Hello, I am back with another chapter! Like I stated before in EiiMH's update, I'll be cycling through this-TPPCI-EiiMH respectively! This story is close to finishing up, but I'll still on schedule so there will be no surprises, most likely! It'll give everyone a hopefully consistent look on what's going to be updated next and whatnot at least vaguely, so there's that! Once this story is done, we can finally put this story on its completed status and then focus on the other SYOCs, which is exciting!

Well, nonetheless, let's get straight into the story!

BIG THANKS TO OUR BETA READER: Prince PokePersona!

CLASS TRIAL IN SESSION!

ALL RISE!

Tomoyo's words made everyone think, eyes widened and faces expressing that of realization and concern, worry. They were in awe, unsure of what to think as the woman stared them down, frowning in her own right.

"They're against each other?" Masako held her breath, shocked. "Then why would Monokuma…"

Yume frowned. "Is the deal meant to scare the mastermind or something? But, like, I don't think that makes sense."

"M-mhm, that's right." Shinjimae nodded his head. "I-if that was, erm, the case, then why even h-have Blaise die? U-unless… erm, unless it was a huge accident on the m-mastermind's part."

"How would it be an accident though?" the nihilist asked. "Unless Blaise did something stupid."

Tomoyo crossed her arms. She wasn't certain of that, thinking silently to herself. "Mm… well, maybe Blaise was planning to kill the mastermind instead and the mastermind lashed out?"

"Doesn't that mean he has to know who the mastermind is?" Masako tilted her head. "For all he knows, he might've been trying to kill someone innocent, right?"

"True…" The screenwriter went silent for a second. "But it's still a possibility. I think we should discuss it. Blaise is more than capable of scheming something such as murdering a mastermind. He isn't dumb enough to attack someone without purpose."

Yume snorted, shaking her head. "Your faith in him is pretty damn scary."

Tomoyo held her breath. She had a point. To be honest, she was rather uncomfortable with that fact herself. "Well, given what had happened in the past, he's definitely smarter than just being an actor."

Masako cupped her chin. "Um… Well, if anything, I'm assuming Blaise must've done this because of the memories Monokuma gave us?"

"T-the ones about us being…" Shinjimae sighed. "Is it possible Blaise h-had a, um, good idea of what's going on? … meaning that he knew more than we did?"

The nihilist scoffed. "Bouncing back to the last trial, you would've thought that Blaise would've been the culprit. He hates Watari's guts, but then again, he disliked Kyatchi and me too."

"But Watari's the only one who actively tried to solve things." Masako frowned. "Either way, if we're talking about that trial, then that's the one where Tomoyo believes that the mastermind and Monokuma are working separately. What's Blaise's involvement in both this and the last case?"

Tomoyo held her breath. "Well, what was the motive in the last case?"

THINKING TIME

Question: What was the motive in the last case?

A. The wish motive.

B. The photos of loved ones.

[C. The strange letters.]

D. There was no motive last time.

Shinjimae: This should be the one!

BREAK!

"I-it's the one we talked about before, um, concerning the letters." The animal whisperer frowned, hand on Saki's fur. His eyes peered over at the woman, lips pursed as he continued, "I-it's the one we can't discern, r-right? We don't know who, erm, gave us these letters, but it still made us feel something."

"Right." Tomoyo nodded. "If we tie that motive to what we know now, we can say that the letters must've either been given during our time in this game, or around the time we were caught and forced here."

"But…" Masako held her breath. "Why even write to us if we're murderers? The letters don't make sense either, yet it still…"

Yume sighed. "Yeah, I don't know, Tomoyo. The letters don't really mention us in a way that actual family members or loved ones would. Like, even then, does your letter remind you of anyone in particular?"

The screenwriter's eyes widened. She thought for a moment. Silence rang in the air. She held her breath. "... True. Just…"

Her mind wandered off. She recalled to the past, back to the last case. How Kyatchi died, how Watari died, how everyone reacted. She recalled everything so vividly, without missing a beat, a detail. She looked over at Monokuma, then moved back at the group.

"Well, we all obviously knew each other." Her mind was circling back to the photograph she and the survivalist saw, the one that belonged to the detective. She looked back at the bear. "The photographs you talked about with me and Masako, they're not fabricated at all, correct?"

"Yeah, of course they're real!" Monokuma chirped, saluting the air. "Why? Did you want me to show Shinji and Yume?"

"Just text it to them." Tomoyo waved him off. "If we actually knew each other, then we've obviously had our memories erased before this game started, and it's a possibility that our connection is tied to us being murderers."

Shinjimae and Yume both glanced at their MonoPads. Silence escaped them, then confusion, and then worry.

"I-if we had never met each other before," the animal whisperer began, hesitant, "then y-you think we wouldn't have been murderers?"

"Well, it'd make sense." Yume's words fell flat. "I mean, Monokuma made it a point to even erase our own connections with each other. The only connections that we even had before this are superficial at best."

Shinjimae gulped. "Like with Ayako and Blaise…" He shivered. "W-Watari did tell me that he found it strange we, erm, haven't heard of Keishi… h-he even said it's weird I didn't recognize Hitomu at all."

