Danganronpa V3: of the elite (Volume 2 Ongoing)

Chapter 6 : Class Trial, part 4

"Hm.... I guess you're right. We shouldn't rule any possibility out."

The classmate agreed, not completely sold on either side of the argument, but acknowledging that both of the possibilities were still viable. Their focus was back to trying to find evidence that could rule out any of the students as the killer. But with so many potential options available, it felt like a neverending endeavor for the class to make any real progress.

"So, if ayanokoji really is the killer, then that means he's done everything purposely. He's acted so calm after murdering Maki, he let us all suspect one another as the killer without stepping in to defend himself, and he hasn't denied any of the accusations."

Kokichi raised points that added onto his original accusation, suggesting that the class should shift their attention back to him and his behavior after Maki's murder.

"Exactly, he's letting us accuse one another of being the killer without trying to defend himself. That isn't normal, right?"

Gonta agreed with Kokichi's observation, backing his point even further.

"That's not something a normal person would do... He must have a reason for being so silent and not denying any of the accusations against him."

"It's almost like he wants us to focus on him."

Kokichi claimed, raising yet another suspicious trait that ayanokoji was exhibiting.

"Yeah... Maybe he's trying to draw attention away from the others, wanting us all to focus on him instead of everyone else... How can we rule out that this isn't the case?"

Gonta added this possibility, showing how there were several ways that ayanokoji could be trying to fool the class.

"He could've deliberately chosen this specific form of murder as well, since it would make it even easier for us to focus on him. He chose a weapon that was too obvious and left it near his own seat so it would draw our attention to him. All of what we're assuming about his behavior and thought process could also have been his plan the whole time."

"That's right... There are too many possibilities to rule out, so there's no way of verifying that ayanokoji is innocent just yet. But he could've purposely chosen his own murder method for several reasons, each one making him look suspicious. Just from his alibi alone, we still have a good reason to suspect his guilt."

"Even so, ayanokoji did say that he didn't kill Maki. Do we have any reason to believe that he hasn't been speaking the truth?"

Kokichi's accusations were still being countered as shuichi asked how they could possibly know if ayanokoji had not been telling the truth all along.

"Hm..."

Kaito who raised the counterpoint had to think for a moment before answering.

"Well, there is no way to verify that he was being honest when he said he didn't kill her. His words alone aren't really a solid alibi, so we don't really have much to go off of. The only thing we can do is to keep asking him questions and see if anything suspicious turns up."

"That seems to be the only alternative. We need to keep asking questions and pressing him until he either slips up or gives us a definite alibi that can clear him of any guilt."

Shuichi agreed, suggesting that the class was going in the right direction in the interrogation.

"Exactly. We need to keep questioning ayanokoji and not fall for his claims of innocence. We can't afford to let him fool us and get away with such a heinous crime. So, let's ask him anything we can to get to the bottom of this."