A/N: Ok folks, it's the long awaited sequel to the previous chapter! I will warn ahead of time, my writing might be off a bit, which isn't too surprising given the long near-year since my last danganronpa fic, but i'll do my best to keep it in the spirit of things. It probably doesn't help that I don't fully remember everything I had planned in the past, so that might make things a bit more challenging too. I promise itll improve over time, but for now, bear in mind the writing might be off due to my usual self, with some parts seeming choppy, other parts seeming rushed, and everything in-between. So please ignore/put up with the awkward transition between my writing from then to now to then again XP.
But regardless, for those who've been waiting for near-ever for this, I can't just sit back and not give you guys the things you've been waiting patiently for, so here you go! The 3rd-to-last chapter of Danganronpa: Gender Bender Edition!
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Fear.
Panic.
Despair.
These were the only things that came to Ikusaba's mind as she stared at Kirigiri's confused expression. The words "what are you talking about", or "I don't remember" were the very last things she needed to hear at this time.
It wasn't enough that it would determine the fate of the entire trial, but it would also determine the future of all the remaining students of Hopes Peak Academy. All she needed to do was remember a single strand of pink hair which only ONE of the students could possibly have! And yet, here she was, greeted by Kirigiri's confused response. She would've been just fine if it wasn't for the rest of the trial, but nothing else was going right with this trial.
First they ended up on the wrong track by thinking someone from the past case were the culprit, then they thought it could only be one of the victims the killers killed. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if Kirigiri remembered anything about the pink hair they discussed, but did she? No. She couldn't recall any of that. She could barely even recall them meeting in the hall that night either.
This was like a joke without a punchline, or humor for that matter.
"K-Kirigiri, you know the answer, don't you?" Ikusaba repeated, worriedly. "You know, the thing you caught me and Monokuma talking about? With the pool?!"
Kirigiri bit her lip nervously. Something was definitely wrong here. Ikusaba was insistent that she knew the answer behind everything, yet had no recollection of a single aspect that she was referring to. It didn't help that she was pressured knowing the severity of the dilemma. If it was as important as Ikusaba let on, then it might've been just what they needed to crack this case wide open!
So why couldn't she remember anything?!
"I'm sorry, but...no, I don't." Kirigiri apologized. "I don't even remember talking to you in the hallway that night."
"But how could-!"
Ikusaba didn't even need to finish that sentence as she looked towards the swooning bear. The answer was obvious now. It didn't take a mad scientist or even a kindergartener to know the answer to this situation.
It was Monokuma's doing. There was no need for doubt or concern on that end. The bear who created the Despair-inducing Killing Game, the one who was behind the very ordeal the students were trapped with. The one who Ikusaba once lovingly called sister. She didn't know what to call her anymore, except for enemy.
...Enemy? Was that right? She couldn't understand why she would declare her sister as an enemy anymore. She was family, she loved her very much. But after the events of the past several weeks, she don't know what to call her. All she knew was that she felt more alone throughout this entire trial than she ever had been through all her life.
"You..." Ikusaba grumbled, clenching her fist tightly, "you did this, didn't you?"
"Who, meeeeee?" Monokuma teed in a mocking tone.
The Puppetmaster was having too much fun on their end. They could push as much as they wanted, try to be as many steps ahead as much as they could, plan every detail necessary they could think of, and yet none of it would matter. No matter how well prepared they found themselves, over and over again the Puppetmaster always seemed to be at the finish line by the time they caught up.
And boy was it fun to watch!
No matter what sort of pain the students were in, nor any connection the host of this killing game felt towards their former friends, it was the despair of the situation that made Monokuma laugh. Just picturing every feeling they must be going through right now, every bout of anger they had pent up inside of them, every sadness they ever endured throughout this game, all it did was lead them to the exact same conclusion over and over again: Despair. And the Puppetmaster would ensure all they felt by the time this "game" was over was Despair, up to the bitter end.
"Why, whatever could you possibly be referring to my sweet?" Monokuma feigned ignorance.
"Don't give me that bullshit," Ikusaba growled, "you erased her memory, didn't you!"
Naturally the rest of the students were taken back by this with shock.
"He what?!" Kirigiri gasped in shock. Perhaps shock wasn't the perfect way to describe it, but a feeling close to it. After all, she couldn't be THAT surprised the Puppetmaster decided to do something like this. What did surprise her though was the fact it simply happened. She should've known something was wrong when Monokuma tranquilized her days ago without any notable injuries or scars. It's that simple lack of concern truly worried her.
Then again, perhaps that too was just another thing Monokuma messed with.
"Oh c'moooon, I was just getting rid of some pointless details." He commented. "I didn't think it would be anything necessary."
"That's a lie!" Naegi shouted angrily. While she might not have the full details like Ikusaba and Kirigiri, she did now enough to understand that whatever was going wrong here, the Puppetmaster was responsible for it. "She knew something important, didn't she?"
"What the shit man?!" Owada clenched his fist tightly, trying to refrain from attacking the Headmaster for practically the 7th time during the trial. "We had a deal you wouldn't do anything to mess with the trial!"
"Correction," Monokuma began to interrupt, "I said I wouldn't do anything to disrupt the investigation process of the trial. It can't be helped though if Kirigiri's memory loss just happened to occur before all that. It's not like I could've predicted all of this happening."
Cunning.
That was the only word to describe Monokuma. Whenever he saw a situation unfold, he found a new possibility to present itself. Whenever the group tried to get the best of him, he was always another step ahead, on top of any backup plans the group had. But this? This was nothing more than a sign of perfect preparation. One only worthy of the title of Puppetmaster could obtain.
Either that or the Puppetmaster was secretly psychic like Hagakure, only more capable of predicting the future with perfect authenticity. Either explanation wouldn't surprise anyone at this point. All that mattered was how dangerous that made the Puppetmaster in the end.
"Besides," he added, "it's not like it could've blown the whole case on this ENTIRE trial, could it? Upupupupu..." The bear grinned with his cheeky chuckle.
"Like hell it wouldn't..." Ikusaba mumbled to herself.
"Why don't we just try to narrow down the possibilities?" Asahina suggested, catching the curiosity of the remaining students. "There couldn't be that many things you could find in a pool, right?"
"Even if we did, we wouldn't know what significance it has on the case." Yamada commented disappointed. "It could be as simple as a fingernail or a hair clip. Anything like blood or whatever wouldn't have much significance.
Ikusaba rolled her eyes mentally at this. They had no idea how close to the truth they were, while at the same time, being right about it. If they knew anything about the pink hair and such, it could make even half this trial over in an instant! There was only one person they ever met with pink hair around here, and the hair would've been a dead giveaway. Granted, the person they "met" was actually Mukuro herself just wearing a disguise, but it still would've helped regardless.
"So then...let's just continue where we left off." Naegi directed. It was better than doing nothing, and considering they were going nowhere with this, they didn't have much choice. Whatever frustrations Ikusaba felt she would have to keep to herself, at least for now.
"Where did we leave off then?" Owada asked for clarification.
"We were discussing how it had to be one of the past victims of the cases, not the murderers."
Despite being on the wrong track, this was the closest Naegi and the rest could bring themselves to the right one. She couldn't have known the person who they thought was Junko that was impaled right in front of them was actually alive, but at the ams time it made the situation even harder for them to deal with. Whether they tried thinking from the view of the Killers' perspective or the victims perspective, there's no way they could've known the only person it could be was the one executed for breaking the rules.
