Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Chapter I: My Class Trial, Our Class Trial

DEADLY LIFE

Red and Pink.

For the first time, Kaede Akamatsu’s world is painted red and pink.

The crimson-coloured liquid that oozes out of the supposed-to-be mastermind’s skull.

The scarlet-coloured anger, grief, and confusion from the people accumulating around her.

The shocking pink of the lies she’s knows she’s about to tell.

And then there's herself; a soft, melancholic pink.

Melancholic, because she stands before the body of Rantaro Amami.

Noise churns around her like static. Shouting, gasping, footfalls, movement. It reaches her ears but doesn't quite land. Her thoughts feel thick and underwater. She blinks, and her gaze is dragged, inevitably, unwillingly, back to the scene at her feet.

Blood pools like spilled paint. Bile lurches up her throat, flavourless and sour. She swallows it down with a shudder, chest heaving. Her mind blanks, then reels. It hits her again like a falling piano, the words Monokuma had said moments prior.

Rantaro wasn’t the mastermind.

Kaede had just murdered an innocent person.

He wasn’t plotting against them. He wasn’t lying. He was trying to stop the killing game, just like she was. That voice - low, calm, and certain echoes through her mind:

“I'm going to end this game, so don't any of you go and do anything unnecessary, alright?”

Kaede inhales sharply and immediately regrets it. The copper stench punches the back of her skull like a mallet. Her eyes flick sideways, catching sight of Shuichi Saihara. He’s frozen beside her, face drawn and pale. He’d only moved once, just to check Rantaro’s pulse then bolted right back to her side like gravity had yanked him there.

Everyone’s watching. Their stares press down like weights. She doesn’t need to meet their eyes to feel it. They're confused, horrified, trying to stitch together the scene.

Everyone except her.

Tenko Chabashira had screamed. So had Tsumugi Shirogane. Tsumugi, who’d so kindly insisted on painting Kaede’s nails. The memory’s fresh, still warm. The two of them huddled close, laughing, as Tsumugi delicately painted coat after coat. Rantaro had wandered in, offered advice that was… oddly good, and then gently held Kaede’s hand to finish the job. The same hand that trembles at her side.

He’ll never do that again.

Kaede forces herself to look back at the body. Rantaro’s still face. His closed eyes. The hand that once steadied hers now limp against stained carpet.

He’ll never remember his talent. He’ll never remember anything.

Unless, by some miracle, he really was the mastermind. But her gaze finds Monokuma, perched atop a stack of books like a grotesque ornament, watching on with hungry eyes. Eyes that don’t look like the eyes of someone who just lost their ringleader.

It wasn’t him.

Kaede’s fingers curl around her backpack straps. Tight. Tighter. Fingernails bite into her palms. The truth is clear. She'd killed the wrong person. She’d started the bloodshed when her goal had been to end it.

And she hates herself for it.

Kaede’s pulled out of her thoughts by Kokichi Oma bursting into tears.

“My beloved Rantaro is dea— I mean, was kiiiiiiiilled!!”

Kaede murmurs, "That's the same thing…" but even she knows it isn’t.

“Hmph.” Ryoma Hoshi pulls his hat down over his eyes. “How ironic. The guy who wanted to live ended up dead… and the guy who wanted to die survived.”

Kirumi Tojo steps forward, composed but frowning. Her heels click softly against the library floor. "Can somebody please explain the meaning of this?"

Monokuma hops down from his perch with a spring in his step, flippant and bright. "Nah, an explanation isn't necessary. Thanks to the First Blood Perk, there won't be a class trial, so that'd just be a waste of time." He grins, voice laced with mirth. "With that said, if you're the blackened who killed Rantaro Amami, please raise your hand now!"

Kaede waits with bated breath.

Tsumugi goes five shades paler. “The one who... killed Rantaro? So then, someone really did kill him…?”

“I knew it!” shrieks Tenko. “A degenerate male killed Rantaro, didn’t he?!”

“W-wait!” says Gonta Gokuhara. “How Tenko know boy do it?”

Tenko glares at him. “I just know, okay!? Violent crimes are always committed by violent, disgusting men!”

Kaede steps back until she feels a bookshelf dig into her spine. Her fingers press against her skirt, tapping out a messy rhythm - anything to ground herself, to drown out the rising noise. She could raise her hand. She could end this. Walk away. Get outside help. But no. She needs to go to that trial.

“Tch, that dumbass!" growls Kaito Momota. "How dare he get himself killed!” He spins, cracking his knuckles. “All right, who the hell did it?! I’ll punch you into orbit! Fess up!”

“Now, now, no need to be shy,” Monokuma croons. “You’ve just gotta raise your hand, and it’ll all be over and done with. No investigation, no trial, no execution! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, ya know!”

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!”

The Monokubs arrive in chaos and technicolor.

“Take it from us,” says Monosuke, as his siblings file in behind him. “Pops rarely gives out discounts like these. If I were the blackened, I’d take the money and leave!”

Monotaro tilts his head. “Money…? I thought we were talking about dead bodies!”

“Eh.” Monosuke waves a paw. “They’re the same thing nowadays, ain’t they?”

Monophanie clutches her head. "I don't know about that… I'd much rather go to a bank than a place that has a dead… dead…" She sways, then gags. "Dead body…"

“Y’mean like a funeral?” asks Monotaro.

“I-I was actually talking about this library, b-but that works too—"

"Slrrrrrp!" Monokid’s tongue snakes out, wild and sticky with honey. "Nothing beats crashing a funeral! It's way better than wedding crashing! I'll throw in a wedding every now and then, but funerals are INSANE! They're like fishin' with dynamite!"

Turning away from them, Monosuke rubs his chin. “So… whoever did this really gets to graduate then, hmm?”

Monokuma nods. “Yup! Of course! I’m a real stickler for the rules, you know! I’m also pretty tough on convenience clerks.”

"Then congratulations!" Monotaro cheers. "Would the blackened who's about to graduate please raise their hand!"

Silence.

Monosuke adjusts his glasses, squinting. "What the— is no one raising their hand?"

“Heeeey, Didja hear meee?” Monotaro hops impatiently from foot to foot. “All ya gotta do is speak up y’know?”

Silence.

Monophanie glances around nervously. "Hmm? No one's stepping forward, what's going on?"

Kaede steadies her breathing. This is it. Her choice is made. She’ll go to trial. She’ll search every shadow, follow every thread. She’ll find the mastermind, and end this, like she promised she would. And if she fails, she’ll accept whatever comes next.

She’s terrified.

But there’s no other way.

