I was supposed to post this two days ago, but I forgot the file in my work computer, which I couldn't access during the weekend. Sorry.

As you'll soon notice, the Trial is written in a very different style. I thought it made sense to do it this way, considering it's more dialogue-focused and quickfire.



Chapter 1.4 - Take Despair for a Trial Run

The elevator clicked and stopped moving. After a slow pause for suspense, the doors opened, allowing the students inside some kind of vault.

The room had been built in a round shape, walls covered in red curtains filling the space between each of the support pillars. There was a throne across from where they entered, a tall red and golden chair that looked very comfortable, and at the center was a circular blood-colored stage. Around the middle point of said stage were sixteen stands, little podiums arranged so that each of them could be positioned in front of them and still see everyone else.

"Welcome to the courtroom!" Monokuma jumped in from behind the throne, making one of the overly dramatic entrances he seemed to enjoy so much. "Don't worry, there are no shady human experiments happening here, especially not ones involving transferring and merging souls. It's perfectly safe."

"Cut the crap and tell us why we're here." Yang wasn't feeling patient, none of them were.

"But I already told you. We're holding the Class Trial. Now, if you can all please step into the stand that has your name written on it."

They all shuffled to the stage and checked the writing on it, slowly filling each one of the stands. Only one remained empty, the one right in front of Monokuma's throne.

"Right, now we can begin."

CLASS TRIAL IS NOW IN SESSION

Monokuma: "Welcome to the Class Trial for Miss Penny Polendina."

Monokuma: "Let's start with an explanation of how the Class Trial works. You will be given time to discuss the evidence you all gathered, and at the end you will have to vote for who the murderer is. If you vote correctly, I'll execute the culprit, but if you're wrong I'll kill everyone except the culprit. So pick carefully, kiddos!"

Jaune: "Go to hell, Monokuma, we already know you're the one who did it!"

Monokuma: "Is that your final answer?"

Blake: "Calm down, Jaune. Losing your head will only help the killer." The cat faunus was occupying the stand next to his, her voice calm and collected.

Ruby: "So, we have to figure out who did it, huh?"

Emerald: "Guess so. Does our great leader have any guidance to give is this time?"

Even with all eyes on him, it took a few seconds for Jaune to realize that he was the one they meant.

Jaune: "Wait, why me?"

Yang: "You were taking charge of the investigation earlier."

Jaune: "I was just..." His black-haired neighbor interrupted his embarrassed babble.

Blake: "We should start by determining cause of death."

Sun: "So, we're just gonna take Monokuma's word that she was a robot?" He still seemed skeptical, indignation in his voice.

Ruby: "Sun, we investigated her corpse... It's true, she was synthetic."

Sun: "Fuck, are you serious? What is this some kind of sci-fi nonsense?" Jaune swore he heard Monokuma laughing in the background.

Yatsu: "Back to topic, what did you find out on the body?"

Ruby: "It seems she died because of damaged circuitry, which is consistent with the autopsy on the Monokuma File."

Nora: "The what?"

Monokuma: "The Monokuma File, didn't Luck Boy over there tell you?" Most of the students shook their heads in unison.

Monokuma: "Dammit, Jaune, you had one job! I oughta execute you for that!"

Pyrrha: "The Monokuma File is a short autopsy report, it's in all of our Scrolls." They all checked it, taking a few moments to register the new information.

Nora: "Sooo, for those of us who aren't machine-inclined, what does 'damaged circuitry' mean?"

Velvet: "It means the core processor inside her overloaded due to some external factor. Do I have that right?"

Ruby: "Yes. When that happens, the power source can burst, destroying the rest of the machinery beyond repair."

Velvet: "It does strike me as odd that something as advanced as her didn't have a fail-safe protection. I mean even my camera has it."

Ren: "It says here she also suffered some damage to the right arm. Did you find out what caused it?"

Blake: "The arm was ripped off its hinges, probably due to being pushed or bashed in with a lot of force."

Ruby: "It also had some wires exposed, which could be how her core got fried."

