[TRIAL] Chapter 1 Class Trial

[Krampusuke]

About an hour into investigating, that ear piercing noise of the intercom being turned on fills the lodge. The voice that comes over the electronic speakers belongs to just who you would expect, Krampusuke.

"Alright everyone! Time's up! You've taken long enough to find everything, so get to the rooftop pronto!"

As you make your way up to the cold, snow covered rooftop you see your fourteen classmates following alongside you. Is it really possible that one person among you is responsible for the death of Mukizu Gonkuro, the Super High School Level Butler? If so, you can only hope that you're able to find the person responsible for his death. Not just for his sake, but for the sake of everyone else.

Once you arrive at the rooftop you notice something new: A giant, cherry red sleigh. But the most bizarre thing about it is the giant motor strapped to the back of it. Krampusuke stands on top of the sleigh, beaming down at his students proudly. Meanwhile, Santako hangs from a string at the front of the sleigh flailing around wildly.

"Alright everyone! Hop in, and we'll get this class trial a'Rolling!"

He's not seriously going to make you all get in that sleigh, is he? Well, you don't have much of a choice. The fifteen of you all hesitantly climb into the sleigh. Conveniently there's just enough room for fifteen people in it without it being too cramped. Still, the whole thing is just... bizarre.

"Alright everyone! Hold on tight!"

Before you even have a chance to express your concern you hear the motor on the back of the sleigh rev, and the whole thing launches off the roof into the sky like a rocket. You can hear your fellow classmates screaming in horror as they're rocketed across the winter landscape. After a few moments of flying, the sleigh lands with an abrupt stop on top of a massive tower.

"Now then! We're all here! Process down the stairs and we can get this Class Trial a'goin'!"

Heading down the large stretch of spiral stairs that lead from the top of the tower down to the very bottom you see a series of 16 podiums lined up in a circle. There appears to a portrait of Mukizu there, although his face has been crossed out with pink paint. You navigate around the podiums carefully until you find the one with your name on it.

[Mukizu Gonkuro]

[Krampusuke]

Krampusuke starts off the trial with a basic explanation of the rules.

"Let's begin with a basic explanation of the Class Trial."

"During the class trial you will put forth your arguments and theories on how committed the murder."

"If you manage to vote correctly, only the Blackened will be executed."

"But if you all vote for the wrong person, everyone but the Blacked will be executed."

"And if you refuse to vote, that'll be counted as a vote against yourself. Majority vote wins!"

"Now then, let's get started!"

[Utazawa Fumio]

“Hey— hold up! Before we get started, I have an announcement!” Utazawa smirks, voice filled with...way too much confidence. Waaaay too much.

“I know who the killer is!”

Wait...what?

“Heh, betcha didn’t expect that, right?”

[Suzuki Hayato]

"...Utazawa-kun, that can't be true, isn't it? This trial would be way too easy if you just said it right off the bat."

[Komatsuzaki Airi]

A slight reaction, still quite in shock at the statement.

"Wait-- For real? No way.."

[Isayama Yaya]

Isayama stammered as she had quickly replied to Utazawa.

"E-eh? Utazawa-san, are you sure? I mean... We just started after all- maybe we should wait a little longer before we start throwing fingers at others."

Her nervous smile turned into a gentle one, hoping her peer could understand her words.

[Ootani Yakumo]

   "That...sounds a bit far fetched."

  He has his left hand on his chin now, looking at Utazawa.

   "I agree with Isayama-san, we should wait and piece the evidence together before we throw fingers at each other."

[Utazawa Fumio]

“No way! I’m telling you— I know who the killer is!” And with that, Utazawa makes a cool ass pose, just pointing his finger to whoever is facing him.

“The killer is... Miss Scarlett, with the knife, in the cellar!” He flashes a smug look before falling quiet again. Oh my god.

[Karina Karamazov]

"... Ah, Utazawa-san, maybe you should not speak ever again unless you have something actually worthwhile to say."

[Ootani Yakumo]

Ootani lightly scratches his cheek, "We....should probably start getting our evidence out then, right?"

[Shimakage Seitaro]

Shimakage had never intended to be particularly useful during the investigation, so one could say he had done exactly what he set out to do, which was a whole lot of nothing. Still, to say he'd had fun would be an understatement, though he was certain that others didn't share that sentiment (particularly Marugou, who had given him the nastiest look of disapproval in the gift shop...not that he could entirely blame her).

After disembarking from the sleigh, Shimakage settles in between Nagareboshi and Hirase, giving the former an almost-but-not-quite sleazy grin. He stands in silence as the redheaded boy spouts off nonsense, twirling a strand of hair around his finger with a hum of discontent. What he wants most is to be a quiet bystander, but intellectually, he knows he's about to come under fire for further mutilating Mukizu's corpse, and, well, he wants to say his piece before Marugou gets a chance.

"Aah, is the mood so somber that jokes are off limits now? I support your choices, Utazawa-kun. Unless, of course, you were being serious."

"By the way, Ootani-kun? I'm told you're responsible for the mess that was left in the kitchen. Yanagi-kun and I sampled the crust you left behind. Nice work. Now..."

