Alchie bit her lower lip. "Yeah, family influence played a huge part, now that I think of it. But wow, your whole family is into technology? You must have had a lot of support..." She seemed unfocused, thinking of something else for a few moments before snapping back into reality. "If you don't mind me asking - do you have an end goal to achieve with your passion, or is it just fascination?"

"My end goal is eventually creating revolutionary technology. Not some kickstarter project that will never take off, actual life-changing technology for other people. I feel like I can do it, so that's what I'm working on.. or rather, will work on eventually when I do get out of here." Matt sipped from his bottle of water before speaking up again.

"Yeah, my whole family is into technology. I had a lot of support from my father who was kind enough to buy me some electronics to play with. The rest was experimentation on my part and advice from my brother."

"You get better as time goes by, I feel. It's tough to keep thinking about the ways everything could go, but impatience can lead to traps. I learned that the hard way." Alchie laughed, remembering a match she had.

"I have a chess set but I didn't bring it. My parents wanted me to do something outdoor-y, so they didn't let me. But well, since we mixed up summer school and summer camp, I suppose there was no point to that."



"Do you have any plans? I mean, a certain piece of technology you want to create?" Realizing she had been constantly asking questions, Alchie gave a nervous smile. "Apologies, but I tend to be highly curious. Ah... you don't have to answer if you're planning on keeping it a secret..."

"What do you guys want to eat?" Ryuji asked. "Ehehe...as the Ultimate Actor, I shall bring you the greatest feast! The cafeteria has tons of ingredients!"

"Why would I want to keep it a secret? There's no reason to. I don't think you're going to steal my plan now, are you?" Matt chuckled.

"It's good to be curious. Anyhow, my current plan is changing the way computers interact with humans - eventually creating a sentient artificial intelligence. It's not an easy task.. but it can be done. I'll try my best, though I might need some experience beforehand."

Solomon sighed. "You guys have such interesting stories to you..Me, I'm just me." He scratched his head with dismay, and turned to Ryuji. "I think the theme should be sweets. After all, that's the type of friendship we'll have to have in order to survive here!"

---

Alchie shook her head with a wide smile. "Of course not! Even if I did, I'm practically useless with technology, so I'd mess it up in big ways."



"Sentient AI? That... that sounds like a very good goal. But no matter how difficult it is, I'm sure you'll succeed with time!" Alchie said with enthusiasm.

"Now, since I'm pretty sure I'll overstep my question quota with time - like a few minutes - why don't you ask something?"

"Sure, uh, let me think.." Matt paused for a few seconds.

"What are you planning to do with your chess ability?"

"Oh, my mistake..." Sakura said dejectedly. "I got excited because I'd already talked about my origami chess set." She then left the classroom and headed for the cafe.

"No wait," Flo called out. "It's fine, tell us about the origami chess set!"

"I like that idea a lot! Maybe we can turn it into a tea party with lots of sweet?" SiRReN twirled around in her velvet dress. "It'd be like a royal tea party!"

"Despite my title, I still have much to learn," Alchie admitted. "I'm planning on becoming the World Chess Champion in future, but no noble plan like you, sadly. I know I can choose a lot of other professions to help the world - and I want to - but right now, nothing holds any appeal to me."



Alchie went after her. "Sakura, I'd love to see your origami chess set, honest! I've never seen anybody make something like that, and it sounds cool. What I said was meant as a reason why I don't have anything related to my talent, like the rest of you."

"Family influence, huh?" She suddenly looked rather sad again. "I only had one... family member... who really... supported me." She grabbed her bandana, squeezing it tightly in her fist. "My parents always thought of me as an immature little girl. Maybe they still do... I only told them that I was scouted because of my interest in biology..."

Then, she looked at the food in the cafe and smiled a little. "It would be awesome to make some real food. I basically had nothing but bacon and water since I'm here."

Sakura span around again when the others called for her. "Really? If you mean it, I can make one right now! Just gimme a day or so to prepare it all - the pieces are a little fiddly, but the board itself is a pain. Lots of little folds to get each square in the checkerboard pattern to be there."

"Hey, I'm sure it'll be great. We can play an actual game of chess on it!"

"We do mean it," Alchie said. "But take your time, alright? On that note, how do you make the pieces? I'm sure the board's pattern is difficult, but what about things like the knight's horse head? Or the bishop's frowning look?"

"I'd love to play on that board! I'm sure it'll make for a fun match."

