Chapter 2.5
A/N: Is it hasty of me to post this without doing a final edit? Absolutely. Has it been several months since the last update? Yep. Guess what's happening.
Trigger warning for the usual execution stylized violence, but also for mentions of suicide
This is my longest chapter to date rip me. Also, I'm a cheater who made some minor tweaks to chapter 2.4. Of course you can reread if you like, but they're pretty minor.
So we were doing this again. This merry-go-round of disaster after disaster, faced with nothing but misery as we all took our places in our designated circle.
I was in Makoto's room when the time was up. I'd searched as much as I could. I'd done everything I could.
Oh, Makoto… We're going to figure out who did this to you. We will find justice.
It was time again for a deadly class trial.
As expected, when we entered Monokuma was already waiting for us.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Don't. Say. A word," I said to Monokuma. In that moment, I hated everything about him. I was not in the mood for games. I glared at him with all the vitriol I could muster. "Crack a single joke and—"
"You'll what? Tear out my stuffing?" His grin did not even falter. "Set off the alarm in my system? Face it, hon, you have nothing."
I grit my teeth, knuckles white against my skin as I clenched my fists tight at my sides. Still, I said nothing. He was right. There was nothing with which to threaten him. I was powerless.
I took a deep breath, trying my best to ignore him. "Please," I said, now addressing the group. "Whoever did this, at least think of turning yourself in. For… For the sake of Makoto. He believed in everyone here."
Silence.
Monokuma laughed. "Nyohoho! I think you'll have to try a little harder than that!" He cackled. "Puhuhuhuhuhuhuh! Well, since it looks like we're all ready, why don't we just go ahead and get started with the murder weapon? Ready? Set? Go!"
I took a deep, shuddering breath, eyes glued to the floor. "I hate this."
"Well, join the club," muttered Leon.
Nevertheless, we continued on with our torture. We had no other choice.
"Okay, I'll go first," said Junko. She sounded surprisingly wary, not her usual confident self. It was like the impact of Makoto's death hung over us all. Junko sighed. "Why do I feel like this is a trick question? I thought there was no decisive murder weapon."
"What?" asked Chihiro.
Junko sighed another deep sigh. "Oh, Cheerio, keep up. I thought it was obvious."
"I-I…" Chihiro bowed her head, perhaps in shame. "I'm afraid I didn't have much time to investigate. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it," I said, with a small sigh. I was just not in the right frame of mind to pacify her—not when we were under this amount of pressure. "From what I can tell, Junko's sort of right. Sort of."
Junko grimaced, face screwed up like she had a bitter taste in her mouth. "Couldn't just let me have that one, could ya?"
"Guess not," I said, too fed up to care how it came across to her.
We were glaring at each other when Celeste cut in.
"Well," said Celeste, "by all means, speak your mind. You can't say something like that and then refuse to explain."
"Um… sure," I said, suddenly feeling the intensity of the crowd's gaze on me. "I just… this whole thing has just been very unclear." I frowned. It was like my brain was in a haze, the ability to think clearly clouded, impaired. I didn't have time for this! I didn't have the time, the energy, the willpower. Nevertheless, I had to continue. "The file said there aren't any major external injuries, and it checks out. I will say there was no murder weapon found at the scene of the crime. That seems to be certain."
"So… we're right back to where we started," said Leon.
Junko scowled. "Well, if you have anything to add to the discussion then by all means!"
"I wasn't—"
"Not to cut in on your little chit-chat," said Celeste, either intentionally misjudging the tone of the argument or blissfully ignorant. "Does anybody else find it rather odd?"
"Which part?" I asked.
"No murder weapon," said Celeste. "Forgive my amateur opinion, but has anyone else considered an... alternate possibility?"
We waited for her to elaborate.
"Of?" asked Junko, impatience getting the better of her.
"Suicide," said Celeste.
Silence.
She'd been so straightforward. So abrupt. Nobody knew what to say, certainly not me.
"Makoto wouldn't do that!" said Hina.
"Do you really believe that?" asked Byakuya.
"I do!"
"I…" Sayaka's lip began to tremble.
"S-Sayaka?" asked Chihiro. "Are you alright?"
Sayaka began to cry again. "I… I don't want to believe it any more that you do. I—I know was all thought Makoto was nice, and he w-was kind. And… And… we buh—believed someone s-so good c-could never—but… I knew Makoto. He—He was scared, and stressed, like all of us. M-Maybe he—"
"The kind of person who channels their negative emotions inward instead of outward," mused Koyko. "I see."
"But… Makoto is a happy person!" said Taka. "A good person! What reason would he have to do something like this?"
"G-God, you idiot!" said Toko. "Y-You j-j-just don't g-get it, do you? D-D-Do you h-have any—any idea how—any idea how depression and anxiety f-f-f-f-fu—fucking—-fucking works?"
For a moment, Taka didn't reply, just stood there in silence, dumbfounded.
"Are you asking me if I—"
"Easy there Brainiac," said Mondo, his voice a warning, surprisingly under control. Maybe it was his rules—the fact that he couldn't hit a woman. Maybe it was Taka being with him.
"I'm not yelling!" said Toko, absolutely yelling. "Y-You stop yelling!
"That's right," said Junko, oddly taking Toko's side on all of this and ganging up on the bromance. "Let Scholarship hide behind a big strong man to take care of him, like he always does. Even if you are a meathead, Mondo, at least you got in with an actual talent. You're not just some pity case."
"Stop fighting, everyone!" said Sayaka. "This is exactly why Makoto died! Because we could never come together, and he felt like he had failed. He… He must have felt so alone."
"Well, we'll know that for certain by the end of this trial. At the moment, we can't know anything for sure," said Byakuya, forever the skeptic. "Can we?"
"I'm just looking out for the group's best interests," said Celeste—which I didn't buy for a minute, despite the fact that she did sound sincere. Heavy emphasis on "sound". "In a place like this, suicide also counts as a murder. I quite like my life. My priority is to make sure the vote is accurate," said Celeste.
I considered it. "It... is a possibility, but I don't want to come to any conclusions." While I hadn't it ruled out, it certainly wasn't the only explanation.
I wanted to figure out who was with him around the time of his death. That was my hunch, and from there, I hoped we would be able to truly determine whether this case was suicide.
"Besides," I added, "I think someone else was with him around the time of death. We just need to figure out if that's the culprit."
"Why do you say that?" asked Celeste, sounding genuinely intrigued for once in her guarded life.
"Broken ribs."
Several of the others exchanged perplexed looks.
"Fuck," said Mondo. "You could tell that from examining the body?"
I nodded, not sure whether to take his expression as impressed or uneasy.
"Okay..." began Junko warily, "But what does that mean?"
Leon held up a hand. "Hang on, you said broken ribs?" he asked, looking intently at me.
I nodded, unsure where he was heading with this. "Yeah, wh—"
He looked to the group, explaining. "CPR. Even when done right, you can still break ribs." He turned back to me again. "You think it could be 'cause of CPR?"
"If the cause of death was asphyxiation, then, well… yes. I thought it might be the heimlich," I said. "But there's no bruising on his back, so you're probably right. Whoever did this was probably not trying to save him while he was choking. More likely they were trying to revive…" I took a deep breath. It was hard to think about, let alone say "Revive someone already unconscious."
So by that point it must've already been too late.
"Which would mean that whoever tried to revive Makoto… must have gotten to him after he already drowned," said Sayaka, as if she knew what I was thinking.
"They must have gotten to him too late," said Hina.
"Leon, how do you know this kind of stuff?" asked Hiro, looking at Leon with a look that was awfully suspicious.
The others also exchanged equally suspicious glances, but I wasn't at that level just yet. He was a swimmer, and from what I could tell it was all basic stuff, general healthcare training for service providers.
"Lifeguarding," said Leon, muttering under his breath. At seeing everyone's dubious expressions, he added. "Hey, look, sometimes I pay attention."
"Doubt it," grumbled Hina.
He ignored her. "Those shitty First-Aid cert classes had to pay off someday."
"Probably didn't expect it to be here, but sure," said Junko under her breath.
"But if what you guys are saying is correct…" said Taka. "That doesn't make any sense. Because that means the killer was trying to save Makoto…" He looked to the rest of us. "Why would they do something like that?"
"Nah, bro," said Mondo almost immediately. It was almost like they were in-sync—hooked up to the same wavelength. "Whoever broke his ribs, or was tryna save him, or—or whatever the fuck—it coulda been someone else. Didn't hafta be the killer."
"Oh, right! Mondo, that is a very smart observation!" For a moment, Taka had a look of almost smitten admiration before probably realizing his present company.
I tried not to feel envious. With Junko angry at me and Makoto gone, I felt more alone than ever. They… They certainly had each other.
"So how about this?" said Leon. "Makoto… committed suicide by drowning himself. Someone found the body. And tried to resuscitate him."
"Drowning?" asked Hiro.
"How would we even begin to determine that?" asked Junko.
"You need a reason to be resuscitated," said Leon. "That seems like the most clear reason."
"That… that's brilliant, Leon!" said Sayaka.
He flushed a deep shade of red. "It's nothing…"
Taka's expression shifted, looking mystified, morose again. "But… someone else who found the body before the rest of us and doesn't want to say?"
Junko rolled her eyes. "Well, of course they don't want to say, genius!" she said. "Obviously admitting to being present at the scene of the crime would implicate them! Hell, even an innocent person wouldn't want that."
"Can we talk about something for a sec?" asked Hina.
"Uh…" I said.
"Can we go back to the cause of death? What was it again?"
"Asphyxiation," said Byakuya. "There's more in the file if you need to take a look."
"Oh!" said Hina, thrown by his surprising cooperation. "Um… thank you?"
He shrugged. "I mean, since someone obviously didn't do their homework."
"Oh, lay the fuck off," said Leon. "She was nice enough to help Toko back to her room. It's not her fault Toko had a meltdown."
"You didn't have to say it like that," said Hina. "Toko—"
"W-What are you talking about?" asked Toko. "B-Back off. I don't n-n-need your help."
"Uh, let's call it what it is," said Leon. "A meltdown. You seriously don't remember? You were acting pretty cuckoo."
"Sh-Sh-Shhhh-Shut up! It w-was n—It was nothing!" She was shrill, insistent. To a suspicious degree, yes, but I still felt a pang of sympathy for her.
"Back on point," said Byakuya. "You wanted to ask about the cause of death?"
"Um... yeah…" said Hina. "Something about that. I just..."
"Well, out with it," said Byakuya.
"I don't think Leon is right if the file states that Makoto died of asphyxiation," said Hina.
"Right about which part?" asked Kyoko.
"Both," said Hina. "Drowning and the suicide."
Kyoko spoke, catching my attention. "Mukuro, can you tell us what form of asphyxiation?"
"Sorry?" I asked.
I was always surprised when Kyoko decided to speak. She spent so long being a quiet observer. However, whenever she did choose her words, she was always so precise, so intent. She spoke with purpose. It was hard to miss.
"In what manner did he die?"
I didn't have the answer she wanted. I might've been able to give her something, but I had been caught off guard. "I—um—"
"Maybe he choked on something!" offered Taka.
"Coulda been strangled," said Mondo.
No. It wasn't either of those.
"Um…" I said, trying to recollect my memory of Makoto's body. "Well, there's no sign of trauma to the neck, so I don't think he was strangled, but—"
"Hang on!" said Hina, loud and clear and causing several heads to turn in her direction. "Now I remember!" She looked to me, expression triumphant. "What if he drowned? Would that count?"
"B-But the file says asphyxiation," said Sayaka. Her voice was small. "I don't think Monokuma would lie."
"True," said Celeste with a sigh. "What purpose would lying even gain?"
"To mess with us!" said Hiro. "Come on, that bear has been up to something since day one!"
"Understatement of the century," said Junko.
"Any thoughts on that?" asked Leon to the old bear.
"Yours truly? A liar?" said Monokuma, trying to sound aghast but sounding more disingenuous than ever. "Ridiculous! Put the thought from your mind!"
"Why should we trust anything you say?" asked Kyoko. "If you really are being honest, what is to stop you from doing what you want? Why not just lie to us this whole time? Certainly you'd get your desired results much faster."
"Nonsense!" said Monokuma. "Nobody will subscribe to our channel if we don't adhere to some sort of structure! As all content creators say, consistency is key!"
"Is it a lie, though?" asked Leon.
"What do you mean?" asked Hina. Her expression was wary.
Byakuya sighed. "Hina… might have a point."
It took her about a second to pick up on his tone, but when she did, she was not happy. "Hey!" said Hina, ponytail standing on end, looking about ready to deck him. "Don't act so surprised!"
"Whatever," said Leon. "What I'm saying is that considering Monokuma's, uh, flexibility with the rules, ya know? It might not be a lie after all!"
"It requires a bit of an imaginative stretch, but it could work under a certain logic," said Byakuya. "Isn't that right, Mukuro?"
"I mean, I don't make the rules," I said. "However Monokuma wants to phrase it, we're at his mercy…"
I shuddered at the thought.
"Hmmm…" Kyoko looked deep in thought. "If you think about it, drowning could count as form of suffocation."
Monokuma waved his paw dismissively. "Ok! So I stretched the truth a little! You little junior detectives certainly figured it out anyway, so no harm no foul!"
"And," said Leon excitedly, "that explains why Monokuma would lie! To throw us off the scent. It'd make much more sense to conclude suicide from a drowning than from asphyxiation!"
"That is…" said Sayaka. "Wow, when you think about it that way, it makes so much sense." She was a little starry eyed.
