“...seven in the morning! Time to wake up! Let’s all strive to do our best today!”
    
The events of last night never had the chance to leave Conan’s mind. Ran managed to fall asleep eventually, but he had constantly shifted between being wide awake and being half-asleep. He spent a lot of time thinking about the various possibilities of what may have happened. He thought about what he would do and say. And about all of the places he had to search. 

Ran stirred at the morning announcement, but he told her to sleep some more, and that he would bring her some food. Plagued by exhaustion, she complied and dozed off again. 

Quietly, Conan slipped out of the room and into the corridor. His first thought was to check on Kirigiri, who really was still leaning against the door to Makoto Naegi’s room. She must have been awake all night because her senses were obviously dulled except for the occasional anxious twitch when someone suddenly came into view, or when someone suddenly spoke up. Dark circles were present under her eyes, but it was very clear she was doing her best to be attentive and alert.

They weren’t the only few in the corridor. People were leaving their rooms on account of the morning message. All the early birds were here, which included Sato, Takagi, Amuro, and Subaru, who apparently stuck around out of curiosity or at Kirigiri’s request. Strangely enough, Hakuba wasn’t here.

“Kirigiri-neechan? Did… Did anything happen last night?”

It seemed no one else knew what had happened yet, so he kept his words innocent. Kirigiri shook her head, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

“Not a single person came by after you and Mouri-san entered the other room. Okiya-san came out of his room at exactly seven - when the announcement went off. Hakuba-san next at…” She squinted, as if maybe the exact time would appear in front of her, but she soon gave up on preciseness. “... a little later than seven. He went to the kitchen on my request. ...Everyone else who has exited their room is here in front of us.”

She paused and turned to look down at Conan with a hint of concern.

“How is Mouri-san this morning? Did she get much sleep?”

“Ran-neechan is still sleeping. I’m going to get her breakfast.”

Kirigiri smiled fondly with her head resting against the wall behind her.

“You’re very kind… Be sure she eats well today. I’ll make sure no one bothers her.”

Conan nodded and as he was leaving, Hakuba walked past with a cup of coffee in his hand. He gave it to Kirigiri, who accepted it and immediately took a drink. She hissed from the scalding liquid as she blinked away tears of pain. It seemed her tiredness had dulled her heat resistance.

“My apologies, I tried to cool it down for you, but… ...”

Conan jogged to the cafeteria with the voices slowly fading away behind him. He grabbed as much as he could from the kitchen: fruit, a glass of juice... maybe he could make some toast… 

When he returned to the dorms, Kazuha, Sera, and Hattori had emerged. Someone helped him with the key to Maizono’s room - he wasn’t really paying attention who - and soon he was in and leaving a tray of food on the desk. Ran stirred and slowly sat up after the door opened and the noise from the hallway drifted in. 

He wouldn’t say a thing about last night. He just watched quietly as Ran ate and slowly became more aware or her surroundings. At one point, she stopped out of some realization, but Conan urged her to continue eating with a cheery voice. It was really all he could do right now.

Once she finished, they both left the room together, hand in hand. Everyone was awake now - a few people went to get food and come back, because it was clear something important was happening.

At one point people had been worried, but now that all fifteen of them had been accounted for, everyone looked more confused than anything.

Kirigiri still looked exhausted and it seemed the only thing keeping her standing was the half-empty cup in her hands. 

“Everybody is here now, Kirigiri-san,” Sato began, “so could you tell us what has happened?”

She couldn’t put it into words. Her eyes remained unfocused as she shuffled out of the way. 

“...Edogawa-kun, could you please open this door?”

He nodded without a word, taking the key out of his pocket. The door swung open, and everyone cautiously peered inside. Immediately, there was chaos.

[Ding dong ding dong!]

“A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, we will commence our school trial!”

“Ahhhh, it has been so long! I’m grateful!”

Among the cries of panic and confusion, Monobear’s voice rang loud and clear from the hallway. Everyone stepped back outside to stare him down.

“E-Eh?! Why are you all lookin’ at me like that? I didn’t do anything! The blood is on one of your hands, not mine! I don’t even have hands!” He waved his mismatched paws to prove his point.

“Oh yeah?” Hattori asked accusingly. He was already in detective mode, and immediately concluded on who the culprit must be. “D’ya have any proof?”

“Excuse me?! I’m not the detective! That’s your job!” The bear growled and stomped childishly. “But let me tell you: you can search and search and search and search! But you know what? You’ll never find evidence that I’m the culprit! I saw it on the cameras - it was one of you bastards!”

Nobody seemed to believe him, but there were a few wary glances. The question hung around them, and Amuro was the first to ask it.

“So, does that mean the killer gets to leave the school now?”

