FloatingKitties - You'll find out Izanagi and Miharu's drives in this chapter :p I probably didn't portray it that well, but Hisoka's was that he thought Aurora was clinically insane and needed to be institutionalised.

In the end I didn't get this chapter finished as quickly as planned... but it still took less than a week, which is the fastest I have updated in ages lol. I hope you enjoy it!

"Correct, correct! Izanagi is the culprit!" Monokuma announced with his usual dramatic flair. "That's the fourth time the guilty loses to the innocent... it's a sad world, isn't it?"

"Ngh... I apologise. I should have given myself up earlier." The warden muttered, letting out a long sigh.

Even more so than the previous trials, there was a peculiar subdued atmosphere in the trial room. It wasn't clear whether it was the cause or a symptom of this, but Izanagi's demeanour changed completely with the sigh; the usually loud and highly strung personality they had all come to know seemed to drain out of his body, leaving behind a much calmer version of the warden.

The effect was alien, as if he had been replaced by a different person - the frown lines were gone from his face for the first time, and Kuroda wondered if this was the first time Izanagi had truly relaxed since they were trapped in the academy.

Standing a few spots to his left, Daisuki was the exact opposite - the revelation the warden was the culprit had wound him up, and he glared at the man with a mix of anger and confusion. "What the hell were you thinking, Izanagi? Why did you kill Saito?"

"It's... not much of a reason." He replied bitterly, avoiding eye contact by staring down at the floor. "I am ashamed to admit it."

"The only possibility I can see is that your killing intent was a symptom of the Drive..." Erika murmured, clasping the jewel on her shirt. For someone who wore a poker face at all times, even she looked a little sad. "Is that correct?"

"Yes, indeed. I believed Saito was planning to kill." Izanagi confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Taking matters into my own hands was foolish of me, but I was too busy planning the murder to think about anything else."

"And then that turned out to be a false belief, didn't it?" Akemi asked. He nodded mutely, and she gave him a sympathetic look. "I... don't know what to say. That must have been a horrible feeling."

"I guess we should have tried to figure out everyone's symptoms properly, huh..." Aurora said dejectedly. "Then this might not have happened."

"Do not blame yourselves for this!" He said sharply, and for a brief moment the old Izanagi returned. "I acted alone, so I take full responsibility for what has happened."

"B... but you're a prison warden! You lock people up all the time!" Daisuki protested, his voice laced with a hint of desperation. "So... So why not just tie her up or something? Isn't that what you normally do!?"

"Daisuki... I apologise, but I have no explanation for my actions." Izanagi replied simply. "I have watched over murderers for so long... perhaps it was inevitable I would become one myself."

"Are you... fucking kidding me..." The graffiti artist looked like he still wanted to say something; unable to find the words, however, he fell silent.

"Um... Excuse me..." Getting their attention in an unusually polite manner, Monokuma called out to Izanagi impatiently. "I know you're having a moment and all, but I really wanna wrap this up. Any last words?" It seemed as though he was itching to start the execution, as he was shifting restlessly in his chair.

"There is one last thing I would like to know." Turning away from Monokuma, he addressed the group again. "If I remember correctly, all of the symptoms were false except one... whose was it?"

"Ah. That's a good question, actually..." Miharu piped up. She glanced around the room curiously, waiting for someone to volunteer themselves. After a short pause, Tomoe slowly raised her hand.

"It was me." She admitted, her face pale. "I lied about my symptoms. I... I knew what you were planning, Izanagi."

"You knew it was me all along? Why did you not say anything?" He asked, making no effort to hide his surprise.

"I just couldn't believe it! I mean, I knew about what Monokuma said... but I couldn't accept it."

His shoulders slumped at her words, and he returned to staring at the ground sadly. "... Then I have let you down most of all. I'm afraid an apology is all that I can offer now."

"... It's okay." She said quietly. "Saito is the one you should be apologising to, not me."

"I suppose you are right. I will be sure to do that, if I ever see her." With nothing else to say, he turned to speak to Monokuma.

"Monokuma, you may begin." He instructed, and the bear wasted no time in getting started. As the red button rose out of the ground, he faced the group one last time with a small, sad smile. "I have lived as a prison warden, so I suppose it is fitting that I should die a criminal..."

"Upupu... You got it!" The bear yelled, hitting the button with gusto. "It's punishment time for our very own Izanagi, so let's give it all we've got!"

GAME OVER

Hatakeda Izanagi has been found guilty.

Commencing Execution.

Izanagi stands inside a small cage, suspended high in the air over a large metal grate by a powerful magnetic plate. Beneath the grate is a pool full of glowing green acid that bubbles and hisses incessantly, but seems to have no effect on the metal vat that contains it.

Monokuma appears in a nearby viewing platform. Dressed like a technician, he wanders over to a lever that controls the magnet, currently set to 'ON'. Laughing to himself, he stares straight at Izanagi and puts his hand on the lever.

punisHment: -1

He pulls it, and the cage is sent plummeting down onto the grate. It lands with an earthshaking crash, but the grate holds firm. Unphased, Monokuma turns the magnet on again, pulling the cage violently back up onto the plate.

As soon as the cage smashes back into the plate he turns off the power again, ramming the grate with the cage for a second time. This repeats itself faster and faster, and the grate slowly sustains more and more damage.