"Thanks, I—"
I felt sick to my stomach.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one with that sentence because Junko grumbled, "Oh, gimme a break. I'm gonna hurl."
Sayaka was sheepish. "Sorry."
"So, I was right!" said Leon. He grew somber. "I… I was right. Makoto drowned."
"Drowning," whispered Hina in awe. "That is… that is horrible!"
Leon nodded, expression screwed up like he was in pain. "You die from oxygen deprivation… as the water fills your lungs," said Leon.
He didn't look at any of us. Eyes blank. Somber. Voice small.
"It's not like the movies. They don't call for help. They don't get the chance to. An active drowner will struggle at the surface, but if you're not careful, you're not observant, you can miss it. Because the only thing a drowning victim cares about is reaching that surface. They don't care about calling for help. They don't care about anyone else they might drag with them. It's like air is the only thing in their world that matters… and it's always just out of reach."
He was more morose than I'd probably ever seen him.
Leon looked up, probably in that moment realizing that he'd gained a captive audience. "Sorry," he said. "It's dark, I know."
"No," said Sayaka. "It—It's a good thing you have knowledge on this subject. You've been very helpful."
Their eyes met.
"It's no prob," said Hiro, not even realizing the moment that was passing between them. "I mean, that's all well and good, yeah, but aren't we missing the most obvious clue?" he asked. When he only got blank stares, he continued. "If Makoto drowned, he should've been wet, yeah?"
"No shit, genius," said Junko. "That's how it works. In other breaking news: water is wet."
"Water is sticky, not wet!" said Taka. "Technically, water is an adhesive—" he continued but Junko cut him off before he could even finish.
"Ugh!" Junko held up a hand. "You are killing me here, Scholarship." She groaned, rubbing circles at her temples.
"No, no. Hiro might have something here. We can start with the basics and work our way up," I said. "Hiro, what is your premise?"
He frowned. "I… don't know?"
"How about this," I said. "'If Makoto drowned, he should've been wet.' Right?"
"Uh… Yeah, guess so."
"But Makoto was dry, so he couldn't have drowned. Is that your point?"
"No, I wouldn't say that…" said Hiro.
I nodded. "Lack of evidence is not proof, right?" I paused. "So then, is there any other proof that we can use? Anything at all?"
"Is there evidence that indicates he was in the pool at any point?" asked Byakuya. "I believe that what you were going for."
I sighed. "Yes."
"Hiro, I believe you were present during the conversation," said Byakuya. "I'd hope your memory span is longer than that of a goldfish."
I spoke, too, hoping to jog his memory. "Come on," I said.
When it was taking him a bit to come up with a response, Junko cut in. "Why not just tell us the answer?" she said, with a dramatic pout.
I shook my head ever so slightly. "That's not how this works." People needed to come to their own conclusions. I would believe that to the end.
"You were complaining…" I prompted him, continuing to fix my gaze intently on him.
"Um…" He scratched his head. "Oh, right! The chlorine, yeah? Yeah, I definitely remember that conversation now."
There it is.
Dire situation aside, I did feel just the smallest moment of pride.
Kyoko nodded. "You're referring to the smell. This must've happened…" she began. Even she looked like she was having trouble getting the words out. "Well, it must've happened last night. No water, no time to rinse off… So, the smell."
"Oooohhhh!" said Hiro, eyes wide. "I get it now!"
Hina just shook her head. "I thought that was your point."
"Uh… Sure," he said, with an unconvincing laugh. "Yeah, totally."
"Hang on," said Leon. "I just realized something is kinda fucked. If Makoto drowned, his clothes would be wet."
"Hiro was literally just asking about that!" said Hina.
"You already know the answer. At least you should. Why don't you tell us?" said Byakuya.
"'Tell them, Leon.' Oh my god," snickered Junko. "You're his new Makoto."
"I don't know what you're talking about," says Leon.
"Pretty, dumb, useless, easy to boss around?" said Junko "I think you fit the bill."
"Well that depends," said Byakuya, and I was surprised that he didn't deny it.
"On?" asked Junko.
"On whether he can put together the answer," said Byakuya. "Come on, we don't have all day."
"Oh, fuck off already," said Leon.
"D-D-Don't you dare—" began Toko, but Leon cut her off.
"No. I am done being talked down to, it is my turn to talk. It's a legit question. Hiro was wondering—if he drowned, why wasn't he wet? Well, if he did drown, tell me, why are his clothes dry?"
"Because they aren't his," said Byakuya. "That's about as obvious as you get. And here I thought that would have been the easy part to put together."
"So he's wearing someone else's clothes?" asked Hiro.
Junko nodded. "Now that I think about it… Bazinga might be right. Makoto almost always wears his uniform! When has Makoto ever worn a track suit?"
Kyoko shook her head, still looking pensive. "I don't recall him owning one."
"Huh," said Junko, giving Kyoko a weird look. "And you would know this, how?"
Kyoko shrugged.
"I buy it," said Mondo. "The kid didn't exactly work out."
"What are you suggesting?" asked Sayaka. "That someone bothered to change his clothes? But," she looked disturbed. "Who would do something like that?"
"The culprit, surely," said Byakuya.
"But I thought we'd ruled this a suicide?" asked Hina.
"It's only one possibility," said Kyoko. "But I think the fact that someone bothered to dress him is definitely suspicious."
"Plus, he was discovered in the boys locker room," said Celeste. "Perhaps the culprit wished to disguise their method of murder. That would certainly give them motive to swap the clothing."
"Hang on." Hiro held up a hand. "I thought you believed he committed suicide?" he asked, looking to Celeste.
"Is it so wrong for me to adapt my beliefs to the evidence?" asked Celeste, voice innocent enough even as her expression was severe.
"Ok, fine," said Hiro, backing off under her intense gaze. "I just… So, wait… I'm not following. Is this person who changed his clothes the same person who broke Makoto's ribs, or is this a different person entirely?"
"Yeah, that is definitely strange," said Sayaka. "If it is the same person, why would someone try… try and save Makoto when…" She had to stop just then, too choked up to continue.
"I.. I see…" said Chihiro, looking deep in thought. When she was occupied, she didn't seem to be quite so overwhelmed. For once, she had her head on right, instead of being overcome with sadness. "So the dilemma is whether we ought to treat the attempted savior and the attempted disguiser as one person or two different people!"
"Indeed, it is peculiar," said Celeste. "Why would someone bother to try and save Makoto if they were just going to cover it up?"
"Well, it…" said Taka, struggling to come up with anything. "It has to be two different people, then! Right?"
"It makes sense to me," said Mondo.
"Or, the killer could have been remorseful," said Kyoko. When she received nothing but odd looks, she simply added with a shrug, "It's a possibility."
"Ugh, check it out," said Junko with a scoff. "The mercenary is going to give us a lecture about trying to save people. Anybody else feeling the irony?"
"Junko, relax. I don't know whether we have enough to draw any conclusions just yet," I said.
"Besides, hasn't this all just been based on the idea that Makoto drowned?" asked Chihiro. "What if we're just… you know. Wrong? We're basing everyone on just assumptions."
"But what about the pool deck?" asked Hina. "I definitely remember stepping in water when we checked it."
"Same," I said.
"Then it must've been in recent use, right?" said Junko. "The pool deck would not have had time to dry, and I, uh, doubt anyone would be going for a swim in these circumstances."
"That checks out," I said.
"Plus… we found something at the bottom of the pool," mumbled Hina, voice noticeably lower as she avoided everyone's eyes.
"You what?" asked Chihiro.
"There was definitely something there," said Hina, posture upright and defensive. "I—I don't know what it was. The water was murky, I couldn't see!" She sounded deflated, disappointed in herself, ponytail wilting.
"But the bigger question: if it's not a suicide, how do you drown someone else?" asked Hiro.
"It's pretty easy, actually," said Leon. "It happens. Not intentionally, but active victims will sometimes submerge other people in their attempt to reach the surface. They just… They latch on, and they don't let go. That's why you gotta be careful."
"Yeah, but, it sounds like ya gotta be pretty strong to do that, right?" asked Mondo.
"Actually, no. That's why it's so dangerous. In theory, someone really small could even drown someone much larger if they refuse to let go for long enough." Leon shook his head. "Fuck, I sound like my instructor right now. Kill me."
"But… What do you do if they don't let go?" asked Chihiro.
"The last thing you want is two victims instead of one, so if they're already latched on… you just do whatever you can to get them off you," said Leon.
"Even if it hurts them?" asks Chihiro.
"Look," says Leon, looking as if he were struggling to find the words. "We have training so that doesn't happen. But I mean. If you really had to, then… yeah, I guess so. Bruises will heal. Going passive is much more dangerous."
"Passive?" asked Chihiro.
"Going unconscious," said Kyoko.
So the drowning victim might sustain injuries… I thought.
That sounds particularly likely if the "rescuer" was untrained. What was the likelihood of them panicking and doing whatever they could to get the victim off?
But… Makoto sustained very few injuries. I didn't detect any bruises during my examination.
Then again. Maybe Makoto wasn't being rescued. In fact, it was probably the opposite. Maybe he was being intentionally drowned. Would the same logic apply? It seemed like it.
A drowning victim would struggle to escape a culprit's grasp, doing whatever they could to escape, right?
Maybe we shouldn't be looking for injuries on the victim. Instead, we should be keeping an eye out for injuries on the culprit.
Junko gave Leon another mystified look. "How can you say shit like this, and be mad when we immediately think you're sus?"
"Because I'm telling you, instead of keeping it to myself," said Leon.
"Look, whatever, the kid reeks like chlorine, I think it's a safe bet that he drowned," said Junko.
"But was he murdered, or did he kill himself?" asked Celeste. "That, I believe, is the real question."
"Well, someone clearly tampered with the pool filter," said Junko. "We saw out there on the deck. Someone cut the wires."
"And someone changed his clothes," said Mondo.
"But someone also performed CPR on him," said Sayaka. "That sounds much more like an attempted savior to me than an attempted killer."
"Oh, we're just talking in circles!" said Hina.
"Why don't we just…" I racked my brains. "Focus on something tangible instead?"
"Like?" asked Junko.
"How about… the track suit?" I asked.
"Yes, an excellent suggestion!" said Taka. "If the track suit does not belong to Makoto, then perhaps our focus should be intent on finding the owner!"
"But why would we assume the track suit doesn't belong to Makoto?" asked Leon. "Dress the kid in his own clothes, nobody would bat an eye. Isn't that the best way to throw someone off their game?"
"Come on," said Junko. "Fashion sense aside, I assume you have to know something about clothes, you wannabe punk. If you'd taken a closer look, you would've realized."
"Realized what?"
"The clothes don't fit."
"People wear clothes in the wrong size all the time."
"Yeah, but track suits are for working out," said Junko. "When given the ability to choose your own clothes, why would anyone pick a tracksuit that large? You can't even run in the damn thing. The one he's wearing is clearly made for someone a good deal taller."
"So we pin the track suit to the owner, and we have what we're looking for?" asked Sayaka.
"At the very least we have a suspect," said Mukuro.
"Nonono," said Leon. "That doesn't make sense. If we're gonna act like there's a culprit, they don't have to use their own tracksuit. You said so yourself. All they have to do is find one."
"They could have grabbed one from the storage room," said Hina. "They've got all kinds of stuff in there!"
"I suppose," said Celeste. "However, would the culprit want to risk being spotted out in the middle of the night? I was in the storage room. I didn't see anybody come in."
"So… it has to be one already owned. I guess that means… Process of elimination?" asked Hina.
"Well, in that case," said Mondo. "It's not mine. Mine's an XXL in black. It's still in the lockers. Ya can check."
"Mine is also in black!" said Taka. "Size large. My locker is on the bottom row, second to the left. I always make sure to lock mine, so everything should still be inside!"
"Awww, you guys are matchers!" cooed Junko, but her tone was antagonizing. "How fucking sweet."
"Heh, you guys are workout buddies, then, huh?" asked Hiro. "Ain't that a bromance nobody expected." He sighed. "I haven't even touched my tracksuit," he added, rather sheepishly. "It's an XL in white, but it's still in my dorm closet."
"The suit on Makoto is a men's medium," I said.
Hina counted them off on her finger. Or at least, she tried to count them off. "So… that leaves… who again?"
"If this is all correct, then it leaves Leon, Makoto, and Byakuya," said Kyoko. "Assuming the track suit was found in the boys locker room."
"So it's between Leon and Byakuya," said Junko. "Why am I not surprised?"
"What do you mean, not surprised?" asked Leon, indignant. "Byakuya, I can totally understand, but what the hell have I ever done?"
"Um, you're overly defensive about everything constantly," said Junko.
"Please. That's just how he is," said Byakuya.
"What do you know?" said Leon, glaring at him. "You don't even know me! You don't even bother to talk to any of your classmates, you antisocial douche."
"You are rather on edge," said Sayaka. "Are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell us? Anything at all?"
"No!" said Leon, but there was a near crazed look to his eye. "I'm on edge because you all are ganging up on me!"
"Leon—"
"Come on, Sayaka, you know me! I'm a terrible liar, you know that!"
"I—I don't know anymore," said Sayaka.
I remembered something. "Besides Makoto's handbook, I only found one other thing in the suit's jacket pocket. Something that clearly points to the track suit's owner, " I said, or more accurately, lied, reaching into my coat pocket and turning the pin over with my fingers, but not bringing it out just yet.
I wanted to test something.
"Are you kidding? That doesn't prove anything! Everyone uses safety pins!" said Leon.
There we go.
"Hold on a second!" said Kyoko. "There's something wrong with that statement."