The nihilist frowned, agitated as she asked, "But why is our connection to each other so important then? I don't get it."

"The only thing that connects us is the fact we are ultimates," Tomoyo remarked, holding her breath. "But if that's the case, the only thing that can even connect us is us being in the same class together."

"In the same class and being murderers? I don't think there's a reason for us to want to murder people just because we're all in the same class." Yume snorted, crossing her arms. "It wouldn't tie back to the letters anyways."

Shinjimae nodded. "M-mhm, but we obviously knew each other. I-if that's because we're not murderers and we became murderers after we, erm, kill… then why?"

"It's obviously related to the letters then." Masako cupped her hands, fiddling with her fingers, silent for a moment.

True… Tomoyo frowned. The pain of what she recalled in the letter was beginning to ache her, grind at her head. "The letters have a tie to us, but none of them sound like anyone we know, right?"

"Of course not." Yume shook her head. "But if they made so much of an impact against us, then there must be something."

"So, not only do we have the photograph, but also the letters to think about…" Masako trailed off. Her hand was to her chin, cupping it softly. "Mm… so the connection stems from us all knowing each other, right? Then is it possible that the people who wrote to us are tied to the reason why we're murderers?"

"Yeah, that's probably the case." Tomoyo pursed her lips. "Everything's off of assumption though."

Monokuma bounced from his seat and threw his paws to the air. "Are y'all lost? You know that isn't a good thing, right?"

"Ah." Shinjimae held his breath. "W-we're not lost, erm, w-we are getting somewhere."

"Hmm? Are you sure? Are you really sure about that?" The bear grinned. "From what I can tell, or even what everyone else can tell, y'all are running around in circles. Are you really that lost?"

Yume shrugged. "And you're just here taunting us. Doesn't really help to do shit."

Monokuma laughed. "Nonsense, nonsense! I'm just here being honest and curious! Aren't I right though?"

"N-no." Shinjimae shook his head. "W-we're still discussing… w-we figured out that the letters are signifi- significant to us being connected and, erm, the case."

"And is that it?" The bear leaned forward, staring amusingly at the group. "How even is it significant anyways? Do you guys have any idea?"

Yume's brows furrowed. "Well, if you're asking us this, then we're getting somewhere, aren't we?"

"Maybe, maybe not! Who knows? You guys are the one who decide your own fate. I'm just here to enact judgment!"

"Yeah, with that fucking behavior, I hope you shove your paws up your non-existant ass." The nihilist scoffed and crossed her arms, eyes staring into Tomoyo's. "Guess we got confirmation we're reaching somewhere. Just need to figure out what the fuck that is."

"Mm, the connection to our relationship, to us being murderers, and to this killing game…" Masako mumbled to herself, thinking. A couple of seconds passed before she raised her head again, asking, "Are the letters written under the assumption that we're in a killing game or not?"

"Not sure about that," Tomoyo answered, frowning. "Then we'd also have to ask if the letters had been written before we murdered or not."

"Mm. They don't sound like they knew we were murderers though," the survivalist remarked, albeit hesitant.

Yume shook her head. "Okay, but that's impossible. Why would they write the letters for this stupid game and be so dumb to not know we're murderers?"

"Well…" The screenwriter was silent. She looked at Monokuma, then at the group. "Then let's confirm whether or not this motive was planned during the time we were given the letters."

The nihilist frowned. "Why would that matter?"

I don't know if Monokuma knows, but if I'm able to confirm the time the letters were written through this then… Tomoyo looked back at the bear. "Is it possible we were the only ones with the letters? Can you give us the rest? It'd make for a fair trial, right?"

Monokuma only smiled in return, then nodded. "Of course! Fair always is something I value in a trial! The audience finds it more fun anyways!" He reached to the back and pulled out a handful of letters. "Here you go!"

Tomoyo was handed the letters, the woman noting herself and the rest in the room to be four. Counting the letters in her head, she counted ten. She nodded inwardly to herself. This might as well mean that the letters were written before the killing game started, or at least before Wakana died.

Yet, even then, she knew that wasn't enough, eyes scanning the letters and its envelopes more and more.

A couple of seconds passed, and she frowned. The envelopes were rather old, she noted, noticing the slightly worn out edges and the feel of the paper. To her, she estimated the envelopes belonged years ago, especially when in comparison to the seal that was used to keep the letters closed looked relatively new, as if pressed upon an old seal recently.

It was off, but why was it off? She thought to herself, recalling back to when Monokuma first handed the envelopes… to which she realized the letters he gave to them weren't sealed up with wax, weren't of the same type of envelope paper and feel.

As if he was hiding something back then.

Bringing the envelopes over to the other Ultimates equally, she began to open the one that was currently in her hand. Noting the recipient belonging to Kiyoko, a strange feeling of worry and nervousness escaped her. Holding her breath, her eyes looked through the letter, reading it word for word.

Similarly to the rest, it was filled with words that she couldn't understand or interpret. A letter that was filled with passive aggressiveness, disgust, an unknown sense of belonging and nostalgia, of homesickness… a confusing mixture that mudded one's heart, Tomoyo knew.