"Nyaha...sweets are my specialty, you know," Ryuji said, a sudden smugness coming upon him. "Alright! Sweets it is! Cake! Ice cream! Brownies! Pies! Pastels! Pancakes! Waffles! Vatrushkas!"

"Mmmmmmm!" SiRReN hummed, licking her lips. "That all sounds so gooooooooooood!"

"Oh, the horse's head is simple! It's just like making the head of a lot of other animals, ears and mouth included." Sakura replied. "The bishop's frown was a little harder, though. That piece is actually the most complex one just because of it!"

"You want me to help, Ryuji?", Solomon asks. "I haven't really tried cooking, but I suppose there's a first time for everything."

---

Ding-dong“A body has been discovered! Please head over to the classroom!”

Van, Subaru, and SiRReN exchange serious stares at each other.

“W-What? T-T-T-hat was a body?!” SiRReN went pale.

“Blasphemy!” Subaru shouts.

“Stand back.” Van’s voice was eerily stern and his face was clear that there was no time for counterargument. Subaru and SiRReN stepped backwards while Van charged forward like a bull and smashed his massive shoulder into the sturdy door, knocking it off of its frame.

The only light source in the room--no, the building, swayed dimly from a ceiling chain, small flames threatening to blow in the wind. They barely illuminated the corpse below. She was on her back, mouth agape, with arms and legs spread out like an angel. Tears of red came from her eyes. In the center of her chest was a knife, almost looking like a landmark for the ocean of blood pooled around her.

Karega Shinda, the Ultimate Survivalist, was dead.

It didn’t take long before everyone had gathered, but it still took some time for everyone to collect themselves. Tears fell for a long time, with the only feeling everyone desired being home.

“Look what we have here! Hey, why all the long faces?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Van screamed. “T-This is just monstrous!”

“Hmph. Call me a monster all you want, but all of you still need to perform the class trial. So I’ll just be quick.” Monokuma pulled out an electronic device and threw it to Sakura. With trembling hands, she read the display aloud.

“Monokuma File #1: The victim is Karega Shinda, the Ultimate, err she preferred cho koko kyu no, Survivalist. A combat knife was found sticking out of her heart and signs of a struggle appear on her body. Time of death was around 3 AM.”

“While I’m sure Death has warmly welcomed her, such an exit is...unfortunate.” The straight look on Subaru’s face never changed.

“So you three found the body?” Crimson asks, indicating Subaru, SiRReN, and Van. “Was the door locked when you got here?”

“Yes, it was.” Subaru says, cutting off Van.

“Hmph. Of course it was.” Arthur grins despite the situation. “Looks like we got a locked room murder.”

“Well, there’s no time to waste.” Cesar decided. “I don’t like it, but if we don’t participate, we die. So let’s split up.”

“We can’t leave the body alone.” Arthur chewed a bit on a toothpick. “It’s the most critical piece of evidence we have.”

“I’ll watch it then.” Solomon volunteered.

“Like hell you will.” Crimson said. “You were the last one here, you’re clearly the last person we should trust with it.”

“Actually, he isn’t…” Charlie shook as as she spoke. “Slezak isn’t even here…”

“We can’t trust anyone with certainty.” Cesar looked down. “We should split into teams, alright? That’ll help us find Slezak too.”

“Good idea.” Sayako nodded. “Van, you stay with the body since it’s the most critical piece of evidence. Solomon will be here in case you’re...y’know. Cesar and Alchie can check out the hallway, Musashi-kun and SiRReN can look at the cafe, Hiwamari-san and Arisato-kun can check out the art room, Matt and Charlie can look out in the halls for Slezak-kun, me and Arthur will investigate the basement, and Flo and Crimson will investigate the gym. Any objections?”

“Yes, one.” Arthur spoke up. “I’d prefer to investigate alone, see ya.” He waved his hand, and didn’t give time for anyone to respond.

“Sigh. I hate lone wolves. Alright Matt, you go with Cesar and Alchie-san, Charlie can come with me. I guess we don’t really need two groups in the halls if we’re going to be looking at every room.”

Matt and Charlie nodded, and then everybody went towards their respective assignments.

After some thorough investigation, Monokuma announced it was time for the class trial. Everybody (including Slezak) gathered in the main area where they began, and suddenly the circular floor started moving downwards like an elevator. Everybody stared forward, swallowing their fear as they faced possible death.