"I'm pretty sure the claim that most people at one point or another have used a safety pin is not controversial," said Junko.
"No, no, not that," said Kyoko. "Mukuro… you never said what the item you found on Makoto's person actually was… did you?"
Unable to help myself, my lip twitched in a small, triumphant smirk. "I did not."
Leon's face went white.
"You didn't say… Huh." Kyoko nodded to herself, perhaps in realization. Perhaps it was my imagination, but Kyoko's eyes seemed to be smiling with me. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Her tone was impressed.
"Yes, I did."
Our eyes met, and she seemed to nod in response. A moment passed between us. For once this trial, I didn't hate myself and everyone else in this cursed room. I was proud of my work.
"And can you show or tell us what exactly that item was, Mukuro?" she asked.
"I can do both," I responded, perhaps a little too chipper for my own good. "As as matter of fact, it was a safety pin." I pulled it out of my pocket, holding it up to the light for the others to see. "Funny coincidence, don't you think?"
"Very strange, yes," said Kyoko. "Unless perhaps the owner of the tracksuit happened to remember an item he'd kept in one of the pockets."
"It… It was just a lucky guess!" said Leon.
Junko scoffed. "Yeah, right. You really expect us to believe that bullshit?"
"It appears you've dug your own grave," I said.
Byakuya chuckled. "Yes, but you handed him the shovel, didn't you? Pretty good, Mukuro. I will give you that. Seriously, 'something that clearly points to the tract suit's owner'? What a bunch of nonsense."
Hiro gasped. "So it was a bluff! Well, pardon my fucking French but that is frickin' cool."
For a moment, Leon said nothing.
Then finally…
"Ok." He sighed. "Ok, fine. The suit belongs to me. I keep it in one of the lockers. One of the safety pins broke on my coat like two days ago, and I remember leaving it in one of the pockets because I forgot about it. I only happened to realize it was still there when it jabbed me. But that's it! I swear I didn't kill him!"
"And now it's all starting to make sense," said Junko. "I mean, you're the only one here with that tacky D.I.Y. look."
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was a makeover reality tv show," said Leon. "Last time I checked, we were trying to solve a murder, not stage an intervention for my poor fashion choices. So maybe lay. The fuck. Off."
Sayaka looked once again on the verge of tears, absolute betrayal and heartbreak in her voice. "Leon…"
At hearing her voice, he stopped glaring at Junko and turned to face her. His rage melted away in an instant, replaced by a helpless expression. Seeing her like this dropped every defense.
"Sayaka… I—"
"Leon, I—I want to believe you, but. I. I can't. Not anymore. If you've lied about this, who knows what else you could be hiding?"
I knew she was hurting, but… Maybe she did have a point. Maybe he really wasn't trustworthy.
"Sorry to cut in, but I think Leon has a point... I don't think it would make sense for the culprit to use their own tracksuit," said Chihiro. "Because… l… I— "
"Thank you!" said Leon. He paused, doing a double-take. "Wait, you believe me?"
"I… Forget it," said Chihiro. "I don't know if I should say. It's just going to throw off all our progress so far."
"Oh, enough with the suspense, just tell us already!" said Junko.
"I, um… I don't know if the culprit is Leon. However, I do think the culprit is Sparkling Justice."
"Yeah!" said Leon. "Uh… who is Sparkling Justice?"
"A serial killer," said Byakuya plainly.
"Well, that totally explains everything, and totally isn't ominous as shit at all," said Junko.
"Uh, yeah," said Leon. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, I am not a serial killer."
"Maybe so," said Byakuya, "But I believe somebody in this room is."
"That's where I was this whole time," said Chihiro, voice small. "In the library, trying to find the folder on Sparkling Justice."
"Hang on, I feel like like I'm a few steps behind," said Junko. "Why on Earth would you think the killer is Sparkling Justice?"
Toko squeaked. "I-It—It's nothing!" she said. "Noth-thing a-at all!"
Byakuya ignored her. "Mukuro," he said, looking away from her and to me . "Care to answer the question?"
"Oh," I said. "Um…" I racked my brain. "Sparkling Justice has a calling card, yes?"
"Which is?"
"A mask?"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me or telling me?"
Junko rolled her eyes. "Jesus, are you her dad?"
I ignored Junko. "No, I—" I scowled. "The mask. It's the same as the one found at the crime scene. It's the mask of a character from a popular anime… What was it? Sun Witch…."
Toko gasped, eyes going wide as she clasped her hands together. "Sun Witch Esper Ito?"
"Yes!" said Chihiro. "Have you heard of it?"
"I. Love. That. Show." Toko's eyes lit up, practically jumping up and down with excitement. Her body language was completely different, not longer closed in on herself, there was an energy I had never seen from her. She was like a completely different person. Even the stutter seemed to diminish. "Sun Witch Esper Ito is my life. She is s-such an inspiration. There is s-so m-much I about that show I could talk about. O-One of the b-best magical girl shows I've ever seen!" She was practically giggling with delight.
"Interesting," said Byakuya. "Do you perhaps love the show enough to imitate the character. Or… Own a mask of her likeness?"
Upon hearing this, she clamped shut immediately, lips sealed. She stopped jumping around, standing almost stiffly still. "I—I d-don't know what you're t-t-talking about." She avoided everyone's eyes.
"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about," said Byakuya.
"The mask…" I muttered, putting it together. Louder, I spoke this time to the entire group. "There was a Sun Witch Esper Ito mask found at the crime scene."
"It's a popular show, Byakuya," said Hina, looking apprehensively between him and Toko. "I'm sure you can find a mask just like it in the gift shop. There's all sorts of stuff in there."
"This… seems a little extreme, Byakuya," said Celeste. "Are you actually accusing Toko of being a serial killer? I hardly think being a fan of a popular anime is grounds for that."
"True, but that's not all there is to it," said Byakuya. "There is a killer in our midst, and I intend to smoke them out."
"No shit, genius," said Junko. "That's what we're all trying to do."
"Well, yes, you may have your priorities," said Byakuya. "I'm sure it must be gruelling work for everyone to track down an amateur. But a serial killer? A true dangerous threat? Forgive me for believing that's a problem that needs to be sorted."
"Chihiro," said Junko. "I can't believe you're seriously buying into this."
"It… may be far fetched," said Chihiro.
"Look, I don't care if you doubt yourself, but I know that I am right," said Byakuya. "Which means so are you. Because there's another piece of evidence, and I think you know exactly what I mean."
"I—I wasn't there for the investigation," said Chihiro.
He sighed. "Do I really have to explain everything?"
"Look," said Hina, "Maybe I just don't get this, but I don't understand why any of this indicates Toko being an actual serial killer. Maybe whoever did this is just a really, really invested fan of their work."
"True," said Celeste. "We seem to have found ourselves a serial killer enthusiast." She looked to Byakuya and Chihiro. "Or several."
Chihiro looked down at her feet, saying nothing.
"People are allowed to have hobbies," I said.
"Interesting hobby for a girl," said Junko, looking at Chihiro. "Dark. Macabre. Wouldn't expect it of a cute, tiny thing like you."
Chihiro kept her head down. "Right…"
"Then again, what else is an absurdly rich person supposed to do in their spare time?" said Junko.
"Mukuro," said Byakuya. "What do Toko and Sparkling Justice have in common?"
I didn't answer despite the fact that... I did know what he was talking about. Starting to put it together, I could solve murders, reveal culprits, but this felt like… an invasion. A betrayal.
When I didn't answer, Byakuya scoffed, turning away from me. "Fine, then. Not you. Chihiro?"
"I—I don't know," whispered Chihiro.
"You saw the file, didn't you?" asked Byakuya.
"Yes, but—"
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. It was for the case. "Toko and Sparkling Justice both have DID."
"Sorry, what?" asked Hiro.
"DID," said Chihiro, finishing for me, perhaps finally getting her courage up. Her voice was very quiet. "Dissociative Identity Disorder." Once again, she was avoiding everyone's eyes. She shook her head ever to slightly, as if disappointed in herself.
"Ooooh!" said Hiro. "I know what you're talking about! That thing where people develop different personalities, yeah? Freaky shit, right there."
"Hiro!" said Hina, tone forceful. Her eyes were still on Toko. It was like a warning.
"According to the police reports on Sparkling Justice," said Chihiro, "based on their frenetic behavior after the killer commits each crime, they are thought to have Dissociative Identity Disorder."
"Ok, but what does that have to do with Toko?" asked Sayaka.
"You—You're not tryna say that Toko has this—this DID, are you?" asked Hiro.
"You tell me," said Byakuya. "How was she behaving this morning?"
Hiro gasped, practically leaping in his spot with excitement. "Ohhhh, how could I have missed this? "
Junko rolled her eyes, snapping with much more vitriol than even her usual sarcasm. "Because this isn't one of your paranormal activity investigations, alright? Disorders aren't there to satisfy your spooky thrills, dumbass." She shook her head. "This is ridiculous! If Toko had DID, she would just tell us. Ain't that right, girl?"
Toko just shook her head, eyes still wide. She muttered something indiscernible, visibly sweating bullets.
"Toko?" asked Junko.
"Come on, Byakuya!" said Hina. "Is this really necessary? Shouldn't we, I don't know, ask her first?"
"Oh, I get it!" said Hiro. "So when she was acting all weird this morning, that's why? She's a schizo."
"Don't say that!" said Hina.
"Also, that is not the same thing," mumbled Junko.
Hiro ignored them. "But I mean the the fainting, the mood change, the antisocial behavior... that explains so much." That was when his behavior changed from excited to terrified. "Holy shit!" he said with a gasp. "A serial killer in our midst!"
Leon spoke, ignoring Hiro—or at least that last part. "Yeah… Well, anyway, he's got a point. Toko, you were totally freaking out when you saw Makoto."
"As would anyone if they saw a dead body," reasoned Celeste.
"But this was different!" said Leon. "She said, 'they wouldn't'. Ya know. Dot, dot, dot. 'This can't be happening!' Who is 'they'?"
"The culprit," said Hina with a small frown. "Or Makoto. Right?"
"She was in shock," said Celeste. "It is an understandable reaction."
"Maybe," said Kyoko, "But after she passed out, her behavior waking back up was completely different. Her voice, her body language, even the way she carried herself. And her stutter was gone."
"Just because she was acting a little strange doesn't mean she must have turned into completely different person," said Junko.
"Yes, but," began Chihiro, "Toko has an aversion to blood. After she regained consciousness, she didn't seem to be bothered at all. Sometimes conditions are not shared between alters. For example, diabetes, blindness. In our case, sickness at the sight of blood. Or loss of a stutter. Plus, she became confused as the rest of us referred to her as 'Toko'. Suggesting they are separate entities who do not share memories."
"So then are you suggesting that blood is a trigger for her, um… other personalities?" asked Taka.
"Alters," I reminded them, my voice low. "They're called alters."
"Loss of consciousness seems to do it," said Kyko. "But if blood makes her faint, then yes. That appears to be a trigger. Perhaps the alter emerges at potential threat of danger."
"And the way this, um… 'alter' was speaking," said Chihiro. "She… or maybe they? I don't know the gender. They framed their appearance as a more appealing alternative to Toko."
"Can alters know of each other's existence?" asked Hina.
"They can," said Chihiro. "As far as I know. Usually they don't share memories, but sometimes they learn by other means. It can depend on how many alters they have, of course, some people have many. And just because you know of one's existence doesn't mean you'll know of all of them. I… I don't know many Toko has, but if she does have DID, I'm guessing we've now met two."
"Yes," said Celeste. "This all makes sense. However, I do see a problem."
"Which is?" asked Byakuya.
"Even if Toko has Dissociative Identity Disorder, that does not prove in any way that she killed Makoto."
"Oh, come on!" said Hiro. "A person gets killed by a masked vigilante who happens to have DID, and then it turns out one of our classmates has been hiding the fact that she has DID this whole time? How can you not come to that conclusion?"
"Even if Toko does have DID, having DID doesn't make her a murderer," I said, for once short on my patience with him. "That just makes her a person with a disorder."
I could put up with a lot of his crackpot theories out of fondness and amused curiosity, but Toko was a person, not some sort of mythical creature.
Byakuya shook his head. "What is with this foolish need to protect her? You're so busy crusading that you're willing to ignore the evidence in favor of your worldview."
"God," said Junko, groaning and shaking her head. "Man, shut the fuck up."
"What are you talking about?" I asked him.
"Hina?" asked Byakuya, turning to look at her.
"Don't look at me. I don't know anything!" said Hina, but I noticed the change in her body language. She hugged her arms close to her chest—defensive, stand-offish.
Nervous.
"You walked Toko back to her dorm room, yes?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said, expression changing from defiance to apprehension, eyebrows knit together. "You knew that already."
"And when you went to get her to come out of her room, what did you do?"
"I…" She frowned. "I came to get you. I figured you might be able to talk to her… Since she actually listens to you. God knows why," she added with a grimace.
"And her response when I knocked on the door?" asked Byakuya.
Hina's frown deepened. "Fear," she said. "She refused to come out, no matter what we said to her."
"But she wasn't afraid of what was on the outside, was she?" asked Byakuya.
"What are you saying?" asked Hina.
I thought back to earlier.
"I w-won't let her get control. I swear I'll d-drive out that—that m-m-mur—murderous fiend!"
"'I won't let her get control'," mused Taka, voicing my thoughts out loud. "So… are you trying to say that she locked herself away… because was not afraid of someone getting in. Rather, she was afraid of letting herself out?"
"Hang on," said Junko. "I get what you're going for, but Byakuya. It's essentially just her word against yours. Why should we believe you?"