Yang: "She was holding a glass of water, wasn't she? If that was thrown in her exposed wires, could it kill her?" Ruby hesitated.

Blake: "We think so, yes. There was even a puddle on the floor beneath her arm."

Weiss: "Wait, are you saying she killed herself?"

Nora: "Of course not, that would be stupid as hell!"

Ruby: "Actually..."

Ren: "The cafeteria closes during the night and we found her right after the morning announcement."

Coco: "Which means there couldn't be anyone else inside with her, is that it?"

Weiss: "But that doesn't prove anything, she could have been killed before the doors locked, and left there all night."

Pyrrha: "It would be extremely risky to attempt something like that when everyone is still walking around."

Yang: "What about the killer hiding in the cafeteria, waiting until the morning?"

Nora: "Nope, we got there pretty early. It would be impossible to sneak past me and Ren."

Ren: "Although not completely impossible, I have to agree. It's highly unlikely the killer could've pulled that off."

Jaune kept silent. The evidence spoke for itself, but he still didn't want to believe.

Yatsu: "Also you found a stick in the cafeteria, right?"

Blake: "Yes. It was a piece of a chair, sturdy enough to bludgeon her arm off."

Yang: "Are you saying she broke her own arm? That's brutal."

Ruby: "We're not saying she did it, just that she could..."

Ren: "But again, if no one else was in there with her..."

Coco: "So she killed herself. No one else could've done it."

Velvet: "I guess..."

Jaune: "I think it's too early to decide that. I mean... why?"

Yang: "He's got a point. Penny was pretty introverted, but I don't really see why she'd commit suicide."

Neo: "What about the letter from her family?" She raised the notepad with an expressive motion, making sure everyone noticed.

Velvet: "What about it?"

Pyrrha: "We found it ripped to shreds in her trashcan. It would seem the letter caused great distress to Penny, considering how she disposed of it."

Nora: "What's in it?"

Jaune: "We didn't..."

Sun: "I got you, man. It's right here." The monkey faunus retrieved, from the pocket in his shorts, a sheet of paper with the scraps of the letter glued on it.

Weiss: "Why did you have that in your pocket?"

Sun: "I thought it might come in handy, and I was right. I wasn't stealing anything."

Blake: "Just read the damn thing."

Sun: "To: Prototype P.E. . General Ironwood would like to offer his congratulations in being enrolled into Beacon. We have the utmost faith in your capabilities, and expect you to excel at all the trials in the future. Remember that any failure will be—And it cuts off there."

Yang: "Wow, that's cold."

Weiss: "Sounds like standard Atlesian Military to me. At least now we know where she came from."

Yatsu: "How do you know that?"

Weiss: "I may be the Ultimate Singer, but I'm still the heiress to the Schnee legacy. Father does a lot of contracts for the army."

Emerald: "Moving on, what does this tell us?" As she spoke she made a sweeping, dismissive gesture with her arm.

Ruby: "She clearly wasn't happy about that letter, but from there to suicide..."

Jaune: "I agree, that doesn't sound like reason enough."

Coco: "If you have a different idea, we're open to suggestions." He didn't, at least not yet.

Sun: "What if she was planning on killing someone? I mean we did find a knife in her closet..."

Velvet: "That sounds like a pretty big clue."

Pyrrha: "That still wouldn't explain how someone would go about killing her while the cafeteria was locked."

Blake: "Pyrrha's right, Penny's intentions are irrelevant unless we can determine someone else was involved."

Jaune: "Also, come on, man. Do you really think a girl like Penny could kill anyone?"

Sun: "Alright, alright, no need to gang up on me, geesh. I was just throwing ideas out there."

Weiss: "Speaking of ideas, did you find anything else in her room?"

Neo: "There was the journal."

Ren: "A journal? Did it have any clues in it?"

Jaune: "Not really, she just talked about who she met and how she was feeling. There didn't seem to be any clues in there."

Weiss: "You wouldn't happen to have it, would you?"

Sun: "Of course!" He reached for the other pocket this time, and took the pile of papers out.

Yang: "Do you put everything in your pockets?"