Without warning, Shimakage removes a throwing knife from his pocket and literally stabs it into his podium. It stands upright, on display for the rest of the class.

"I checked this against the lacerations on Mukizu-kun's chest. It was a per-fect match. Yanagi-kun's got one too, although I suspect there are others out there, since neither of ours had been used. That said, I think alibis will be important, yes? At ten pm, I was in my room. I think it would be wise to hear where everyone else was when the poor butler departed this world."

[Ootani Yakumo]

   "Ah-- thank you, but Osatsu-san also helped with the tart, so--"

And then the knife was stabbed into Shimakage's podium.

   "---!!" 

   Ootani gets out his notepad and opens it, "There were four throwing knives in the Butler's Research Lab, though-- one of them was used as a weapon while three of them were left in one of the suitcases in the room." 

   "As for alibis..," He places his left hand on his chin, "At ten pm, I was in the kitchen, talking with Yanagi-san."

[Hirase Marin]

"Wait, Utazawa-kun, is that how you play that game...? Weren't you Scarlett?"

Apparently someone had been playing Cluedo without knowing how it worked.

The knife stabbed into the podium right next to her own seemed to help Hirase get back to focusing on the real murder case before her. She briefly tilts her head at the knife and then responds to Shimakage's request.

"Speaking of alibis...at ten-ish, I was having a party in the game room with Utazawa-kun, Yama-chan, Ten-chan, Yamato-chan, and Suzuki-kun! When Suzuki-kun and I went down to the kitchen a little later, we saw Ootani-kun."

Hirase counts off the number of people on her fingers. Luckily, she passed elementary school math.

"Osatsu-kun should've been there, too, since they were supposed to be on their shift. I heard them, um, "yell" closer to eleven, so they were likely on the second floor at that point. Oh, and their tart was really yummy, too! I gave Krampusuke a strawberry and he seemed pretty happy!"

[Osatsu Kei]

🐧 --- The sleigh was cool, thought Osatsu as they settled into their spot in the trial room, looking around the trial room to adjust themself to their new environment. They were not at all experience in this... well, manner, but if they looked at it in a certain light, it was kind of like performing in front of other people. 

They don't even bat an eye at Shimakage stabbing his podium.

"Alibis, huh? I was with Ootani-san for most of the time before aside from... well. Before ten o'clock, I spilled some jam onto my clothing as Ootani-san and I were making tarts during our shift, and after that, I made my way over to the Butler Research Lab to go ahead and toss my clothing into the washer to y'know, not keep any stains."

"I took a shower after that, and funny thing, I didn't... well. Around closer to eleven o'clock, I discovered Mukizu's body in the Butler Research Lab when I was trying to get my clothing back from the washer. I didn't think he was dead initially, but when I did, I essentially yelled all the way back to the kitchen, where Ootani-san still was. I think I passed by a few people on my way, so that's something."

"Weird thing, I first saw Mukizu's body in the Butler Research Lab! Someone moved the body around eleven o'clock, since well... haha. He wasn't in the gift shop when I stumbled across his corpse. I ran back to the kitchen and arrived around eleven o'clock after that, and Ootani-san can confirm."

A pause.

"Isn't that right, Ootani-san?"

--- 🐧

[Ootani Yakumo]

   "That's right, I suggested they go change and that I'd be able to keep watch of the kitchen by myself."

He remembers spacing out a few times during Osatsu's absence, but not once did he himself leave the kitchen. 

   "They came back to the kitchen a little bit after eleven o'clock, with a stern look on their face. We stayed there in the kitchen until the body announcement rang out."

[Isayama Yaya]

"Oh~!"

Isayama's face been full of surprise when she had heard Utazawa's response in knowing who the killer been. Not a minute later is she giving the musician a bright warm smile, chuckling as she known the joke he been telling.

"Eh~ Is that so, Utazawa-san? Not even I could predict such a turn of events to occur, hoho~!"

She played along for a moment, not finding harm in a little light humor- it was soothing almost, after everything she seen before hand. Her own chuckling had died down and faded one another minute had gone by, and others had started to speak. Once Ootani had finished his piece, Isayama had began to start to voice her own words again.

"All jokes aside-"

She had taken a deep breath and sighed.

"As for my alibi... I think it was around a half hour after nine when Utazawa-san had knocked on my door and invited me to join a miniature party with Hirase-san. I accepted, and gone to join the small group going to the Game Room."

"I think it been around nine forty-ish when we did enter the Game Room, not too long after did Suzuki-san join us. After sometime after ten, I think it been Hirase-san that suggested to Yamato-san for a reading of sorts- that required our birthdates- and once she got to Ootani-san- she spoke about how he should avoid strawberries or else something unlucky might happen."

"I was worried- maybe a little more then I should have been, but I did suggest and ask if someone could check up on him, and both Hirase-san, along with Suzuki-san volunteered."

Calmly she had set her hands together to her lap, taking a deep breath in, before wrapping up her alibi.