Byakuya turned to look at Toko, who was trembling all over and white as a sheet. "Any thoughts on that, Toko?"
For a moment, she was silent. "You…. Y-You p-p-promised!" said Toko. "You promised n-not to—to tell anyone."
Chihiro gasped. "You mean it's true?" she asked, eyes wide. "I—I had a suspicion, but I never expected… I mean.. I didn't want to believe. Or say. Even if I was right, it wasn't my place to—"
"I've been suspicious all along," said Byakuya. "Toko approached me in the library. She told me about her feelings, but also that a dark secret—a killer—lived inside her, and made me promise not to tell. Since then, I've been keeping an eye on her."
"If you swore not to tell her secret, why are saying anything now?" asked Junko. "What is wrong with you?"
"The fact that you're more concerned with me breaking a little promise than the existence of a violent killer is… certainly interesting," said Byakuya. "We must have different priorities."
"You. Are seriously all kinds of fucked up," said Leon.
"Oh, come on," said Byakuya. "As one of the primary suspects, I would think you'd want any excuse to clear your name. If anything, you should be thanking me."
"I c-can't believe you lied to me!" said Toko.
"You only have yourself to blame—you came to me with your tragic little story. I didn't ask you to. This is the real world. Not some romantic fantasy fairy tale. Besides, I wasn't the only one to break a promise, was I? You swore that you would never let Sparkling Justice hurt anyone as long as you were here, and, well, I think can all see what happened."
"Y-Y-You said that you w-would go out with me!" said Toko, shaking her head, tugging at her braids, just a mess of tears and anxious sweat. "That's the only reason I told you. You p-promised, if I was good, you would g-go out with me!"
"Don't be ridiculous. How do many times do I have to tell you. Why would I ever say a thing like that? It's just too bad you couldn't keep your promise. You just couldn't resist that rush you got from killing, could you? What a shame. Makoto was one of the few students who actually had, you know, some potential."
Toko was outright sobbing. "I t-tried. I s-s-s-swear I—I tried to cont-trol it! It—It wasn't me!"
I hated this. I hated everything about it. I coudn't even watch, I was so sick to my stomach.
"I h-hate you," said Toko, venom and desperation directed at Byakuya in a way that I'd never anticipated. Not toward Byakuya, the man she'd so idealized. "I hate you!"
"Byakuya!" said Hina. "Stop it! You're just making it worse! You're going to aggravate her!"
"Isn't that the point?" asked Byakuya. "What else could you have to offer us?" he said to Toko. "Now all that's left is to hear from the person in question directly."
"The p-person?" asked Toko, white as a sheet, a mess of tears and sweat and practically frothing at the mouth with spit, hair standing on end as she yanked at her braids. "Y-Y-You don't m-m-m-mean…"
Toko's body suddenly lunged backwards. A huge thud echoed across the courtroom, Toko passed out on the ground. But in the next second, before we could even react...
"Well, hello there! Is it me you were hoping to see?"
A new, completely unique voice came from Toko's body. Her stutter was gone, replaced by a completely different intonation—dramatic, attention-grabbing, full of life. Confident. The complete opposite of Toko. There was even something about the way she carried herself—upright and standing her ground, no longer seeming to close in on herself. Whoever this was had the most maniacal lively grin on her face. It would have lived somewhere in the home between inviting and disturbing, if it weren't for the grotesque bright red tongue just hanging out of her mouth.
And her eyes... Her eyes seemed to swirl with bright red.
At this, everyone else in the room gasped.
"So you figured it out, huh?" she continued. "Well, whatever! What're ya gonna do? I'm the Ultimate Murderous Fiend, Sparkling Justice! But you can call me Justice! Or maybe Jill! I've never had a nickname before, but it just feels right! In fact, I've never even been out in public like this before! Isn't it exciting?"
"Whoa! What the heck?" cried Hiro. "It really is Sparkling Justice! Please don't hurt me!"
"What the fuck is this?" Mondo was more shaken than I'd ever seen him.
"Don't worry, Palm Tree!" said Justice. "I only punish bad boys! So unless you've been very naughty, then I'm not gonna waste my time! Don't try hiding anything from me. Sparkling Justice always finds out the truth." She winked. "Then again…" she mused. "I've never let so many people see the real me before. The jury's still out on whether I'm going to keep you all alive. This is exciting! I'm like a total wild card. Who knows what I might do!"
She cackled, the sound echoing relentlessly throughout the courtroom.
"What have you done with Toko?" demanded Taka. "Is she alright?"
"Relaaaax," said Justice, waving a hand carelessly and nodded her head. "You seem uptight. Boy, I can tell, you must be fun at parties. Toko is fine! Well, about as fine as someone as sad and pathetic as her can be. Poor thing, isn't she just so lucky she has someone like me around to keep her safe?"
"Keep her safe?" asked Hina. "What are talking about? How can someone like you keep her safe?"
"By continuing my quest!" When all she got was blank stares, she added, "By ridding this world of the true scum of the Earth!"
"This girl is… something else," said Junko, sounding both disturbed and impressed. She crossed her arms, appraising Justice up and down. I didn't like the little amused smirk on her face.
"Why, thank you!" said Justice, beaming with pride in a way that was almost endearing.
"This one is certainly different from the one we have come to know," said Celeste.
"I like to consider us two sides of the same coin!" said Justice. "Behind every dark and gloomy soul lives another that shines as bright as the sun! We can't choose what we're good at. The Ultimates should know that more than anyone! Everyone has a gift—so what if my talent happens to be killing?"
"But—" began Taka. "But that is wrong! How can you be so callous about taking another human life? Murder is wrong! You—how are you not in jail?"
"'Murder is wrong'. Well, aren't you a perceptive little one?" cooed Justice. "Perhaps if you knew the kind of people I go after, you would change your tune. But then again, maybe not! It's small-minded people like you that really drive me crazy. You're always afraid of results. The world isn't black and white. Why am I not in jail? Because if the system actually worked to punish the bad guys then I wouldn't have to do my job. Maybe I should be grateful. After all, what kind of boring world would that be?"
She cackled again.
"Hey, uh, Justice? Jill? Whatever we should call you…" said Leon. "Quick question."
"What's up, Flame-o?" asked Justice, stopping her cackling as if called to attention, her mood chipper once more.
"What did you call—Uh, you know what, forget it," said Leon. "A few of us thought you might be the mastermind behind the whole, uh, this," he said, gesturing all around. "Can we get a yay or nay?"
"Oh, conspiracy!" said Justice, clapping her hands together like and excited child. "I like it! Well, cutie, since you've been just so darn polite, I will gladly tell you. I am the mastermind of all masterminds!"
A pause.
"Just kidding!"
"So… it's not true?" asked Sayaka.
"Of course it's not true!" said Monokuma with a laugh. "How dare you try to link me to that creepazoid!"
"Honestly," said Justice, "Seeing this whole fucked up shindig, I don't know whether to be horrified or impressed. While I'm a sucker for torture, this isn't really my cup of tea. Besides, my MO is punishment only for those who deserve it! I don't just go looking for excuses to take out any old schlub! While I'm sure you've all been very naughty, I'm a bit of a newbie here, and if I don't know the dirt then I just can't do the crime! I have standards, you know. I am after all the Ultimate Murderous Fiend."
"If this doesn't show you guys how powerless the outside world truly is, I don't know what else I can do to convince you!" said Monokuma. "Police, government, society. I mean, they all just let this bloodthirsty maniac go buck wild all over town!"
"Are you kidding?" cried Justice. "They're the reason I exist at all! Pain only produces pain, after all. Failure to apprehend me is just the tip of the iceberg. Sure, I'm a bloodthirsty monster, but I'm doing a service to society. Even if I'm not doing it for them! I'm doing it for us."
"Us?" asked Taka.
"For Gloomy. And my own gratification, of course!"
"So it's true!" said Hina. "You really are the real Sparkling Justice!"
"As real as I'll ever be, baby!" said Justice. She struck a pose, pulling out her mask and putting it on.
"Justice complete! The center of justice that is pierced by justice! The lead star of justice that shines in the night sky! That would be me… Sparkling Justice!"
Hiro gasped, staggering back in full panic. "It's her! It's the real Sparkling Justice!"
"This should be enough to convince you," said Byakuya, still perfectly calm and collected despite the panicked, alarmed faces of everyone else in the room. "This murderous fiend is the culprit we've been looking for. There's clearly a motive, so there should be no doubt."
"What motive?" asked Chihiro.
"Our secrets," said Byakuya. "If I am right in assuming that Toko's secret was about Sparkling Justice, then she had a very clear motive to never have that side of herself exposed."
Justice gasped, taking off her mask. "Who is this handsome young gentleman with the big ideas?" she said, practically giddy with excitement. "Honestly, for spilling my big secret, I probably ought to kill you, but you're just so darn cute I just might let this one pass. You're on thin ice though. Thin, thin ice."
"Quit dodging the accusation!" said Mondo. "Did you do it?"
"Do what?" asked Justice.
"Did you, or did you not kill Makoto?" asked Celeste. "It is a simple question."
"And I'm so very happy to answer it, Morticia!" said Justice. "But not before you do me a solid and answer me one right back." She looked to everyone in the room.
"Who is Makoto?"
Silence.
Sayaka spoke first. "What… What do you mean?" she asked. "You—you're a monster! I thought you killed him."
Justice tapped the side of her forehead. "Can't kill someone you don't know exists, Barbie. Listen, I've been kinda, mostly dormant for a hot sec, so there may be stuff in Gloomy's life that I may have missed now and then."
"Uh, Makoto?" said Junko. "You know. Hall monitor? Green eyes. Brown hair." She held up her hand. "About yay high. Always in uniform. Bit of a pushover. Ring any bells?"
"Not really," said Justice. "Sounds like a nice kid. Not the kind of creeps I go after."
"I don't trust her," growled Mondo, glaring at her. "She could just be playing dumb."
"How do you expect any of us to believe a word you say, you monster!" said Taka.
Justice sighed. "It's always the ones with hard-ons for authority that get soooo bent up. Look, if I was the culprit, I would just tell you. Since you're so hell-bent on proving me guilty, what's my motive?"
"What?" asked Taka.
"My motive!" said Justice. "What reason would I have to kill this Mako boy?"
"It's Makoto," said Byakuya.
"Come on, Handsome," said Justice. "You seem to be the expert on all things me! I have my very own personal stalker! I'm flattered. So. What really gets me going?" She was teasing him, egging him on, enjoying the limelight, practically giggling with delight.
I tried to reflect on everything I'd gone over in the file. What was the commonality between all the cases?
"What—What are you saying?" asked Chihiro.
"Come on, sweetie, what's the pattern?" asked Justice.
I finally spoke. "According to the file, Sparkling Justice only kills abusers." I looked to her. "Isn't that right?"
"Bingo!" She cackled, putting a finger to her nose. "Right on the money! Someone apparently knows what their doing!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Taka.
"According to the case files, all the victims have something in common," I said. "Sparkling Justice only kills other criminals. Especially ones who have a history of violence and abuse."
"That's right! All the people I kill with such passion and conviction—they're all criminals! Bad boys, if you will. The Gloomy One just hates it! Says I'm ruining her. Making her life a living hell, yada, yada, yada. Everything I do for her, for us, and she takes it for granted. Can't she see that I'm only looking out for her? All those people, good riddance they're gone! And you people call me a monster!" said Justice. "How's that for the 'murder is always wrong', crowd? You should see the horror shows I go after!"
"Are telling me that Makoto is a criminal?" asked Junko. "You expect me to believe Makoto's ever done a bad thing in his life?"
"Exactly!" Justice cackled again. "Normally this would be my time to schpiel about how anyone can secretly be rotten in their core. Some of them look just as sweet and innocent as your boy Big Mac, here! But I didn't even know the kid! And believe me, I always do my research. I realize that I'm known for going after criminals, but I'm not interested in your average petty thief! I may be a bloodthirsty killer, but even I hold myself to some form of rules! I'm only interested in the real scumbags. I know a creep when I see one!"
"Maybe so," said Byakuya, "But practically anyone would have the will to murder even an innocent person when backed enough into a corner. And Monokuma revealing your secret definitely gives you impetus."
"Fair point," said Justice. "But the motive isn't the only glaring problem with your argument. I'm a professional, you see! I have a very particular way of doing things! "
"So what's the problem?" asked Kyoko.
The answer hit me. "The calling card," I whispered.
"Sorry, dear!" said Justice. "Come again?"
"Your mask. Why would you leave your mask at the crime scene?"
"Ding ding ding!" said Justice. "Aren't you just precious? That's two for two now!"
"We get it," said Byakuya. "You've clearly explained your hobby and your philosophy. But that's not all there is to it. It's a different matter entirely… when you're forced to kill in order to survive."
"Keep your mouth shut, asshole!" said Justice.
"Asshole?" asked Byakuya, surprisingly shaken. It was odd. He'd certainly heard worse from Junko, but for some reason he seemed much more bothered than usual.
"I would never kill for a reason as petty as mere survival!" said Justice. "Even for an asshole like you. And even if in some fluke I did kill to survive, why would I bother with the calling card? It'd make me the obvious suspect! I take pride in my work! Why would I call attention to a freak accident where by chance I off some random douchebag? My calling card is a warning! What good would it do to confuse people? I have a message to send to the world! My streak would be ruined. I hate inconsistency."
"That… does make some amount of sense," said Celeste.
"Yeah, but," said Junko. "Even after all that, it's still just your word against Byakuya's. And you know how I feel about him, but at least he's not a serial killer."