Sun: "Hey, I'm helping, aren't I?"

Weiss: "Can I see that, please?"

Sun handed it to her, and they gave her a couple of seconds, but Weiss offered no form of reaction.

Yatsu: "So, where do we stand right now?"

Emerald: "All the clues so far seem to point to Penny killing herself..."

Blake: "Unless we're misinterpreting a piece of evidence."

Coco: "I mean, is there anything else in the cafeteria she could have used to do it?"

Pyrrha: "There are taps of water in the kitchen, but if she died sitting at the table, they'd be too far away to use."

Nora: "Unless she got inside the oven, and the heat was what did it!"

Ruby: "That might be enough to damage her, but..."

Ren: "But the oven is not big enough to fit a person inside it."

Nora: "You say that like you've tried it already."

Ren: "You'd be surprised..." The chef sighed audibly.

Neo: "So we got nothing?"

Yatsu: "Apparently, no."

Blake: "I'm still curious about something. Hey, Monokuma?"

Monokuma: "Hmm, did someone call me? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Is it voting time yet?"

Blake: "No, I just had a question for you. What happens if the case is a suicide?"

Monokuma: "Well, you vote for the victim and pray to all the gods that you're right."

Yang: "So you had planned for the possibility?"

Monokuma: "Hey, what's with the interrogation? I'm not gonna solve the case for you!"

Velvet: "So, do we just... vote for Penny?"

Jaune: "No, I'm still not convinced. Something doesn't add up."

Ruby: "I agree, we have to be missing something."

Emerald: "Well, what about the sauna? We still haven't talked about that."

Yatsu: "Was anything wrong with the sauna?"

Pyrrha: "The dressing room was a complete mess, almost like a fight had happened there."

Coco: "Yeah but if the scene of the crime was the cafeteria, what does that have to do with the case?"

Yang: "I say we hear it out, square any doubts the rest of us has." Weiss was still too distracted with the journal, so Emerald explained the situation.

Emerald: "When we got there, one of the locker cabinets was fallen over, and there was a crapload of stuff on the floor. Stuff that should've been inside the lockers."

Jaune: "Plus, the cabinet was facing away from the sauna door. Someone moved it, there were even marks on the floor to prove it."

Coco: "But couldn't that have been moved before?"

Jaune: "No, Ren and I were in the sauna all afternoon that day. Everything was where it was supposed to be."

Yang: "All afternoon, just the two of you? What naughty things were you boys up to in there?"

Ren: "What one does in a sauna. What's important is that the cabinet must've been moved after we left."

Neo: "But why?"

Emerald: "Considering where it was this morning, I think it's safe to say that the cabinet was positioned against the sauna door."

Nora: "You mean like locking it?"

Yang: "A cabinet of that size would probably work wonders for keeping the door shut."

Jaune: "Exactly, the handle to the door was even broken, so there must have been a struggle."

Pyrrha: "Maybe someone was inside, trying to get out."

Blake: "Wait, did you say the handle was broken?" The cat faunus seemed impatient all of a sudden.

Jaune: "Yeah, is that important?"

Blake: "Very. The rules say damaging school property is a violation, and warrants punishment. Isn't that right, Monokuma?"

Monokuma: "It sure is! So, don't go around breaking stuff, you filthy hooligans!"

Pyrrha: "But if the door handle is already broken..."

Blake: "Exactly, the rule even specifically mentions doors."

Yang: "There's no way Monokuma missed that, not with all those cameras around."

Ruby: "So whoever broke it must've been punished already."

Jaune: "And there's only one of us missing. See, I told you Monokuma had been the one to kill Penny. He even made it look like suicide just to mess with us!"

Monokuma: "Hey, that's not fair! I was going to punish her, but someone else got to her before I could."

Pyrrha: "Someone else, does that mean..."

Monokuma: "Crap, I already said too much. Me and my big mouth."

Yatsu: "So we just confirmed that Penny was the one who broke the door handle."

Blake: "And that someone was involved. Isn't that right, Monokuma?"

Monokuma: "..."