It was like having to choose between two different paths, and the only correct answer was the invisible middle path which they didn't know about. Now that she thought about it, Ikusaba had to think to herself- was this also part of the Puppetmaster's grand plan?
"So if we're just sticking to the victims, that narrows the list of suspects down to Ishimaru, Leon, Celes, and Togami." Kirigiri explained.
"It has to be Lord Doucheton," Owada stated, having a rather colorful nickname for Togami, "he's the only one who could come up with this much crap and have the money to make all this stuff to begin with."
"Or Celes," Asahina provided, "she could easily get the same amount of money as him through enough poker games."
"Don't forget the possibility of Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Master Mondo Owada." Yamada puffed his chest with assurance. "I bet he could easily commandeer any and all assistance needed from the masses, given his talent."
"I'm not sure about Ishimaru, but Leon could also easily obtain help, given his popularity." Naegi deemed. "Given his status as the Ultimate Baseball Star, he could easily afford things with his merchandizing profits, and with the amount of fans he has, I'm sure any one of them would be willing to help him with this."
"Merchandizing profits?" Yamada questioned.
"Well, you know, like Baseball cards, advertisements, the works?" Naegi scratched her chin as she spoke. "Honestly I don't entirely know how all that advertising stuff works, but you can't deny its a possibility, right?"
"We should at least narrow it down to Celes, Togami, and Leon." Kirigirii decided.
"Hey, why couldn't bro be a part of this?" Even after all he did with Hagakure and Fukawa, Owada still couldn't help but think of Ishimaru as anything less than a brother. "You know as well as I do how good he is with his speeches."
"I won't deny that he is a natural leader, if not more so than Togami," Kirigiri replied, "but he wouldn't have the same amount of access to funding like the other three."
"Not to mention that one other detail..." Ikusaba muttered, catching the attention of the other classmates.
"Zip iiiiit..." Monokuma warned. While she didn't directly say what was wrong, she wasn't allowed to say anything that wasn't brought up by the others first. Given Monokuma's usual demeanor, she was lucky to be let off with a warning.
"What other thing?" Asahina asked curiously. The returned silence was all she needed to hear from the Ultimate Soldier to get the picture. As long as they didn't bring it up first, she couldn't say anything.
Luckily enough, they didn't the extra assistance to know the answer.
"He was already dead when I was drowning, remember?" Naegi reminded, still a bit uneasy over the situation. There was nothing but awkwardness for Owada as he scratched the back of his head. Every time someone mentioned Naegi's death, it was awkward for whoever brought it up.
And why wouldn't it? Wouldn't it get really unsettling mentioning your own death over and over again for whatever reason? It wouldn't matter if she was ok with it, or anyone else for that matter. Mentioning "remember how you died?" over and over again would make anyone uneasy.
"So the chances of him being my killer isn't possible." Naegi continued.
"We should also narrow down the possibility of Leon being Naegi's killer too," Kirigiri added, "even if he could amass a fortune with his popularity or anything along the lines of merchandizing rights, I don't think he had the capacity to formulate anything advanced like we've seen."
"Way to insult the smarts of anyone into sports..." Asahina pouted with a puff of her cheeks.
"Which leaves us with either Master Celestia Ludenberg, or Master Byakuya Togami." Yamada's glasses shined as he adjusted them with pride. "They're the only ones I could see possibly pulling off all these advanced mechanics and conundrums."
"So, how do we go about determining who it was? We can't just leave it to a guess."
"Why don't we just split the vote 50/50?" Yamada suggested. "We simply need a majority vote, but with an even three-to-three tie, it'll balance out between the two of them perfectly."
Annnng, sorry to disappoint ya gopher man, but you got that wrong!" Monokuma announced with glee, forming an X with his arms."
"Gopher...man...?" Now Yamada was struck with disappointment for his wrong thinking, and his feelings were hurt...
"Don't forget, I will be taking part in this vote too. And shockingly enough, I don't intend to skip the vote or vote for the wrong person for your convenience."
Sadly, that was the grim reality of the situation, more so than the class realized. For one thing, they had to ensure no matter what, they all voted for the same person by the end. Adding the Puppetmaster to the number of people who would vote this time around gave them a slight disadvantage as opposed to usual. Unlike before, they could almost guarantee whoever the Puppetmaster voted for would be wrong intentionally, meaning they couldn't afford any doubt or mistakes this time around.
The other issue, which Naegi and Kirigiri would be the only ones truly aware of, was Ikusaba's inability to help. It wasn't enough that she couldn't discuss anything not mentioned in the trial, but the fact the Puppet Master had her practically on his leash. From this point forward, they could get her to do anything they wanted, whether or not it was to assist or hinder the trial in any way. Even if she was just unable to assist with anything not discussed and was trying to help them through and through, they would need to be sure the evidence supported every detail she would add.
No matter how much they trusted her, they needed everyone to maintain that same amount of trust all throughout the trial.
"Hmm is there any possible way to narrow down just one of those two?" Yamada wondered. "If there was a way to tell they weren't really murdered, or perhaps those weren't their real bodies, this would be a cinch."
"I'd hate to break it to ya man, but that ain't gonna happen." Owada scratched the back of his head with disappointment. "Fujisaki killed Togami, and Oogami killed Celes, remember?" Despite knowing what he was talking about, he didn't understand the point Owada was trying to make.
"Huh? So what?"
"So, don't you remember what they did with both bodies?"
"You mean how they were moved from the original crime scene?" Naegi answered.
Owada crossed his arms with a nod. "Yeah, that. If the killers moved both bodies after the murder, then there's a chance either one of them who weren't really dead moved about and switched places with a fake body."
"A fake...body...?"
Something about those three keywords didn't settle with Naegi right, something that was underlining the truth of this trial. Why did those words bother her so much? They were just simple details of possibilities about the trial, and yet they kept screaming at her in the back of her mind so much. It didn't matter whether her memories were returned or still returning, they couldn't pinpoint the issue of the matter.
Were all her memories returned to her? Were there still things she had yet to remember? Why was she so held up on this?! It irritated her at a constant but miniscule rate, like wind brushing past you; you would feel it as a natural, everyday, occurrence, but it wouldn't necessarily bother you all the same. You would just be aware of it.
At the same time, none of this went past the Puppet Master nor Ikusaba, noticing the quiet remark Naegi mumbled to herself. While Ikusaba was mostly pleased to hear Naegi being on the right track, she was also fretting what the Puppet Master would do to hamper this herself. Out of everything the Puppet Master did, it all stemmed from targeting Naegi in some shape or form, whether directly or otherwise. For all she knew, she could just conveniently lie about something to distract the class from the truth, or enforce another rule before Naegi could think of something.
Even if it was against what they were fighting, Ikusaba couldn't give the Puppet Master a chance of butting in, even if it meant Ikusaba had to sidetrack the trial herself.
"If I had to give my two cents, I'd say look into Togami's possibility." The Ultimate Soldier suggested, much to the surprise of the remaining students.
"Is he actually the mastermind or isn't he?" Owada gritted his teeth as he spoke. He couldn't let his guard down on any part of this trial, even towards a friend.
"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't," she scoffed, "unless you can determine why he couldn't be."
Asahina raised an eyebrow at this. "But he was already dead at the time, wasn't he? He couldn't have gone to the upper floors before his trial was done, right?"
"You're forgetting the entire basis of this whole trial, my dear." Yamada replied. "We're debating on the off chance one of the past victims were actually alive the entire time."
"And we can't tell if the victims were truly and ultimately dead without consulting with the killers." Owada added. "Right now we're simply going based off whether or not either one could."