"And so- Me, Utazawa-san, Tenshin-san, and Yamato-san only remained in the room until around a half hour after ten I believe; when Hirase-san and Suzuki-san returned. After that, all six of us remained in the room until the announcement."

Once finished with her own alibi, she had sighed, now going back to gently smiling.

"As for evidence..."

Her gentle smile had somewhat dimmed into a grim expression.

"Um-"

She had fiddled with her hands for a moment, before swallowing down her own dread, and continued to speak.

"Asphyxiation- it is a fancy term for saying 'lack of air', correct? I- well, on Mukizu's body- around the neck area; there been a ring like mark around it, as if he- as if he been s-strangled with something that went around his neck."

It been hard to finish that sentence, as she tried her best not to think long on the memory of her own peer's corpse, probably now growing cold, stiff, and-

Isayama had shaken her head- now trying to move on from such memories. She had to focus- not only for her classmates sake, but for Mukizu too.
She had pulled her head up and looked towards her class determined, even with a growing grief inside her heart.

[Karina Karamazov]

“My, my… You were pretty close to the murder scene then, Osatsu-san. To also discover Mukizu-san’s body in the Butler Research Lab first…”

Karina trailed off and tapped her lips in thought, processing the other’s alibi. She then looked back at Osatsu with a concerned look and hints of hesitance in her voice.

“Pardon me, Osatsu-san, but that sounds awfully… weird. I believe the parts about where you were with Ootani-san, however with the body movement it makes me second guess the in betweens... Aaah, wait, I do not mean to accuse you outright though. Please know that. I just mean the killer must have been close by to quickly move the body right after you left, and then be wherever else. Did you see anyone around before or after you entered the shower room?”

She couldn’t help doubting Osatsu because of the proximity and timeline, but she also didn’t want it to be them. Personally, she’s hoping that they saw someone else lingering around. The ballerina then turned her attention to Isayama.

“Is that so? Do you suppose that the cloth piece in the gift shop has anything to do with that? I thought of checking, but I could not bare to go near... Mukizu-san’s body…”

Her expression turned somber, and she clutched her chest for a moment before taking a deep breath. She was not going to let herself get worked up again, especially during a trial.

“As for my alibi, I was on the first floor of the library reading at around 10 or so. The same time Nagareboshi-san, Ishida-san, and Marugou-san were on the second floor conversing with each other. I did occasionally listen in, but I was also so intrigued by the book I had I did not wish to put it down. Even though I did end up dropping my book and startling them by accident…”

Karina smiled shyly and looked to her right.

“Aha, I am still so sorry about that. Afterwards, I was talking with them up to the body discovery announcement.”

[Osatsu Kei]

🐧 --- There’s a light-hearted ‘heh’ that comes from Osatsu as they wave a hand in a nonchalant manner, as if Karina’s point hadn’t quite… well, made them realize that their circumstances were just a little more unfavorable than ever.

"Oh, I know that my alibi sounds absolutely suspicious, really. I’m basically out of other people’s sights for a long period of time during the murder. Really, suspecting me isn’t something out of the ordinary. This might as well happen. Life's already wild enough. To add the cherry on this suspicious-looking sundae, I also did not see anyone before or after I had taken a shower. Odd, isn't it?"

A chuckle. That's not helping your case, Osatsu.

"Odd, odd..."

Quietly repeating the last word in their response to Karina, they seem to go into a contemplative state, tapping a finger on their chin as if they were in thought. Though that was short-lived before they suddenly snap their fingers together.

“Well... From what I’ve heard at this point in the trial… hmm, let's see if I can remember names. Nagareboshi-san, Marugou-san, Ishida-san, Karina-san, Isayama-san, Utazawa-san, Tenshin-san, Yamato-san, Hirase-san, Suzuki-san, Ootani-san, and Yanagi-san have alibis around the time of the murder that can be confirmed by other people as of right now. Things can change in the future, but as of right now... that's what it seems to be leading up to. However, Shimakage-san, myself, and Komatsuzaki-san have either not stated their alibi, or have alibis that can't be confirmed by other people whatsoever.”

Their eyes gloss over the students before settling onto where Komatsuzaki stood.

“Komatsuzaki-san… care to tell the rest of us what your alibi was for around 10 o'clock? I mean, it's obvious, but it's nice to believe that we have a choice in life.”

Shut up, Osatsu. --- 🐧

[Komatsuzaki Airi]

It was tense, feeling eyes gaze toward her at Osatsu's statement. Feeling tension rise inside of her as she stared at everyone, people who she barely even knew. Seeing as the situation tense on her, she stated,

"When everyone started throwing a party, I wanted some quiet time to draw-- so I went downstairs to the Longue, hoping to find some sanctum there."

She paused for a moment, recollecting her thoughts of what she was doing.

"When I got to the Longue, it was around 10 o' clock. I was down there alone until Yanagi showed up a half an hour later."

It wasn't necessarily the best, not having an alibi for around an hour an a half was rather troubling, but she tried not to show that the pressure was getting to her.

"Is that a good enough explanation, Osatsu?"