Sun: "I guess he's not talking anymore."

Blake: "That's alright, he already gave us what we needed."

Velvet: "But how did she get from the dressing room to the cafeteria if the doors were locked shut?"

Pyrrha: "Maybe we should leave that be for now, and focus on understanding the part the sauna played in all this."

Neo: "So we know Penny was in there, what else?"

Emerald: "If she had to break the handle she was probably locked inside. That explains the cabinet, it was put there to keep her in."

Coco: "Couldn't she have put it there herself?"

Yang: "How could she place a cabinet against the door if she was inside it? Someone else had to do it."

Ruby: "So this really was a murder..." The red-hooded girl looked down sadly.

Yatsu: "But why would someone lock her inside the sauna? What is the purpose here?"

Jaune: "Ruby, didn't you say what happened to Penny could've been due to overheating?"

Ruby: "Yeah but... OH, the sauna is really hot! That might be it!"

Sun: "Wait, she was killed by being put inside a functioning sauna? Really?"

Nora: "Remember when we invited her to the sauna and she refused? Maybe she knew it was dangerous, and that's why she didn't want to go."

Yang: "But if she was afraid of going into a sauna, how did she end up getting killed there?"

Blake: "It would probably take someone she trusted to convince her into it."

Jaune: "Hey, why is everybody looking at me?" He could feel their gaze burning into his skin.

Ren: "It's not really a secret that Penny trusted you and Pyrrha more than the rest of us."

Emerald: "That means you would have the means to do it."

Nora: "Yeah and ever since the beginning you've been pushing us into thinking it was Monokuma. Sounds awfully suspicious if you ask me."

Jaune: "You can't be serious, right?"

Pyrrha: "I'm sure they're just joking. And we're not finished discussing the case. What about the towels we found at the laundry room?" Jaune mouthed a quiet 'Thank You' to her, and she smiled in return.

Nora: "Right, there were a bunch of towels in one of the washing machines. They had been put there recently."

Emerald: "By any chance was any of them missing a piece?"

Nora: "Yep, where was it again?"

Jaune: "We found it stuck to the sauna door. Must've gotten there when Penny was trapped."

Neo: "But why would she be using a towel?"

Yang: "Well, it IS a bath house, you usually take your clothes off when you get in."

Ren: "I think what Neo means is that we found her dressed in the cafeteria, so it wouldn't make sense for her to be undressed in the crime scene." The mute girl gestured affirmatively.

Blake: "So she was undressed when she died, but dressed afterwards? The answer to that is pretty simple: the killer dressed her."

Ruby: "Hmm, that would explain why her hairstyle looked different."

Sun: "So, were the towels for, like, drying Penny?"

Velvet: "Makes sense."

Nora: "So Jaune cleaned up the body, dressed her and threw the towels in the washing machine to cover his tracks, is that it?"

Jaune: "Guys, please, I didn't..."

Yang: "That way he could make it look like a suicide."

Jaune: "Come on, it wasn't..."

Yatsu: "But we still don't know how he got into the cafeteria during nighttime."

Jaune: "GUYS, I DIDN'T KILL HER!"

Coco: "Oh yeah, shouting is really helping your case."

Sun: "I mean, are we sure it was him? 'Cause if so we could just go ahead and vote..."

Ruby: "No, we still haven't figured out everything. No voting until then." She made a resolute voice, stomping her foot in a demand to be heard.

Neo: "But we have no more clues, right?"

Velvet: "Not that I can think of."

Yang: "Want me to roughen him up until he gives us a confession?" The blonde cracked her knuckles menacingly.

Jaune: "Pyrrha, a little help here..." He looked at her with pleading eyes, asking her to get him out of that predicament. She believed him, right?

Pyrrha: "Weiss, you've been quiet for a while. Do you have nothing to say?"

Really, Pyrrha? You try to get help from the one person here who despises my very existence?

Weiss: "Something is off here." She wasn't even looking up, still scouring through the journal for clues.

Jaune: "Huh?"