"As well as whether or not they had the time to actually pull off the trap." Kirigiri deduced. "The entire point stems from how the killer managed to set up the trap and what time they set it up."
There was only one possibility this brought to Naegi. "Then...Then that has to narrow it down to Togami only." Looks of curiosity and confusion were sent towards her, except for the two casual looks from the Mastermind and his little assistant.
"Why would Togami have to be the culprit?" Yamada scratched his head in confusion. "It doesn't exactly mean Master Celestia Ludenberg is completely off the list."
"Actually, Naegi might be onto something." Kirigiri agreed, scrolling through her E-Handbook. "Remember the night of the evening, when Hagakure, Genocider, and Ishimaru were setting up the traps?"
"What about it?"
"Ohhh, I get what she's saying," Owada spoke as he examined the evidence in his own handbook, "we were all asleep at that time, remember? Because a certain little ASSHOLE, we were all knocked out for several days."
"Yeah, how rude of you Mukuro." Monokuma teased.
"I MEANT YOU YOU TINY FUCK!"
Upupupu! But maybe I am Mukuro, you never knooooow." With a sly grin he turned to his favorite, albeit only, partner. "Isn't that right, my lovely little Master?"
"Tch-!" Ikusaba could only grind her teeth in frustration at this. She had no choice but to comply to anything that Monouma stated, and that alone was enough to really piss her off. This trial wasn't just going to determine who the Mastermind was and what was going on all around here, it was also going to determine who Ikusaba truly sided with- her friends, or her family. "I...could...be.." She grunted.
"Gyahahahaha! If I knew trials were this fun, I would've participated weeks ago." The evil bear commented with a sly grin.
"But she couldn't be the Puppet Master!" Naegi quickly defended. Despite how much warmth she felt to hear Naegi defend her side, it upset her that she had to play against her, at least for now. The minute Naegi stopped defending her side, the minute she didn't believe in a single word Ikusaba sad, she would truly feel lost. Lost to everything, but Despair.
"Oh, and why not?" The bear rubbed his chin in curiosity.
"B-Because she drank those potions too, remember?" Naegi brought up the images of the potions everyone drank the night of the slumber party. "Each one of us had one, including her. She would've been asleep too on the night the traps were made."
"Ooooh, I do love seeing that hopeful face of yours Naegi," the bear teethed with his razor-sharp jaws, "because when I shatter it to a million pieces of Despair, it warms my fluffy black and white buns."
"Huh?"
"Your entire rebuttal is based on the fact that Mukuro drank the potion too, riiiiiight?"
"Y-Yeah...why?" Simply talking to the bear gave Naegi shivers she couldn't understand. Perhaps that's to be expected from anyone who's been through what Naegi has, what with the dozen cases of trauma, physical abuse, psychological abuse the Puppet Master tried to fill her with, and emotional abuse she's been through after each trial.
Every trial started with her friends.
And the end of every trial ended with at least one less.
"Then for all you know, her potion was completely fake. She probably didn't even fall asleep during those two nights of snoozin'."
Naegi nibbled on her thumbnail a bit as she tried to think of a response, but nothing came to mind. No matter how much she wanted to press on this, she couldn't deny he had a point too. On top of that, she needed evidence that would guarantee Ikusaba's innocence, and provide enough proof for the rest of their friends to trust her. "W-Well, yeah, b-b-but-!"
"Anng! But nuttin'!" Monokuma screeched. "Too bad, go away, come again another...Hmm, come to think of it, I guess no one's gonna be around after this, huh?"
"Mmmmh..." Naegi moaned to herself quietly as she tried looking through her E-Handbook again worriedly. She had to find something that could help Ikusaba, anything at all! But on top of this, she was still too distracted by her returning memories and other thoughts coming across her mind. It was like something was screaming at her to remember that she just couldn't figure out. She'd probably have a much better time finding a needle in a haystack!
"Naegi actually isn't too far off, to be honest." Kirigiri defended, to the surprise of the Luckster.
"Oh, a certain Lucky Student said something helpful? Call the presses!" Any amount of joy he could get out of insulting Naegi, he was going to milk it. Thankfully, Naegi was smart enough to throw everything he said over her head by this point.
"It is true Ikusaba drank the potion too, but she couldn't be the culprit either."
"And why's that?"
"Because, in case you forgot, she also saved Naegi twice that same day from those traps." She reminded.
Naegi still would've preferred repressing those images, especially the one showing when she had indeed died, but at the same time she couldn't deny the usefulness of those memories either.
The first one being when Naegi simply traveled through the halls after awakening from what they thought was the first night of the party. Without any knowledge or worry of the boobytrapped hallways, Naegi just casually strolled on by seeing refreshments from the lunchroom so the girls could enjoy a nice breakfast to wake up to, and what was the payoff? Not ten feet away from the edge of the hallway did she suddenly find herself being hung to the ceiling, the noose tightening around her neck by the second with each gasping breath.
Luckily, it was thanks to Ikusaba's timely intervention that saved her from suffocating to death. That and the knife Kirigiri threw to her upon request, And despite the heavy breathing for the next several minutes and the nausea she felt from having such low breath after awakening only a few minutes prior, Naegi felt great relief that her life was spared that day.
At least for roughly several hours.
Not long after did Naegi's next trap bring the end of her. Perhaps not a permanent end, as her current liveliness proves of that, but one most people usually don't come back from. After disarming what they thought were all the traps from the pool room did Naegi find herself separating from Asahina and Hagakure at the time, examining a mysterious noise coming from the pool itself. Leaving to explore on her own, even if it was examined by her and Asahina earlier, was her first and last mistake.
Next thing she knew, her arms were bound to her side and she found herself being dragged to the very bottom of the pool, being trapped there until her untimely demise, one that might've ended permanently if, once again, Ikusaba hadn't saved her. To be more accurate, brought her back from the land of the dead, giving immediate, life-saving CPR, which kept Naegi from crossing over to the other side where the rest of her friends were waiting.
And it is that murder that the group continues to debate about at this time.
"She wouldn't have done that unless she truly cared about her." Kirigiri continued.
"Oh, bravo, little Ms. Shakespeare," Monokuma applaud sarcastically as he rolled his eyes, "but that could've all been just a cover, you know?"
"A cover for what?" Kirigiri retorted. "There was no reason for her to save Naegi, after all. The killer of that case wasn't Ikusaba, yet she saved Naegi herself." She couldn't help but give a small smile to the neutral soldier. "She only did it because she's our friend who's trying to help us, nothing less."
Despite the atmosphere of the current trial, Ikusaba gave a soft smile to herself. Mere days ago, Ikusaba and Kirigiri would still be down each others' throats, whether for Naegi's attention or simply fighting back and forth about Ikusaba's role of supporting the Puppet Master which only Kirigiri was aware of at the time. Yet, after the fourth trial, in part only thanks to Iksuaba's intervention, did the remaining students come out of the trial alive, sacrificing a favor the Puppet Master secretly owed her.
While they might be nowhere near calling each other the best of friends, simply hearing she was among friends was all the encouragement she needed to keep her motivated at this time.
"Oh boo hoo, I'll be sure to put that in my next Soap Opera," the conniving bear feigned wiping his tears, "but that STILL doesn't clear her up for anything!"
"...No...No Kirigiri's right, she is our friend, and was helping us!" Naegi exclaimed.