Even if it costs her own life.

“Puhuhu. I see how it is...” Monokuma brings his paws to his two-toned mouth. “The blackened has no need for the First Blood Perk. They’d rather do a class tri—”

“It was me.”

Kaede’s blood chills. Words leave her, and her heart falls silent. For a moment time stops, and she’s standing in a grey library, surrounded by grey people and grey bears, staring at a grey corpse.

Monokuma blinks, and the world ripples back into colour. “Huh?” He along with the Monokubs, Kaede, and her classmates, all turn to the voice.

“Sh-Shuichi...?!” whispers Kaede. The name comes out more as a dry rasp than an exclamation. “What are you—"

“It was me,” Shuichi says again, shifting on the spot. “I did it. I uh... I killed Rantaro...”

The library is silent for a few moments.

Then all hell breaks loose.

“I TOLD YOU IT WAS A MALE!”

“Oooh, so it was Shuichi. Oh well!”

“Shuichi kill Rantaro!? Unpossible”

“Everyone! Please, let us all remain calm and listen to what he has to say—”

“Awww, why did you kill him? He was kind of nice to look at...”

“That’s not the issue here! C’mon guys, like Kirumi said, let’s just stay calm and hear him out! I’m sure he has an explanation for this!”

“So the detective was the murderer this whole time? That’s kind of a let-down... Boring!”

“If anything, I think it makes his motives all the more intriguing, would you not agree?”

“Why the fuck were you about to go investamabating if you were the one who kicked his front tail in then?”

“Uh, I think you mean ‘investigating’...”

“It was obviously so he wouldn’t look suspicious.”

“Not saying I agree with what he did, but I can at least respect an honest man.”

“I believe my recording function must be acting up, because to me it sounded like Shuichi just confessed to—"

“EVERYONE! JUST SHUT UP FOR A SECOND!”

Kaede’s voice shatters the air like glass. Her throat burns, but the silence that follows is deafening. Everyone freezes. Eyes snap toward her. Breathing halts. Even the Monokubs stop squirming. She turns slowly to face Shuichi, her chest rising and falling in short, shaky bursts. “Sh-Shuichi...” Her voice is a whisper cracked with emotion. She winces at how brittle it sounds. “Why… why are you lying?”

Shuichi doesn’t answer. His eyes stay fixed on the ground. A shadow crosses his face as he tugs his hat down. “It’s fine, Kaede, it’s better this way. You don’t need to defend me.”

“Defend...!?” Kaede’s mouth drops open. “What are you talking about!?” Her voice snowballs into panic. “Why are you lying? You know it wasn’t—”

“It’s okay, Kaede, you don’t have to say anything,” comes a voice from behind her.

“Huh?” Blinking, Kaede whips around.

Kokichi steps forward from the back of the group, hands in his pockets, his eyes unreadable beneath his fringe. His tears have completely dried up. He turns to Shuichi with a face Kaede doesn't think she’s ever seen on him before. Calm. Cold.

“You said you’re the culprit, right, Shuichi?”

Shuichi gives a single, jerky nod. “Y-yes. That’s right.” His gaze flickers toward the bears. The six of them haven’t moved since the confession. Even Monokuma looks off-kilter, blinking with something that almost resembles… surprise?

“Wait, stop, Kokichi, you've got it all wrong!” Kaede steps in front of him, palms out. “Shuichi wouldn’t kill anyone! Tell them, Shuichi!” She turns to him, but he still won’t meet her eyes.

“I wanna know how,” Kokichi says.

Both Kaede and Shuichi look at him.

"You heard me!" Kokichi puffs out his cheeks. “I saaaaid, I wanna know how you did it!” He jabs a finger toward Shuichi’s chest. "How'd'ya do it, Shuichi? How'd'ya kill Rantaro?"

Shuichi’s skin goes pale. He staggers back a step. “Ah, w-well, that’s… you see…”

“An explanation isn’t needed!” Monokuma barks from his throne of books. “He confessed, so he’s walkin’ free! Congratulations!”

Kaede’s heart drops into her stomach. “Wait, what!?”

“Damn it..." Kaito clenches his fist. "So... Shuichi really did it then?”

“Puhuhuhu," Monokuma chuckles. "Weeeell, I’m not saying he didn’t do it either...”

“So, he didn’t not do it?" Himiko Yumeno tilts her head. "Or he didn’t not not do it? Or he didn’t not not not do it...?”

Gonta holds up his hands. “W-wait, Himiko! Gonta confused. Shuichi not did not not knot kill—”

“Both of you shut up.” Maki Harukawa’s voice slices clean through the chaos. She stands still, arms crossed, face hard as stone. “Neither of you are helping.”

In the background, the Monokubs begin whispering among themselves, a buzzing nest of static. One of them—the pink one—breaks away and jumps down, vanishing through the library’s main doors in a clatter of tiny feet.

“I knooooow that an explanation isn’t needed, obviously!” Kokichi whines. “But that’s exactly why he should explain himself! He pouts. "Since we aren’t able to have fun investigating the case now that Shuichi spoiled it for us...”

Shuichi glances toward Rantaro’s lifeless body, lying just beyond the shadows of the bookcases. Kaede feels her lungs tighten as he looks back at her—only for a second—but it’s enough. And then, he begins to explain. Softly, like he’s rehearsed it in his head a hundred times. He gestures to the camera setup. To the sensors. To the mechanics of the moving bookcase. His voice trembles as he reenacts it all, the plan they’d made together, now twisted into a confession.

Kaede’s fists clench. Her spring-coloured nails dig into her skin hard enough to sting. This is wrong. This is all wrong.

“I came back down to the basement later,” Shuichi says, his tone leaden. “And Rantaro had opened the moving bookcase. I figured… he had to be the mastermind. Who else would be here at that hour?” His mouth tightens. “So I… I took the ball I’d brought with me and I—”

“And that’s when you smashed in pretty boy’s head?” Miu Iruma finishes.

“Y-yes,” replies Shuichi. “That’s what happened.”

“No,” Kaede blurts out. “That’s wro—”

“Kya-hahaha!” To think my cameras were being used for a murder plot?!” Miu storms over, eyes wide and blazing. She grabs Shuichi by the collar and yanks him forward. “You little bitch!” she spits. “Using my genius inventions to fuckin’ save your own scrawny little ass!”

“Miu!” Kaede shouts, lunging. “Stop! Let him go!”

Miu lets go with a whimper, tears welling up in her eyes. “B-but Kaede... he tricked me into making those cameras, he—” She stops. Her eyes narrow and the tears disappear. “Wait... he tricked you, too. He tricked both of us.” She jabs a trembling finger at Kaede. “Why the fuck aren’t you pissed too!?”

