~Mistpouffer~ Danganronpa V2: Goodbye Despair x Male Reader

Chapter 12: Sinners Play as Saints

-----------------

A/n: I'm so so sorry it took so long! Something came up, the next chapter won't be until after Christmas. Happy Holidays, mon amis!

-----------------

Monokuma went on his tangent of explaining the rules of the class trial, the rest of us looking at each other with suspicion. Once Monokuma had finally quieted down, Hajime took charge of the debate, "I really hate that we're here, especially after the first trial. To think someone would kill again..." An echoing slam rang out as Fuyuhiko hit his podium with anger, "Just fess up already... WHICH ONE OF YOU DID IT?!"

Hajime frowned at his displayed aggression and managed to respond calmly, "That's what we're here to figure out. Now, as everyone knows, our victim is Peko Pekoyama. As for the cause of death-" A few voices rang out, one in particular standing out.

"Obviously it was being crushed by the chandelier!"

"No, not obviously it could've been something else!"

"What if she was poisoned...?"

"Peko..."

"It's unknown!"

"I agree with that!" Hajime shouted, pointing at Ryota. "Peko's initial cause of death looks like a crush injury. And Mikan can verify that that's exactly what happened." The shy nurse nodded in agreement. Fuyuhiko scowled at the lack of answers, "Okay. Then, what now?" Chiaki nodded, "We can't figure out who the killer is without taking into account the motive. Right, Hajime?"

The mentioned boy nodded, "You... you're talking about Twilight Syndrome Murder case, right?" Chiaki nodded. "The game follows a plot of a girl implying to murder someone in Hope's Peak Academy. When that girl ends up dead, girls A, B, C, D, and E start to investigate. It's later revealed that the girls witnessed the murder themselves--" Hajime's explanation was cut off by an confused Sonia, "How is this relevant?" I looked at Hajime as he spoke up to explain, "Because some of the characters we know."

Gasps resounded around the trial room as Chiaki continued, "Girl B called girl A something familiar... a 'nasty trashy pig shit'. Something Hiyoko has called Mikan." I looked at the small girl in surprise, unaware of the name calling. Hajime proceeded to put together the other girls as Ibuki, Mahiru, a girl named Sato, and the first victim being Natsumi; Fuyuhiko's younger sister.

Chiaki and Hajime worked together to clarify the game plot for those who didn't play it, or claim to not have. "Mahiru, girl D, had pictures of Natsumi's body-- which Sato had her delete. An unknown person found out about the murder and killed Sato. Likely, that person was Fuyuhiko himself." Hiyoko pointed dramatically at the yakuza, "Then it was you! You killed before, you wouldn't have a problem doing it again!" Fuyuhiko scowled, "Why would I hurt Peko? She killed my sister's killer!"

"Enough!" I frowned at the two of them, "You aren't helping." Hajime put his hand under his chin, "I... don't think the motive is that related. We'll come back to it."

Gundham hummed to himself, "How did the killer arrange a murder in the dark..."

"They attacked blindly!"

"Are you joking, mortal? They preplanned it."

"Maybe the killer made a mistake...?"

I spoke up in lieu of Hajime, "I agree with that." The others looked at me in confusion, considering I had not clarified who I actually agreed with. "M/n, who do you agree with? Me, Gundham or Mahiru?" I nod to myself, rearranging my thoughts, "Actually, Soda, I agree with all three of you." Gasps of shock and confusion resounded.

"What I mean is, I think that what the killer originally planned to kill Peko failed. So the killer had to improvise. You see, there was an exposed wire in the rafters. I believe the killer tried to use that wire to seem like the rope burned when the wire sparked from the outage." Hajime picked up what I was saying and continued, "What the killer didn't account for, was the spark not fully burning the rope. So... they had to cut the rope in the darkness!"

Ryota spoke up, "If the killer set up beforehand, doesn't that narrow down the suspects to those who set up the party?" That's when the suspicion went onto Teruteru, Akane, Ryota, Mahiru, Nagito, Nekomaru, Soda, and myself. Teruteru combed through his hair nervously, "Wouldn't it be M/n then? He did set up the chandelier..." My eyes went wide at the accusation, yet luckily Chiaki shook her head, "I suppose, but I ran into M/n not long after, literally. It would've been too short of a period for him to plan something this elaborate, I think."

I hum, "Besides, even after I left there was two hours of free time that anyone could've tampered with it." Fuyuhiko pointed an accusatory finger at my chest, "Only you and Nekomaru can reach that high!" Ryota denied the claim, "No, I was watching Nekomaru and Akane spar." My eyes narrowed focusing on Fuyuhiko blaming me, "They could've used a stepladder. Besides, I talked to you in that time period!" Nagito laughed as the two of us argued, ranting about despair before Soda pointed out the glow in the dark paint on his hands, "Hey, that's the stuff I saw under the floorboards..." Hiyoko scoffed, "Shoulda known it was that lunatic!"

I shake my head, finding myself defending Nagito, "I couldn't have been. Nagito got sick after eating Teruteru's new... recipe. He wouldn't have touched any food after that. I didn't see him eat at all during that party." Nagito grit his teeth at his fruitless attempt to divert the trial as he was proven innocent. Sonia tilted her head in confusion, "But... how is food related to the death?"

Hajime gasped in realization, "The rope... had food on where it was cut so it was probably using a fork or knife the murderer was eating with!" I paused in thought when I remembered a flash that happened before the blackout, "I think we can narrow it down... after all the culprit must be on camera!" Hajime nodded, "Right, Mahiru, you took a picture of M/n and I just before the blackout, do you have photos of everyone?" The photographer nodded, "I think so..."

The redhead, pulled the pictures out of her pocket and handed them to Hajime. The brunette sifted through the photos, his eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "Aha!" Hajime held up the photo of him and I smiling. "Hajime, I don't think--" Ryota started before Hajime shook his head. "No, not me and M/n," He used his other hand to point, "behind us you can see four people standing near the rope. Akane, Nekomaru, Mikan, and Hiyoko."

Chiaki held up her finger, "So we're down to four suspects... M/n, is there anything you can tell us about the food on the rope?" I closed my eyes, trying to recall the details. That's it! "It smelled." Soda sweat dropped, "Euh... it smelled?" I nod, "Yeah, like garlic and paprika." Mahiru smiled, "I knew you were reliable! You narrowed down the food." Sonia spoke up, "However, it looks like the picture is too blurry to determine who was eating what." She trailed off.

"That's easy," "What? How is that easy, Hajime?" The brunette grinned triumphantly, "One ultimate is so food obsessed, she can recite ingredients and has a really good sense of smell! She can tell us what everyone ate. Right, Akane?" Everyone turned to the gymnast expectantly as she groaned, "Yeah, I guess..."

The tall girl sniffed the air a moment, "Ngh... Coach had meat... I had, skewers... salty juicy skewers. Oh how they melted on my tongue! The meat was just——" Nekomaru laughed, "Akane." She snapped out of her daze, "Right. Mikan had salad and pretzel sticks... Hiyoko had cookies, cupcakes oh! Roasted potatoes too!"

Hajime nodded in understanding, "Right. Teruteru, which of those dishes had both garlic and paprika?" The chef rattled off ingredients, mumbling to himself, "No... that had just garlic... hm... I believe the potatoes were the only ones with both."

"There we have it! The killer of Peko Pekoyama was the one Akane saw eating garlic and paprika potatoes! Hiyoko Saionji!"