Weiss: "Oh yeah, Jaune didn't do it." She finally raised her gaze to the class, sounding almost dismissive.

Weiss: "I mean, come on, look at him. A worthless worm like him could never pull such an elaborate scheme."

Jaune: "Exactly!" Wait, why am I agreeing with this?

Pyrrha: "Then what do you mean something is off?"

Weiss: "Are you sure this is everything? There aren't any missing pieces of the journal?"

Sun: "Yes, that's all we found in her room." Neo nodded in agreement.

Ruby: "Why, did you find something?"

Weiss: "It's not so much as what I found, but what I didn't."

Yang: "Oh stop beating around the bush and tell us already!"

Weiss: "Jaune, what did you say was the common theme in all of Penny's journal entries?"

Jaune: "The people she talks to?"

Weiss: "Precisely. She mentions the time Ren asked her why she didn't eat, when we invited her to the sauna, even one time that you merely smiled at her."

Nora: "Awww."

Pyrrha: "So, what's wrong with that?"

Weiss: "Well, there's someone missing from her journal..." She lifted a finger, and pointed it forward.

Coco: "Me?"

Yatsu: "What do you mean?"

Weiss: "You two talked for most of the breakfast a couple of days ago."

Pyrrha: "Now that you mention it, they did, Coco complimented her dress. I remember because Penny looked quite happy about it."

Blake: "I'm impressed, Schnee. Didn't know you cared."

Weiss: "I don't. I just like to observe, that's all." Somehow, Jaune wanted to believe that wasn't true, but the singer had a fierce reputation of being cold.

Coco: "So what if I'm not in there? Maybe she didn't like me enough to put me on her little journal."

Weiss: "Jaune smiled at me when I got to breakfast today. Oh, and Velvet too. She seems nice as well."

Coco: "So, maybe she had a crush on Jaune, what else?"

Weiss: "On Jaune? Oh please, like that's even possible."

Pyrrha: "No need to get rude..." Thanks, at least you care.

Weiss: "Penny wrote about every time she interacted with someone, except you. Don't you find that strange?"

Coco: "Are you saying I did it? Is that it?"

Weiss: "Maybe I am." She slammed her smooth hands on the stand, offering weight to her accusation.

Coco: "Based on what? Evidence that doesn't exist?"

Nora: "Or maybe evidence that was destroyed." The whole room turned to look at her.

Jaune: "Huh?"

Nora: "We did find out that the incinerator had been used, we just couldn't tell what was thrown in it. Maybe she threw some journal pages in there."

Sun: "It makes sense, I mean why would Penny detach the pages from the notepad in her room? It makes more sense to just flip a page every time she wants to write, no need to rip them off."

Jaune: "So Coco detached the pages so we wouldn't know one of them was missing?"

Coco: "Look at him! We had him cornered, so now he's trying to pin the blame on me! Real chivalrous, Jaune."

Yang: "But what difference did it make if she was in the journal? Why would she need to get rid of that evidence?"

Blake: "You started suspecting Jaune just because Penny trusted him. If Coco was mentioned in the journal to be trustworthy, she would've been under fire too."

Ren: "Besides, we can't know the exact contents of the page, there could be incriminating information inside."

Coco: "So that's it? You are all just deciding I did it with no proof whatsoever?" The Ultimate Fashionista was growing impatient, her voice steadily increasing in tone.

Yatsu: "She's right, we have nothing concrete tying her to the murder."

Emerald: "So what, we don't need to convince a judge, we just have to vote for her, isn't that right, Monokuma?"

Monokuma: "Damn straight. Are you ready yet?"

Coco: "No, we're not ready yet! This is far from over!"

Jaune: "As much as I hate to agree, you did almost just vote me up like five minutes ago. Maybe we should delve a bit more into this."

Neo: "Maybe we should recap the whole story."

Yang: "So, the killer lured Penny into the sauna and then locked her inside using the cabinet."

Ruby: "Stuck inside the heat began interfering with her systems, so she struggled to get out and broke the door handle in the process."

Blake: "Considering what Monokuma said, she probably died before even leaving the room. Pushing the cabinet away might have been her last action before shutting down for good."