"Eeehh!" Justice made a loud buzzer noise with her mouth, making an "x" motion with her hands. "Ad hominem abusive!"
"Perhaps if you had an alibi…" mused Celeste. "It might be another story."
Justice quirked an eyebrow. "An alibi, aye? Anyone happen to know what the Gloomy Fangirl Freak might've been up to last night? I haven't had a night out on the town in a while, but we do share the same body after all. Kyehahaha!"
For a moment, everyone looked around to each other in silence. Then, Hina raised her hand, taking a deep breath.
"Look," said Hina. "As much as I think you're horrible and crazy, I have to say something. I don't think the killer can be Toko... or Jill."
"Why do you say that?" asked Celeste.
"Because… Toko was with me all last night," said Hina.
"What?" cried Hiro with a gasp.
"Why didn't you say that in the first place!" cried Junko.
"I'm sorry!" said Hina, glaring at them. "I didn't know it mattered!"
"Hang on," said Leon. "What do you mean 'with you'?"
Hina grit her teeth. "I am going to kick your ass. Look, the only reason I didn't say anything is because Toko begged me to keep it a secret. And I wasn't gonna say anything but. She's not here right now. And she needs an alibi. As much as we—well… As much we've fought, I can't let an innocent person go down for this. One mistake kills us all."
"So you're an altruist, now?" said Celeste. "You've certainly changed your tune since the last trial. One might even call it growth."
"Lay off," said Mondo. "Forget about all that, let's focus on what really matters here!"
"Yes!" said Taka. "What matters is that Toko's got an alibi!"
"Toko stayed with me last night," said Hina. "She said she was 'feeling switchy'. I didn't know what that meant, but it sounded bad. She seemed scared, so, of course, I let her stay. I know we haven't always gotten along, but she told me that she was afraid of being left alone. I figured it was about the motive or something. She was acting weird all night."
Justice gasped. "I remember you! Only glimpses. I was only out for a minute or so. But I'd never forget a pretty face like yours. Or a rack like yours either." She lowers her glasses to peer over them, wolf-whistling comically.
Hina grimaced, blushing bright red. "Don't make me regret defending you. I still think you're disgusting."
"It's okay, Honey," said Justice.
"It's Hina," corrected Hina under her breath, but Justice ignored her.
"You don't need to love me. You've done plenty!" said Justice. "But now that my oh-so-innocent name has been cleared, it's just got a serial killer wondering. Who did plant the mask? They've nearly soiled my good reputation!"
"Good… reputation?" scoffed Junko. "You must be joking."
"Well," said Kyoko. "Chihiro was the first one to bring up the theory, but the one who pushed the most for the Sparking Justice suspect was... you, Byakuya." She turned to look directly at him.
For a moment, he said nothing. Then… He chuckled. Actually, chuckled.
"Fine. I own up to it."
"Why are you being so calm about this?" screamed Hina. "You did it! You're the one who planted that mask!"
"I own up to tampering with the crime scene," said Byakuya. "It'd be better if you had more evidence to back up your claim, but I'll make this easy for you. If you want to prove that I'm the culprit, you'll have to try a little harder."
"You—You actually did that?" said Hina. "You're sick! You know that?"
"How in that fucked up head of yours could you even begin to think that was okay?" asked Leon.
"I don't expect simple-minded—" began Byakuya, but Leon cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Call me whatever you like, simple-minded, stupid, idiotic. I've heard it all before," snapped Leon.
"Why the fuck would you do something like that?" Junko asked Byakuya.
"Because it made the trial more interesting?" said Byakuya. "Next question, or are we done here?"
"God, you fuckin weirdo," said Leon. "I bet you did kill him."
Junko sighed in frustration, throwing her hands up. "This was just a huge waste of time! All that, and we still don't have a suspect!"
"Actually, yes we do," said Hina. "Since it clearly wasn't Toko, the only suspect we really have… is Leon."
"H-Hang on a sec," said Leon. "Byakuya tampered with the crime scene! Doesn't that make him at least equally as suspicious?"
"But we don't have anything else on him!" said Junko. "So as soon as you find something, by all means, share it."
"Wait," said Leon. "Byakuya tampered with the crime scene."
"Yes," said Junko. "We know that already, Genius."
"No," said Leon. "Byakuya tampered with the crime scene."
"I… honestly don't get what you're playing at," said Junko with a sigh.
I didn't get it either.
"He was at the crime scene!" said Leon. "Don't you see? He was at the crime scene!"
"Saying it more than once isn't gonna make it start making sense," said Junko.
"Monokuma!" said Leon to the bear who had been drifting off in his seat.
"Whuh?" said Monokuma with a yawn. "I'm awake! I'm awake, I'm awake!" he cried, coming to his senses. "What is up?"
"When do you deliver the body discovery announcement?" asked Leon.
"Awww, that's all?" asked Monokuma. "No developments yet? I thought I was being woken up for something actually interesting!"
"Just answer the question," said Mondo.
"The body discovery announcement is delivered once three or more people discover a body!" said Monokuma.
"And it's precise?" asked Leon.
"Yes!" said Monokuma. "I keep a close eye on you critters, so it is very accurate!"
"Three people?" asked Leon.
"Yes," said Monokuma.
"Three," he said again. "Always three. Unless more than three arrive at the same time. Right?"
"Yes!" said Monokuma, growing more and more irritated.
"Leon, what are you getting at?" asked Hina. Her voice was exasperated. Tired.
"I swear this has a point," Leon said to her. He looked back to Monokuma, on high alert now, as if hanging onto his every word. "Does that include the culprit?"
"I'm sorry, does what include the culprit?" asked Monokuma.
"Don't beat around the question!" said Leon. "Does the culprit count in the three people when you make the announcement?"
Monokuma didn't answer.
"Do they count?" demanded Leon.
Monokuma still looked hesitant to answer. "It… depends on the case."
"Well, for this case," cut in Kyoko. "Tell us the truth."
Monokuma looked sullen. "You aren't supposed to use the body discovery announcement as evidence!"
"Well, that's too bad," said Junko. "We're using what we got here, so you're going to answer the question."
"The culprit… doesn't count," admitted Monokuma.
"Even if they come back later?" prompted Leon, eyes wide. He was more attentive than I'd ever seen him, like his life depended on it. It occured to me that his like probably did depend on the answer.
"Yes! After all, you can't re-discover a body. Especially when you're the one that put it there in the first place! That wouldn't make any sense! Are we done now? I want to get back to my nap!" Monokuma was definitely irritated.
We all looked at one another.
"Well?" asked Celeste. "What does that even mean?"
Leon didn't answer. Instead, he let out a deep sigh of relief. And, to my utter bewilderment, he began to laugh.
Weakly. Shakily, but it was definitely a laugh.
I couldn't understand what on Earth was so funny.
Junko voiced my confusion out loud. "What the hell is so funny?"
Leon wiped at his eyes, continuing to laugh silently. "Don't you get it? It can't be me! I'm the third person!"
And then, it clicked.
"Ya lost me there, kid," said Mondo.
"He's the third person to discover the body," I explained.
"The announcement didn't go off until after I'd already arrived on scene!" said Leon. "I thought I was the third person to find it, but since Byakuya admitted to tampering with the body, that proves I should have been the fourth!"
"But, that still checks out," said Sayaka. "The body discovery announcement goes off once three or more people discover a body, remember?"
"It could have been a delayed announcement," said Celeste.
"But that rule refers to when multiple people arrive at a time! Why would the announcement go off at four people when it had all this time to go off at three? That's inconsistent with the rules."
"But… I don't get why the announcement would be delayed to go off at four people," said Chihiro.
"Because, like Monokuma said, you can't re-discover a body," said Kyoko. "They didn't count as one of the three."
"So… The real culprit must've been one of the first few people to 'find' Makoto!" said Taka.
"Exactly! I should be the fourth person to discover the body, but I'm the third!" said Leon.
"I—I really don't—" began Hina, still looking as confused as ever.
"It's ok," I said. "We'll go through it right now. In order."
"Okay!" said Leon. "Who was the first person to discover the body?
"... Byakuya?" said Hina.
"Right! Who was the second?"
"Mukuro and Sayaka were second and third," said Hiro.
"Right again!" Leon counted them off again on his fingers. "One was Byakuya. Two was Mukuro. Three was Sayaka. And I'm the fourth! But. The announcement isn't supposed to go off after four, does it? It goes off after three."
"You're just saying numbers!" said Junko.
"It… makes sense if you think about it," I said.
"The culprit doesn't count among the three," said Kyoko. "Right? A culprit can't discover a body. They can't discover a death that they caused."
"That is so confusing," muttered Sayaka.
"But," said Kyoko, "it greatly narrows the possibilities when it comes to suspects. Which is something I bet Monokuma never anticipated."
Monokuma hung his head in dejection. "The body discovery announcement. Used as a weapon against me. How could my own paws betray me like this?"
"Quit being so melodramatic," said Junko.
"It also rules out suicide as an option," said Celeste.
"So what you're saying is…" said Hina.
"Thanks to Monokuma's little slip-up we now know. The culprit can only be one of three people," said Kyoko. "Byakuya. Sayaka. Or Mukuro."
All eyes fell upon the three of us.
"Well done," said Byakuya. "Using the body discovery announcement as evidence. Very clever."
"'Well done'?" asked Leon, incredulous. "I narrow down the list of suspects to three people that includes you and all you can say is 'well done'?"
Byakuya shrugged. "I can't deny facts."
Leon snorted. "Obviously, it's Byakuya," he said. "I mean, you all saw how much time he spent trying to deflect blame to Toko. And he's also the least bent up about Makoto."
"He… certainly is suspicious," said Celeste.
"And only a boy would have access to the boys locker room!" said Taka.
"Hang on," said Kyoko. "Let's make sure of that first."
"Why do even we need to check?" asked Hina.
"Kyoko, I agree with Hina," said Sayaka. "I don't see how a girl would even have access the boys room."
"I… I can think of a way," said Byakuya. "How about this for a theory. A girl could have access if… she met Makoto on the pool deck, then got into the boys locker room from the entrance on that side."
"But, the doors have locks that way, too," said Leon.
"Yes, exactly," said Sayaka.
"Well," said Byakuya. "A female victim could have used Makoto's ID to get in."
"I did find it in his pocket during my investigation," I said, my voice hollow. "The culprit could have used it, and left it there."
It wasn't me. Which meant there were only two possibilities… And one of them...
"Why would you say that?" said Junko. "You're just going to implicate yourself, you know that right?"
I shrugged, still finding it hard to emote. "We... have to explore all the possibilities. It's my job. I have discover the truth." I said the words, but for once, they felt hollow. Meaningless.
Strangely, I felt little fear for my own life. I knew that I was innocent. That was enough for me. I hoped the others would see that. But, if it wasn't Byakuya…
What was the point of the truth if it led to an answer you didn't want to hear?
I wanted to believe in innocence. Still, in order to believe, you had to overcome doubt. If Sayaka was innocent, we'd know by the end. We had to follow this train of thought to the end. The truth would come out. I believed that.
"Hang on," said Junko. "Is that even allowed?"
"Is what allowed?" I asked.
"Using another person's ID," said Junko.
Byakuya looked to Monokuma. "Well?"
Monokuma giggled behind his paws, giddy with delight. "I see you found my loophole! Yes, lending your handbook to another student is forbidden, but there is not rule against taking a handbook without permission! And since the victims are no longer alive, they technically do not count as students. Therefore, it's not lending! Puhuhuhuhuhu!"
"What a reach," muttered Junko.
"You planned this on purpose, didn't you?" asked Byakuya. "You kept the wording ambiguous for this exact reason."
"Well... things were getting slow again," mused Monokuma. "I wanted to… give you guys an extra push! That's all!"
"Ok, but… where does that leave us?" asked Hina. "We tried to narrow the suspects, but it still is down to three people. Is there anything else we have to go off of?"
"I hate to say it," said Hina. "But does anyone else think it might be Mukuro?"
"I feel that," said Leon. "I mean, how can we trust anything Mukuro says? For all we know, she—she could have been feeding us the wrong information this whole time!"
A faint rumbling grew as I could hear the others whispering to each other.
"Because everything checks out," said Kyoko. "Mukuro doesn't do our thinking for us. She can extrapolate points from her investigation, but it was all already there. We just needed someone to point us in the right direction. You already knew Makoto received CPR. Chihiro and Byakuya both put together the identity of Sparkling Justice. And you were the one who used the body discovery announcement as evidence."
"But being good at solving mysteries is just the right background for knowing just how to get away with murder. Without arousing suspicion," said Leon. "I mean, out of the our leads, who are you more likely to buy? The model who can't look at a body without crying? The chick who studies dead bodies for a living? Or the guy who literally tried to frame another student for murder because it would be fun?"
"You—You guys know me by now. You know there's no—no way I'm capable of killing anyone, let alone Makoto," sobbed Sayaka.
"It's okay, Sayaka," I said. "Nobody is blaming you."
"Not yet," snickered Junko.
"I still think it's Byakuya," grumbled Leon.
"Oh… I'm not so sure," said Junko.
"What?" asked Hina. "What do you mean?"
"Didn't you see? Makoto has nail marks on his face," said Junko.
"What does that hafta do with anything?" asked Mondo.
"Compare the hands of our suspects," said Junko.
"Sayaka is the only one of the three suspects with long nails," said Kyoko. "And Mukuro wears gloves."
"Nobody wears gloves while swimming, genius," said Junko.
"So that means what, exactly?" asked Mondo.
"My point is that wearing long nails under gloves is both impractical and uncomfortable," said Kyoko. "Is this the case?"