It was the same for the others she read, and when her gaze went back to the group, she noted the sense of acknowledgment and agreement. She frowned, crossing her arms. "What do you all think?"

"It's like everyone else's, for one." Yume's brows furrowed. "I couldn't get anything from the ones I've read."

"A-ah, um…" Shinjimae raised his hand, catching everyone's attention. In his hand was one of the letters, his doe eyes expressing worry. "I-I, um, think I got something from Hitomu's…"

Masako's eyes widened. "What's wrong with it?"

"L-let me read it," the animal whisperer replied, lips pursed as he cleared his throat and began to speak again:

["Hello there Hitomu,

Do you remember us? Probably not since you've been gone before you turned three. We heard you were living in a large house with a lot of siblings. Is it fun over there? We hope you're doing well and having fun with them. How is your relationship with your mother and father? We're hoping they can provide you with the love that we cannot afford to give you.

If you wish, and hopefully do remember us, we can tell you we are doing well. It's been hard scraping by, but we're happy just knowing we have this chance to know you are doing well and that you're around a family who can love you the way we cannot.

We have not been given information to give you our names or even our phone numbers in order to preserve you of your memories there, but just knowing you will read this is enough with us. If there ever comes a time we can fly there and meet you, we hope you will welcome us with open arms. Even then, if you wish to seek us, please keep in mind that you're not entitled to acting familial to us.

Sincerely,

Your Old Ones 3"]

The animal whisperer finished speaking, coughing a couple times here and there and stammering. There was a moment of silence as he raised his head to eye the group, to even eye Monokuma who smirked in utter amusement, as if he expected something to happen. Shinjimae gulped, and Saki's rubs against his leg weren't comforting him, especially given how everyone was processing the information.

"Hold on a fucking second." Yume raised her hand, breath held. "Shinji, give me that. I need to read it again."

"O-of course…" Shinjimae slowly stepped out of his podium and handed the letter to the nihilist, his eyes staring at her in worry.

Tomoyo was silent in her spot. Everything was still being registered in her head, processing. A couple of seconds, and she slowly forced herself to speak. "There's… a commonality between all the letters. Whoever wrote to us always referred to us living a better life or that we're happier 'here', wherever here is."

Shinjimae nodded. "Y-yeah, but, I mean… Hitomu's…" He frowned. "The last sentence r-referred to the word 'familial'."

"So whoever's talking to us in the letter… thinks of us as familial?" Yume snorted. "But mine was fucking hostile towards me."

The animal whisperer flinched. "I-I know! B-but then mine… w-whoever was speaking to me s-said that they love me and that they hope I'm living happily w-with my parents- but Daddy's… t-they don't know what happened in my life."

"The letters must've been written years ago." Tomoyo crossed her arms. "The envelopes are old. Must've been way before we got stuck here."

"But what does that even mean?" Masako asked. "If it happened years ago, why have we gotten the letters now? Did Monokuma erase that memory from us too?"

"T-that wouldn't make sense though, I-I think." The animal whisperer shook his head. "E-even then, if that was the case- just- w-wouldn't the letters be known to our family and friends? Erm… Wouldn't the letters themselves mean that- I-I don't know- just- wouldn't they mean that our families were aware of whatever we don't know?"

The survivalist's eyes widened. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Shinjimae frowned, hands gripping around the rails. "T-the letters are basically a once-in-a-lifetime c-chance, right? B-but, even then, if they were given to us from an early age, w-wouldn't it change our lives dramatically? W-wouldn't our families be aware of whatever's happening in the letters too?"

He stopped. He was standing, bent over. The animal whisperer's hands tightened around the rails as he shook, trembling in place. "W-what Hitomu's letter implies, a-at least to me… just, um, is it possible our families aren't our original families?"

Yume's eyebrows furrowed. "What? But we look genetically similar to our families. The letters are probably just fucking with us all."

"B-but given the technology here, isn't it possible?" His words went quieter, yet even then, they were way too clear, way too desperate and growly. "The letters must have a p-purpose if Monokuma used them as a motive, right? S-so… it's possible that everything leading to us b-becoming murderers are connected…!"

Tomoyo thought back to her own letter, remembering the content. She remembered each sentence and word vividly, and remembered her initial emotions, her reactions. She recalled the others' accounts, the letters she had just read. Her heart throbbed. A lump present in her throat, she forced herself to speak again, slowly, "It'd explain what the letters are talking about and the similarities they all have with each other."

Masako frowned. "Isn't it possible Monokuma forged them though?"

"B-but the emotions-" Shinjimae shook his head. "D-doesn't he play fair? He's cruel, but- h-he's still fair…"

"Who knows? He could be fucking with us." Yume scoffed. "The letters are probably his way of just messing with us and trying to throw us off."

Tomoyo bit into her lip. "It doesn't explain why the letters were seemingly written years ago though."

The survivalist shook her head in return, hands cupped as she stared at the screenwriter. "B-but I mean… Yume does have a point. He might be doing this to manipulate us. What purpose will the letters have against us other than to toy with our emotions? I don't see any purpose from these letters to the bigger picture."