“What? Huh? Are you guys really that dumb? Kirigiri-san, why didn’t you tell them?? Upupupu…”

The bear started laughing to himself, gradually increasing in volume. It was an unnerving sound - one that only Kirigiri would break.

“I didn’t tell them because I thought you would have wanted to. So go ahead. Tell them all about the class trial.”

She sounded so tired in every way possible. She was sick of this, she wanted it to end. Her voice was full of anger and hatred. But it only fueled Monobear’s laughter.

“Gyahahaha! Okay, since you insist!” The bear cleared his throat and calmly began his speech.

“A-hem! Every time one of you bastards kill someone, there’s an investigation to find out whodunnit. After the investigation, we hold a trial where everyone must decide on who the one, true culprit is! Once you reach a conclusion, you all must collectively vote on the killer.”

He giggled for just a moment, and when someone tried to speak up, he snapped.

“Hey! I’m not done! I’m getting to the best part! There are two sides to this game, let’s call them... ehhh… the ‘hope’... and the ‘despair’.”

Conan was taken aback. Kirigiri used that terminology last night. He could already tell this was going nowhere good.

“...The ‘despair’ is the killer, of course! If the ‘hope’ can vote on the right killer, then ‘despair’ will be executed! Kachow! Fed to hungry eels, put in the electric chair, thrown into the meat grinder! Butbutbut…! If ‘hope’ votes incorrectly… You all get executed and ‘despair’ gets a personal escort out of the school! Upupupu!!”

No way. Nowaynowaynoway--!!

“Hey! Ya didn’t mention tha’ before, ya stupid bear!” 

Monobear tilted his head.

“Huh? Did anyone actually think it would be that easy? Foooooools! If you were my real class, we wouldn’t be having this problem! They knew these rules very well! I’m disappointed.”

He waved away the rest of the anger and desperate comments.

“Well, I’m sure you want as much time possible to investigate the body! So I’ll leave it at that! I’ve added these additional rules to your cards - and as a bonus, I gave you a Monobear File! It describes some facts about the victim’s death, so study it well! If you have anymore questions, just ask Kirigiri-san!”

Despite protests, Monobear ran down the hall, laughing obnoxiously to himself. Everyone was left behind in silence. 

“...I’m sorry, everyone.” Kirigiri broke the silence with a soft voice. She was staring at the floor, shadows flickering over her features.

“I hoped this wouldn’t happen… but…” Her hands balled into fists and she looked up with a fire in her darkened eyes.

“...There are fifteen suspects. What Monobear has said is all true - no matter what action we take, someone will die. Nonetheless, I will be pursuing the truth, no matter the cost.”

“Do you think we’ll be doing any less?” Sera asked, offended. “If that’s true, we all die if we just sit around and let the killer get away with it.”

Kirigiri exhaled a shaky breath she had been holding. “I’m glad. Even if some of you hesitate to suspect someone close to you… I will expose the truth to this case. ...I apologize in advance.”

She straightened and stood in the doorway. Her sleepiness appeared to be gone and she shifted into business mode.

“I wish for us to decide on two people to guard the crime scene to prevent the culprit or an accomplice from tampering with it. Everyone else will handle the majority of the investigation whether it’s here or in another location. Are there any volunteers?”

“I’ll be a guard!” Kazuha stepped forward. She was terrified of the situation, but she certainly had the spirit to keep her going. “I can’t solve mysteries like Heiji, so I’ll lend a hand this way! Ran-san, do y’wanna join me? Yer karate and my aikido will stop any bad guy! ...Ran-san?”

Conan looked up at Ran. Her face was just… empty. Like someone sucked out her soul and left the shell standing there. Her face was far too pale, and she wasn’t reacting to anything around her. The young detective had to make an excuse quickly--

“Ah! Ran-neechan has been feeling sick since she woke up! She needs to get more sleep, so…!”

“I’ll stay with her in her room, then,” Sonoko said, looking relieved to have an excuse to stay out of such a small room with a dead body in it. “Good luck, everyone! Catch the culprit for us, okay? And if you need an opinion from Deduction Queen Sonoko, just come knockin’, alright?”

With a cheesy grin, Sonoko escorted Ran into her room. Once the door shut behind them, the conversation regarding the case continued.

“I’ll protect the scene with Kazuha-san,” Subaru announced. No one argued, so that was that.

“Okay, that settles it,” Sera began excitedly, “now the rest of us will handle the investigation. So--”

“Wait.” All eyes turned to Kirigiri. She was still standing in the doorway.

“...If you’ve noticed, the identity of the victim is unknown. All fifteen of us are still alive, so that means a sixteenth person found his or her own way onto the game board.”

That was true, Conan had to admit. So it wasn’t “someone killed someone they knew”. It was “someone killed someone they should have no knowledge about”. But wait--

“Could that mean there’s a seventeenth person? Maybe they’re the true culprit!”