"Yes," I said, the question straightforward, but I could feel the lump forming in my throat nonetheless. "I—I don't want to, but…" I took a deep breath. "I can show you, if you like."
"I—No, hang on a sec. That is such a fucking leap!" said Leon.
"I—I'm telling you it's not true." said Sayaka. "Why don't you believe me?"
"Hang on," I said. "Kyoko, I—that does seem a bit shaky," I said, but deep down I knew I was trying to convince myself just as much if not more than I was trying to convince her. Despite the fact that she was trying to clear my name, I… I didn't like this at all. "Isn't it our job to consider every possibility?"
"Such as?" asked Kyko.
"Like… Me, for instance!" I said. "Why aren't you interrogating me? I'm just as suspicious."
"Fine," said Kyoko, but her tone was terse. She seemed to be losing patience. "Then explain the fingernail marks."
"This isn't right," said Hina. "I refuse to believe Sayaka could do something like this. Sayaka was there for me when I was—" She stopped, catching herself. She took a deep breath. "When I was… at my lowest point. Could some of you say the same thing?"
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"I—I don't want to do this to any of my friends," said Chihiro. "I can't do this again. I just can't."
Oh, how I wanted to believe Sayaka.
"Belief cannot be blind," said Kyoko. "Mukuro. You know this. It's not enough to put faith in blind trust."
"What does that even mean?" asked Junko.
"I believe what Kyoko is trying to say," said Taka. "Is that. Trust is… that much stronger if you can overcome doubt. If… you know the truth, then you can finally shake your doubt. But it has to be there. You can't just ignore it. You prove your doubts wrong. You prove you were right to believe."
"Exactly." Kyoko looked to me.
"... Okay," I said, finally surrendering. "Okay. Go on. I—I won't stop you."
For a moment, Sayaka said nothing. Then, "Mukuro... Is that really all you can say?" asked Sayaka.
I avoided her eyes.
"I thought you of all people would—would understand! I—I was so stupid!," said Sayaka. "Now I see for the first time what's going on. When placed under pressure, even a friend will turn their back on you."
"Sayaka, I—"
"I—I don't know why I was stupid enough to believe that you would be on my side. I—I trusted you. I just figured y—you would believe me. I should've known you'd choose to save your own skin," said Sayaka.
"That—That's not true!" I said. "That's not what I—"
"It is true!" she said, demeanor changing again as she seethed at me. "Look at yourself. You're willing to deflect blame onto anyone as long as it's not on you. It doesn't matter who you take down, as long as you get out of here unscathed."
"Sayaka. As much as I'd love to take your word for it," said Kyoko. "Sometimes, word isn't enough. Sometimes, all you can really trust is evidence."
"Well then," said Leon. "That just means—It's gotta be… If Sayaka is the killer—Then why does all the evidence seem to point to me? Explain that."
"Aw, and Area Man is so close to almost getting the point. You two are thick as thieves," said Junko. "It's adorable, really. I could throw up just thinking about it."
"Oh, sweetheart," tutted Justice, shaking her head. "Why does the evidence for killing her supposed crush all point to you? It's always about trying to get your dick wet, isn't it? But, I guess you're the lesser of two evils here. Put it together, sweetie." At the confused glances she was receiving, she just said, "What? I pick things up quick! Tell me you didn't miss their piping red hot romantic chemistry." She cackled gleefully. "You can practically cut through the tension with a knife! He wants in her pants, I can always tell."
"Fuck off!" said Leon. "You don't know shit, and if you think Sayaka would ever do that then you're wrong!"
"But, Jill, that doesn't make any sense," said Sayaka. "I can't believe any of you would think I would ever kill Makoto. You know how much I—I..."
"I've been trying to figure it out myself," said Byakuya. "Why someone like you kill someone like Makoto. Surely it wasn't because someone as trusting and, well, naive as Makoto would be an ideal target." His voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Please," said Junko, rolling her eyes. "If she wanted to use someone who would be at her beck and call, I think you got the wrong guy."
"I'm telling you, that doesn't make any sense," said Leon. "But someone like Byakuya who has been shady from day one is way more suspicious! Like he would even need a motive to kill any one of us."
"I don't have a deathwish—as certain as I am that I could outsmart each and every one of you. If I were to commit the crime, you can trust me to wait for the opportune moment."
"How does 'Byakuya killed Makoto and tried to frame Toko' not sound like the clear solution here?" asked Leon.
"It would have to depend on the time," said Chihiro quietly, perhaps hoping the others would not hear.
Several heads turned to look at her in confusion.
"Byakuya spends a lot of time in the library," said Chihiro. "He was still there when I went to sleep around midnight."
"Yes. I left not long after," said Byakuya.
"The file states the time of death was around 11 p.m.," said Taka—who has already pulled out his handbook and was reading through the case file.
"So, then... it can't be Byakuya," said Hina, eyes wide with realization. "He has an alibi."
"Unfortunately, that appears to be the case," said Celeste.
"Unfortunately?" said Byakuya tersely.
"Oh, you know she prays for your death at least once a day," said Junko.
Justice sighed dramatically. "What a shame! I was really hoping for an excuse to kill him."
"Considering how he acts, I could make the argument that you still should," muttered Junko, but she was ignored.
"Well, with this new information, it would mean," said Celeste. "There are only two remaining suspects, and considering all the other evidence, the most likely suspect… is Sayaka."
I didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be true. I'd been trying to block out this possibility from my mind—all trial trying to tell myself that it was Leon, then Byakuya. Certainly not Sayaka. Because… that would have been crazy, unthinkable even. I'd trusted her. She'd called me her friend for Christ's sake! If she was bad—what did that say about me?
"What?" asked Leon, sounding about as confused as I felt. "That has to be some kind of joke, right?"
"You're the one who really narrowed the list of suspects. You should know better than anyone that this is the truth," said Celeste.
"That—That's insane," said Sayaka. "How can you even say that? Is this even a discussion? Mukuro hasn't—I haven't been a suspect this entire trial. You don't even have evidence of involvement. Or a motive. This whole idea stems from a mistimed body discovery announcement and some shaky logic."
"But—" said Leon, struggling for words. "I mean—Come on. That can't be right. Byakuya is obviously the most suspicious one. Chihiro, are you sure he was there the whole time?" asked Leon.
I was equally as baffled as Leon, but I knew one thing for certain.
I was not the culprit.
"Positive," said Chihiro, frown on her tiny features. She didn't look happy to be giving that answer. "He's not hard to miss. I can hear him tapping from all the way—"
Byakuya cleared his throat, and Chihiro shook her head and lowered her gaze once more.
"Nevermind."
"What would I gain from killing Makoto?" asked Sayaka.
"Well… I dunno," said Mondo. "How 'bout this—what if it wasn't on purpose?"
"You mean an accident?" asked Celeste.
"Yeah, that's what 'not on purpose' means, " grumbled Mondo.
"I… I don't have to take this from anyone," said Sayaka, beginning to grow indignant. "How to you expect me to respond to these accusations until there's evidence?"
If it wasn't Byakuya, and it wasn't me, then…
"Sayaka," I said.
"Mukuro!" said Sayaka, relief washing over her expression. She trusted me. Which was going to make this hurt all the more. "Mukuro, you believe me, don't you? Tell them I'm innocent!"
"Did you kill him?" I asked. As if by some miracles being straight forward could will her to tell the truth. Whatever truth that may be. Whether I liked the answer or not.
"Of course, I didn't!" said Sayaka. "You know that!"
And just looking at her, seeing her face. I probably would have believed her. I wanted to believe her more than anything. And she sounded so honest, so desperate. Just begging me, her friend, to understand.
But it wasn't Byakuya. And it definitely wasn't me.
I don't know what I was expecting. Guilt? Remorse? Some sort of tearful confession? It was at this moment that I realized we were getting none of it.
And while a part of me wanted desperately to believe her, a stronger part of me hated her from killing Makoto. And then lying to me about it. All while insisting we were friends.
"Tell us the truth!" I demanded. "Did you kill him?"
She didn't answer.
I scowled, looking away at the floor. "I hate you… I'll never forgive you for this."
"Well then, Sayaka. If you're not the killer, whose fingernail marks are those found on the body?" asked Kyoko.
"I—I don't know!" said Sayaka. "Don't you guys get it? I don't know. I don't have the answers. I was so shaken this morning. Wouldn't you be, too, if you found your friend d—dead on the floor? I haven't b-been able to think straight all day. But I swear, it wasn't me!"
"Can you prove it?"
"Prove it?" asked Sayaka.
Leon stopped in realization, a complete change in mood. "Wait. Proof. Proof! Do you have any proof that Sayaka was the one in the pool room last night?"
"It's becoming clear that whatever is at the bottom of that pool is essential to solving this mystery!" said Taka.
"If only we knew what was there..." said Hina, sounded deflated.
Hiro gasped. "Field trip?"
Monokuma shook his head. "We don't have all day to fish some stupid scrap of junk out of a pool! This gets settled right here!"
"Look, that pool filter is fucked. Whoever went in there messed with the wires," said Junko. "We are not touching it."
"It's fine. We already know," said Byakuya.
"We do?" asked Chihiro.
"Well, I think we can figure it out," said Kyoko.
"How?" asked Hina.
"How about…" said Hiro. "Not by looking at what is there, but instead what isn't there."
"What do you mean?" asked Hina.
"I think he means," said Kyoko. "Not by looking at evidence we found, but by looking for evidence that is missing from the scene of the crime."
"Like what?" asked Hina.
"Well, we still haven't found a decisive murder weapon," said Taka.
"Do we really need to one?" asked Junko. "If the victim drowned, there may not have been any weapon involved—"
"One of the dumbbells is missing," said Mondo, cutting off Junko.
"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Hina.
"The locker room has a set amount of workout gear," said Taka.
"That could be it!" said Chihiro.
"But you guys were saying Makoto didn't suffer external trauma," said Hina.
"No, not like that," said Junko. "A dumbell can weigh a person down. Catch my drift?"
"Ok… how does that help us?" asked Hina.
"Could be the object we found in the water," said Hiro. "Don'tcha think?"
"And there's one more thing," said Byakuya.
"And what is that?" asked Kyoko.
"One of the E-handbooks is missing," said Byakuya.
"Christ," muttered Junko. She glared at Byakuya. "Were you waiting to drop that bomb this whole time?"
"Never mind that! Which one is missing?" asked Hina earnestly. "That should at least give us something."
"We, um… We don't actually know," I said. "The remaining one is broken."
"It's like you want the culprit to go free," said Byakuya. I could almost feel him rolling his eyes. "I suppose hoping you could put it together was expecting too much."
I grit my teeth, glaring at him, but he ignored me.
"Well, wh—whatever it means, why does it even matter?" asked Mondo. "I'm sure it ain't important." He was avoiding everyone's gaze.
"Hang on," said Hiro. "I feel like I'm a step behind."
"What a shocker," muttered Junko, but Hiro ignored her.
"What E-handbooks are we talkin' about here?" he asked.
"The E-handbooks of the students who are—who have passed." I said. "They're being kept in a box in the entrance hall."
"Oh, right!" said Hiro. "That's where Sakura's and Hifumi's are being kept, yeah?"
"Yes, well. That is where they were being kept," said Byakuya.
"So cryptic," said Junko, shaking her head and muttering to herself.
"My question is," began Celeste, "why would the one remaining handbook be broken?"
"Well, that's easy," said Byakuya. "Mukuro?"
I shrugged, unable to muster up any kind of emotion. "It must have been destroyed," I said matter of factly. I was tired. Defeated. "But our IDs don't have many weak points. This we've confirmed with Monokuma."
"Yep!" said Monokuma. "In fact, the E-handbook only has one weakness! They're very durable!"
"And yet this one appears to be broken," said Celeste coolly.
"So…" said Hina impatiently. "What is it?"
"What is what?" asked Monokuma.
"What is the weakness!"
"Oh." Monokuma hung his head solemnly. He appeared to be pouting. "Well, if I tell you, you might use the secret to destroy your own!"
"Ugh, enough already!" said Junko. "Why would we destroy our own handbooks?"
I already had a hunch, but I wanted to hear it from Monokuma himself to confirm.
"Well…" said Monokuma. "If you must know, the E-Handbook's one weakness is it's poor resistance to fire and high heat!"
So it was just as I thought.
"That's all we needed to know," I said. I knew who that ID belonged to.
"But… as far as we know, neither Hifumi's nor Sakura's handbook have been exposed to heat," said Taka, confused expression on his face.
"Yes, but," I said, "We do know someone whose E-handbook has been exposed to extreme heat."
"We know someone who…" began Taka, puzzled expression on his heavily knit brow. "As in, you and I know someone?" Realization dawned on his face, nearly jumping in his seat. "Of course! That's right! We do know someone that fits the criteria!"
I nodded.
When Taka didn't elaborate any further, Junko spoke in her impatience.
"Well, who?" demanded Junko.
"I—" Taka hesitated, posture deflated as if suddenly unsure of his certainty. He frowned. It was clear he was trying not to give anything away, but his gaze turned directly to Mondo."I don't know if—"
"It's fine." Mondo sighed, shaking his head and grumbling to himself. "Yeah, it's me."
"Sorry, brother!" said Taka. "I didn't mean to—"
"Nah, we're good!" said Mondo. "S'not a big deal. But yeah, I broke my ID the other day. I just didn't want to make this a whole weird thing."
"How?" asked Hina.
"How what?" asked Mondo.
"How'd you break it?" asked Hina. "Your E-handbook."
"If you guys remember Mondo and Taka's endurance competition," I said, "What you guys probably didn't know is that Mondo actually wore his clothes into the sauna."