Ren: "Then the murderer used the towels to dry and redress her, not knowing a strip had gotten stuck under the door."

Sun: "Makes sense, considering Coco is the Ultimate Fashionista. She would want the victim to still look good."

Weiss: "Nothing to say so far, Coco?" The brunette chuckle subtly.

Coco: "No, I want to hear what comes next."

Velvet: "Next? Well, the killer threw the used towels in the washing machine and then... Oh!"

Coco: "That's right! 'And then she moved to the cafeteria', is that what you were going to say? Then answer me, how did I do such a thing?" The class fell silent.

How did she do it? They had postponed that detail since the beginning of the trial, but still eluded him. Yet he knew it was there, plain as day, he just couldn't see it. What was he forgetting?

Coco: "Exactly. I couldn't have. Penny killed herself, there is no other explanation. Monokuma must've just gotten sloppy."

No, that can't be it. He didn't want to believe one of them had actually done it, but all their lives were on the line.

He mentally reviewed all the evidence. The dressing room, Penny's room, the laundry, the body...

The body!

Coco: "I couldn't enter he cafeteria during nighttime! What you're suggesting is impossible!"

Jaune: "No, that's wrong!"

Coco: "Excuse me?"

Jaune: "Ruby, besides the overloaded circuitry, what else was strange about Penny's body?"

Ruby: "Her arm was ripped off..."

Jaune: "And why was that?"

Ruby: "Because it had been pulled on repeatedly until the skin broke."

Blake: "Which we assumed had been done using the piece of chair that was in the cafeteria."

Jaune: "But could it have been done by... forcefully dragging the body from the dressing room to the cafeteria?"

Ruby: "I guess."

Blake: "Wait, are you suggesting..."

Jaune: "That assumption was made before we knew the sauna was involved in the case. What if the stick was used for something else?"

Nora: "Like breaking someone's legs!"

Jaune: "No, Nora, what? I mean, like blocking the cafeteria door from locking."

Weiss: "That could work..."

Emerald: "But did you only find a piece of the chair? Where's the rest of it?"

Ren: "It probably got crushed when the doors tried to automatically close."

Blake: "And the killer threw it into the incinerator to hide the evidence, so we'd think Penny was locked inside the cafeteria. That way suicide would be the only logical answer."

Sun: "But she messed up and left a piece behind. Wow this sounds just like a mystery movie."

Weiss: "Well, Coco? Is that answer enough?"

Coco laughed.

Coco: "That's a great story you made up there, I have to admit, but there's just one problem with it - you still haven't given that proof that I did it. For all we know, Jaune could have thrown the journal pages into the incinerator just to frame me!" She removed her sunglasses, any semblance of composure long gone, and revealing her flustered and enraged face.

Jaune: "Really, you're still insisting on that?"

Neo: "A for Effort."

Sun: "Just admit it already."

Coco: "Admit? I will do no such thing! Show me evidence that proves my guilt!"

Weiss: "Actually, we might just have that."

Coco: "WHAT?"

Weiss: "Velvet, do you still have the photo you took of the dressing room?"

Velvet: "Yeah, why?"

Weiss: "When the cabinet fell, all the lockers slammed open, spilling the contents on the floor."

Blake: "You want to see if Coco's clothes are there..."

Weiss: "Exactly. If she tried to hide her tracks, she probably removed her things from the mess."

Ruby: "Can I..." The sniper was handed the picture. "No, I don't see them anywhere."

Weiss: "And before you say anything, Coco, Jaune wasn't in the bath with us. He couldn't know which stuff was yours."

Nora: "So if they're missing, it had to be her, right?"

Yang: "What's the matter, Coco? Gave up already?"

The brunette didn't answer.

Pyrrha: "It really was you..."

Jaune: "I just don't get why..."

Blake: "That's easy, she knew about Penny's secret."

Sun: "How? I thought the journal said Penny couldn't reveal what she was."