Kaede blanches. “Th-that’s…”

“Maybe she’s not angry because she already knew?” Kokichi pipes up, the smile back on his face—cold and cruel this time. “Isn’t it possible they were both in on it? That one of them would escape while the other—”

“No!” Kaede cries. “That’s not what happened at all! Because Shuichi didn’t kill—!”

“It’s okay, Kaede,” Shuichi cuts in gently. He’s smiling again. That awful, hollow smile. “It’s fine. You don’t need to fight for me anymore.”

Kaede feels her heart sink. “Shuichi…”

“Um.” A quiet voice breaks the moment. Everyone turns. Monophanie edges forward, clutching three thick envelopes to her chest. Her eyes flick nervously from face to face. “I went and developed the photos at the warehouse,” she mumbles. “Because… um… it looked like there was some dis-disagreement about what happened…”

Kaede’s heart kicks into gear. “Ah! That’s right—the photos!” She lunges forward and snatches the envelopes from Monophanie’s hands, nearly dropping them in her haste. “These’ll prove Shuichi’s innocence!” Her fingers tremble as she rips one open. Around her, the others lean in, breaths held, eyes fixed on the images as she slides the photos free - hoping, praying, begging for the truth to finally speak for itself.

A few minutes later…

“Y-you’ve gotta be kidding me…” Kaede rasps. Her hands tremble as she clutches the photos to her chest. Her heart sinks - no, plummets. Like something heavy and wet has lodged itself in her lungs. This can’t be happening...

“Owooooow! Angie can’t believe Shuichi is in not one, not two, but three of the photos!” Angie Yonaga exclaims, eyes wide with sparkling disbelief.

“But Angie,” Keebo says, tilting his head, “two of those pictures just show Shuichi setting up the camera. And the third is of him running into the room—alongside Kaede, Tenko, and Kaito. That doesn’t exactly prove he’s the killer.” He taps a finger against his metal chin. “In fact, it sort of… disproves it?”

Kaede grabs onto the thread like a lifeline. “R-right?” she blurts, her voice rising in hope. “So we can rule Shuichi out now, can’t we?”

“What the hell...” Kaito mutters, his brow furrowed. He turns sharply. “Hey, Shuichi! What’s going on!? What’s the meaning of this!?”

“U-um…” Shuichi recoils from the group like they’re a spotlight he can’t hide from. His eyes flick from wall to floor to ceiling, anywhere but at the people staring him down. “W-well, you see, I—”

“Nah.” Miu steps forward with a scowl and her hands on her hips. “These pics prove nothing. He still coulda done it.”

“No—” Kaede thrusts the photos toward her. “He couldn’t have! You can see he’s not in the pictures where Rantaro is! There’s no way he could’ve been in the libr—”

“Oi, Pooichi!” Miu shouts over her. “You used the camera intervals I warned you about to sneak in here, didn’t ya, you little snake?”

Kaede’s breath catches. “C-camera intervals?” Her voice barely comes out. “What are you talking about?”

“Heh.” Miu grins at her. “So he didn’t even tell you? Figures.” She folds her arms over her chest. “Each of those cameras takes about thirty seconds to auto-roll the film after a shot. Thirty seconds between every picture. That’s thirty seconds where anything can happen and no one sees it.”

Gasps ripple across the room like a wave hitting glass. The words echo in Kaede’s skull, leaving it hollow.

“Y-yeah,” Shuichi says quietly, guilt staining every syllable. “That’s why I’m not in the pictures.”

Kaede turns to him, eyes wide. No. No, no, no…

“When you left with Angie this morning,” he continues, voice barely audible, “I went to Miu’s lab and picked up the cameras. She told me about the intervals, and I...” He trails off, staring down at his shoes. “I didn’t tell you.” He sighs, and Kaede can’t believe what she’s hearing.

Kaede’s mouth opens, but no sound comes out. The floor beneath her seems to tilt.

“Kaede?”

She lifts her head, dazed. Korekiyo Shinguji stands a few paces away, arms loosely folded, an unreadable glint in his eyes. “Did you happen to know about the intervals?” he asks smoothly, adjusting the brim of his cap. “You seem just as surprised as the rest of us.”

“N-no, I didn’t,” Kaede stammers. “But they— those don’t— I didn’t—” She tries to get the words out, but her voice continues to fail her.

“Well then, I suppose that settles it.” Maki says over her. “What happens now?”

“But the ball!” Kaede blurts out. “The shot-put ball! How on earth did it hit Rantaro on the head if Shuichi—if he didn’t—!?”  

“What makes you think it was dropped from above, Kaede?” asks Kirumi.

Kaede’s throat tightens. She clenches and unclenches a fist. "I know it fell from above because it was—”

“No, that’s wrong, Kaede.” Shuichi interjects. “It couldn’t have possibly fallen from above.”

Kaede stares at him. “What?”

“Here.” He gestures toward the body. His movements are steady, deliberate. “Look at the back of Rantaro’s head.” The group moves as one, forming a semi-circle around the broken corpse. Shuichi kneels, brushing aside a few strands of green hair with trembling fingers. “The fractures and indentation—here. They’re at the back of the skull. Not the crown.” Then he gestures to the bookcase. “And look at the blood spatter. It lines up horizontally, not vertically. If the ball had fallen from above, the impact and blood would have landed differently. But that’s not what we see.” He stands, fists shaking at his sides. “It didn’t come from above. That’s not how he died.” He lowers his head. “I know. Because... I was here. I saw it happen.”

Kaede’s mouth goes dry. She has absolutely no clue how Rantaro must have been positioned when the ball fell, but there was no doubt that she had killed him.

She’s the one who set everything up! She rolled the ball into the vent! There’s no other way! Why is Shuichi lying to everyone? Why is he protecting her?!

Kokichi leans in, eyes sparkling. “Wooow! The Ultimate Detective is so cool when uncovering a murder case like this! Even though it’s literally his own crime!”

“Yeppers!” Monokuma claps gleefully, bouncing on his heels. “The blackened who killed Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate A... Amnesiac, is none other than our beloved hat-wearing, eye-darting, shot-put-throwing Ultimate Detective—Shuichi Saihara!” He strikes a pose. “What a spicy plot twist! Though, I’m pretty sure I read a book like this once…”

“Wh-what the hell!?” Kaede spins toward him, eyes ablaze. Her voice tightens with rage. “What do you mean he did it? You know he didn’t kill Rantaro!” She lunges forward, but strong arms catch her around the waist and pull her back.