"Yeah, yeah," said Mondo. "And in the process I may have gotten carried away and forgotten to take out my E-handbook."
"And so you swapped your handbook out with Hifumi's?" asked Celeste."
Mondo avoided meeting anyone's gaze. "Look, I know I'm already starting to build the rep that I'm reckless. I just figured I could swap 'em out without mentionin' it."
"I'm sorry, Mondo, for saying anything!" said Taka.
"Look, I said we're cool," said Mondo. "I mean for this? This shit's important. It—It ain't a problem, ya know? Besides," he added, much more quietly, "It's, I dunno, kinda cool that ya figured it out," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head and avoiding looking directly at his friend.
Of course, Taka had had a little help from me, but I decided to let him have this one. We needed at least one small victory today. With the rest of this process being downright miserable.
"So then we can conclude," said Celeste, "that the broken E-handbook found in the entrance hall does not belong to Sakura or Hifumi. Rather, it belongs to Mondo, yes?"
Mondo nodded. "Yep. I got his right here." He pulled Hifumi's E-handbook out of his coat pocket, turning it on and showing it to us. Sure enough, it had Hifumi's name on it.
"Well," said Celeste. "That is all very interesting. And I am glad to know where Hifumi's handbook has disappeared. However, I think we can all agree at the more imperative problem."
"By all means," said Byakuya.
"Where is Sakura's handbook?" asked Celeste. "As it happens, I'm afraid I'm all out of ideas."
"Same here," said Hina.
"Best guess? Probably at the bottom of the pool with the dumbell the culprit used to drown Big Mac!" said Justice with a cackle.
Junko sighed, shuddering and grimacing as if trying to steel herself. "Byakuya, any ideas?"
"Let's just see where this goes."
I didn't like the smirk on his face.
"I don't see how any of this has any bearing on the trial!" said Leon. "Makoto was found in the boys locker room. Why does a girl's ID even matter for this case? You don't need a girl's ID to enter the boys room. This is so stupid!"
"Yes, but a girl does need a girl's ID just to generally exist in the day to day," I said.
"See, if we just abolished the need for gender markers on forms identification, we wouldn't have these kinds of problems," said Hiro. "In fact, let's just be rid of all forms of ID."
"You had me for a sec there," said Junko, with a sigh."
"'Official identification' and 'record keeping' is just authoritarian propaganda!" said Hiro. "The less people know about me the better!"
"Mondo's E-handbook was broken," said Sayaka. "That's why he took Hifumi's. My handbook is right here. In what situation would I have broken my handbook so badly that I need a replacement? Last time I checked, I've never gone in the sauna with my clothes on."
I didn't really have a rebuttal, but I just knew it was her. I just knew it. I couldn't articulate why I knew; maybe it was just because pressing on with this case was making me physically sick to my stomach. Instead, Kyoko answered for me.
"What if you didn't break it?" asked Kyoko. "What if you just... lost it?"
"Wh—what do you mean?" asked Sayaka.
"Well, if you misplaced it, I assume it would probably just turn up eventually," said Kyoko. "However, say you dropped it somewhere that made it nearly impossible to get back."
"Like, at the bottom of a ten foot pool, for instance," said Byakuya. "If you're a poor swimmer, I can't imagine you'd want to try to get that back."
"Oooooh," said Junko. "Which. You claim to be."
"That—" said Sayaka, eyes wide. "That doesn't have anything to do with—"
"You've seen Sayaka swim!" said Leon.
"Plenty of people can manage in the shallow end," said Junko. "In water over 10 feet deep? That's a different story. Would you risk going down there with the potential of drowning?"
"And that would give you reason to break the filter," I said. "Because you didn't want us to see whatever is at the bottom of that pool."
Sayaka looked positively backed into a corner. Like a deer caught in headlights. Luckily, someone came to her rescue, as always.
"Do you hear yourself?" said Leon. "All this is just speculation. Stupid, stupid, stupid! You need proof!"
"Well," I said. "You have the injuries to prove it. Don't you?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Sayaka.
"When Makoto struggled against you, he left injuries, didn't he?"
I thought back to that morning, before the investigation. I'd grabbed her arm, and she'd winced. I'd thought I'd been too rough, but that wasn't it, was it?
"I—I don't have to take this from you!" said Sayaka.
"Isn't that basically an admission of guilt?" asked Byakuya.
"I'm telling you, it's not what you think," said Sayaka.
"Sayaka," I said. It was one last implore.
"What?" She glared at me. I'd never seen her glare at me with so much malice and venom. With her face contorted with rage, it was the first time I'd ever seen her look… ugly.
"It's over." My voice was dead. Defeated. "Just tell us. Then it'll be over. Do you have Sakura's E-handbook?"
"You can't just—" began Leon, but Sayaka cut him off.
"It's alright, Leon," she said. She pulled out her handbook, turning it on to reveal Sakura's name on the opening screen—and the truth. It wasn't really her handbook at all. "It's right here."
"S—Sayaka?" Leon's eyes were wide. "So it really was you?"
"I'm sorry," said Sayaka.
"No!"
"Alright!" said Monokuma. "Well, I think that concludes our time. Everyone, put your votes in!"
"No! We're not done here!" said Leon.
"And make sure that everyone votes! You don't want to make a mistake. Who will be chosen as the blackened. Will you pick the right person? Or the dreadfully wrong one?"
"You're not listening to me!" said Leon.
But we couldn't stop. We had no other choice. All we could do was press forward. With a heavy heart and a trembling hand, I cast my vote for "Sayaka Maizono". The rest followed in suit, all but one. Until Monokuma snapped at him.
"Kuwata. You're the last one!"
Leon grit his teeth, sterling himself until he finally made a choice.
When all our votes were in, the monitor started up, the same monitor as last trial, and in slow forming block letters:
"SAYAKA MAIZONO IS FOUND: GUILTY"
Monokuma laughed. "Guessed right again! That's two for two now! You make me a proud papa bear."
Hina glared at him. "You're a monster," she said.
Monokuma ignored her. "But looks like we have another straggler. Mister Kuwata, what are you doing, voting for yourself? Not trying to pull a Hina, are we?"
"What am I doing? I—I refuse to believe it!" he said. "This has to be some sort of mistake. Come on, tell us the truth. Sayaka, you're no killer!"
Monokuma cooed. "Attachment sure is a funny thing, no? Ah, young love. To be young, and to feel love's keen sting. Saw that in a movie once."
"It doesn't make any sense," said Leon. "Makoto trusted you. You trusted him! You—You guys were friends. Why would you do it?"
"I—I'm not a bloodthirsty killer," said Sayaka. "It was a mistake."
"A pretty deadly mistake if you ask me," said Junko.
"Even now you deny it?" asked Celeste.
"What the hell?" said Hina. "Killing someone is not just a mistake! You—You're a murderer!"
"No, that's not what I… I pulled him under," said Sayaka. "It's my fault. I regretted it as soon as it was over. As soon as I realized what I'd done."
"So you're the one who tried to save him," whispered Kyoko.
"I d-didn't know what to do," said Sayaka. "I panicked, but, it was too late to take it back so... I did the only thing I could. I took it as my way out. None of you are any different! What would you have done?"
"I would rather die than betray my friends!" said Taka.
"Well, Sayaka didn't feel the same way," said Byakuya. "Besides, who said anything about being friends?"
Hina gasped. "You—You comforted me! I trusted you! You said it was gonna be alright, I can't believe I fell for that!"
"Clearly, Sayaka is more deceptive than she lets on. You lured him there, didn't you?" said Byakuya. "Poor naive, trusting Makoto was the perfect victim. So happy to help. Not knowing it would lead to his death."
Sayaka said nothing.
Justice laughed raucously. "Damn! That's cold, and that's coming from me!"
Sayaka still refused to acknowledge them. Instead, she looked to me. "Mukuro?"
"Why would do it?" I asked. I had to at least try.
"Why?" Monokuma cackled, cutting in before she could even answer. "For despair of course!"
"Shut up!" said Leon. He was boiling with rage, practically shaking. "You son of a bitch, just keep your mouth shut, this is all your fault!"
"Must've been one hell of a secret," said Junko.
"Secret?" asked Hiro.
"Our motives," said Celeste. "I see no other reason Sayaka would feel reason to kill a person like Makoto."
"My dream is everything," whispered Sayaka. "Without it, I have nothing. I am nothing. If anything compromised it, I—I'd die."
"Dream?" asked Chihiro.
"My talent. My career, my future, my dream. All of it. I didn't have any other future. If my secret got out, I—I'd be ruined."
"But you didn't have to kill!" said Hina. "Don't you see? That didn't have to be the answer."
"I didn't plan to!" said Sayaka. "It just… happened. When Monokuma revealed our second motive, I really thought it was going to be the end. If he had, everything would have been ruined. Everything I've worked for. Gone. All the guilt I'd been carrying around. For nothing. It really seemed hopeless. I felt nothing but despair. I thought my life was over. But…"
"But, what?" asked Chihiro.
"But—I know this is terrible… But when Makoto came to me, I saw a way out. I was so scared. When I realized I couldn't take it back. For the first time, I—" She looked up at us. "I felt hope."
"How can you say that?" asked Hina.
"I guess the lovely and beautiful Sayaka Maizono was not so lovely after all!" said Monokuma.
"I'm guessing whatever that secret was," said Byakuya, "must have been a threat to the image she had curated. That's why she had to keep it from ever getting out."
"What could possibly have been so bad that you would kill to keep it a secret?" demanded Hina.
Sayaka looked to Monokuma. "You've already destroyed everything," said Sayaka. "Must you take this away, too? Even my dignity? How can you bring me any lower?"
"I see I have you all on the edge of your seats!" said Monokuma. He yawned. "Honestly, what do want me to say? An imagination is a terrible thing to waste. What could I say that could possibly measure up to your fucked up expectations?"
"Nobody is asking you to tell us!" said Taka.
"I dunno, I kinda wanna know now," said Junko.
"Blah, blah, blah. She slept with people for jobs. She had work done. She pushed a rival down the stairs? Fill in the blanks, it's not that hard!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Mondo. "I think it matters a little bit! Those don't match up at all!"
Junko gasped. "Satomi Aoba? That was you?"
"Who is Satomi Aoba?" asked Hiro.
"She's another one of those fashion girls," said Junko. "That girl is paralyzed! That whole incident is your fault?"
"I mean," said Monokuma. "That's just a theory. A murder theory! No, that doesn't work at all," he muttered to himself.
"Stop it!" I said. "Stop it, stop it, stop it! Can't you see what it's doing to her?"
She was pale, shivering, completely helpless.
"Enough already!" snapped Monokuma, growling. "I'm tired of this! I wanna get on with this stupid trial!"
"That's the problem, wasn't it?" said Sayaka. "Everyone, everyone, thought I was just so perfect. Makoto was so sure I was a good person. He believed in me. That we would all do the right thing. But that was his mistake. He tried to help he really did, but it's no use. In my world it's near impossible to make it and be a good person. It just doesn't happen. You won't survive. But I had to survive, no matter what it takes. People take one glance, and they think I must have it all. But you can't be perfect all the time. I guess I couldn't take the pressure, and I just… snapped. Makoto was a much better person than I'll ever be. I guess I was jealous. He was showing me everything I hated about myself. I'm not… I'm not good."
"That's… not true," whispered Chihiro.
"What?" asked Sayaka.
"You're not bad."
"What are you talking about?" said Junko. "Chihiro, she killed Makoto. He is gone. That is unforgivable."
"I know," said Chihiro. "But bad people don't feel bad for the things they've done. She may not be all good, but. She's not all bad."
"How do you know she's not just lying again, like she's been doing this whole time?" said Junko.
"Because she did feel bad," I said, voice hush, unable to muster up strength.
I felt terrible. There was something about the way she was talking. She sounded so defeated. So alone. Like she was trying to remain with what little dignity she had.
I was sure she was the culprit. But there were aspects of the trial that were still confusing. If Sayaka couldn't swim well, why would she try to drown Makoto in deep water? What was the dumbell for?
Then it struck me.
It was a mistake.
"Sis, what are you talking about?" asked Junko.
"She did try to save him. Don't you remember?" I asked. "The CPR. Maybe we don't know why she did it. Maybe it was for the wrong reasons. Maybe she just didn't want to get caught. Maybe she really did feel bad. But she did try to save him."
Byakuya was wrong about that little detail. She hadn't tried to lure Makoto in at all.
"I—I know I screwed up," said Sayaka. "Just… even if you can't forgive me. I hope you'll find it in yourself to move forward. Eventually, even I'll be forgetten. I'll be ok. I suppose it's time for my punishment. Once I'm gone, everything will go back to normall, and you guys will be better off without me, anyway."
"That's not true," I said. My emotions were on a roller coaster today. From denial to disgust to hatred to pity, I'd give anything to just feel numb for a change. "I—I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" asked Sayaka.
"For a lot of things. For saying a bunch of stuff I didn't mean. For not seeing it sooner," I said. "The dumbbell. Were you trying to…"
Sayaka's lip trembled. "There's nothing to see. I killed him. It doesn't matter why." Her voice was firm.
So she didn't want the others to know. I couldn't imagine why. But, I supposed if that was what she wanted, I wouldn't say anything. It would be the last thing I could do for her.
I didn't push the issue further.
"I suppose I should have counted on you to put together the mystery," Sayaka told me. "You always were so smart. I guess I was a pretty poor assistant after all." She laughed, but the sound was weak.
I felt a lump in my throat.
