Chapter XX: Punish:

A graphic similar to the one which appeared after the first trial popped up, this time displaying a sprite of Enoshima and the message "Junko Enoshima has been found guilty. Commencing Execution." A metal claw appeared, and locked around Enoshima's throat before yanking her back into a hallway which seemed to appear from the back of the room. After the wall slammed shut on the hallway, Monokuma turned to us.

"Now, since you seemed to enjoy the first execution so much, I've prepared something similar for this one. Now, without any more delay, I'd like to present...Runway Troubles!"

As he said this, he turned and waved his paws at the back of the room, and the back wall dropped away to reveal a catwalk. Suddenly, Enoshima appeared at the front, wearing clothes entirely different from the ones she had been wearing, presumably as a cruel parody of her modeling career. Spotlights above the catwalk went on, and Enoshima began to turn back and forth, as though she was searching for the true executioner. Suddenly, one of the lights flickered and exploded, sending shards of glass flying towards her. She effortlessly dodged them, twisting away from the glass with clean, almost reflexive motions. Sparking, live wires began to scythe down from the ceilings, but she avoided these as easily as the shards, ducking and weaving away from every one, all the while with a calm stoicism on her face. A pylon fell from the ceiling, and she backflipped over it, using her momentum to lever the pylon up in front of her as a shield. As she landed, a portion of the stage collapsed beneath her, and her right ankle fell into a hole. The crack of the snapping bones was audible even from the place where I was standing. Her eyes widened as she collapsed to one knee, and she actually seemed afraid for the first time since the execution had begun. Her eyes began searching through the group of students and focused on mine, before she began to speak, voice twisted by pain.

"If you listen to me only once...listen now. Your cage is far more extensive then you may think. And death...death is your only escape."

Her eyes looked somehow changed, but before I could focus on them, Monokuma jumped up, paws moving towards the control console.

"No! I will not have such insolence!"

He slammed down a button, and spotlights began to smash down on the stage, moving ever closer to Enoshima. The last thing I saw before the falling lights obscured my vision was her expression, which was not fear, but acceptance. Then the runway was covered in dust and shards of glass. By the time the debris cleared, all that was left of the set was a blend of wood, metal, and glass on the ground. Enoshima had disappeared in the wreckage.

Monokuma turned to us.

"Execution complete! You are dismissed!"

Slowly, the students began to file out of the trial room, entering the elevator. Nobody spoke a word. As the elevator reached the top, we left, all still stunned into silence. Only once I reached the room did the enormity of what had just happened hit me. Enoshima had survived the beginning of the execution, somehow, and then used her last moments alive to tell me...what, exactly? What was the meaning of her cryptic words? And why had Monokuma reacted so violently? I noticed that I was confused. As I began trying to decipher the events, Kirigiri walked into the room, followed by Fujisaki. As Fujisaki entered, he turned to me.

"N-naegi, t-thank you. You saved m-my life."

"I did what anybody else would have done. Anyone with functioning eyes and a working brain could tell that you hadn't committed that crime."

"T-there's something I-i wanted to say...about the case."

"Yes?"

"Y-yamada's h-hair...isn't that l-long. T-the hair on Ku-kuwata's body couldn't have come from him."

I froze. Then whose hair was it? And, more importantly, why hadn't Enoshima brought that up? That piece of evidence being invalidated could have thrown Fujisaki's testimony into question again... I was clearly missing something. I turned towards Kirigiri and asked the question which had just been brought to the forefront of my mind.

"Kyouko, did you notice anything odd about the way that Enoshima suddenly stopped defending herself at the trial?"

Kirigiri inclined her head, and considered the question briefly before replying.

"It did seem unusual. However, I had supposed that she realized that there was nothing she could say to exonerate herself."

"On the other hand, isn't that incredibly out of character for her? Remember the traitor argument-she didn't seem to have the amount of mental discipline that her actions at the trial would suggest."

"Emotions manifest differently in times of stress. Perhaps she is the type of person who shows remarkable fortitude in times of trouble."

"Even then, that's a little much for a personality change. Especially given her stoicism about the execution."

Kirigiri nodded, before her eyes widened.

"And she only looked truly afraid when she broke an ankle. Almost as though that was unexpected, and the rest of the execution was not."

"But if she anticipated the execution, that raises still more questions. Why would she have killed somebody if she anticipated dying? Unless..."

Kirigiri cut in, her eyes narrowed.

"Unless she didn't anticipate dying. And, in that case, this so-called execution was planned."

"But the plan failed, didn't it? She was injured, she gave something away, and Monokuma killed her for it. If the injury was anticipated, she wouldn't have looked afraid."

"That itself raises a question. What did she tell you? What was the meaning of her words?"

"I'm not sure. I need to consider them far more carefully. One thing I can say is that those words were almost certainly not part of the plan, based on how angry Monokuma became after she said them."

Kirigiri nodded.

"So, what's our next move?"

"Well, assuming Monokuma was telling the truth after the last trial, we should have another floor to examine. Hopefully that'll provide us with some valuable clues."

"And? Beyond that? What about the weapon?"

I gave her a sharp look.

"Even with secrecy, we still shouldn't speak of that in camera view."

She looked chagrined.

"My apologies, Makoto. Is it ill-advised to answer the question in camera view?"

"No, but I suspect that my answer will not be satisfying. We will save it, for now."

I sat back, before I straightened. There was one final check I could make, as long as Monokuma would allow it.

"Kirigiri, do you mind if I leave for a bit? I need to check something. I'll meet you at the third floor.

She nodded, but looked troubled.

I left the room, and called to Monokuma, who soon appeared.

"Whaddaya want?! I'm tired of being bothered!"

"Its nothing much. Just...could you unlock the class trial room? I'd like to check something."

"...fine. I don't see any reason why not."

I walked to the room, and entered the elevator, heading down to the trial location itself. Once I got there, I made a beeline for the execution chamber, heading for the pylon in the center of the wreckage. I reached it, noting along the way that Enoshima's body had already been removed. Once I got close to it, I gripped around it in the same way that she had, planted my feet, and began trying to lift. I managed to barely get it off of the ground again and again, but could never raise it as high as Enoshima had. Either adrenaline gave her strength without showing itself through the other typical physical effects, or she had hidden depths. I lifted the pylon once more, and caught sight of a small reflective circular object. I picked it up and placed it my pocket, planning to wash it off as soon as I went back up. After I confirmed the weight of the pylon, I moved on to the spot where Enoshima had been trapped. The nearby planks were spattered with blood, but the low amount implied that Enoshima had died relatively bloodlessly. Sadly, there was no other physical evidence I could see, so I headed back up. Once I got to the first floor, I headed for the restroom to wash off and examine the object I had picked up.

I washed and rubbed the object until its shape became clear, before gasping as I realized what it was I was holding. In my hands lay a small, blue-tinted contact lens.

End of Arc 2:

Current deaths: Yamada, 'Enoshima', Oowada, Kuwata, Maizono.

A/N:Well, that's another arc done. I tried to keep as well as I could to Ikusaba's character, while still preserving the plot. The current poll leader is 'I never lied to you', the mastermind!Naegi AU, but I'll give it a few more days before I start work on it. If you would prefer a different story, now is your last chance to vote. Whichever option wins should hopefully be out by wednesday, if not earlier.

Please review!