Chapter 5 - The Trial Of Kamron Naegi
*Trigger Warning; brief mention of hanging later in the trial. Read at your own discretion*
Kamron was found collapsed out in the hallway of the dormitory corridor. He had a couple of bruises on barely visible areas, such ad his stomach or legs. His sunglasses were missing. Due to the fact four people encountered the body at the same time, one out of the four could still be a suspect, hkwever this is not certain.
Cause of death was blood loss. He was found with his right hand severed, laying several feet away from him. The weapon used to sever the hand is unknown, but the cut makes it look like a sharp blade. There were clear signs of a struggle, including blood splatters in the middle of the hallway. It seems he was propped up against the wall rather than collapsing against it.
The victim was killed at approximately 1PM. He was discovered at approximately 9AM that day.
“Yep... anything on your mind, Sara?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing really. I just find it odd he was still fully clothed at 1AM, that’s all. Well, bar his sunglasses, but you know.”
“That’s true, actually... thanks, Sara!”
“I-I can’t believe this... Kamron... as s-soon as I learn we’re related...”
“Hey, hey Kass... it’s gonna be OK. We’re gonna find his killer, no matter what! Ok?”
“Yeah... yeah, I know you can. We all can. I just can’t let this slide. Someone’s- someone’s gonna pay!”
“Oh, Katelyn! You ok? You look panicked.”
She’s smoothing out her clothes and panting.
“No, not panicked per say... more so, kind of nervous. I was chatting to Aspen last night, and we talked about how we were sure nobody else would be killed from now on... I suppose we were wrong.”
“Anyways, I did my usual check to the weapons room, as I tend to do.”
“I, surprisingly didn't see anything out of place. Nobody had moved anything since the masquerade.”
“Really? That’s odd... anyways, thanks Katelyn.”
“Anytime. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Hello, Hayden. Apologies for my message earlier, please disregard it.”
“Huh? I mean, we can still talk if you want-”
“No, it’s quite alright. Now, what did you come over here for?”
“Ah, well, I just wanted to see what evidence you had.”
“Is that it? Hm. Well then, all I’ve found so far isn’t properly solid evidence, but I noticed that almost everyone came out of their room in their pyjamas, as you can see. However, three people didn’t. Aspen, Katelyn and Estrella. Not proper evidence.”
“Well, it’s still worth noting! Thanks, Aeja.”
“You’re welcome. Now, please leave me be. I’m thinking.”
“Hm? Hmm? Is that a voice? No, must have been the wind.”
“Oh, there it is again! It sure is drafty in here.”
“Estrella please, I just wanna talk about evi-”
“Ugh, a leader as supreme as me shouldn't be putting up with a cold room. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Wait-! Aaaaaaaand she’s gone.”
“Hm? Vera? Oh, you can write it down. Cool.”
Yes. Well, I was just wondering, has anyone checked the kitchen to see if all the knives are still there? It might be a worthy idea.
“Oh, no actually! I didn’t even think of that. Thanks, Vera!”
“So, does anyone have a solid alibi?”
“Ah... fair point. So let me rephrase that; was anybody in someone else’s dorm last night? As in, sleeping over?”
Yes, I was staying in Sara’s room last night.
“Ah, ok! So, we can pretty safely assume those two are clear then.”
“Was anyone else with another person? For any amount of time?”
I looked over at Estrella and Aeja. They were looking anywhere but at each other, avoiding eye contact like it was the Black Plague. I pitied the two. I debated whether or not I should admit I saw them. But before I could, the conversation topic changed.
“So, I don’t suppose anyone checked the weaponry room, did they?”
“Oh! See anything, Katelyn?”
“No, actually. Nothing was out of place, so it seems nothing has moved since our last investigation.”
“...hey, Vera? Didn't you say you thought about checking the kitchen?”
“Did you get a chance to?”
She nodded again, starting to write. I suppose writing is easier then having everything translated.
Yes. One knife was in the rack still, but bloodied, so we can assume a kitchen knife is what severed his hand. And I also noticed a glass while I was there, one that still had ice in it. Which means...
“Someone only put it back this morning?”
“Estrella, you’ve been pretty quiet.”
“Hm? Oh, sorry. I just didn’t feel like wasting my breath on you.”
“Really? Quite honestly Sara, I hadn’t cared to notice.”
“What’s up with you? You’ve been in a pretty good mood since the whole-”
“Yeah, well, things change, People change. Or rather, they don’t. See, I was trying to be a but nicer, but after a certain incident I realised that- well, who am I kidding? I’ve built this role for myself, and I’m never gonna be able to shake it off, so might as well live up to it.”
“I’m the evil leader that’s only here to confuse and irritate people. I’m the walking embodiment of a bad joke! So, if you plan on figuring out who stabbed Spy Kid over there, I suggest you shut the fuck up and keep going with the trial.”
Sara just looked away, slightly disheartened.
“I thought we’d become friends now... Aren’t we friends?”
“Do you really want to be friends with someone like me?”
“Well, let’s get back to alibis, since we don’t have much to go off. Where was everyone? Alone, or with someone else?”
“I- like I said earlier, I was with Vera.”
“I was alone. I stayed up a bit late though, so I only woke up when the body announcement went off.”
“I-I said goodbye to Kamron and then went back to my room... I went asleep pretty quickly.”
“Unlike almost everyone here, I have an alibi. I stayed in Aspen’s room last night, then went back to mine and got changed. I was up before the announcement, so-”
“Hm? Something wrong, Aspen?”
“Katelyn... you never came to my room last night.”
“Katelyn..? Care to defend yourself?”
“Wh- oh, shut up, copycat. Have you not even considered your dear girlfriend over there? You should have seen her face when we saw the body! She didn’t even look surprised, she looked like she already knew! She-”
“Estrella, what do you mean by-?”