Kirigiri studied Conan carefully. Her eyes looked so sad for him. He wondered if she already had evidence towards the truth. But if she did, she would tell them, right…?

“No. It was one of us. ...That’s how this game works. There’s no benefit in the masterminds killing each other to pin the blame on us. That defeats the purpose of their true motive. They want to reduce us into killers - to make us feel bottomless despair. There is no despair when there is proof of our innocence.”

Kirigiri shook her head. “But that’s not what I meant. The victim has a mask so we cannot be sure regarding any of their features. ...I request that we leave the mask on. Don’t alter the body at all.”

Suspicious.

“...Ya want us to investigate a victim with no face? Why? Ain’t it important ta see who’s at fault fer our situation?”

“It’s not one of us, so does it matter?” Her voice suddenly went cold and aggressive. She took a deep breath before explaining herself.

“...I’ve seen a similar case. In this very building. Without going into detail, when we tried to discover our victim’s identity, much of the evidence was lost. I don’t want that happening here. Toyama-san, Okiya-san, I ask you prevent anyone from doing that. ...That’s all I have to say.”

With that, she turned and went into the room to start a search. The two appointed guards followed her in to take their positions, leaving the rest outside to discuss what they were doing next.

“The room is pretty small, so we should probably take turns investigating the crime scene,” Takagi said. 

Sato nodded. “He’s right. Besides, there could be more evidence to be found around the school.”

“First, we should probably check out that ‘Monobear File’ we got, right?” Amuro said. He was already looking at the Electronic ID card. Everyone else followed suit.

The time of death was approximately two AM.

The body was found in the private room belonging to “Makoto Naegi”.

The cause of death is head trauma to the back of the head

Two in the morning. That was around when he woke up and he and Ran moved to the other room. So the victim died… right around then…

“Well, I’ll leave the corpse to Hakuba!” Kuroba said with an anxious grin, slapping the aforementioned on the shoulder. “I’m not so good at this detective thing. I’ll report back if I find anything around the school, alright?”

“You shouldn’t be wandering around alone, Kuroba-kun, so I’ll join you!” Koizumi, who had been quietly observing up until now was her haughty self once again. She acted like she didn’t have a care in the world about what just happened. With the magician grumbling something about how he’d probably “be safer without her”, the two broke off from the rest of the group and went their own way. The next to go was Haibara, who barely said a word except a quiet, hissing “go do your job, Kudo-kun” when Conan noticed she was walking away.

That left seven people standing in the corridor.

“We’ll be checkin’ the scene first,” Hattori announced, putting a hand on Conan’s head. “Th’ rest’ve ya can go look around th’ school fer now.”

“I have to apologize, Hattori-kun, but I’ll be joining you.” Hakuba corrected, smirking. He clearly wasn’t going to turn down first-dibs on the crime scene just because Hattori was there.

“I guess that decides it!” Sera chirped. It was odd for her to back down on an investigation so easily, but maybe she sensed the tension and realized it would be bad to get in the middle of the crossfire.

“We’ll give you guys ten minutes, and then we’ll be back, alright? No more than that!”

“Huh?! D’ya really think we can open ‘n shut this case like that?!”

“I don’t know about you, Hattori-kun, but ten minutes should be plenty for me.”

“Better start soon, guys! The clock is ticking!” And with that, Sera started bounding down the hall. Takagi and Sato went their own way together, and that left Amuro to head off somewhere on his lonesome with a wave.

It was just the three of them left now. The detectives finally stepped onto the crime scene. 

Subaru was leaning against the wall facing the body, while Kazuha was sitting on the bed facing the body but not actually looking at it with her eyes. Kirigiri was already crawling around on the floor, having apparently decided that’s where all the evidence was. The three detectives split up to start individual investigations.

First things first. The murder weapon. There were no suitable objects in this room, it seemed, but there was blood on one of the bolts that kept the metal plate on top of the window. The victim’s head must have hit that, and the impact was enough to kill him.

Conan already didn’t like where this was going.

The body was slumped in a sitting position and it wasn’t quite under the window. More like it hit it and bounced off just enough to fall to the side. The victim was collapsed in the corner of the room.

So. The victim somehow got in the room. The killer got behind the victim, and pushed them-- no, the victim noticed the killer first. Then the victim was shoved into the metal plate hard enough to kill him. This must have been the “thud” that woke Conan up.

But. What was the victim doing in the room? How did they get in? Kirigiri said there were no spare keys, and he couldn’t see Ran willingly letting in such a suspicious person. She could have easily kicked them out and locked the door.

...Kirigiri said there were no spare keys. She has lied to them before. And she had been out in the corridor at that time… Could she be the killer?

“Say, Kirigiri-neechan…” He approached the question carefully, so he didn’t seem to be suspecting her. 

“The other day, you said there were no spare keys to the rooms, right? But how did the victim get in here then? I had the key to this room the entire time!”