“It’s okay, Kaede,” Tenko says gently, her grip firm. “You don’t need to defend him anymore.”

“No!” Kaede thrashes, feet dragging against the floor. “You don’t understand! He didn’t do it! He’s lying!” Her voice pitches upward, desperate, pleading. “Tenko, please! You have to believe me!” The room spins. She can’t breathe. Her mind floods with noise and a hundred screaming thoughts crashing into one another like shards of glass.

Monokuma sniggers, thoroughly amused. “Well then, Mr. Blackened, you’ve got ten minutes to say your sappy goodbyes, and then we’ll send you off in style!” He saunters toward the exit, paws swinging. “I’ll meetcha at the Shrine of Judgement—red door at the bottom of the courtyard, you can’t miss it! Kay? Kay. Kaaaay! See ya there!” He turns to leave but stops and spins right back around. “Oh, and I’ll be seeing the rest of you chumps tomorrow as we continue with our glorious Killing Game Semester! So don’t get used to this mercy crap! This was a one-time deal, kiddos! Next blackened won’t be getting any freebies!”

A tense, brittle silence settles in. Shuichi apologises again, insists that he will get help from the outside, and turns to follow Monokuma.

“Wait!” Kaede slips out of Tenko’s grasp and sprints forward. She grabs Shuichi’s hand.

He stops. When he looks at her, his eyes are heavy. Sad. Steady. “Kaede… please…”

Kaede’s lowers her voice. The others are still watching, muttering grimly among themselves. “You can’t,” she whispers. “You didn’t do it. It was me. I—”

“I know.”

Her breath stops in her throat. “Wh-what? But… how did you—?”

“Kaede,” Shuichi says. He lifts his eyes to meet hers. “Trust me. Please. I know what I’m doing.” And then he smiles. That same soft, familiar smile. Not broken. Not forced. Just… Shuichi. “Do you trust me?”

Kaede’s heart aches. She lowers her head. “Yes. Yes… I do.”

She doesn’t.

The walk to the Shrine of Judgement can only be described as something akin to a funeral procession. Not for Shuichi—he walks toward freedom, or so everyone assumes. It’s Kaede who feels entombed. She’s stopped fighting. No matter what she says, no matter how she pleads or tries to prove the truth, it’s as clear as the cloudless sky above them that her credibility is already gone. Maybe it started unraveling back in the underground escape tunnel. Maybe even earlier. She’s been ignoring it for days, pretending she doesn’t see the thread fraying thinner and thinner. But this?
This is the final tear.

But she’s too tired to mend it.

As they near the shrine, though, Kaede ponders something strange. Monokuma hasn’t tried to expose her. He hadn’t shown the others what really happened. He could’ve. He should’ve. But… he didn’t.

Then again, neither did she.

She expects the group to thin out as they approach the entrance, one classmate after another drifting away. But none of them leave. All thirteen follow them in, faces tense with anxiety, curiosity, suspicion... and something softer. Something like… hope?

Kaito pushes ahead with a grin too bright for the moment. “What, you really thought we’d let Shuichi be sent off without a bang?” he says, laughing. “C’mon, you guys! We’ve been through a lot already. Of course we’re gonna back you up!”

“Really?” Kokichi drawls. “You do realise he just murdered Rantaro in cold blood, right, Kaito?”

“I-I know that!” Kaito stammers, rubbing his neck. “But he tried to kill the mastermind. He tried to save us! How the hell can I stay mad at someone who did that for us!?”

“You’re here too,” Himiko points out. “If you’re so mad at him you can just leave, y’know.”

“Nee-heehee!” Kokichi giggles, tossing his hands up. “You got me!”

Kaede exhales slowly. “You guys…”

Shuichi steps forward, shoes clicking softly on the stone. He walks to the center of the shrine, then turns to face the group. He bows low. “I want to sincerely apologise for my actions,” he says. “I took advantage of Kaede’s kindness. I was careless, and it backfired. But please understand—my intention was always to find the truth.” He glances at Kaede. “We genuinely wanted to end the killing game. We had a plan to expose the mastermind and stop this nightmare.” He lowers his head. “But I wasn’t confident enough. I hesitated. If I had just investigated a little more, maybe Rantaro…”

Kaede’s chest tightens. Guilt twists in her stomach, sharp and unforgiving. Shuichi’s voice weaves lie after lie - for her.

“But even when the truth is terrifying,” Shuichi continues, “it’s still the truth. And it’s still worth fighting for. And sometimes, the truth isn’t always enough.” Shuichi closes his eyes. “Sometimes, it’s necessary to fight for more than the truth. Hopefully, it won’t come to that this time, but sometimes... it’s necessary to grasp the hope just beyond the truth.”

The shrine falls silent. Only the soft trickle of the jewel-blue stream in the centre fills the stillness.

“Grasp the hope,” Keebo echoes. “Shuichi… you…”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself!” Kaito exclaims, too enthusiastically for the moment.

Kaede doesn’t respond. She can’t. She stares at Shuichi, stunned. When did he become this confident? A part of her screams - stop him. Say something. Tell the truth. If they keep the trial going, maybe they’ll find some clue, some proof about the mastermind. She could confess afterward. Be executed then. On her terms. Not like this. But she stands there. Silent.

“That’s why I took the First Blood Perk,” Shuichi explains. “So I can leave and help from the outside. And then, I’ll come back. I’ll rescue everyone.” He sighs. “I don’t expect any of you to forgive me. I don’t expect you to trust me. Or Kaede. But—” He places a hand over his chest, just over his badge. “I swear on my title as the Ultimate Detective—I will get you all out of here. I will end this game. I promise.”

Tsumugi wipes her eyes. “Sh-Shuichi…”

“Wow!” Angie claps her hands. “So brave! Atua is very impressed!”

Tenko clenches her fists. “I’ll help too!” She glances to the sleepy redhead nearby. “I’ll protect everyone in here while we wait for you, Shuichi! Especially the girls!”

Kaede blinks away tears. She used to be that person - the one Rantaro said had “the power to win.” She used to be the one urging them to trust each other, to cooperate. She used to be the one holding them together. And now she’s the one who broke them apart. She tries not to think about it.

“In the meantime, Kaede,” Shuichi says, turning to her, “I’m leaving things to you.”

Kaede tenses.

“I’m sorry for leaving you with this burden, but I believe in you.” His voice is softer now. “You can beat this game. I know you can.” He steps closer. “Don’t lose sight of the truth. Even if it scares you. Let the others help. Trust in them.” He smiles faintly. “Like I trust in you.”