Her eyes narrowed in return. "I think there's a purpose though."

"Oopsy daisy, is this what I'm seeing right before my eyes: a debate?" Monokuma leaned forward, bouncing in his spot. A grin escaped his face, the bear chuckling as well as he chirped out loud, "Great! We love this sudden turn of events! You know what that means? You do, right? This calls for everyone's favorite minigame in the world: the most exciting and tension-filled game called a scrum debate!"

"Acting like you're some overhyped ass game show announcer." Yume rolled her eyes. "Cringe."

"Is this really necessary right now?" Tomoyo asked, her eyes looking over at the bear who nodded in response.

"Of course it's needed! This is what hypes up the audience, after all, thrills and excitement are what stimulates the brain! We need this in our lives, so you guys better get ready to participate in the game! If not, we will kick you all down with the strike of my lightning paw! Upupupupu!"

"Uhuh." Masako just chuckled nervously. "Right…"

The animal whisperer sighed softly. "L-let's just get this over with."

"Yes, exactly! You guys have no choice in the matter! So, my lovely Ultimates, I think it is time for the one and only-" He slammed his paw on a button, a very familiar button. "-scrum debate!"

The button was pressed, and lights began to flash all over the room. Blinding and downright nauseating, Tomoyo held onto the edge of her coattails as everyone's podium rose up, stationing them where they were supposed to be. Eyes took notice of Shinjimae who was next to her, and she looked over at Masako and Yume who was opposite from them. She frowned. She knew what to do.

SCRUM DEBATE

Question: Are the letters important, or are they a red herring?

LEFT SIDE "THEY ARE IMPORTANT": Tomoyo, Shinjimae

RIGHT SIDE "THEY ARE A RED HERRING": Yume, Masako

. | . | . | .

Yume: When has Monokuma ever played fair with us? We're in this whole killing game because he wants to fuck with us.

Shinjimae: W-what I mean by fair is that h-he's following his own killing game rules!

.

Masako: But the content in the letters do not make sense! W-we don't know anyone who could've written those letters.

Tomoyo: We don't know anyone because Monokuma erased our memories. The reason why he even showed us those letters is because they're related to us.

.

Masako: If that's the case, then why even show us them?

Shinjimae: H-he's showing us them because i-it's related to us becoming murderers…!

.

Yume: Isn't that too big of a logical jump though? How do they even relate?

Shinjimae: T-they relate because… i-if Monokuma took the time to fabricate them then they wouldn't make that b-big of an impact!

.

Masako: But isn't it possible he messed with our memories to make us feel this way?

Tomoyo: If Monokuma messed with us like that, then we wouldn't even be having this debate.

.

Yume: So, what? What evidence is there to back up the idea that the letters were even written years ago?

Tomoyo: The evidence is right in front of your eyes! Everything has to be related somehow even if you don't believe it.

.

BREAK!

"Geez." The screenwriter sighed as everyone was brought back to their original spots, the air from before now temperament. She looked back at the group and frowned, nodding her head. "I really think that the letters are related to why we became murderers. If Monokuma was fabricating this, then we would have to question the sole idea that we were murderers in the first place. I don't think Monokuma has the ability to make everyone here believe they were actually murderers."

Especially if the dreams I'm getting always seemed to relate back to the past somehow.

"I mean, that's true…" Yume trailed off. "It's anyone's call though. As long as it gets us closer to catching the mastermind, then everything's fine."

"You're right." Masako sighed, forfeiting. "If the letters are referring to us in the familial sense, then what about our actual families?"

The nihilist nodded. "They cannot be the ones who wrote to us, but why would we have another family we don't know shit about? And why would our own families never tell us? If it's related to us becoming murderers, then what's the reason?"

Tomoyo frowned, thinking to herself. Face hardened and hand to her chin, she thought for a moment before looking back at the group, responding slowly, "If what Shinji said was true and who we thought were our original families weren't, then… we still need evidence to show why we aren't related to our quote-on-quote original families."

Shinjimae gulped, cupping his hands together and pursing his lips. "T-they could've injected us with something… o-or maybe they gave us away to our f-families because we looked similar."

"That's a possibility." The screenwriter nodded.

"But why would we be given away by our birth families then?" Yume asked, frowning. "What did we ever do?"

Tomoyo sighed. "Be murderers, but that happened after they disowned us."

"Exactly. So what did we do to make them give us up then, especially to people who look like us?"

Masako shook her head, frowning. "There are plenty of things, it might not even be malicious in intent."

"T-true…" Shinjimae frowned in return. "B-but it still wouldn't explain everything… especially i-if they could only write to us this one time…"

"Wait, but then we became murderers because we were abandoned?" Yume's eyes narrowed. "That's… that's really the only connection we have other than us being Ultimates…"

Monokuma could be heard giggling in the background.

"T-that can't be the only reason though!" Shinjimae exclaimed, eyes wide. "I… I would never hurt someone just because of t-that!"

Tomoyo breathed deeply, heart throbbing erratically. "No! Of course not, so there must be something else behind that information alone."