Blake: "The knife you found, it matched a cut on her leg. It was a shallow wound, but it showed the metal inside. She probably did it to show Coco since she couldn't say it out loud, a loophole in her programming."

Coco: "SHE WASN'T EVEN HUMAN!"

Yatsu: "You finally admit it?"

Coco: "SO WHAT IF I KILLED HER? SHE HAD NO FAMILY, NO ONE TO MISS HER BACK HOME!"

Neither of them said a word, the entire class dumbstruck by her insane performance. She wasn't the cool woman they had met a week ago, she was a murderer.

Coco: "She was a machine, why should I care more for her than I did my family?"

Jaune: "She was one of us, dammit!"

Pyrrha: "You did it because of Monokuma's incentive, didn't you?"

Coco: "They are waiting for me to come back, I can't stay here forever! What will happen to mom's clothing shop if I never return? They are swimming in debt already, they'll go bankrupt without my designs, I can't just abandon them..."

Ruby: "Coco..."

Coco: "I only wanted to see my family..." All her anger was gone, and only a faint despair was left.

Velvet: "Do we... vote now?"

Ren: "I guess so."

CLASS TRIAL - END

Jaune looked at the stand in front of him and saw the display light up with a picture of each one of them. His finger was just above Coco's face, ready to put an end to it, but he found he couldn't do it. He couldn't sentence one of his classmates to death, regardless of what she had done.

There was a loud crashing noise.

He turned to its source and saw that Yatsuhashi had unsheathed his bamboo sword and descended it upon the display, breaking it into pieces. Nevertheless, he still seemed serene, resolute even.

"What is the meaning of this?" Monokuma broke the silence, his voice a roar of discontent.

"I refuse to participate in this absurdity. I won't play your games, bear."

"Is that so, Mr. Daichi? And what do you intend to do, stop me?"

"I will if I have to." He grabbed his weapon in a combat stance, staring at the opponent.

"Upupupupu, how brave of you. Almost sounded like a main character for a second there." The mascot laughed, not even remotely threatened by the swordsman. "There is just one problem, Mr. Daichi."

Monokuma's twisted red eye gleamed, accompanying his perverse smile. "Destroying school material is against the rules."

Before anyone could react, a projectile tore through one of the curtains, and fired at the tall man. He took a moment to notice the sword impaled in his chest, a real blade of steel buried in him up until the hilt unlike his wooden one. He gasped for air, dropping his weapon on the floor, but blood was all that came out of his mouth. Within a few seconds he collapsed back, falling out of the circular stage, and stopped moving.

"You just always have to defy me, don't you? I told you all what would happen if you broke the rules."

No one moved. No one said a word, not even to scream. The class just stared in disbelief at the scene before them. Two deaths so close to one another, and they were being forced to provoke yet another. It had to be a bad dream, a group drug-induced hallucinogen, a computer-run simulation, something other than real.

"Anyone else feeling rebellious? Good, then go on with the vote. This trial has dragged on for long enough." Even the bear sounded weary.

Jaune breathed in deeply, and closed his eyes. All he could see in that darkness was Penny's inert corpse, or Yatsuhashi falling down and ceasing to be. He no longer felt pain or fear, but instead a numbness spreading throughout his entire self. It was too much, and he just wanted it all to stop.

One by one, all of them pressed the button on the display. A loud clanking of gears turning alerted them to the roof above them opening up, parting in two halves and retracting. From the newly created opening descended a massive screen, occupying a good slice of the circular room. Jaune held his breath in anticipation, and the image flickered and came online, illuminating the entire courtroom.

A slot machine appeared under the words "Who was the culprit?", and began spinning, quickly flashing all of their faces. The first one stopped, then the second, and finally the third, all displaying Coco Adel's face.

"You were right on the money!" Monokuma pressed a button in his chair, and the circular stage rotated until the Ultimate Fashionista's stand was in front of his throne.

A metallic arm extended from the wall behind the mascot, grabbing the killer.

"Please, I just wanted…"

The curtains opened to reveal a tunnel inside, and the robotic arm pushed her inside. The screen flickered again, asking for the students' attention.

