Return, Retry, Restart...Continue? (Danganronpa V3 X Reader)

Chapter 58

I am- going to skip the apologies and just say... IM ON VACATION SO I PROMISE UPDATING WILL BE A BIT MORE FREQUENT FOR A BIT!!! But for reals? Thank you for sticking around this long- despite me not updating for a solid few months ;-; I'm sorry... 

Anyway enough with that- with the chapter we go!

Admittedly, this chapter isn't my best- I wanted to rush past this trial because it was just a wall in my way. So my apologies for that!

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"...To the first ever class trial... in the new version of this game." The words were muttered so lowly, so quietly that no one else could hear them besides you. You made your way down the escalator- quite a few people asking you if you were okay. To which you just mumbled a quiet "yes" and nodded your head. In all honesty- you were still a bit shocked by Kaede's death. And... you were scared. According to.. your "other" self... if you didn't properly complete the game this time... everyone here would cease to exist like what had happened before.

And now- you couldn't even control the outcome. So much had changed already. It was- a mess. Kaede's false execution was supposed to lead to the mastermind in the end. So what would happen now? Who killed Kaede? Why... why did she die too early...?

You made your way to your podium... before realizing that this would be the first time you would be in a trial with Maki. The assassin hadn't died this time around... you gripped the edge of the podium a bit.

Interestingly enough, practically everyone still... acted normal. Although many were more saddened by the loss of Kaede then they were when Rantaro had died the first time around. It was understandable of course, Kaede was a leader... and she had been killed.

You casted a glance towards the Detective- noticeably he was shaken. Much like in the first trial... except about ten times worse. You hardly paid any attention to Monokuma's normal dialogue. You already knew how trials worked so why would you need to?

"...Then might I offer the first topic?" Korekiyo's... ever too familiar line rang snapping you out. "How come our culprit... didn't take the first blood perk?"

"I was wondering about that too!" Tsumugi chimed in. You couldn't help but almost send a glare her way- until you remembered that this case was different. In all honesty your head was aching. You understood the minor changes before- but this? Out of all cases to be changed it had to be this one?

Okay (Y/N)? Calm down. One problem at a time. Right now we need to find out who killed Kaede.... and as fast as possible.

"...Perhaps we should talk about the cause of death first?" Rantaro proposed. "It was a stab wound to the chest correct?"

Tenko nodded. "I bet the killer was a male! Only degenerate males would dare get that close to a girl's chest! None of the girls here would dare kill!"

You- wanted to hit your head on the podium. You missed the Tenko with the character development. "Please Tenko, but not now. It's too early to make baseless accusations."

At the same time you said that, Kaito decided it was a bright idea to shout. "Hey! We're not all degenerates." 

"Hey, there are bigger matters at hand right now. So the killer stabbed Kaede and ran correct? So who was last with Kaede." Ryoma hummed a bit.

...Almost everyone's heads turned to the detective. Shuichi was still staring down at his feet. "I.. was with Kaede last. I left her in the classroom when I went to go... check up on the people in the Game Room."

"Nyahaha! You sure that's not a lie~? After all you could've ran after stabbing her correct?" Angie chimed in a bit too enthusiastically. "You better not lie now. Atua knows the truth! Buutttt... Atua is also sleeping at the moment but I'm sure he will wake up soon!"

"Well if it's anything. Depending on how deep the wound is... Kaede could've bled to death rather than an instant one." Maki's calm voice spoke up. You shuddered a bit. "He definitely could've left her there to bleed out."

"How long does one take to die from a stab wound...? I didn't see the body so I didn't see how deep the wound was." You cast a questioning glance towards Rantaro. "Maybe we could talk about the state of the body itself for a bit?"

"Well- Kaito and I did the most part of the investigation." Rantaro started.

"Hey hey! I investigated too! I wanna find out who murdered my dear Kayayday!" Kokichi pouted a bit. "Stop hogging all the credit you amnesiac!"

"Shut up you degenerate male and let Rantaro talk!"

"Not if he wants to hog all the credit no!" Kokichi hurriedly started speaking. "The body was relatively untouched. Kaede was on her back lying in a pool of her own blood! The only wound was on her chest."

Rantaro just chuckled. "Well thank you for sparing me the breath Kokichi. But he is right. I couldn't really tell if the wound was deep enough to cause an instant death or not."

"So Poo-ichi did it? He stabbed the bitch and ran?" Miu asked in her usual crude way.

Shuichi wasn't speaking up. You cast... a somewhat nervous glance at Rantaro. The detective had a hand on his hat and lowered it to cover his eyes.

"Oh! Is Emo-hat boy not going to defend himself?" Kokichi grinned widely. "Guess he's the culprit! Wow~ That was easier than I thought!"

Himiko mumbled a bit, "...Nyeh.... he was always with her..."

Monokuma laughed. "Oh? Is the trial already reaching a conclusion?! Wow, this might be the fastest trial to date!"

"No!" You shouted. "I don't know... something doesn't seem right. Would Shuichi really kill Kaede?" You sent a glance towards the detective. "Shuichi please! You're not hiding from the truth are you? Is this what Kaede would have wanted?"

If Kaede wasn't going to be here to say the words to Shuichi... well you were going to do it in her place.

"Gonta agree with (Y/N). Shuichi do not seem like killer! Shuichi not kill Kaede!"

"Yeah! The true culprit is hiding somewhere! We just gotta find it! I refuse to believe Shuichi is the killer!" Kaito pumped his fist up in the air a bit.

"....Naive." Maki shook her head.

"No...." Shuichi spoke up finally. "You all are- wrong. I did kill Kaede."

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I'm sorry about how slow and bad this chapter is- I promise after this things will be a bit better, I finally have the motivation to write this again.

IN ANY CASE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR STILL READING!!