"What would that 'something else' be though? We've gotten almost everything there could be behind this entire mess." Yume scoffed, frustration clear on her face. "We've figured out the mastermind and Monokuma aren't on the same damn boat, that we're obviously in some fucked up killing game that's being watched by people, the people in the letters gave us away for some reason, that we're murderers- fuck, it's like everything's out to get us."

"Wait a second though." The survivalist leaned forward in her spot. "I just… even if we've been given away, why had we all been brought up the same way?"

"Same way…?" Shinjimae gulped. "T-through us being Ultimates?"

Masako nodded slowly. "It can't be some huge misfortune for us all to become Ultimates and end up knowing each other, nonetheless come to the singular conclusion to kill because of our upbringing… i-if that was the case too, how exactly did we learn about this? About us not coming from our birth parents?"

Tomoyo shook her head. The survivalist had made a good point, and she had to think on it well, cupping her chin and frowning to herself. She thought silently in her spot before looking back at the woman, slowly remarking, "Well, couldn't it be possible we're not the only ones who's been given away?"

"Meaning?"

"Like you said, the world just doesn't work that way- everyone ending up being connected together and following each other so smoothly to the point where we're able to… kill, to put it simply." She held her breath. "If that's the case, then there must be some reason why only fourteen of us have been given away. Adoption isn't a new concept, so I'd like to think we're not special in that regard."

"But putting it as adoption…" Yume's gaze hardened. "Our situation doesn't sound close to adoption, it's like we're some fucked up subjects partaking in an experiment."

Shinjimae frowned. "I-it really does… especially since e-everyone hadn't r-really ever questioned their own family before… a-at least from, erm, what I've seen."

The nihilist scoffed in response. "Of course not. My family looks exactly like me. At least, well, we bear similarities."

Masako bobbed her head softly. "Yeah, which is definitely weird… and if it connects to us murdering…"

"Well, if the mastermind and Monokuma are against each other," Tomoyo started off, frowning, "it most likely connects to them as well, if not the mastermind's motivation."

The survivalist held her breath. "True… but what is there to link to them?"

"Linking, huh?" Yume crossed her arms. "Would that be that the mastermind doesn't want this whole game orchestrated in the first place?"

Shinjimae shook his head. "I-If that's the case though…" he gulped, hand ruffling Saki's fur as he continued, "t-then why even host this, erm, game in the first place?"

"Good question." Tomoyo frowned. "If the mastermind and Monokuma were not working together, then I think this could be a case of blackmail."

Yume scoffed. "Blackmail wouldn't even work if everyone already knows us as murderers though."

"Well, I mean…" Masako held her breath. "I feel like it would, especially since everyone works differently. Even if we were murderers, there must be something Monokuma can hold over the mastermind's head."

"L-like family or friends… or maybe even money or, erm, a way to not be imprisoned? O-or even executed or killed in this case?" Shinjimae cupped his chin.

"So, does the mastermind have immunity then?" The nihilist's eyebrows furrowed. "But then why bother working against Monokuma?"

Tomoyo frowned, thinking to herself. To think of a reason, a justifiable and a legitimate reason for the mastermind… she had to think, had to figure it out.

PSYCHE TAXI

…

Question 1: Who is the killer of this case?

A. The killer is one of us Ultimates.

[B. The killer is the mastermind.]

C. Monokuma.

…

GOT IT!

…

Question 2: Why did the killer decide to murder Akio?

[A. Akio attacked first.]

B. Because of the motive.

C. Monokuma forced the killer to murder.

…

GOT IT!

…

Question 3: Was Akio's attempted murder targeted towards anyone in particular?

A. No, he chose someone by random.

B. Yes, he chose someone based on either chance or proximity.

[C. Yes, he tried to attack the mastermind.]

…

GOT IT!

…

Question 5: What is different about this trial compared to the rest?

A. There is nothing different.

[B. Monokuma struck a deal to increase views.]

C. That the mastermind was the killer.

…

GOT IT!

…

Question 5: How did Akio know the killer was the mastermind?

A. He didn't, this was out of pure luck.

[B. Akio got intel from somebody.]

C. The mastermind outed themselves.

D. Akio investigated the matter and figured out who it was.

…

GOT IT!

…

Tomoyo: Here we go!

BREAK!

Tomoyo snapped her fingers, eyes wide. Turning to the group, she hit the slab on the podium and leaned over it. "I think the answer lies in Blaise's murder. He chose to attack the mastermind and that is obvious from the deal Monokuma brought up. After all, how did Blaise even know in the first place?"

Yume frowned. "Not sure. I think Watari was the only one who was close to figuring it out, but he got killed."

"H-he was obviously, erm, k-killed because he knew…" Shinjimae trembled, shaking his head. "It's horrible."

Tomoyo nodded, hands down on the podium as she held her breath. Her heart was racing, but she still continued on. "If that's the case, can't the same thing be said for Blaise? If he was killed by the mastermind, then he was killed for a purpose. He targeted the murderer for a reason."

"Then the deal…" the nihilist trailed off. "So you think Monokuma made the deal to pressure the mastermind into working besides him?"