"I feel like we're on a broken record here, what part of-"
"No, I mean literally, she was helping us!" Naegi quickly interrupted. "Ikusaba was already downstairs with the rest when Hagakure came back to collect me and Asahina from the pool room!" While it couldn't be seen, you could feel the tension building behind Monokuma's hollow eyes, the irritation building up against him. Logic was one weapon that couldn't be argued against, especially when the facts were right. "So she has an alibi for the time she was gone, remember?"
Owada grinned at the mention of this. "That also gives the rest of us an alibi. We were all together when Naegi drowned!"
"Hmm maybe for you guys," Monokuma turned towards a certain swimmer as he spoke, "but that doesn't excuse a certain mermaid amongst us." Like any natural person who was accused of something, Asahina frowned.
"But I was with Hagakure and Fukawa when the incident occurred. They would've been with me if I-"
"They could've been in on your plan." Ikusaba quickly interrupted to her dismay. "Maybe they told you all about their murder in advance, and could've made a plan together to get all of you out of this school if you worked together during the trial." The rest were rather surprised by Ikusaba's counterargument, even if some of them knew she didn't have a choice.
"B-But it would't benefit me! Remember? Monokuma's rule about the first murder only counting?
*Flashback 2 Weeks Earlier...*
"Uhh hey, you mind if I ask something?" Owada asked scratching his head. "Umm first off, sorry for bringing this up Naegi, but I really got to know it."
"What's wrong?" Naegi asked curiously.
"Well...as far as the whole murder thing goes, since Naegi survived her own murder and all, do we have to look for her killer too or no?" Owada asked Monokuma.
That actually was an interesting question. If a murderer kills someone and the victim returns to life, are they still a murderer?
"Huff," Monokuma sighed in a slump, "that's exactly why I added the new rule. Stuff like this makes things too confusing, and above all, these trials would go way too smoothly if the victim kept coming back to tell us who the killer is." He shook his head to Owada. "Well, to answer your question, I've decided to look the other direction, just this once. This trial is currently for the killer of Ishimaru, and only him!"
"Wait, does that mean Naeg's killer and Ish's killer are two different people?" Hagakure asked scratching his head.
"Maybe yes, maybe no!" Monokuma replied, refusing to give any direct answer. "All I'm saying is that catching Naegi's killer isn't the priority! Unless they happened to have killed Ishimaru themselves!" He raised his paw proudly. "Now, lets see what you do with that information!"
*Flashback End*
"Monokuma didn't make the rule until after the trial started, so you could've thought of something like us needing all of you guys at once instead of just the first Victim's killers." She explained.
As much as they wanted to argue against it, nobody could argue that she had a point. Until after the trial started, nobody knew if they needed to find Naegi's AND Ishimaru's killer, or just one or the other. With Asahina's superb swimming skills, she could've easily dragged Naegi down to the bottom and hopped out of the pool quick enough to dry off before anyone else met up with her again. And despite Ikusaba being forced to fight with the Puppet Master, they couldn't deny the possibility of the plan either.
Asahina could've worked with Hagakure and Fukawa/Genocider immediately after splitting up with Naegi, if not possibly earlier at some point while everyone else was asleep earlier. After all, there wasn't any guarantee any of them possibly woke up earlier than the rest like Ishimaru, and as long as Monokuma held the argument that someone else could've woken up, the evidence was solid.
And like always, Monokuma couldn't help but chuckle as Ikusaba defended him. "Upupupu, excellent point, bestie."
"Shut up..." Ikusaba muttered under her breath, looking away from the debaters.
"Hey wait a minute...she couldn't possibly be the killer!" Yamada countered, much to everyone's surprise.
"Oh, does the elephant in the room have something to say?" This actually got Monokuma a little excited, wondering what HE of all people had to argue. "This outta be good!"
"It's not a joke you stupid nightmare-fuel!"
"...Nightmare fuel?" Monokuma was right, this was going to be enjoyable.
...Or so he thought.
"Seriously kid, what do you have to argue with?" Even Owada was confused. He would've liked anything that could defend their side, but he didn't know what Yamada had come up with.
"Did you already forget, Master Mondo Owada?" Yamada gestured towards him, his glasses gleaming with hope. "The entire basis of that murder was from the ideas we formed that night about the perfect murder!"
"Oh..." Owada's eyes widened with shock as he squeezed his fist with pride. "Oh shit, that's right! It's impossible for her to have pulled off the murder!"
"What? Why's that?" Monokuma couldn't help but ask.
"Because it was only discussed at the guy's night in the lunchroom! With Oogami guarding the halls, she would've known anything if Asahina even passed through the hallways and heard our conversation."
"Tch-!"
Monokuma simply couldn't believe it. There was not one piece of it where he could believe it. Somehow, and much to his shock of all, Yamada had found a verily large issue with his argument. It would've been one thing to hear it from Naegi, Kirigiri, or practically any other person, but for him to get countered by the kid he pestered the most about his weight was definitely sending shivers of anger down his mechanical spine, especially since he was right.
There was no way Asahina could have heard anything from the guy's night together, and she couldn't have been there at any point earlier since the slumber party was just a spur of the moment idea they created during the announcement that day. Add that to the fact Asahina never left the party in the middle of the night, and Monokuma had a very hard time finding something to argue against.
Perhaps it was fitting karma that the kid whose weight he constantly made fun of would be the one to find a big flaw in his logic, not to mention everything else he did since the start of this killing game, but it didn't make his pride hurt any less. He wouldn't let it go without a fight, even if he had less and less information to shoot back with.
"W-Well, it could've been a coincidence, you know!" He yelled. "Maybe she murdered Naegi as a spur of the moment kinda thing."
"That's also impossible." Kirigiri said with a smile.
"And why's that?"
"Because for the murder to be pulled off, Asahina had to drag Naegi down to the bottom of the pool, and, if Naegi's claims are true, she was hooked up to the bottom where she would drown." Kirigiri explained. "She would've needed at least several minutes to herself in order to find the hook and know where it was set up."
Asahina was naturally touched by the support of her friends, and if they were going to help defend her, then she wasn't going to let them do all the work. She had to help defend herself all the same, less she remained silent to make herself look even more suspicious. "And I wouldn't have been able to check it out earlier than that either, I was with Naegi the entire time."
"And even before that, Celes was exploring the second floor from hearing a noise, so she would've said something if she saw me up there too." Naegi quickly added. "Her testimony from that morning proves none of us could've been up there!"
All eyes were upon the Puppet Master at this point. Every single word they said was filled with logic, truth, and detail. First, it had to be someone from the guy's night together. There was no opportunity for any of the girls to have eavesdropped on the party and find out about the plan thanks to Oogami guarding the hallways. In addition to that, not one of the girls had left the slumber party at any point, at least not while they were awake, so all of them have an alibi on what they were doing that night.
Secondly, was the placements of the traps themselves. Only the Puppet Master and the guys would've been the only one to know about the details of the plan, as well as how to pull off the pool trap that claimed Naegi's life very briefly. Asahina would've needed to know where the hook was placed earlier and she didn't have anything more than a single minute to herself where she could've escaped from the group and ran upstairs in time to place it herself. And thanks to Celes' exploration of the second floor, she wouldn't have been able to pass by her without seeing her.
And lastly, it's Celes' exploration that actually helped the most out of all the evidence provided. It wasn't just the fact she didn't see Asahina that helped, but the fact she went up there at all is what gave it away. She went up there simply because she heard something, which meant, quite possibly, that was the time the trap was being set up to begin with. With everyone else downstairs, and Ishimaru already having been dead for nearly a day, there wasn't any way one of the remaining students had been behind the trap.