Kaede’s voice is quiet. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, Shuichi. I don’t know why you’re letting this happen...”

“I trust you to help them,” Shuichi repeats, resting a hand gently on her shoulder. “You can lead them better than I ever could.”

She stares at his hand. Then slowly, she lifts it from her shoulder and lets it fall. “You… you shouldn’t.”

Silence falls on the group for a few grim moments.

“Welp, is that all?” Kokichi yawns dramatically, stretching like a cat. “That was a pretty lame graduation ceremony! If I were Monokuma I’d have made it more exciting. That was soooo anticlimactic!” He pushes himself up and off the concrete bench and dusts himself down. “Well Shuichi, you certainly weren’t boring, but you also could have been a whole lot more interesting!” He hops off the bench, dusts himself off with a flourish, and spins toward the exit.

“Anyway, it’s late and I’m getting sleepy so I’m heading back to my room. Toodles~!”

“Nyeh,” Himiko says, rubbing her eyes. “All that stress drained my MP. I’m leaving too. Bye Shuichi... have fun outside... I guess.” She turns and plods away.

Before she follows, Tenko pauses and glances over her shoulder at Shuichi. Her eyes linger just a moment too long, but then she turns and leaves without a word.

Maki’s eyes narrow. She doesn’t speak. Just stares, expression unreadable, then pivots on her heel and walks off, her long strides sharp and precise.

“I suppose,” Korekiyo murmurs, “this is what it means to put one's faith in another... blindly.” He tips his hat toward Shuichi and Kaede. “Let us hope that faith is not misplaced.” He fades into the shadows of the shrine corridor, footsteps soft against the stone.

One by one, the rest of the group dissipates, leaving behind only their voices echoing off the walls. Some farewells are stiff, others surprisingly heartfelt, but none linger too long. Eventually, only five remain.

“Hey, Shuichi, it’s alright, y’know?” Kaito says, stepping forward with a reassuring grin. He claps a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. “We don’t blame you, ya hear? You were trying to help!”

Shuichi flinches under his touch. “K-Kaito,” he murmurs. “It’s fine. There’s really no need to defend—”

“Gonta forgive Shuichi too!” exclaims Gonta. “Shuichi tried to kill mastermind! He tried to save all of us! Gonta is very sad Rantaro died... but Gonta also very happy Monokuma no kill everyone before time ran out!”

“Gokuhara’s right,” Ryoma adds. “If you hadn’t done what you did, we might all be little red smears by now. So we have to at least thank you for that." He rolls a candy cigarette between two fingers. "Sometimes there’s no clean way forward. And killing for the sake of another… that’s not exactly something I can argue against, given my history.”

That… doesn’t sit well with Kaede, but she knows there’s greater things to focus her mind on right now.

Shuichi stares at the ground for a long moment, then slowly dips his head. “Thank you,” he murmurs. “I... I appreciate it.”

“Of course!” Kaito beams. “You’re one of us, man. That doesn’t change.” He gives Shuichi one solid pat on the back and turns toward the door. “I’ll see you on the outside, alright? Don’t do anything dumb before I get there, you hear?” Then he throws a look at Gonta and Ryoma. “All right, how about we hit the hay before Monokuma throws another curveball at us, huh?” Kaito looks over his shoulder and winks very non-discreetly at Kaede.

Kaede’s face explodes with heat.

Kaito starts ushering them both out, guiding them with a bit too much enthusiasm. As they go, he calls out—loud enough for Shuichi and Kaede to hear: “Just because things are messy doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to believe in each other!”

The shrine door creaks shut behind them.

And just like that, Kaede and Shuichi are alone.

Shuichi’s the first to speak, shifting awkwardly on the spot. “Listen, Kaede, I—ah!”

Kaede steps forward and pulls him into a tight hug.

“You’re an idiot, Shuichi, you know that?” she mutters, voice thick. Then she exhales shakily. “But then... I guess that makes me an even bigger one, huh?” She feels him tense, just for a moment, but then his arms slide around her, tentative at first, then firmer, warmer.

“I-I’m sorry, Kaede,” he whispers. “If only I’d noticed—”

Kaede shakes her head. “If anyone should be apologising, it’s me. If I hadn’t...” Her voice catches. “If I hadn’t set up that stupid trap... none of this would’ve happened.” She tightens her grip, burying her head in his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Shuichi.”

“It’s all right, Kaede. You don’t need to apologise to me.” There’s a pause before he adds, “It has to be this way.”

“What?” Kaede pulls away enough to blink at him. “What do you mean it has to be this way? It doesn’t have to be this way at all.”

Shuichi falters, his gaze drifting toward the crimson door. He steps out of Kaede’s hold. “I, uh… it’s... complicated. I can’t really explain it, but...” He scratches his head, fingers brushing his hat like a nervous reflex. “You have the strength to lead them. I don’t. Not like you. If you weren’t here... I don’t know what I’d do. I wouldn’t know how to manage, or cope, or...” He stops, swallows hard, and lowers his gaze. “I just… couldn’t let the trial happen.”

Kaede blinks. “But why?” she asks, barely above a whisper. “Why not? We could’ve used the class trial to find the mastermind. We could’ve ended the game. We should’ve ended it—”

Shuichi shakes his head “I wouldn’t have been able to reach the truth, Kaede, not when i-it’s you... and the... the execution...” He squeezes his eyes shut. “I-I don’t think I could bear to watch it. Not...” He trails off, but Kaede understands, or at least, she thinks she does.

“I really hope you don’t see me as selfish,” Shuichi goes on. “I swear, Kaede, I’m not doing this because I want to leave. I don’t. But I will see you again. We’ll meet on the other side.” He steps back, takes her hands in his own, and gives her a small, trembling smile so gentle that Kaede practically feels the moment her heart cracks. “It’s a promise, okay?”

Kaede bites back a sob and nods. “I-I promise too,” she whispers. “I promise to keep everyone else alive until then.”

Shuichi’s smile softens. “I’m glad to hear it.” Then he reaches up—and for the first time since she’s known him, he peels off his hat.

Kaede’s eyes widen. “Shuichi, what are you...?” The words die on her tongue as he gently sets the hat down on her head.

“You hang onto that for me until we meet again, alright?” Shuichi says, voice tight. He lets out a weak chuckle, but it cracks halfway through.