Masako's eyes narrowed. "S-so, you believe he told Blaise then? But then… why would Blaise…"

"I mean, I wouldn't call it far-fetched if he tried to kill the mastermind. If the actor wanted to figure out who did it and end this shenanigan, especially with how outlandish his other plan was with the whole group shit, then I wouldn't say it's a crazy thing to consider." Yume shrugged, though the slightest bit of annoyance was present on her face. "Just, hm, it's still a bit weird to think he'd suddenly try to murder instead of at least asking around. Weren't you on his side?"

"For a while, yes," Tomoyo replied as her gaze hardened, answering honestly despite her uncomfortable mood.

Shinjimae shook his head. "B-but even then, erm, just- t-then why would Kyatchi kill Watari? H-he never acted like h-he wanted to hurt someone… o-other than himself, that is."

Yume frowned. "I think the real question is if Watari's murder and Blaise's murder are all closely related. The mastermind and Monokuma are working separately, so who's the reason for Watari's death?"

"I-Isn't it the mastermind?" Masako imputed.

"I-if Watari figured it out, then…" the animal whisperer shuddered, "b-but if that's the case, then wouldn't it, erm, mean t-that the mastermind tortured W-Watari…? I thought we established they were- w-well, not as bad as Monokuma if they're working against him."

Yume sighed. "I don't think Kyatchi would kill. Too much work if he even decided to do it."

"I mean…" Masako trailed off. "It is a bit suspicious that Monokuma would've killed him in… that manner."

"Ohhh?" Monokuma suddenly chirped in, leaning towards the group. "So, I'm suspicious now? You think Kyatchi's death was unwarranted?"

Tomoyo winced at the bear out of disgust. His high-pitched voice was aggravating to the ears, and the mocking tone he gave was not at all wanted. "Well, it is rather suspicious that you'd execute him like that, isn't it? Watari's death wasn't simply because of the motive, he was killed after he was tortured."

"I-it still makes me sick to think about it." Shinjimae clutched at his chest and breathed heavily, though his anger was directed at the bear in tenfold. "I-if it ends up t-that Kyatchi died for your sake… t-then you're not even playing fair!"

The bear only smiled in return, not at all bothered. In fact, he looked amused, entertained. "Then who killed him? I can't lay a finger on you guys."

Yume raised a brow. "Whoever wasn't Kyatchi and was on your side."

"And who was on my side?"

"Wouldn't that be…" the animal whisperer trailed off. He went silent, eyes averted to the side. As if he realized something, his eyes widened.

THINKING TIME

Question: Who would the culprit of the last case be?

A. Someone already dead before.

B. Kyatchi.

C. Monokuma.

[D. Akio.]

Shinjimae: This one…!

BREAK!

The animal whisperer breathed deeply. "W-wouldn't it be Blaise then?"

"Huh?" Masako's eyes widened. "What?"

"Oh, so you think it's little Aki?" The bear grinned, smile becoming wider as he leaned forward, closer and closer as he inched towards the Ultimates. Reveling in their faces, he chuckled, continuing in his amused tone, "The one that died in this case? Why would he be working besides me though? He obviously hated my guts."

"J-just because he hates you doesn't mean he couldn't be acting." Yume rolled her eyes, disgust present in her voice. "Don't you remember what his fucking talent was?"

Monokuma chortled. "So, you're taking a dead man down just because his talent was 'actor'? Next thing you know, I'll end up accusing you of wanting to burn down this world because you're a fucking nihilist- oh wait, you already do, you mass murderer."

The woman scoffed.

"Do you guys even have any reason to think Aki's on my side? I don't see any evidence that leads to it." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "What evidence was there?"

Tomoyo frowned. Monokuma did have a point, they had to figure out what actually led to Akio's motive to murdering Watari. Without evidence, she couldn't confidently shove Monokuma into the corner and take him down along with the mastermind. She had to think, had to remember what happened in the past.

"So, what evidence was there? Nothing?" Monokuma smirked. "Upupupu! Knew it."

The screenwriter gritted her teeth. The bear was mocking them and he knew it. He knew it damn well. Nails digging into her palms, the woman had to force herself to calm down. She reached for her MonoPad and looked through her truth bullets. She stayed silent for a while until she saw-

-the bullets from the last case were available again.

NONSTOP DEBATE

Truth Bullets: Rope | Flashlight | Blood Messages | Bloody Bat | Letter

Monokuma: So, where's the evidence? Nowhere?

Tomoyo: You really want to mock us, don't you?

Monokuma: Upupupupu! Maybe!

Shinjimae: I-I mean, given by h-how everything went down… i-it's obvious you wanted to finish the l-last trial early!

Yume: Not to drag on or anything, but Kyatchi's execution. Sus.

Monokuma: Hm, hm, I see, I see. Is that even concrete evidence to this case? I see nothing damning. Puhuhu!

Monokuma: Why would Aki sweetheart work for me? I had nothing that could've made him work for me!

Shinjimae: E-even then, there's no way y-you weren't doing something wrong!

Masako: But if there isn't concrete evidence, he won't expose anything…

Masako: What do we even have that could convince him?

-Truth Bullet Selected: Flashlight-

Tomoyo: This is the one!

BREAK!