There logic was foolproof at this point, with barely any argument to be made against Asahina's innocence. Monokuma had to admit, when the fire began to spread, the students sure were up to defending their own friends. Even if it meant something was against him, this still brought about a great deal of joy to himself. No matter what argument they made, it would all end in Despair by the end of all things.
"I don't suppose you have anything to argue that?" He asked to Ikusaba. Even with her body turned from the rest of the group, he could since the smirk she was throwing at him, as if to say "you're on your own there" aloud. "...Geck...Upupupu...Gyahahahaha! This is hilarious!"
Of course, that's the one thing that all the students were going to fear hearing. Laughter. Monokuma's insane laughter. It wasn't enough to just be laughter itself, but the reason behind it. There was always a reason behind everything Monokuma did to them, a reason behind every single scheme, motive, and rule he enforced at the end of each day and class trial. He was the epitome of reason itself, only existing to provide reasoning, as well as Despair.
Despair was the one thing that drove him beyond all else, the one thing he would always take comfort in causing and bringing to those around him. And it was the only thing that kept him fighting every single day of his life.
"Alright already, I guess I concede to that." He admitted. While this would normally be a blessing in any other situation, it only brought dread and worry to the remaining students.
"And why would you say that?" Kirigiri had to know. She couldn't let a single question be left unchecked in this trial, it was the last they would witness and the last chance to free themselves of this killing game once and for all.
"Because it still doesn't overturn a very key issue you guys have been getting sidetracked from." He stated. "While I can't argue against any of that crap, you still can't deny the possibility that Togami is behind all of this, or possibly my lovely master right next to me."
It took the rest of them a moment to realize how right he was. Up to this point, they were arguing with defending themselves and their friends that they had almost completely forgotten this entire issue was based around the possibility either Celes or Togami were the masterminds of this game. And while it did at least bring comfort to them knowing none of the remaining friends could be behind this, save for possibly Ikusaba, that still didn't deny the possibility that Togami was the one who was still alive.
"Then...how do we narrow it down to one of those two?" Owada asked the rest. "If we had something that could limit it between the two, it would make this trial pretty easy."
"Hey Yamada, wasn't there any evidence left over from the second trial you could find?" Asahina asked curiously, only to be greeted with a sigh of regret.
"Huff, sadly no, "he moaned, "I rechecked everything but nothing about the evidence could prove if he was really dead or just a fake.
As the trio continued to bicker amongst themselves, Kirigiri couldn't help but notice Naegi's strange silence. Naegi, the one person this entire trial was about, at least with the murder-half of it. From the very beginning, everything Monokuma had done was to make Naegi's life a living hell, from near-torture to simply enforcing rules that could potentially kill Naegi altogether. The part she couldn't understand is why though?
This was Monokuma, the one who planned this killing game that involved killing off 15 students from the very start of the game, the one who managed to psychologically convince students to commit murder for one reason or another. If it wasn't for the fact most of those murders were forced or accidental, she wouldn't be able to determine just how deceitful Monokuma truly was. Everything he does he did with a purpose. Whether it was to make the game harder to survive, or make it harder for students to not commit murder, everything he did had a reason behind it.
Yet it was that very reason that continued to allude Kirigiri from the start of this trial. She couldn't figure out how or why he kept targeting Naegi. Was it to make the rest of them feel despair? Was it to make Kirigiri herself feel despair? There wasn't any benefit to killing Naegi just for the sake of killing her, not even her memories. If Ikusaba was tasked to convince Naegi her memories were just some form of trauma or something else, then what was the point of the rest of it?
Despite that question repeating endlessly throughout her mind, she knew she needed to find an answer behind it. That answer was going to be the key to passing this trial, and exposing the Puppet Master. It was only at this time did she notice Naegi scrolling through the E-Handbook once again.
"What could she be looking for?"
"I'm just going with my gut at this point guys, but it can't be Byakuya." Owada huffed. "He wanted to get out of this killing game as much as the rest of us, so why would he even make a game where he was trapped inside of it?"
"He could've just been acting like it." Yamada commented with a shrug. "You've seen how the Puppet Master's played all of this out, right? I wouldn't put it past him just pretending to want out while plotting everything."
"Huh! He's onto me!" Monokuma gasped.
"Can it you little shit!" Owada yelled once more. It wasn't so much that he was annoyed with Monokuma's comments throughout the trial, the problem was he couldn't tell when or if Monokuma was ever trying to mislead them throughout it all. While it wouldn't surprise him if this was all just an act, it would've been a greater problem if this al truly was an act, and he was just using some form if "reverse-reverse psychology", making them think he's putting on an act when he's really being serious.
Now wouldn't that just be a mindfuck?
"Well there's no other clues we can go by, so how else do we determine who the culprit is?" Asahina asked worriedly. If there truly wasn't anything left within the E-handbook that could determine who the Mastermind was, then they really only could put it up to gamble and just vote based on their instinct. What else were they going to do?!
"...Umm..." Naegi mumbled a bit to herself in thought.
"Something wrong, Naegi?" Kirigiri .
"It's just...There's something bothering me about the morgue room, something about the bodies that were stored there." Neither Ikusaba nor Monokuma could ignore the curiosity this line of thought was leading.
"What would be so strange about a morgue, Naggy?" Monokuma teased. "I doubt it's that important if you don't even know."
"...You're right about that, it shouldn't be that important, huh?"
"Upupupupu..." Monokuma couldn't hold back his teethy grin, enjoying the feedback he got from the "weakest" of the students.
"But then again, that's the first time you felt necessary respond to anything I've said." Naegi remarked with a grin.
"Urk-!" Monokuma nearly choked on his own tongue as he began to sweat.
Ikusaba could neither believe what could happen, or the fact Naegi pulled it off against him of all people. Monokuma just fell for her trap hook, line, and sinker. It might not have been much of one in the long run, but just the simple fact Monokuma felt any necessity to make a response to something proved the importance of the subject. It took all of Ikusaba's willpower to keep herself from grinning at the situation, not just to keep from making a scene, but to keep herself from accidentally revealing how Naegi was on the right track, less Monokuma deemed she's helping and ruin everything up to this point.
"T-That doesn't mean anything, you know!" He growled back. "I'm just curious what information you got from those bodies."
"Yeah, that reminds me, what did you guys come up with from the morgue?" Asahina tapped her chin as she asked. Now that the others thought of it, they didn't really have time discussing anything Kirigiri found on the last floor since it was Naegi's last stop before meeting the others again for the trial. Anything they came across wasn't discussed with them yet.
"We found a morgue room where the bodies are apparently stored," Kirigiri said before frowning slightly, "but we couldn't examine any of the corpses personally since the freezers they were in were locked."
"The only indication there was anything in there were the green and red lights." Naegi added.
Even Yamada couldn't figure out what that meant. "Green and red lights?"
"Mh hm," Naegi nodded, "the green ones were for the freezers that were filled, the red lights for ones that were empty."
"Why didn't you guys mention it before then?!" Owada stammered. "We could've just slammed the whole case open if you brought anything up!"
"Because we don't know if it's even accurate." Kirigiri quickly replied. "After everything the Puppet Master has been up to by this point, there wasn't any guarantee there was even anything in the freezers."
"Oh, Kirigiri, you wound me." Monokuma joked. "How could you possibly not trust me after everything we've been through?"
"But she's telling the truth you know!" Ikusaba grumbled back, much to the others' surprise. "Locking the freezers is no different than hiding evidence."