Eventually, the grate is at its breaking point. Monokuma leaves the cage suspended in the air for a long moment, showing a bruised and bloody Izanagi slumped against the side of the cage. He starts to get up, but Monokuma pulls the lever just as he grabs the side of the cage. This time it smashes clean through the grate, sending Izanagi into the acid.

The acid starts to bubble violently, and after a short pause Monokuma turns on the power one last time. The cage zips back up to the plate, but inside it only Izanagi's skeleton remains.

"Izanagi..." Kuroda heard Daisuki's strained voice from somewhere behind him as the image of the warden's skeleton slowly faded out. "...Fuck."

"Haah... Can you feel the despair...?" Monokuma appeared back on his throne, panting heavily. "Now, uh, I have some business to take care of. You bastards let yourselves out!" It seemed he had only returned to signal the trial was now officially over, as he immediately disappeared again.

Nobody else seemed to take heed of Monokuma's abrupt departure, but it struck him as rather odd. As far as he could tell the bear was still in control of everything that happened inside the academy, so he wondered what could be so urgent that he did not even stick around to torment them a bit before taking off.

He was not particularly in the mood to dwell on it, however, and his attention was brought back to the present when Hisoka began to speak. "Hey, Tomoe... Why did you tell the truth?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She replied unsurely, giving him a perplexed look.

"Izanagi did a good job of framing you." Akemi explained helpfully. "If Kuroda didn't figure things out, it would have been bad for you."

She brushed off their points with a smile, as expected of one who was seemingly fearless in the face of danger. "I know that... But I trust you guys! I didn't do it, so I knew I'd be okay as long as I told the truth."

"It paid off in the end, too." Miharu added thoughtfully. "If you had lied, we wouldn't have known what really happened."

"Yeah! Which is why I'm gonna trust everyone even more from here on out." Perhaps it was because her normally upbeat demeanor seemed to have disappeared temporarily, but she spoke with an unusual amount of conviction. "I don't think anyone else is going to kill any more."

"That's so cool! I'm gonna do that, too!" Aurora announced, immediately jumping on board with the idea. "If everyone has that attitude, then there definitely won't be any more murders!"

It was something they had known all along - after all, Monokuma's goal was to sow the seeds of distrust and chaos among them. Even so, seeing the attitude they needed to survive actually do some good provided a spark of hope, even so soon after losing Saito and Izanagi. Spurred on by the two girls' enthusiasm, the mood seemed to lighten a little as everyone else nodded and voiced their agreement.

"Now then, shall we move back to the academy?" Erika suggested, stepping away from her trial stand and leading the way into the lift.

Once they had all filed inside and the lift was moving, Akemi suddenly spoke up. "Oh, by the way. Did we ever find out what your symptoms were, Miharu?"

"... So you noticed." The trivia champion replied shortly, conspicuously avoiding answering the question.

"Oh? That was surprisingly evasive, Miharu. I'm rather curious now, myself." Hisoka remarked, folding his arms and giving her an attentive stare.

"It's not a true belief, so it can't be that bad." Kuroda was also interested to hear what it was, so he added his voice to the pile. Despite their encouragement, however, she still seemed reluctant. "... Right?"

"Logically speaking, everyone was accounted for except Hisoka." Erika probed gently. "Thus, whatever symptom you were afflicted with was in regards to him... correct?"

Finally giving into peer pressure, she reluctantly relented. "... Yeah. I believed he asked me to keep a secret."

"A secret!? What was it?" Aurora gasped, her face gleaming with the kind of excitement you could only get from hearing gossip about other people. "Hey, you can't stop there! We need more detail than that!"

"I thought Hisoka and Daisuki were..." Conscious of the fact that both guys were listening with interest, she shifted uncomfortably. "... You know, I think I probably shouldn't say."

"Huh? But you almost finished your sentence." Tomoe complained, looking confused.

"Oh please, it's totally obvious. You mean they were doing it, right?" Akemi interjected.

"Whaaaaaaat!? You two were doing it!?" Aurora shouted, surprised. Her reaction seemed a little too exaggerated to be serious, but it was difficult to tell when it came to the quarterback.

"You guys are such an unlikely pair... but I guess loves blooms in the strangest of places!" Tomoe agreed, clapping her hands excitedly.

"H-hey, pay attention! We've already established that's not true!" Daisuki corrected the two girls quickly.

"Quite so." The psychologist said haughtily. "... Even if I were into men, Daisuki is not my type. He is far too unrefined for my taste."

"Good, 'cause- hey, what's that supposed to mean!?"

"Now, now. Lovers shouldn't quarrel." Erika scolded jokingly, a sly smile on her face.

The graffiti artist groaned in exasperation. "Not you, too..."

The banter continued for the rest of the elevator ride, and by the time they reached the first floor of Hope's Peak the group morale had recovered enough for them to be able to continue functioning relatively normally. Everyone seemed to be in the mood for exploring to help take their minds off things, so they agreed to make use of the remaining daytime to investigate the fifth floor of the academy.

Act Four: END

Students Alive: 8

That's it for Izanagi! Of course I liked him, but he's also my character so he was never going to survive :p

I think his execution is probably my favourite one among the culprits, even though it's not really that relevant to his SHSL. I guess it would be pretty good for a toxicologist or a chemist or something.

Anyway, bonus chapter is next, and then we finally get to the fifth chapter!