The woman pointed to the truth bullet on her screen and frowned. "The times you made us remember something crucial to ourselves, you flashed us with light, right?"

Monokuma yawned as he swirled some wine in his glass. "Hmm? Yeah, yeah, that's right, why?"

"I see." Tomoyo pursed her lips. "Isn't it possible you did the same to Blaise to get him on your side?"

"Oh? Why do you think that, Yoyo?"

Again with the nicknames. She sighed inwardly and continued, "There was a flashlight back in the place Watari died in. We could've said that it was to blind Watari since he was in the dark or a way for him to move around, but the flashlight had no buttons or anything. It was just there, seemingly broken without purpose."

"I mean, didn't you see the recording though?" Yume frowned, raising a brow. "It was obviously used to help film Watari."

Masako shook her head, hands cupped. "The flashlight in the crime scene though didn't work, so then how would…?"

The nihilist snorted dryly. "I wouldn't think it was specifically designed to film a torture either."

"Oh! Nah, nah, I wouldn't make flashlights that do that. Those are extremely hard to make anyways. How the hell would an object know what purpose it was served to do?" He snickered. "You guys are utterly fucking insane if you think the flashlight was made to do that."

Tomoyo frowned. "But what if a different flashlight was used entirely and that was the one that was taken away on accident? The warehouse stored multiple objects, after all, so it'd be easy to have a flashlight around. That kind of flashlight without buttons though? Where would one find that?"

"Hmm…" Masako cupped her chin. "If the flashlight in the crime scene was for the murderer- er, Blaise, and he took the regular one instead of that one specifically…"

"W-wait, but that'd imply-" Shinjimae cleared his throat and looked at the bear. "-it'd imply t-that, erm, Monokuma had manipulated B-Blaise recently…!"

The screenwriter nodded. "But it'd make sense, doesn't it? Watari was about to figure out how to save all of us. To Monokuma, that was the worst thing that could happen."

"Wait a fucking second." Yume slammed her hands down. "Wasn't Watari on Monokuma's side?"

"He was playing double agent. He became a 'traitor' in order to get information for us." Tomoyo sighed. "Monokuma broke the deal off with him before his death."

Yume shook her head. "I knew that, but-"

"That, I can attest to!" Monokuma laughed. "I do not appreciate people who try to one-up me. What a shame, really, Watari would've been such a great helper. He could've really led you all to your demise if he wanted to."

The nihilist held her breath. She was silent for a second. "... why did you cut off the deal with Watari specifically, and why did you choose him specifically?"

"Was my reason not good enough?"

"You probably had other reasons in mind, that's what I think."

"A very distrusting person you are." The bear rolled his eyes. "If you want me to be specific, then I guess I underestimated his abilities. Given he was one of the guys in charge of your group, I thought he'd be one of the more apathetic people here. Guess I underestimated why he's one of you guys' leader in the first place."

Tomoyo narrowed her gaze. One of?

He laughed. "Oh well, what's done is done. So, you think Aki was on my side then to act as my side ho? He was my rebound because Watari broke up with me?"

"You could've flashed him memories that could've manipulated how he acted towards us and towards Watari in general." The screenwriter gripped the podium.

"Y-you must be joking…" Shinjimae shook his head. "T-that's…" He shuddered, trembling in his spot. With Saki worriedly nuzzling his leg, his eyes shot upwards at Monokuma. "I-if you're saying Watari was o-one of the people in charge of us murdering e-everyone-! Y-you showed Blaise that to m-make him kill him!"

Masako's face went pale. "T-that… that makes sense." She mumbled inaudibly before speaking loudly again. "If Monokuma showed proof that Watari was in charge of everyone murdering, then Blaise would've considered Watari a legitimate threat! Since everyone was still denying the possibility of us murdering and the fact that the detective knew in the beginning… Blaise's motivation…"

Tomoyo bit into her lip. If what Monokuma said was true, Watari was one of the people who formed everything to begin with- their motivation for wanting to murder innocent lives, forming the group in the first place… She shuddered in her spot, but forced herself to look at the bear, glaring. "Is this true? You manipulated Blaise's emotions to such an extent that he'd kill for you."

The bear looked down at the Ultimates. He wore such a mocking expression of pity, as if he was cooing, babying them. His smile curved even wider, and he laughed.

He laughed, and he continued to laugh.

It wasn't even annoying. It wasn't even aggravating.

It was just… malicious, full of undeniable monstrosity.

"Well, I mean, what can I say?" He slapped the armrests and dropped the wine glass, shattering into thousands of pieces. It rang so sharply in the air, throbbed in people's ears. "Why would Akio want to help you all leave this place? You guys are murderers, you killed thousands of lives. Why would he want Watari, someone who helped bring this whole group together, to help you all?"

Shinjimae's eyes widened. "S-so it's true? He killed Watari? H-he… not Kyatchi… w-what…" He shook horribly. "W-what the hell?"

The bear smirked. "Aw, come on, I was waiting for you all to get to this point. It serves so fucking well for a finale, right?" He revelled in his glory. "Don't you agree though? Why would Akio want to let Watari save you all? Why would he not act on the justice of having you criminals die for your crimes? You're not even just criminals who committed petty crimes, no- you're legit fucking murderers who's killed a bountiful amount of Japan's population."