“W-wait,” Kaede stammers, reaching up instinctively, “Shuichi, I can’t possibly take your hat—”

“No, I want you to.” He runs a hand through his now-exposed hair. “That way... when we meet again, you can give it back.” He hesitates. “Listen, Kaede... I really am sorry. For leaving you like this. But if I don’t do this—"

“No!” Kaede bursts out, stepping forward. “I should be the one apologising! I betrayed your trust, took advantage of you and—”

“Okie dokie, kiddos!” Monokuma pops out from behind the fountain’s curtain of water, blinking dramatically at the pair. “Oh? Only one person stuck around to see you off, Shuichi? That’s pretty sad.” He scratches his head with mock sympathy. “Usually you people cling together like lint on a cheap suit. How disappointing!” He glances between them. “Well, this would be the part where I drag you off to the trial grounds, but, uh... looks like that’s not happening today... no thanks to you.”

Monokuma twirls around and heads back toward the fountain. The ground begins to tremble with a low, mechanical rumble. Slowly, the statue at the centre of the fountain descends into the earth, vanishing alongside the waterfall. In their place, a sleek metallic pathway rises, leading to a pair of looming steel doors. “Here we go!” Monokuma trills, skipping up the path like a tour guide. “Right this way, Mr. Saihara!”

“Wait a second.” Kaede steps quickly in front of Shuichi, blocking his path.

Monokuma skids to a halt and turns around with an exaggerated sigh. “Huh? What now, girly? This ain’t your curtain call.”

“I know,” Kaede says, her voice quiet but steady. “But I have a question.”

The bear groans. “You people always get talkative right when things are getting good…”

Kaede ignores him, her fists clenched at her sides. “I want to know why. Why are you letting Shuichi take the blame?”

Monokuma raises an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.

Kaede lowers her head, just for a moment, before lifting it again with clear conviction in her eyes. “You know it wasn’t him. It was me. I was the one who set that trap. I was the one who killed Rantaro. So why—why are you pretending otherwise?”

For a long, tense moment, Monokuma simply stares at her. Then, with a snort, he breaks into laughter—high-pitched, mocking, delighted. “Oh-ho-ho! You know, Miss Akamatsu, sometimes…” He dabs at the corner of his black bean eye. “A little white lie can make or break a game like this.” He waves a paw dismissively. “And besides, it’s not like the evidence proves anything definitively! The camera photos don’t clear either of you, so why not let the detective take the fall? Gotta keep things spicy!”

Kaede’s stomach turns.

Monokuma continues, now pacing dramatically. “Though, between you and me, I was hoping for a big, flashy class trial! I had two gorgeous executions lined up—matching themes, tragic irony, the works! But noooo, someone just had to play the sacrifice card! Now they’re all... wasted! Wasted, I tell ya!”

Kaede’s eyes widen. “Wait. You had an execution planned for him too?” She takes a step forward, her voice rising with disbelief. “But... but why!? He’s innocent!”

Monokuma pauses, then shrugs. “When you’re running a killing game, you gotta be prepared for anything! What if he'd confessed? What if the trial split the votes? What if one of the robots went berserk and shot him, huh? You never know!”

“That’s insane,” Kaede breathes. “You’d execute someone on false charges just to make things more exciting? That’s… that’s illegal!”

“Hey, hey, hey!!” Monokuma waves both paws in the air. “Don’t go throwing around accusations like I’m some kind of villain!” He scowls. “Besides, there’s no trial happening, is there? So who even cares what the truth is anymore? Hell, let’s say Rantaro tripped and fell on a harp string. That’d be more believable than half of what you clowns say in those trials.” He chuckles to himself. “Honestly, at this point, we could just say he offed himself out of sheer boredom. It’s not like anyone else is gonna know the difference! I’m the only one who knows what really happened, after all.”

Kaede’s breath hitches. Her jaw tightens, her voice low and biting. “Stop mocking me. I know what happened. So quit pretending I don’t.”

Monokuma shrugs. “Alright, alright. I’ll stop.” He claps his paws together sharply. “Kubs! It’s time!”

A chorus of robotic voices echoes from the shadows:

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!”

“Wait!” Kaede cries out as five Exisals materialize around them with thunderous stomps. “What’s going on?!” she demands, her eyes darting from one towering machine to the next.

Clenching his fists, Shuichi instinctively steps closer to her. “This... doesn’t look good…”

Kaede casts a glance over her shoulder at him. “Don’t worry… I won’t let them do anything to you.”

“K-Kaede!” Shuichi reaches for her. “Wait!”

But she’s already moving—stepping forward, arm outstretched to shield him. Her voice shakes but rings loud and clear. “What are you doing!?” she shouts, barely hearing herself over the pounding of her own heartbeat. “You promised you wouldn’t hurt him!”

“Huh? Whaddya mean?” asks the red Exisal. “We’re not gonna kill him or anything. He just took the Perk, so we’re escorting him off school grounds. That’s the deal!”

Kaede narrows her eyes at the mechanical giant. “Are you sure?”

“HELL YEAH we’re sure!!!" shouts the blue Exisal.

“The old man’s a total stickler for the rules!” the yellow Exisal chimes in. “Aren’t ya, Pops?!”

Monokuma nods with exaggerated enthusiasm. “It’s true! Bears do not lie, Miss Akamatsu! Especially when it comes to rules. Very important stuff.” He pauses, then his grin darkens. “Buuuut…” he purrs, tilting his head. “I won’t make any promises about letting him leave unscathed if you keep pestering me with all these pointless questions. You’re reeeeeally testing my patience!”

"They're NOT pointless!" Kaede’s voice breaks into a shriek. Her whole body trembles now, her fists clenched so tight her nails bite into her palms. “All you’ve done today is break your own rules and make empty promises! Why should I suddenly believe anything you say?!”

“Heh,” Monokuma scoffs, his red eye glinting. “There it is again. Accusing your poor ol’ headmaster of all sorts of naughty behaviour…”

“A-ah,” Shuichi swallows hard. “Kaede, it’s fine. You don’t have to—”

“I’m not accusing you,” Kaede cuts in, voice low and tight, “I’m telling you.” Her hands shake, but she stands firm.

Monokuma’s grin stretches wider. “Puhuhu... I see how it is.” He turns, slowly pacing. “I really didn’t wanna do this, but you’ve left me no choice, Miss Akamatsu. You and your little boy-toy have really pushed my buttons today. First, you off my fan-favourite before he even gets a chance to say more than five lines—seriously, Rantaro was a total mystery box! You killed the suspense! Then this guy,” he jabs a claw at Shuichi, “steals my very first class trial right from under my snout. I was counting on that drama!” He throws his paws in the air. “And now, you’ve got the nerve to stand there and lecture me about rules?” He pauses. “You do remember the school rules, don’t you?”