"Ugh, you always gotta ruin my fun, don't you?" Only Monokuma could be the one to determine this was at all "fun". The bear who orchestrated everything and turned friends against each other, and declare this as being fun. If it wasn't for the fact Monokuma had to follow his own rules, no matter how much he twisted them or changed to his benefit, he would still have to follow them. Including being fair now of all times. "Fine, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, I confess. The freezers with the green lights are indeed occupied."
"Not that it matters at the time." Kirigiri still complained. "If what he says is true, then nine of the sixteen freezers are occupied, with only seven of them being red and empty."
"Why doesn't that help though? That just means someone we thought was dead is still alive!" As much as Asahina tried to sound hopeful, she knew Kirigiri was going to dash her spirits away.
"Because we still haven't seen the corpses ourselves, Asahina." Naegi replied. "It still just means someone we thought was dead is still alive, but for all we know that could still mean Togami is alive too."
"Not to mention how even if the corpses were in there, there's no guarantee they're real," Kirigiri paused as she looked at Monouma accusingly, "unless you're willing to confirm that too."
"Hehehe, my lips are sealed." He said with glee. "Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, I never said exactly what the freezers were filled with, and I think I've given enough hints for this trial as is." With a feel of victory within his grasp, he raised his paw triumphantly. "And we should really speed things along here. The minute I get bored, we're going to voting."
This was bad. Really, really bad. No one knew what to do at this point. Everything that's been brought up to this point has been under the pretense of who could still be alive that they thought was dead, who out there could be the one pulling strings. It wasn't enough torture for her to see them trying their hardest, it was the fact they were on the wrong track of all things that brought despair to Ikusaba.
She knew the risks everything, and knew she was forbidden from telling them anything not discussed. Unfortunately, knowing her sister, she wouldn't allow them to just ask if this person's dead, that person dead, and so forth. They needed to get on the right track of things if Ikusaba was ever going to have a chance of helping them out of here, a factor that only she and her sister knew.
Perhaps thats what brought the most turmoil out of all of this. Her sister was the one behind all this. The person she was raised with since birth and treated as family. This wasn't anything new to her or what her sister does, but why was it causing so much pain to her now than before? Months ago, even years, she would've been onboard for anything her sister concocted, any mischievous deed she could create. And she would always follow through with her with a smile of pure Despair plastered on her face.
So why was it hurting now? It couldn't have been just Naegi, there was too much riding on this. This was about choosing between her family and her friends that really drove her near the peak of insanity. The same pure insanity her sister had been inflicting upon her for the years that followed and the years to come.
And it was that revelation that her sister enjoyed watching Ikusaba squirm over.
"So...should we just try the vote?" Owada scratched his head with unease. The rest of them frowned slightly to themselves, getting the same feeling. Was this all they could do? Could they only vote for this? Even if they tried to split the votes evenly between Togami and possibly Ikusaba just to be safe, there was no guarantee they would be right.
But what other choice did they have?
"If we can't examine the morgue again, then...maybe? I don't know!" Asahina grumbled with worry.
"Well I think voting is our best option, guys!" Monokuma squealed. "Look at your selves, all exhausted, and for what? To determine who I could possibly be? Just put it to an end, give in to the despair, the loss of hope."
"Loss of...hope?" Naegi repeated to herself.
"Let's just vote, put an end to all this." He covered the cheeky grin he was growing, despite everyone knowing it was there. "I promise, from the bottom of my mechanical heart, you won't regret the punishment I have in store."
This truly was the final straw, the last key lining that would determine if they would survive this trial or come to an untimely end. They wanted to fight against him, fight against this trial, fight against Despair itself! But what other choices did they have? There was almost nothing to back their current evidence, especially with the annoying time limit Monokuma kept imposing on them.
Maybe this was it? Maybe they just reached the end of their long struggle? Maybe it was time to call it quits?
"W-Well...if everyone else is up to it, I guess..." Yamada began to speak as he reached over to the console.
"See? Tubs has got the right idea." No one even cared anymore for Monokuma's joking. "So if everyone is fully satisfied, I believe we all know what it's time for-"
"Wait a minute!" Naegi quickly blurted out. This was followed by the all-too-familiar grumble of a now-very-pissed-off-bear.
"GAH! I SWEAR EVER FUCKING TIME WITH YOU!" He growled angrily.
"Geeze, someone's having a temper tantrum." Ikusaba grinned with a tease.
"Shut it!" Ikusaba new better than to press her luck past this. All she could do now was watch whatever scene would unfold before her, praying for anything close to a miracle. "What is it this time?! And I swear you better give me something legit, I don't want any half-assed excuses!"
"But I just realized...I..." Naegi hesitated a little as she looked away. This was about to go in one of two directions: either she knew who the Puppet Master was at this point, or she was going to condemn them for the rest of their short lives. "I just realized something...two things actually."
"Then for your sake, give me a fun something first, or else-"
"I know who you are!"
There was nothing but silence between all the remaining students, including Monokuma. Owada, Asahina, Yamada, and even Ikusaba were looking upon her with surprise, even Ikusaba more so with shock. Did she really know who Monokuma was? Was she just bluffing something again hoping Monokuma could fess something up by accident? It worked the first time when Naegi was on the right track, and after an accusation like that there was no way Monokuma would live something like that down.
Along with that, Ikusaba couldn't help but panic a little. When her sister got worked up over something like this, worked over something she was really excited for, there was nothing worse than seeing her enraged rather than in despair. It was possibly the one and only other emotion she didn't hesitate showing, and it only became disastrous for those involved with her anger.
She remembers those times when someone else angered her, like the last time someone messed with one of her ideas and plans. The autopsy found it hard to identify them when their face was beaten in with mere fists. And only in remembering those times did it make Ikusaba worry for Naegi's potential fate.
She could only hope there was a plan behind this.
"...Come again?" Monokuma requested as he tilted his head.
"I know," Naegi paused again with uncertainty, "I think I know who you are."
"What the- are you serious?!" Owada couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then again, given how Naegi almost always had an answer by the end of all things, it wouldn't surprise him by this point. "Do you seriously know who it is?"
"Y-Yeah..." The amount of hesitation in her voice wasn't very reassuring, but at this point the rest didn't even have a choice.
"Oooohhhh..." Like always, Monokuma was quick to switch his moods from vengeful to excitement, showing off his teethed grin as before. "Then please, do tell me. Who am I?"
"But first, I need to clarify something. I'm...positive Togami isn't the one behind this."
"And what makes you say that?"
"Becau...Because..." Naegi struggled to find the words to say. She wanted to keep pressing forward as much as possible at this point, but the weight of the possible consequence still made her heart ache. If she was right, she would save her friends, and that she could live with. If she was wrong though, all her friends would suffer, and it would be her fault.
"Because that's not who Genocider saw two weeks ago." Kirigiri quickly said.
"Huh? What's Genocider have to do with this?" You could practically see the question marks rising from Yamada's forehead.
"I apologize for the silence up till now, but I was just making sure I had the facts straight." She apologized while rummaging through the evidence once more. "Remember back when Hagakure was explaining why Ishimaru ended up dead?
*Flashback 2 Weeks Ago...*
"You sure this would get 'Hina dude?" Hagakure asked as the three continued lifting.
"I'm positive." Ishimaru assured. "The traps were set up to specifically target each of the students based on their activities."
Hagakure turned is head to the right. "What about Ogre, dude? It doesn't matter what kind of trap you have for her, I'm sure she'll break through it."