"Am I Pretty Yet?"

Ultimate Fashionista

Coco Adel's Execution

The title card fell, and the camera showed a dark auditorium, the comfortable chairs all occupied by countless Monokumas. Spotlights turned on, pointed towards a white catwalk with black curtains behind it. Coco was standing confusedly at the very beginning of the pathway, glimmering under the constant flashes of pictures of her being taken.

Gradually, the girl realized where she was, a scenario she was all too familiar with, and corrected her posture. She didn't need to be told what to do next, starting a slow and tantalizing walk forward, showing off her training as a model.

As soon as she took the first step, a grinding noise spurted from behind her, and a slither of floor opened for a buzzsaw to make an appearance. The threatening blade was as tall as her, spinning behind her, following her every movement to ensure she couldn't turn back. The Monokumas cheered in the background, euphoric to see her confidence beginning to waver.

Just as she was reaching a third of the way, the next trap activated, two machines appearing from the side of the stage and spewing bursts of flames just a couple of steps ahead of her. Coco kept walking – she had no other choice – and the very moment the fire interrupted she leapt through it, attempting to avoid the flames. The blazing heat missed her just barely, but the edge of her jacket caught on fire.

The girl did her best to remove the jacket without stopping, throwing it to the audience, but the article of clothing was caught mid-air by a robotic arm coming from the ceiling. The new tool stretched down and forced the jacket back on her back, the fire spreading steadily through it.

She didn't scream, keeping her last sliver of dignity, but her face was becoming visibly red and sweating. She walked on, trying to ignore the heat consuming her underneath all the layers of clothing, and the ever-rotating knife-edge behind her.

Two thirds through the catwalk a pendulum blade joined the gauntlet of fashion. Coco dodged it just in time, but her arm was still grazed, letting a single drop of blood drip down.

Her legs were no longer steady, the pain from the burning jacket overriding any capability of rational thought. Panic took over, and she took off the piece of clothing again, replacing the slow model walk by a desperate run. She quickly approached the end of the catwalk, yearning for an escape, but there was none.

The girl smashed into a transparent wall, and slammed her fists into it, trying to escape the glass prison surrounding the catwalk. This time she screamed, feeling the end coming soon. The buzzsaw behind finally caught up to her, and she turned around when it was already too late. The blade sliced through her like butter, splitting her in two. The pieces of her fell down, resting amid the blood that was pouring everywhere.

The transmission cut.

"Oh, now that got the blood flowing! Well, if I had any blood, of course." Monokuma was back to his despicable demeanor.

The boy felt his entire body shivering with dread, grabbing onto the stand in front of him to keep from losing balance. Why was this happening to them? What had they done to deserve any of it? He bit back his own tears, knuckles white with the force he was using to steady himself.

"You won't get away with this." Blake muttered under her breath next to him, so quiet that the words never reached the headmaster.

It seemed like an eternity passed until a sound was heard once again inside the courtroom.

"What are you still standing here for? The trial is over, shoo with you! Back to your rooms!"

"What about…"

"Mr. Daichi? Don't worry, I'll take care of it, now get!"

They all complied with the stuffed bear's orders, lacking in energy for any response or act of disobedience. One by one, they entered the elevator, and were brought back to the first floor of the school. Neither of them remembered Monokuma's promise of the rest of the letters from their families, a distant memory that felt like it had happened years ago, back when they were still filled with hope.

Jaune went back to his room, and buried himself in his bed, hiding away from the cruel and ruthless world they were in. Despite all that had transpired that day, he managed to fall asleep quickly, embarking in a dreamless voyage until the next day. A new dawn would bring a new page for the students of that academy, one that wasn't stained with blood and misery. And if luck would have it, they would succeed in keeping it that way.

CHAPTER 1 – END

Students Alive - 12

So how about that trial, huh? Did you know who the culprit was, or did it catch you by surprise? Don't forget to review, input helps me write better cases and trials in the future.

The next chapter might take a bit longer than usual to arrive. I'm still finishing something else, and Christmas is almost here, which is always a mess. 'Till next time.