Kirigiri didn’t respond for a moment; she continued to search the room as if she hadn’t heard him. But she did, because he saw her pause for just a moment. 

“...Wasn’t Mouri-san in here with you? She could have opened the door to the victim, or perhaps left it open by accident.”

Conan never intended to tell anyone that Ran was here too, but Kirigiri just ruined that plan. Everyone else in the room took note of this fact.

“...Was she? That makes it a bit different then, doesn’t it?” Hakuba turned from the desk he was searching. “But there is still something wrong with that. Why would she do that? She’s capable of self-defense, so unless she had a reason to trust the victim, there is no reason for her to let them in.”

“Isn’t that irrelevant?” Kirigiri stood up and gazed at them all sternly, “It doesn’t matter how this person got in here. What matters is they did get in here, and now they are dead. You should be thinking, ‘the victim got in the room, and then what?’.”

She sounded so defensive about it. She had to be hiding something. 

“...Kirigiri-neechan, do you know how they got into the room? After all, you were outside just after me and Ran-neechan woke up and found the body!”

Her gaze was like ice. If Conan looked for too long, he would probably have to brave frostbite. But he had to look. He had to solve this case. For Ran, and for the rest of them…!

“...I don’t. There was no one in the hall after I left my room.”

“Why did’ja go out so late?” Kazuha asked, understanding the suspiciousness of that tale of events. “Weren’t ya th’ one tha’ suggested we don’t go out a’ Night Time in tha first place?”

“I had my reasons. They’re irrelevant.”

“I’m sorry, Kirigiri-san,” Hakuba started, “but if what both you and Conan-kun say is true, then the two of you and Mouri-san were the only ones present during the time of the crime.”

Kirigiri squinted and glared straight at Hakuba. She was probably feeling just a bit betrayed right now since the one person who seemed to trust her was counting her as the main suspect.

“You forget: I have no way of getting into this room from the outside. My presence is irrelevant.”

“Not if someone opened th’ door fer ya,” Hattori said. Then, with a satisfied nod, he continued: “If ya came ta tha door with tha victim, an’ ya told tha person who answered tha’ everything’s safe, they’d prob’ly let’cha in. Ya could kill th’ victim, then leave th’ room.”

“...She could have even tricked Ran-neechan into thinking she killed the victim with the darkness!” Yes, this made sense. It had to. There was no other conclusion.

But Kirigiri wouldn’t give into any of their theories. She just stared at them all silently, contemplating on what action to take. Finally, she let out an exasperated breath.

“...Don’t make such ridiculous claims unless you have found all the evidence.” The silver-haired youth shook her head and began to leave the room. Kazuha rose from the bed in irritation.

“Hey! Yer not answerin’ any questions! Where d’ya think yer going?!”

“I have finished my search. I’ll demolish your claims and expose the truth in the trial if you haven’t figured it out by then.”

With that, she was gone. Even if they had caught up to her, they knew it would be futile. So they just had to focus on building their case. 

Not long after that, Sera and the others arrived to kick them out. Thankfully, most of the investigation was already done.

The blood on the metal plate. The wound placement. A clean kitchen knife under the bed that hadn’t been there yesterday. Kirigiri’s shaky testimony. 

(The possibility of a spare key. A sixteenth person.)

[Ding dong ding dong!]

“Ehh… It’s getting boring around here! The school trial is about to begin! Please go in the red door on the first floor of the school area! I’ll be seein’ you soon!! Upupu!!”

Conan was sure there had been enough time for everyone to get all the necessary evidence, but… had they really?

He still believed Kyouko Kirigiri was the culprit. It couldn’t be anyone else, right?

Conan walked to the red door with Ran, who was looking spookily uncertain about the situation. A few others walked with them, but they didn’t matter. No one bothered her during the investigation at his request, and he hoped no one would address her during this… trial.

Beyond the red door was a very plain and rather small room. It looked like it lead to an elevator.

“Aaaaha, this is so exciting, isn’t it!” Monobear pranced around the room once everyone was there. “I haven’t conducted a trial in so long! It’s making my fur stand on end! I sure hope I say all my lines right…”

“This ‘trial’ is fair, right?” Sato asked. “I mean… what you said about the rules is true, right?”

“Of course! I’m a very honest bear! I saw the crime from the cameras, so I know exactly whodunnit! But the question is, have you guys figured it out? Because if not…!”

Monobear started giggling as the doors to the elevator opened. He ushered everyone inside and the elevator started descending. No one said a word.

Conan looked up at Kirigiri. She was at the front, facing the doors. He couldn’t see her expression, but she was standing tall as if to say she wouldn’t back down, no matter what.

He wouldn’t either. Because if he did…

...Ran would die, wouldn’t she? And he couldn’t let that happen.