Kaede takes an involuntary step back. “Y-yes… but I— I didn’t break any of them!”

Monokuma hums, wagging a paw. “Are you sure? Rule number seven would beg to differ.”

Shuichi’s brow furrows. “Rule seven…?”

“YES!” squeals the pink Exisal. “ALL acts of violence against Daddy are strictly prohibited! That includes verbal violence!”

Kaede’s eyes go wide. “V-verbal!? Since when—”

She doesn’t get to finish.

Monokuma laughs—a high, sharp, cruel sound.

Then, with a thunderous crash, the green Exisal slams to the ground in front of her.

Its cannon locks into place.

Kaede barely has time to gasp before the beam fires.

A gunshot echoes defiantly within the small confines of the shrine.

Kaede’s world stops spinning.

Drip, drip, drip.

“H-huh?” Kaede lifts a trembling hand to touch the smudge of blood on her cheek. Not hers. Someone else’s. The blood of the person who pushed her out of the way. The person now slumped over with a hole punched clean through their torso.

Kaede stares up at him, eyes wide as saucers.

“Shui…chi…?”

Shuichi kneels beside her, hands gripping her shoulders, but Kaede feels the tremble in his touch.

“Why… why did you protect me… again…?”

Shuichi opens his mouth to answer, but only a trickle of blood escapes. He slumps forward, and the spell breaks.

“Shuichi!” Kaede curls her fingers around his arms. “Shuichi, can you hear me? Please, get up! Hey…” Her vision blurs and stings as hot tears fill her eyes. “Come on… Shuichi…” Her head drops to her chest. “Why… why is this happening? Why—?”

She’s cut off when Shuichi’s hand grazes her cheek. “K-Kaede,” he rasps, “Are you… okay? Did you… get hurt?”

“Wh… Of course I’m okay! Y-you protected me, so I didn’t—”

“Ah.” Shuichi lets his hand fall. “That’s good… that’s good…” He closes his eyes and tries to sit up. “My body… sorta just moved on its own… I’m not really sure why… ghhh!” His face tightens in pain.

“Shuichi…” Kaede reaches to steady him. “Y-you really shouldn’t move… it might make it wors—”

The words catch in her throat as Shuichi weakly pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Despite the heaviness pressing in her chest, Kaede feels a flutter at his warmth, despite the blood.

“I… think I do know, actually,” Shuichi whispers. “It feels really good to finally be able to… protect you… even like this…”

“What? But you…” Kaede chokes back a sob, sinking into his embrace. “You don’t even… know me that well…”

“That’s okay,” Shuichi pats her back gently. “We can… get to know each other better when we’re… both out of here… it’s a promise… okay?”

Kaede pulls away reluctantly to meet his eyes. “B-both—?”

BANG!

Tenko kicks the shrine door open. ““K-Kaede!” she shouts. “I was worried about you, so I came back outside and met Kaito and then we heard a loud noise so… we… ah… ahh… AAAAAAHHHHHH!”

“What the hell— Shuichi!?” Kaito pushes past Tenko and shoves Kaede aside. He rips off his jacket and ties it tightly around Shuichi’s waist, desperate to stop the bleeding. “Hey, Shuichi, can you hear me?” he asks urgently.

Shuichi blinks owlishly. “K-Kaito…?”

“Yeah! You’ll be fine, trust me!” Kaito forces a wide grin, though Shuichi can see the strain beneath.

“G-get him some medical attention! Please!” Tenko begs, turning to Monokuma with pleading eyes. “Before he…!”

“Why?” Monokuma tilts his head. “He’s going home now, right? Why waste time and money on something he’s gonna get when he leaves? Besides…” He waves dismissively. “Monodam didn’t hit any vital areas — he’ll be graaaand!”

Kaede’s blood boils beneath her skin. Slowly, she stands, wiping her sleeve across her face. She glares at Monokuma with all the fury she can muster, but the bear just chuckles, unfazed.

“You…”

“I told you, didn’t I, Miss Akamatsu? Bears never lie! Ahahahahahaha!”

No. He isn’t a bear anymore. Not to her. He never was.

He’s a demon.

And she’s going to kill him.

With a desperate shout, Kaede lunges at the bear, ignoring Tenko’s frantic cries behind her. Her hands reach out toward the monochrome menace, her stomach knotting with the raw heat of her anger. But before she can strike, Tenko yanks her back—hard. It’s the second time that day Kaede’s been stopped by her, but this time her protests are louder, fiercer, her struggles frantic against Tenko’s iron grip. Her cheeks burn red with fury.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kaede spots the red Exisal bending down, its hatch opening with a metallic hiss. Too far away to catch the words Monotaro exchanges with Kaito, she watches helplessly as he hesitantly helps lift Shuichi inside.

“K-Kaito!” Kaede shrieks. “What are you doing!?”

“We’re escorting him off the campus, didn’t we say that already say that?” snaps the yellow Exisal from behind her. “Thanks to someone—” it gestures to the green Exisal, now being repeatedly rammed into the wall by the blue one. “He can’t walk, so we gotta escort him out ourselves.”

“And I’m supposed to just trust you?!” Kaede snarls, twisting in Tenko’s grasp. “After what you just did!?”

“K-Kaede,” Tenko pleads softly, “please calm down… it’s not good for you to be this worked up.”

“Don’t worry!” the pink Exisal chimes in, trying to sound reassuring. “I’ll make sure he gets out safe and sound! I won’t let my brothers hurt him, so long as I—” it gags suddenly. “As long as I don’t have to see any b-blood myself…”

“Aaaaand that’s my cue!” Monokuma hops away from Kaede, down the path and into the elevator behind the shrine, followed by the open red Exisal. He spins around and waves cheerfully. “Aaaaalrighty then! Send off your graduated classmate with the wellest of wishes!!”

“Screw you,” Kaito growls through clenched teeth.

Monokuma’s sweet smile only widens.

“I said screw you! You won’t get away with this!” Kaito snarls again, balling his fist and running after the Exisals, only to be stopped as the gates clang shut before him.

“SHUICHI!!!” Kaede cries out, breaking free the instant Tenko loosens her grip. Her feet carry her faster than her thoughts as she sprints toward the elevator gates. She reaches them just in time to catch the weak, grey eyes of Shuichi Saihara before the doors slam shut.

And as Shuichi, Monokuma, and the Exisals vanish from sight, an eerie silence descends over the shrine—cold, empty, final.

Rantaro is dead.

Shuichi is gone.