There were no words spoken, not even from Yume who stood there, biting into her lip. Nothing could be said, nothing that could excuse them from what the bear was spewing.

"What a shame that Akio had to die, but oh well, guess we're going to have a world breaking finale of a show. The views are high as fuck." He laughed. "Why are you guys even fighting? You already knew you were murderers before this trial went down, so why are you fighting for survival? You guys deserve to die. You guys are murderers and you should accept that this is just your karmic punishment."

Silence.

"Especially to the mastermind, why the fuck aren't you on my side?"

He sighed, throwing a paw over his forehead.

"Oh well, at least it'll give me great joy knowing that you'll be caught when this is all over and you'll fucking die."

Thinking about it, why were they fighting?

Tomoyo knew that they were murderers. Everyone knew it, even Watari from the beginning.

Did the detective even know he was the leader, at least, one of the leaders? Why would he fight for his own survival if he knew this?

Didn't they deserve to burn in hell? They were murderers and deserved this.

Tomoyo held her breath. She forced herself to calm down. To breathe in, and then, to breathe out. She knew they were mass murderers and she knew there was no denying that fact now. There was no denying the fact that this entire game was unethical from a moral standpoint, and she knew for a fact that her and the rest weren't supposed to live happily in this were the case.

But, even then-

"I still want to find the truth though."

There was confusion and shock throughout the courtroom.

"I want to- no, we need to find the truth." Tomoyo slammed her hands down. Her eyes gazed into everyone, even the bear who was smirking at them, laughing. "We need to find the truth of this case."

"B-but Tomoyo," Masako meekly stuttered, "e-even so, isn't it worthless? No matter what happens, we're still going to pay the price. We're… murderers, Monokuma's right."

The screenwriter knew that. She knew that damn well. "I won't go down without knowing what the truth is. I don't even know why we became this way or who the mastermind is. We still don't know everything."

"Even if we get out though," Yume butted in, "we're going to die."

Tomoyo nodded. "I know we can't live on happily and we're going to suffer no matter what happens, but we should be allowed to know what happened. The reason for why we became murderers- the reason we have right now is half-baked."

"W-what other reason is there? T-there's no way to know…" Shinjimae shook in his spot. "E-everyone wouldn't want us to win anyways."

"If I'm going down, I'd rather go down in my own way." Tomoyo's heart throbbed. She felt light, she felt as though she was going to burst at any point, at any time. "I'm not going down without learning what happened. I'd rather die happily knowing that I'm going to suffer with legitimate reason."

Yume sighed. "You are way too stubborn for this." She shrugged. "I can't argue with that though."

"We're still going?" Masako's eyes widened. "Why?"

The nihilist sighed. "We have to figure out who the mastermind is anyways. Even if we lose, the mastermind will die, right? Rather figure it out and try to marvel at our slimmest chance of hope we could be whatever-the-fuck happiness is before then."

"Mm, I-I mean…" Shinjimae glanced over at Saki who nudged at his hand. He shakily moved over to rub her head before his eyes went back to the group. "I-I would like to know too. E-even if this is going to d-drive me insane, I'd want to know why… why everything happened this way."

"Oh? You want to continue with that kind of behavior?" Monokuma looked down at the group and hummed. "I see, I see, that's fine with me! If you think you could still somehow escape inevitable demise, then that's fine with me! Play stubborn all you like, you guys will end up crying one way or another. This game wasn't meant to make you all happy in the first place."

Tomoyo glared at the bear and pointed. "You gave us a lot to work with anyways. First of all, you mentioned that Watari was 'one of' the leaders. That means someone else was in charge of us committing murder in the first place."

The bear shrugged.

"Secondly, the motive for why we decided to kill is unknown. Thirdly, we still need to figure out who the mastermind is, which will solve this case." The woman crossed her arms and turned to the group, stern and cold in her expression. "If we figure that out, well… we'll see what happens from there, but it's best if we at least learn what's going on before we worry about the outcome."

Yume frowned. "Even if we still die at the end?"

"Death or not, it's still good to go out our own way." The woman kept herself poised, confident in her posture. "Why did we murder people in the first place? What was Watari and everyone's motivation? Our only connection were the letters and the idea that we've been given away. That shouldn't have hurt us to the extent that we'd want to kill."

"If that's the case…" Masako gulped. "There must've been something that was done to make us end up this way."

Shinjimae nodded hesitatingly. "T-true, especially i-if in that case… we l-look similar to our parents one way or another, n-not to our birth parents."

"Exactly." The screenwriter stomped her foot down. "So, let's talk about that."

CLASS TRIAL POSTPONED

Survivors: 4/14

AAA not the end of the story yet nor the end of the trial. Sorry if that's what you've all wanted, but I still have a lot i need to cover so I hope you can all bear with me for a bit longer ^^. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as quickly (with the same amount of quality, of course, aha) to not keep you all in suspense. Of course, staying on schedule, but still hopefully quick enough at least!

Anyways, with that well and done with, see you all in the next chapter!