
"For a long time we didn't see YOU! It's possible you were making a murder plan!" Ena accused.
"I know Takahashi! He wouldn't kill someone!" Kira explained.
"You've known each other for only a few days! There's no way you'd know what he's like!" Ena yelled back. Kira fell silent.
"Ok, let's not jump to conclusions. We need to take this trial very seriously, and very slowly." Hana replied.
"But you accused me without knowing anything." Katon responded.
"OH SHUT UP!!!" She yelled.
"Please stop... we need to get through this as a team..." Kira said. Katon and Hana fell silent. They both nodded. "Ok... so I have a question. So, Mikako was wearing glass slipper, correct? Then why is she bare foot?"
"That's a good question... first, we need to figure out where they had been before the murder..." Wakusei replied.
"She must have taken them off in the laundry room. After all, her clothes were in the washing machine, while the shoes were on top of it." Rajin explained.
"Ok, so she must have gone in there to do her laundry, but how did she make it to the photo booth? She wouldn't be able to run past the murderer!" Hana examined.
"Maybe... she ran out before the murderer attacked!" I replied.
"What!? Are you crazy!? How would she know the murderer was coming!?" Asahi responded. "She was in the room when the power went out..." "the murderer was running towards the door..." "so there's no way she would have noticed!" "Even if she heard them coming..." "the walls are sound proof!" "Even if they weren't, she wouldn't be able to hear it over the washing machines rumble!"
"But, remember her talent? She is great at assessing the situation. When the power went out, she must have noticed that something was wrong. So, in her panic and quick thinking, she ran out of the room." I explained.
"Ok, but if she was good at assessing a situation, wouldn't she know not to go into the photo booth? She should have ran out and into the cafeteria with everyone else!" Asahi yelled back. I stopped to think for a second.
"What if... she was assessing the situation?" I responded.
"YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE!" Ena screamed in anger.
"When I was investigating, I found something that might explain it." I replied.
"What do you mean?" Kira asked.
"I walked into the locker room, and barely avoided serious injury. It must have been a trap for Mikako!" I examined.
"The killer must have suspected her to run in. After all, there are many lockers in there, and it would have taken a killer a long time to find someone, especially if they were hiding in a locker. If the killer wanted to finish off the victim in the time limit, they'd have to stop them from hiding. So, they set a trap to catch her before she could hide in a locker. But, she knew that this might have been the case, and avoided the trap." I explained.
"Ok, but why not run into the cafeteria with everyone else? That would have been better than hiding in a photo booth." Wakusei replied.
"Because she got hurt before she could escape." I responded.
"But the only visible wounds are her foot and her neck. Did the culprit throw a the ninja star into her foot?" Aiko asked.
"No, that wouldn't really work. Maybe... they stepped on something?" I questioned.
"What about the nail next to her hand? Maybe she stepped on it, and not knowing what to do, hid in the photo booth." Hana suggested.
"My suspicions have changed. I believe that it's the 'ghost girl'." Rajin explained. "If we think about it..." "we have no idea what she's like, besides how she avoids everything." "If she wanted to kill..." "we wouldn't know anything about it!" There had to be some evidence. How would we be able to confirm, or deny this?