ジレンマ : 𝐊. 𝐎𝐌𝐀 (HIATUS)

𝟏𝟑 : 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 (𝟒)

Just as last time, everyone was split between two decisions. To trust, or to not trust Maki's testimony. It was a surprise to you that Monokuma didn't activate the morphenomenal trial grounds.

You believed her whole-heartedly. She had no reason to lie about that, and even if it did seem convenient for her, there was no proof linking her to the murder whatsoever.

Kirumi sparked up the disagreement, saying there was one detail that you all forgot to cover: If Maki could prove when she met up with him, which she stated was during nighttime.

Kokichi agreed with Kirumi, unfortunately. "Maki is lying! Like I said before, a liar like me knows their kind."

"I'm not lying," Maki argued. "I did meet up with Ryoma during nighttime. I'm telling the truth."

Gonta gulped. "Maki only see Ryoma at night?"

"Yes, I didn't meet up with anyone else." Maki nodded.

Tenko asked, "Did anyone see those two together?"

Shuichi spoke up, "I might not be able to prove they met, but I can prove Maki wasn't alone."

"Oh?" Kiyo chuckled. "Do explain."

"Well, Kaito and I train together every night," he began. "And yesterday, because of the insect meet and greet, we started late. We were doing some frog squats on the school stairs, when we heard two people talking. We know one of them was Maki, but we couldn't pick out the other one. But now that I think about it, it must have been... Ryoma."

Kaito stammered, "Uh...yeah, maybe! That was probably around midnight."

"So Ryoma and Maki did meet up!" Gonta grinned.

Miu shook her head furiously. "No, no, hold up! Why'd you sit on that info for so long?"

Shuichi chuckled nervously. "Because until just now, I didn't think it was relevant. I had no reason to bring it up."

"And you two did not confirm who Maki was talking to at the time?" Kirumi eyed him suspiciously. "If I overheard a conversation in the middle of the night, I surely would have checked. We are still part of a killing game, after all."

Kaito rubbed the back of his head. "That's my bad, but it's not really manly to eavesdrop, y'know? I wouldn't do something so uncool."

Shuichi shrugged. "Anyway, I know that we heard those voices. Maki is not lying."

Even though it was obvious to you that he was lying, you knew it was for a good reason. So you decided to give Shuichi a hand. "I don't think we have reason to not believe Shuichi. He proved Maki isn't lying, and none of you guys said you met up with Maki, so there's no evidence against it," you said.

Miu frowned. "You're gonna believe him, just like that?"

"He has no reason to lie." You looked at her. "Even if he did lie, it would only help the culprit. He would die alongside the rest of us."

Kokichi nodded. "I'd be so surprised if Shuichi was a liar, especially after we believed him for so long. We wouldn't be able to trust anyone anymore! Well, it's not like he's lying anyways..."

"Alright, that proves it then," Kaito concluded. "Ryoma was still alive during nighttime. In other words, me and Maki aren't suspects anymore!"

Kiyo sighed. "But I guess that means everyone's alibis no longer matter, yes?"

"However, it should be clear now that the crime occurred after nighttime began," Keebo cleared up.

Kirumi raised an eyebrow. "But then when was Ryoma's body placed inside the piranha tank?"