"Haha! Never fear!" Ishimaru gloated. "We only need enough traps for one of them to fall in, not everyone, remember?" Ishimaru looked up as he stared into thought. "By my guess, one of them will fall for a hallway trap, and they'll assume from that point that the hallways are armed. After that, we just need to wait for awhile, then we can disarm the traps in the rooms without causing too much suspicion." He explained.
"I know dude, I know, but wouldn't it be easier to just do one of 'em in right now?" Hagakure asked. Genocider looked to the two with excitement.
"Ya want me to DO somebody?!" She asked ecstatically.
"NO!" The other two quickly shouted.
"So what do we do with the guys downstairs then?" Hagakure had to ask. They have become closer friends with the others.
"Hmph, no need to worry. We already got that covered too, remember?" Ishimaru reminded.
"I know, I know, I'm just not entirely sure about it is all." Hagakure sighed. "I mean, what if they do get hurt?"
"Even if they set it off, it's just a bear trap. Worse comes to worse, they'll break a bone. Not as bad as dying." Ishimaru retorted.
As the two continued to gossip and chat, neither were aware of Genocider's sudden curiosity.
"Eh? Hey, who's that?" She spoke out walking away. Ishimaru only took one glance at her before he panicked.
"W-Wait! Genocider don't-!" He tried warning.
*twing*
"Eh?" Genocider lowered her loopy-tongued face to the ground after hearing the sound. She just remembered where she placed the trigger for the trap to the pool.
"MOVE!" Ishimaru shouted, quickly pushing Hagakure off to the side.
"Waaah!" He yelped, landing painfully on his head a few feet from Ishimaru. Before he could ask why, he was already gone.
*SPLASH*
*Flashback End*
"Until now, I didn't give it much thought about what happened to take Genocider's attention away from the trap they were making," Kirigiri continued, "but now I'm sure it had to be someone other than Togami, who could've been the only one who made that trap to kill Naegi."
"Whaaa? What reasoning is there for that?!" Monokuma grumbled. The amount of resistance and anger he was throwing back was proof they were on the right track.
"Because if it was Togami, Genocider would've known at first glance." Naegi took over. "She always obsesses over her targets and people she's infatuated with. If she truly did see Togami she or Hagakure would've said as much in their explanation over Ishimaru's death."
"Y-You don't say..." With every word of tension spoke, the classmates knew they were getting closer to the truth. They just needed to continue pressing onward to maintain the attack.
"Aw fuck I forgot about that!" Owada shouted squeezing his head. "She didn't say exactly who it was so I thought it was just some bug or something that distracted her."
This still left Asahina with confusion though. "But what does that have to do with knowing the Puppet Master's identity? I mean it helps bring down the list of possible suspects, but what does it have to do with knowing the true culprit?"
"Well, that part...it isn't in the evidence." Naegi nervously stated.
"Huh? Are you kidding me!" Monokuma threw up his arms angrily. "You think I'm going to allow evidence that isn't even in the list of evidence?!"
He did bring up a good point, despite the amount of protests he would've gotten. It wasn't just a matter of having the evidence or not, they needed to be sure there was something that could potentially save the trial here, as well as prove to him that their Hope was stronger than Monokuma's Despair. He wouldn't allow anything less than that, provided it didn't play to his amusement.
"W-Well it...it isn't evidence anyone but me could obtain." That really took the remaining students by surprise, save for Kirigiri who, despite not knowing where she was going with this, trusted Naegi's instincts. "It...It's in my memories."
"Hmm? What? Still having those little trauma episodes?" Mookuma couldn't help but remind her how she fell for Ikusaba's lie about this being nothing more than some defense mechanism due to the trauma she's suffered through this place. If not just to annoy her, then it definitely worked on irritating Ikusaba. "Just come to your favorite black and white bear, I promise I can fix that in a jiffy." He emphasized as he wiggled a saw in front of the crowd.
"Would it kill you to shut the fuck up already?" Owada groaned before looking to Naegi. "I wanna hear what the chick has to say."
"Well, honestly, it's thanks to what Monokuma said earlier."
"What I said?" Now he was completely baffled. What did he just say that gave Naegi the clue to identify himself? He's positive he never said, "hey I'm this person by the way!" out loud, even if it brought amusement, so there was a real thin stretch Naegi was reaching for.
"About this situation, about losing Hope?" Naegi reminded.
"Losing ho-...oh shit."
"Well I think voting is our best option, guys!" Monokuma squealed. "Look at your selves, all exhausted, and for what? To determine who I could possibly be? Just put it to an end, give in to the despair, the loss of hope."
"T-That doesn't mean anything! I've been saying that constantly around here, ya know?"
"I hate to agree with him but the bear's got a point." Owada felt awkward saying anything close to an agreement with Monokuma. "I don't see how that changes anything from what he's said earlier."
"Hmph, at least someone gets it!" Monokuma cheered with a thumbs up, only to be shot a middle finger back.
"I know, but that's just it. It's how he kept pressing on about giving in to despair, accepting how we've lost any and all hope." Naegi squeezed her fist a little as she spoke. She couldn't believe it only came back to her now, but it all started to add up. Memories of each and every one of her friends that she met the first time around throughout Hopes Peak academy, all the people she used to know and lost since coming to this accursed school. Only now did the memories start piling up, scattering across the recesses of her mind until one and only one person remained burned inside her head, the last person she recalled mentioning this in any shape or form. "There's only one person I know, someone who I once thought of as a friend up to this point." With sheer determination, and a nervous heart, Naegi short her finger directly at the bear with all her might.
"You're Junko Enoshima!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Umm...what?" Yamada was just as confused as the remaining students, saved for Kirigiri who looked more surprised than anything, and Ikusaba who had to turn away to hide the growing smile that was spreading across her lips.
"...Seriously? You think I'm that windbag?" This was perfect. This was all too perfect for the small bear. Here stood Naegi, the one little thorn in her side, suddenly blurting out the answer. It was correct, mind you, but none of the others could understand that. Nor could they find the logic in this due to a very unfortunate detail. "Upupupu GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!" Monokuma never laughed so hard since the trial began. "Oh this is too priceless, really too priceless. Here I thought gung-ho Naegi had something on me, but it turned out to be a fluke, just like her."
"So you deny it?" Naegi questioned.
"Of course I deny it, you ignoramus! While I never considered my cute and adorable self anything less than a super model, I simply have to ask- did you lose your mind at any point?!"
"L-Look, Naegi, I know you're trying to help, "Asahina tried to find the right words to say that wouldn't shatter Naegi's courage at this moment, "but you need to remember the assembly on the second day. Remember?"
"The fricken chick got shish-kebabbed, remember?" Just remembering how painful it looked sent shivers even up Owada's spine. At the same time, Ikusaba couldn't help but shiver on her own, sending a message Kirigiri had been waiting to confirm. "I mean if it was only one spear, that'd be one thing. But she got stabbed all over the place, remember? And even if by some miracle she did miraculously survive being impaled, then she would've bled to death."
"There's no way Master Junko Enoshima could've survived in both ways, much less one," Yamada sighed in disappointment, "as much as I'm sure we wished otherwise..."
"But-"
"But nothin'!" Monokuma quickly cut off Naegi's response. "I hate to be the BEAR of bad news, but what they say is true. There's simply no way she could've survived her punishment, attacking precious little me like that outta nowhere and everything. Sometimes I still see my own life as a little bear flash before my eyes when I remember it."
"B-But guys, I'm telling you-!"
"Once again, BUT! NOTHING!" Monokuma roared angrily, cutting off Naegi once again. "Unless you have proof otherwise, I think we can all move along with our verdict."