Karega was a quiet girl, but she had never given up hope on the class. She always looked forward and tried to find a way out. She never would’ve participated in this killing game, but it seems she was forced to…

Almost everyone in the room had the same thought. “The one who killed Karega is…one of us.”

(Please don’t comment until my next post, and make sure to check your quicktopic before posting in the trial. Please standby)

"Welcome to the class trial! During the class trial, you will present your arguments for who the killer is and 'whodunnit'! If you vote correctly, only the blackened will be punished! If you vote incorrectly, I'll punish someone besides the blackened! And the blackened will get to leave! Before we begin, I need to confess one thing...in the interest of a fair trial and all that." Monokuma grumbles. "I kind of...revealed the ultimate answer to the ultimate question before a killing happened. I wanted some excitement, sue me. Now let's begin!"




(I am undecided on whether or not I should allow the gameplay mechanics to exist, so take this as a possibility of a mechanic. I'm leaning towards no, but I'll see what people think first. You can share your thoughts privately as well)

(Also please let me know if I screwed up anything in your evidence/alibi. It was a mess writing those and I proofread many times but still caught weird things (characters saying things when they're not at a location). I'm pretty positive they're all correct though. Any complaints about my horrible portrayal of your character can also be sent)

"So, uh, was the killer really one of us..?" Ryuji asked nervously. "I-I don't really believe that..."

"The killer was definitely one of us. The question is WHO was the killer. I don't want to believe it, but we have to at this point." Matt shook his head.

"F-for now, we should address that Sakura and I found Slezak inside the art room kiln. He was really bruised up, I think he's hurt..." Ryuji said. "Hey! Monokuma! He's not in any condition to play murder mystery!"

"I didn't want to either...But it's the truth, apparently." Crimson fidgets nervously with her hair, unable to contain her adrenaline.

She then adds. "Flo and I went investigating in the gym...Apparently, a set of dumbbells is missing. Are any of you aware of this?"

"Is Slezak awake?" Alchie asked, and then shook her head. "To think this day was going so well..."

"Well then, you can't say we didn't warn you. A death was bound to happen. "A grin appeared on Subaru's face.

Solomon stared at nothing in particular. It was apparent that he was horrified by the body. "So...um...so much for the banquet, huh." He tries to smile, but it is clear that his attempt at cheering everyone up isn't working. He sighs.

"In the end, I guess there isn't anything we could do. One of us...was determined to kill to leave." He looked down at the empty floor. "But...I suppose in order to find out Karega's killer, we have to solve this." He clenches his fist in a mixture of fury and hopefulness. "So, let's get started."

He looks at Flo. "Dumbells, huh? That's weird. But I thought the victim was stabbed with a knife? I wonder what those have to do with anything." He scratched his chin in thought. "Oh, by the by. Did you guys manage to figure out what caused the blackout?"

---

"Yes, maybe these dumbbells were used to lock the door from the outside? But before that, I think we should go over the case and find out what really happened in there."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHMQMW8WTYk

"The victim was stabbed with a knife. But you mentioned you found Slezak in the kiln, right? Was he unconscious there?" Matt asked and then replied to Solomon.

"The only thing that could have caused a blackout is the fuse box. Someone must have done something to the fuses in order to cause it."

"Alright... First let's see where everybody was. That should give us a good place to start at." Alchie said, crossing her arms.

"The time of death said 3 am. Ideally everyone should have been sleeping but…"

"Oho...What if someone struck the fusebox using the missing dumbbells?"

"I don't know about any dumbbells," SiRReN answered, "but the toaster is missing from the kitchen. Nothing else stuck out to me and Subaru aside from that."

"H-He was passed out," Ryuji stammered. "I had to do CPR on him...which was possible on account of, I, Ryuji Arisato, performing in an award winning theater production about a kid doctor who gets certified for lifeguard..."

*ahem*

"B-but when he woke up, all he could say was 'Karega.'"

Last edited by CaptainPancakes on Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

"It won't be wise give the list of suspects we know just now, it'll get in the way and we'll just focus on them. We think we must focus on how the crime was done first." Subaru closed his eyes, lost in thoughts.

"Each dumbbell only weighed 10 kgs. It's really not much, but it's a possibility. Before that, did anyone find the missing dumbbells?"

"A missing toaster.. I heard a big crack before the power went out. That's likely to be someone breaking the fuses more than removing the fuses or maybe breaking something else."