Kaede is guilty.

Hanging her head, Kaede’s hands slip from the gates. Her knees buckle beneath her, and she collapses to the ground where the elevator had just been, her face shadowed beneath the brim of Shuichi’s hat.

Wringing her hands nervously, Tenko approaches slowly. “Hey… I’m sorry we didn’t come sooner…” She lets the rest of the sentence die, tightening her mouth into a sombre line instead. She glances at Kaito, who meets her gaze with the same grim expression.

“He didn’t deserve any of that,” Kaito mutters, just loud enough for Tenko to hear. His eyes drop to Kaede on the floor. “And neither did she.”

Tenko nods softly. “I don’t think he was really that much of a degenerate male… not if he tried to kill the mastermind and save us all. But… he could have told us what he was trying to do.”

Kaito runs a hand through his gelled hair with a sigh. “He was anything but a bad man… damnit…” He reaches back to pull his jacket over his shoulders but finds only air where it once hung. His shoulders slump as he sighs again. “If only things had been different. If only he trusted us enough to say something!”

“Yeah.” Tenko grimaces, her voice low and heavy. “I wonder if maybe if we’d just done a class trial… things might have ended differently.”

Kaede lifts her head, feeling tears pool again in her eyes. If Shuichi hadn’t stepped in… if the trial had gone ahead and she’d failed to expose the mastermind… she almost certainly would have died. She barely notices the gentle hand resting on her back as Tenko crouches beside her, her eyes warm and full of sympathy.

“Kaede, I-I think he’ll be okay,” Tenko says softly. “You did an amazing job trying to defend him back there.”

“T-Tenko…” Kaede can’t hold back any longer. She throws herself into Tenko’s arms, breaking down completely. It’s not just crying — it’s that hollow, desolate sobbing that comes from someone drained of all hope.

Sobbing for Rantaro, whom she’d horrifically murdered. Sobbing for Shuichi, whose reputation she’d shattered. Sobbing for their classmates, who would wrongfully hate him. And sobbing for herself, an idiot who thought such a poorly-thought out plan could work. She sobs for letting the two people who could’ve ended this killing game slip through her fingers… due to her reckless, careless attempt to foil the mastermind’s plans.

Tenko rubs small circles into the back of her vest, wordlessly trying to soothe her. The pain radiating from Kaede feels as sharp as the frigid nighttime wind drifting through the academy grounds.

Kaito watches on. His gaze falls to the drying pool of Shuichi’s blood, then traces the trail it left behind before drifting upward to the blurred, watery sky, to a heaven he no longer believes in, beyond the End Wall.

All they could do now was believe Monokuma’s word.

And that alone was absolutely terrifying.

After what feels like an age of sobbing, recuperating, and convincing her concerned classmates to give her some much-needed time alone, Kaede finally steps out of the Shrine of Judgment. Her eyes are red-rimmed, her face pale.

She’d just literally gotten away with murder.

Before she can fully process, a voice cuts through the heavy silence.

“You look awful.”

Kaede looks up tiredly to see Maki standing there.

“What do you want…” she mumbles, not bothering to meet Maki’s gaze.

Maki’s eyes flick to the red door behind Kaede, still swinging shut awkwardly. “…Is he gone?”

Pulling Shuichi’s cap lower over her eyes, Kaede nods.

Silence falls between them. Then Maki shifts her weight and says, “He’ll be okay.”

Kaede wipes her sleeve across her face. “How can you be so sure?”

“What’s the point of killing him behind the scenes?” Maki’s eyes drift, unfocused. “That bear… he made a whole song and dance about wanting to publicly execute someone. We’re the only ‘public’ around. So what would be the point?”

Kaede clutches her arm, the ghost of Shuichi’s ghastly wound burning on her own skin. “I—I suppose… but it still feels wrong.”

Maki raises an eyebrow. “Why? He killed Rantaro, admitted to it, and now he’s going to save the rest of us. You should be thankful.”

“But he—” Kaede starts, but the words catch in her throat as Maki’s cold stare pins her.

“But he didn’t kill Rantaro? Is that what you were going to say?” Sighing, Maki tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Give it a rest. He’s already graduated. There’s no point denying it anymore.”

“R-right…” Kaede looks down, defeated. “Sorry… I’ll stop.”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” Maki’s tone softens slightly as she turns away. “If anyone needs an apology, it’s him.” With that, Maki walks toward the dorms. The soft click of the automatic doors sliding shut seals the last of the living students inside for the night.

Kaede watches the doors for what feels like years, the weight of Maki’s words sinking deep. Taking a steadying breath, she turns on her heel and runs back inside the academy.

To apologize.

Rantaro’s pale, bloodied corpse lies just as eerily still as when they’d first found it.

He’s still sprawled amid the cold, silent stacks of the library. The faint metallic scent of blood clings to the air, mixing with the musty smell of old books and worn pages. Kaede’s stomach churns violently at the sight. Her legs wobble beneath her, threatening to give out as she stumbles back into the crime scene, her crime scene.

The cold wood presses harshly against her knees as she collapses, fingers trembling as she pulls Shuichi’s cap off her head and clutches it to her chest. Her skin feels numb, yet every nerve screams in silent agony. The silence around her is suffocating. The only sounds are the distant drip of water, the slow, uneven rhythm of her own ragged breaths, and the faint echo of her heart pounding like a warning drum inside her chest. Around her, the faint rustle of paper and the distant tick of an unseen clock seem to mock the stillness, marking time that now feels meaningless. Kaede’s eyes lock onto Rantaro’s body, every detail etched into her mind—the pallid skin, the darkening stains seeping into the floor, the unnatural stillness that screams finality.

She stares.

And stares.

And stares some more.

After a time, the edges of her vision blur. Kaede doesn’t remember what claimed her first - whether it was the crushing mental weight or the physical exhaustion. She thinks briefly about the execution Monokuma said was prepared for her. The punishment she should have received for the chaos she’d wrought. She closes her eyes. And concludes that the worst punishment of all will probably be the days ahead.

And with that final thought, Kaede slips into a numb void of nothingness.

Meanwhile...

Somewhere, deep in the depths of the dorms, someone can't help but reflect on the night's events. They stare at the now-dried crumbs of blood lingering underneath their fingernails and idly wonder if they did the right thing.

Wondering if letting him die was the right thing.

Wondering if letting him leave was the right thing.

Wondering if letting her stay was the right thing.

But in the end they don’t think too hard about it, and they smile anyway.

 Chapter I: My Class Trial, Our Class Trial His Resolution

END

REMAINING STUDENTS: 14