“Isn't it obvious, Mr No Talent? I saw the murder happen. I was on my way back to my room when I heard a fight, so I went to check it out, and... well, I simply decided to not give him a hand, haha!”
“Really?! You're serious?”
“I thought that was obvious, too. I decided not to tell you because I’m pissed off! I’m a petty bitch, as you know, and as such I decided to let this play out.”
“Estrella, stop being childish-”
“DON’T talk to me about childish, Aeja! I’m not the one who tried to hang them self when they got scared!”
The room fell horribly silent. Aeja looked away, and Estrella reached up to her own cheek, where her cut was. Something started to click into place.
“Fine then, Estrella. If you're going to be like that, shut up and dont disrupt this trial. This isn't about our business, it’s about finding Kamron’s killer. So, now that we’re back on topic and abandoning that last conversation... Katelyn? Aspen?”
Aspen looked at Katelyn, who didn’t meet his eyes.
“K-Katelyn? Kate? Please, please tell me you just got mixed up. You got mixed up, right? Yeah. Yeah!”
“...no. No, no, no, please don’t say it.”
“Why? Why did you do it, Katelyn?”
“I- Hayden. You have to understand, I hold my parents in... very high regard. He was insulting them, insulting me! I-I couldn’t just let that stand. I got mad, so I- I got a knife from the kitchen and went back, just to threaten him! I never planned on actually hurting him... but I guess he panicked, and he lunged at me. So I panicked, and- I accidentally-”
“...chopped his hand off.”
“...If I could go back in time, I would change what I did. But, it’s in the past now. I... this shouldn't have happened, I know.”
“...you can’t be serious, right Katelyn? Right?! It was Estrella. Yeah, it was! You’re just covering for her because- because- you don't wanna watch the same execution again!”
“...this doesn’t compute. There’s something wrong here, right? RIGHT?!”
“Well, Hayden, I do not wish to put up a fight. Care to unravel this case?”
This all starts... Last night, I believe. The killer was out in the corridor with Kamron, with whom they hadn't interacted, until the killer made some off-handed comment about their parents, which caught Kamron’s attention. He started talking about the parents of the other participants, including the killer’s. They seemed to have a particular distaste for their parents, particularly their deceased father, for reasons unknown, as they started to slander them, insulting them and the killer. The killer, enraged by this, leaves Kamron there and goes to the kitchen. They grab a knife, which they must have thought was blunt, to threaten him. However, when they got there, Kamron saw the weapon in their hand and panicked. They tried to lunge for the killer, but was swiftly cut off- literally- as the killer also panics and swings the knife with unusual force. This blow, to their dismay, manages to cut off Kamron’s hand. He stumbles backwards and collapsed, bleeding out. The killer, panicking, returns to their room. They stash the weapon and go straight to bed, trying to act natural.
They wake up slightly earlier than everyone else to hide the evidence. They wake up a bit too late though, and don't have as much time as they thought to clean the weapon. They simply slip it back into the knife rack and grab a quick drink, before heading back to their room. Five minutes later, they hear me scream and run outside, ‘finding’ the body along with me and two others.
That’s what happened, and our killer is...
Katelyn Momota, the Ultimate Psychiatrist!
“...it sounds so horrible when it’s repeated back to me. But, I must face the facts. I’m-”
“Aspen? Did you say somethi-”
“I told you not to get mad! I told you not to hurt anyone, and look what you did! You’ve... you’ve gone and killed someone, and now I’m going to lose you. I’m gonna lose you, Katelyn!”
“Aspen... Aspen, no. You can’t be upset over me, ok? I’m a killer now. I’m a bad person here.”
“No you’re not! I don’t care what you’ve done, you’re still special to me! I-I can’t lose you! Please don’t go... please...”
Aspen was doubled over on himself, and... I think he was crying oil?
“I didn’t know the robot could cry-”
Katelyn looked genuinely confused and concerned. She shook her head.
“No, you... you’re not supposed to be upset over me. You... you shouldn’t be upset over me. You can’t.”
Aspen and Katelyn finally locked eyes. Neither said anything for a moment. Eventually, Katelyn sighed.
“I... I know there is no escaping my fate. But... I wish to do one more thing before I am killed. Monokuma, may I? I will make no attempt to escape.”
“Sure, knock yourself out. ...wait, what are you doing?”
And suddenly, Katelyn was running. Not to the exit, not to Aspen, but to...
Katelyn was on her knees either side of a now toppled over Estrella, with her hands around Estrella’s neck. Estrella was grabbing at Katelyn’s Arms, trying to free herself. She was being strangled.
“You BITCH! I should have wasted my damn murder on you!”
Two people ran over; Aspen and Aeja. Aeja reached them first, full on jumping at Katelyn and pushing her off Estrella. Aspen helped Estrella sit up, the girl in question being purple in the face and gasping for air. Aeja had Katelyn pinned by her wrists.
Estrella looked over at the girls, panting. She looked between them, and I couldn't tell which person confused her more. She nodded at Aspen, trying to stand herself up.
“You... you know what you did to me, you bitch!”
After a moment, Estrella took a deep breath and grinned, placing her arms behind her head.
“Of course I do! And I don’t regret it either, you know. I’m glad I did!”
Katelyn literally growled, and suddenly she shoved Aeja off her, standing up. Estrella jumped a bit, backing up. Aeja looked at Monokuma.
Even Monokuma looked surprised at the whole outburst, but he quickly resumed normal behaviour.
“I have a very special punishment for Katelyn Momota, Ultimate Psychiatr- SHIT-!”
With Katelyn quickly approaching Aspen, Monokuma slammed his hammer down on his button.