She took another deep breath, trying her best for a smile. It was half-hearted at best. "I'm ready, Monokuma." She was putting on a brave face, but I saw fear in her eyes. "What's going to happen now?"
"What's going to happen now?" said Monokuma. "Why, execution, of course! I thought you knew the drill!"
"How can any of you be ok with what is happening?" asked Leon. "It's not right to punish her in this way! You can't just execute her!"
"Hey, we're not here to wax philosophical about morality and ethics!" said Monokuma. "We're here for punishment! People who disrupt the peace must pay the price! Good or bad person, that's the rule!"
"I don't give a shit about your rules!" screamed Leon. "Just because it's the rules doesn't make it right!"
"It's ok, Leon," said Sayaka. "I did something I can never take back. I—" She took a deep breath. "I should pay for this."
"No! You don't need to pay for anything! That's not how it works! That's not how any of this fuckin' works. If you want to make things right, you can't do that if you—" He stopped eyes squeezing shutting as he tried to stop the tears. His voice was already getting choked up. "if you're—d-dead!"
"I am trying to make this right," said Sayaka. "I tried to hide what I'd done. I lied to you. To everyone. I was the one tried to pin it on—on… I. I need to pay for what I did to y— to Makoto. To everyone."
"That's right!" said Monokuma, positively beaming with glee. "So it's time to get moving along." He looked to Leon. "Sorry, hon, that's just the way things work around here! I mean, how would that be fair to the other culprits if I made an exception! I'd be a total hypocrite! Think of it this way! At least it's her and not you!"
"Well, I'm sorry if it's a little fuckin' selfish, but I'd rather have her here," said Leon, glowering at the floor. But when it came out, it was suddenly much more quiet.
"I'm sorry, everyone," said Sayaka. "Please, just, try to forget this happened. Once you forget about me, everything will be just fine. You all seem like you've become good friends, and I—I always felt like I was watching from a distance. There's no need to despair. It's better that I'm gone. That way nothing like this will ever happen again. Don't waste your breath on me."
"Poor, poor, Sayaka," squawked Monokuma. "Dying utterly alone. What is more despair-inducing? The death that causes others to suffer, or the death that is suffered purely in solitude?"
"Hey," I said.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Did you mean it?" I asked. "All that stuff about—"
"About being your friend? Of course."
And although she'd lied enough for an eternity, I just believed her.
"How did you know that?" I asked. "I didn't even say—"
"You didn't have to say it," she said, beaming at me. "I already knew. Because… I'm psychic!" She frowned. "You deserve a better friend than me."
I wanted to protest. To tell her that wasn't true. But something in me couldn't. For some reason, the words were caught in my throat, unable to force their way out.
"Leon," she said, turning to him. Upon seeing his distress, began to fret. "Oh, please don't cry. Can I ask you one last thing? Please forget me. I'd rather be forgotten than remembered like this. This entire time, I've only felt despair, but if I can if I can fix this, if even some joy can come from this, maybe at the very least I can die with… with hope."
"Don't you get it," he said. "After all this time, you still don't get it."
"What?" asked Sayaka.
"Why couldn't you understand? You were never meaningless. I—I've never met anyone like you. Always trying to smile through a problem. You didn't have to be perfect. You didn't even have to be good. You just had to be you. It's tearing me apart, Sayaka. If this is supposed to give me hope, well it's not happening. Maybe that says something about me, about how I can't hate you, but I am drowning right now. But you are not going to leave here thinking that nobody cared about you because that is not true."
I watched, transfixed. Stupid as he might be, he was so much braver than I ever could be. Saying all the things I was too cowardly to say. I was ashamed.
"Leon…" said Sayaka.
Monokuma flashed a wide, sharp-toothed grin, sinister twinkle in his red eye. "Now then, let's begin! I've prepared a very special punishment for Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Fashionista!"
"Sayaka, please." He was begging now. "I-I can't do this. Please don't leave me. Take me instead! I need you."
"What do I look like, a waiter?" said Monokuma. "No substitutions!"
"P-Please. Take me. Son of a bitch, I'm telling you, take me! Monokuma, please! Please, help Sayaka!"
We all watched in amazement as Sayaka—who had been so practiced at carefully composing that cheerful facade, even up to her death—began to cry. Ugly, wet, tears began to pour down her face as she sobbed and wiped at her eyes, bawling harder than I'd ever seen her. Monokuma began to cackle.
"Let's give it everything we've got! It's punishment time!"
—
This time, we had at least a vague idea of what might happen, but we were still unprepared.
The floor flipped out from underneath us, and I felt like my stomach had dropped out from underneath me as I watched the walls spin—trying to quell my dizziness. Instead of a courtroom, the ground shifted, lifting up to reveal a large catwalk. It seemed to go on for ages
Blinding stage lights powered on, displaying Sayaka center stage for all the audience to see.
By audience, I meant the rows and rows of Monokumas. Some holding signs, some of encouragement, others of condemnation. All of them chatting idly, a low rumble in the background. Some of them chanted her name.
"Sayaka! Sayaka! Sayaka!"
And of course, us, in chairs at the very front. I didn't know when we'd actually been seated, it just happened at some point.
Under the lights, Sayaka looked dazed and confused, and deathly pale. Like she might pass out any second. Besides the stage lights, several of the Monokuma's had cameras with bright flashing bulbs—the kind that clicked obnoxiously and took your eyesight out for several seconds. I could see why she felt helpless.
For a moment, she just stood there, looking as confused as the rest of us. Everyone watched. Then from behind, another Monokuma nudged her forward.
She wobbled forward a few steps, stumbled, and nearly tripped before regaining her balance. The crowd murmured in response.
Realizing what she had to do, her expression became resolute. She began forward, her walk confident, and she was doing fine for several feet before all of us realized something was not right.
The catwalk began to raise, and we realized it was narrowing more and more the closer to the end. It wasn't a catwalk at all.
She was high up, but we could see her sweating. Still, she did not falter.
Narrower.
It was the size of an average sidewalk.
Narrower.
The width of a balance beam.
Narrower.
Once it became no bigger than a tightrope, we were sure that would be her doom, but she was like a pro. Absolutely, one hundred percent in her element. Uneasy, but maybe even... confident.
Finally, she reached the end, but she couldn't even be afforded a sigh of relief because with Monokuma it was never that easy. By the end of the catwalk, the flashing lights were so blinding that she couldn't even see, and she held up her hands to shield her eyes but it was no use. She was teetering on the edge, about to lose it when Monokuma, ever the intruder at the party, here to ruin any moment, threw a tomato, hitting her in the head while the crowd booed.
It would have almost been comical if the fall hadn't been such a long way down.
She see screamed and fell, down, down, down. Finally, she stopped, seemingly caught in some sort of next. But there was no reprieve, of course there fucking wasn't, because in the shadows what looked like a net revealed itself to be a tangled mess of clothes. Jackets, skirts, tights, scarves, sharp pins, sky-high stilettos, anything and everything you could possibly come up with and more.
With another scream, Sayaka struggled against the bonds, which only seemed to get worse the more she fought. As soon as one hand got free, or one leg, she'd just fall and the process would start all over again. She was frantic, the bonds seemed to be pulling in different directions, and as she began to panic she didn't seem to notice the pink ribbon that had fallen around her neck as she struggled helpless, pathetic, fruitless.
Unable to bear the sight of it, I looked away, but even as she wrenched herself free, I heard the scream and the sudden halt as it came to a sickening snap.
The only thing I could make out was her shadow across the floor.
—
I didn't look up until I saw the familiar courtroom floor return to us, and I was greeted, or more accurately bombarded, my Monokuma's smug mug.
Another murder. Another execution.
I wanted to hurl. Or die. Or both. Hell, to feel something, anything would be an improvement to this.
"Laugh at death, and your soul will forever be at peace," said Monokuma with a chuckle.
For just a moment, it made sense. Maybe I was going mad. Maybe I'd just let it happen. It'd be easier than facing the truth.
The truth…
No. I was a detective. The truth was the only thing that mattered. Even if it was horrible. Without the truth, life was a lie.
But, of course, he had to break the silence.
"Well, that was certainly something," said Byakuya. "Not quite as engaging as I'd hoped, but informative at the very least."
"Was any of that really necessary?" asked Kyoko.
"I'm going to fucking kill you," said Leon. Through his tears, he was seething. "Say another word, and I'll—I'll—"
"You'll what?" taunted Byakuya. "Stutter at me? Face it, without me, you never would've had the brain cells to put this together."
"Leon!" said Hina. She was at his side in an instant, holding him back by one arm.
"He was able to help figure it out precisely because you couldn't help but meddle in things you ought not to meddle in," I said.
"And why not?" asked Byakuya. "It made things more interesting, did it not? Wouldn't it have just been so dull to say that I'd seen her leave the locker rooms—"
"You saw her!" bellowed Mondo. "And you didn't say anything?"
"So you broke the Nighttime Rule," said Celeste.
"I don't remember ever agreeing to that rule," said Byakuya.
She sighed. "It's fine. It is in the past."
"Why would you hide this from us?" asked Hiro, bewildered. "If we couldn't figure it out, all of us would have died!"
"Obviously, I would have said something before it got to that point," said Byakuya.
"Clever boy, aren't you?" said Monokuma. "You really are a nut. Is this a kinship I'm feeling?"
"You and I are nothing alike," said Byakuya, glaring at him. "Believe me, as soon as I get the chance, I will kill you."
"Aw, does the tinman actually have a heart?" said Junko. "My hero!" She rolled her eyes.
He ignored her. "Don't take it to heart. I will stand alone as the victor. But Mukuro is right. You were surprisingly perceptive today, Leon. Not enough to be a threat, of course, but I'll just have to keep an eye on you when it's my turn to be the blackened."
Leon grit is teeth, wrenching against Hina's firm grasp. "Lemme at him!" he said. "Hina, let me go! I'm gonna fucking kill him!"
"Leon, please!" said Hina.
It was no use.
She tried again. "Please! You promised. Sayaka made us promise. No more fighting! No more murders."
That seemed to do the trick.
It took him a moment, but he finally relented, fists clenched at his side so hard his knuckles were white. "Fine. But only for Sayaka."
"Jesus, why are you so obsessed with her?" asked Junko. "It's a little weird."
"He's sad about this friend's death," said Celeste.
"Can we not do this right now?" asked Hina. "Ease up a little, will ya? I… I get it."
Junko whistled. "Ok, but she did try to frame you, so not a very good friend if you ask me."
"Will you just stop?" said Leon.
"Look, I'm not the one putting a girl up on an idealized unreachable pedestal that turned out to be unattainable all along when she inevitably let you down," said Junko. "Are you like this with every girl that will stand to talk to you, or just the pretty ones?"
"Quit it!"
"Or is it that you're so emotionally closed off that you finally connect with a girl for the first time past physical attraction?" said Junko. "Is that it? You finally found a woman to do all your emotional labor, and you'd deluded yourself into thinking it was gonna be twue wuv forever? Is that it? That must be it."
"Dude, she tried to frame you for murder," said Hiro. "That's fucked up. Just, give it up. It think that's a deal-breaker."
"What is your goal here?" demanded Leon. "To make me feel bad? Because it's working. Do all of you really think so little of me? Are none of you even able to humor the idea that I maybe, just maybe—I don't know—really liked this girl as person, and thought she was really cool? And maybe, just maybe… I was hoping she'd think I was cool, too? No, it always has be about Leon getting action! I'm multidimensional! Fuck!"
"But how can you forgive her so easily?" said Chihiro. "After all, she did try to…"
"Because… hating her only hurts me," said Leon. "I can spend my time blaming her, or I can blame the person who is really at fault." He glared at Monokuma. "I'm going to find you. And you're going to die."
Monokuma pointed to himself. "As much as I'd love to see you try, I believe 1v1 is only reserved for main characters!"
"Why go to all this trouble?" asked Kyoko. "What are the point of these elaborate executions?"
"Puhuhuhu! Do you like them? Even if you don't, I think I can live with that. After all, all this punishment, all this despair is my gift to mankind itself! These punishments are meant to transform all hope to despair!"
If Makoto had been here, this surely would have been the part where he protested. Where he stood up against out captor, defiant and brave, insisting that we would never give in to despair.
But he wasn't here.
And, that feeling of despair at this absence… nearly overwhelmed me.
Luckily, at that moment, I felt something solid to anchor me. Keep me grounded. To my right, Junko stood beside me, and when I looked down, I could see she was holding my hand.
"'Kuro," said Junko. "Are you alright?"
"They're gone…" I said. "They're really gone."
"Isn't it delightful?" said Monokuma. "Oh, I'm just relishing in the despair!"
I missed Makoto. I missed Sayaka. I was a fool. Maybe that made me like Leon. Even after everything, I… I couldn't bring myself to hate her. Maybe I couldn't forgive her, but that didn't mean I hated her.
"You talk a big game," said Junko to Monokuma, standing tall. "But you can take your despair and shove it where the sun doesn't shine."
"I—I'm no Makoto," said Taka. "But I think I can guess what he would say. And he would never give in to despair."
Junko looked to me, and although I was too worn to give her a smile, I did manage to give her hand a small squeeze. She returned the gesture.
It wasn't hope. But it was something.
A/N: Trial 2: aka known as Time to Bully Leon aka How Can I Use My Lifeguarding Knowledge to Infodump in my Writing
Trying to give Leon and Sayaka personalities is so hard pls tell me if I did a good job. This was a rly tough chapter to write, much harder than the last investigation. I'm not Kodaka so I hope the mystery stuff is at least engaging to read even if it is kind of a mess
Also, I'm kind of... loving Jill.