"Then why not have Ikusaba herself show us?" Kirigiri suggested with a calm smile.
"Huh?!" Ikusaba's heart almost skipped a beat as she heard this. Was this the chance they were waiting for? The one break they needed to end this trial? Every passing minute sped up Ikusaba's heart, it felt like it could explode any second.
"Have her...show us?" Even Naegi was confused with this turnabout.
"Owada, you remember the evidence you found about Fenrir and everything?" Kirigiri asked as she scrolled through her E-Handbook.
"Huh? Y-Yeah, I remember it." He eyed the evidence himself until he came upon it. "Ikusaba herself was a member of it. I gotta say with a spotless track record I'm surprised how many missions she came across without a single injury."
"It's the injury part that struggle with." Kirigiri looked over the former Mercenary once more. "Because last I checked, her entire body is covered with scars!"
"Wh-Wha-Whaaaaaat?!" It wasn't so much that Kirigiri knew about the scars, what baffled Monokuma was how exactly she found out. But as long as Ikusaba kept to her end of the deal, he didn't have as much to fear.
"I-I think I already told you about those, Kyoko." Ikusaba replied with a slight frown. "I was tortured and stabbed with a method called the Leaking Barrel, remember?"
"The Wiki-who?" Yamada repeated I confusion.
"They kept stabbing me with a knife over and over again until I would confess, trying to make me bleed to death." She shot back at Kirigiri with full force. If she was going to be so sure of the statistics, she needed to ensure she left no room for argument for everyone else. "And those files you have are outdated. It doesn't go over the last mission I went on before coming to Hopes Peak Academy."
"Eesh, sounds brutal." Even the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader couldn't help but wonder what short of twisted forms of torture soldiers could go through, especially to a teenager at that.
"Dawww, no wonder daddy's wittle girl was so confuuuused." Monokuma taunted.
If that was directed towards Naegi, naturally it would've just irritated her even if it was somewhat hurtful.
But in the case of Kirigiri, it didn't work as expected.
It just pissed her off.
"I'm quite aware of that fact, with the understanding that the files might not be up to date as you say." Kirigiri admitted calmly. "However, those wounds of yours are far too thick to be caused by a simple knife!" She pointed out.
This was the detail that brought relief to Ikusaba and Despair to Monokuma, and not one he could relish in at that moment. The one single-file flaw in that little story Ikusaba had mentioned, gave no mention to what type of weapon she was impaled with, and there couldn't be any room to state she was stabbed with anything other than a spear. If she said she was stabbed with a spear, the lie would've been obvious or too coincidental for the situation before them, and if she stated it was a knife, the lie would be obvious upon examination.
This was the breakthrough everyone had been waiting for, the one that was needed to see the rest of them through this.
"T-Th-T-Tha-That's noth-" Monokuma struggled to find any words to that argument. First Naegi revealed how her memories played a key part in all this, and then Kirigiri had revealed immediately how those wounds could only be caused by one specific source. It was the perfect trap.
The one that he fell for.
"And if there is any room for doubt Monokuma, then why not have Ikusaba show us her stomach?" Kirigiri announced with a grin. "I highly doubt you took the liberty to apply any of that makeup during the final investigation!"
"Damnit Mukuro!" The Puppet Master grumbled to themselves as they watched the scene unfold. She could put together easily that the explosion Ikusaba caused was the cause of the makeup burning away. She had developed it so it would work over 80% of the time within water so she never had to worry about it getting washed away by accident. She hadn't accounted for burns or fire, however.
"...Hmhmhm..." Ikusaba chuckled to herself as as she teared up a bit, smiling as she reached for her shirt. "Thank you... I was hoping we'd reach this point." And with one pull of the shirt, the truth was revealed.
All around her stomach, her sides, her thighs, the class could see perfectly everything that had been kept hidden. From the tip of her braw to the waist of her skirt, they could see the near-dozen scars that had been inflicted upon her- no. Inflicted upon the Junko they once knew, nearly two days after this killing game began. Some of them were awestruck, others shocked. They could believe now that she had survived her numerous impalements, but what they couldn't believe was the hidden truth of the matter.
Naegi was right. Despite the initial disbelief they had, she was right. The Ikusaba before them used to be Junko, one of their fellow classmates. And if this truly was the fake Junko, that could only lead them to one realization.
"Even now it continues to hurt...But I put up with it just because..." Ikusaba sniffled silently as she tried to hold back the tears, not of pain, but of joy.
"W-Whoa...God damn, man..." Owada mumbled, still in shock. Now he had more than enough reason to break the Puppet Master's neck, inflicting this much suffering onto one girl. His code and honor was a part of that.
"Oh my god..." Asahina gasped, covering her mouth. "A-Are you ok?" The wounds were still fresh-looking enough to know just how painful the injuries were. Mix that with the added fact this Junko was the one that came back in under a week of suffering the injuries she did, and it proved how much of a miracle it was to see Ikusaba standing up at all!
"S-So those scars...y-you were really..." Even Naegi was dumbstruck with the realization. She knew Junko had to be the mastermind after everything she remembered, but to think this is the one she first thought of as Junko, and the relief that overflowed from seeing her once-thoght-to-be-dead-friend standing right before her. She smiled a little as Ikusaba lowered her shirt slowly once more, taking in the relief of everyone's worried and surprised expressions.
It showed that they cared.
"Uhhh w-wait could you lift your shirt up, I did't get a good look..." Yamada lied for obvious reasons.
Well at least he still cared.
"Cram it, dude." Owada rolled his eyes before glaring at Monokuma. "The shows over you stupid bitch! Show us the real you!"
"..." There was nothing but silence emanating from the bear.
"We're finished with this game, so let us go!" Asahina shouted angrily.
"..."
"We've been playing for long enough!" Yamada deemed enthusiastically.
"..."
"We've been playing your killing game long enough, Junko!" Naegi shouted as slammed her hands on the podium. "It's over! It's time to end this trial!"
"..."
"..."
"...Hmm?" Monokuma casually tilted his head once more. "Over?" As much as they hated it, none of them were surprised to see this response coming from the mechanical bear, knowing there was always a reason behind it. Even if they could never tell the reasons at the time, they always knew that it was always just that, a reason. "Upupupu...Gyahahahahahahaahaaaaa! Over? OVER?!
In a bright, white flash, the black and white bear exploded. Unlike before when Owada threw him, this time around smoke and scatters of dust filled the air, sending several of the students into a coughing fit, as the rest simply shielded their eyes as the remains scattered. It was too obvious for any of them, obvious for those who were still suffering from this point, and were going to continue suffering for the remainder of this day. And the Puppet Master herself was going to make sure of that.
Within a mere seven seconds of the explosion did a shadow suddenly began to rise, right over where Monokuma once stood. It was hard to make out at first, given the black silhouette that could only be seen. But as it cleared, it became apparent who they were literally facing. Everything they had debated over was right, everything they had fought against was finally being brought to truth. The one who started this whole killing game. The one that tricked everyone to endlessly kill their friends over and over again. The one who always found Despair as the most prominent power of the universe itself. There was no arguing, there was no reason to doubt anymore. As the smog cleared, so too did the image itself.
Standing there with her tongue twisted, her pink hair spread across the side like wildfire, a small crown as if to admit her superiority over everyone, and her heavy metal rock signs she was making with her hands across from each other to form an X.
This, was Junko Enoshima.
"THIS CLASS TRIAL HAS JUST GOTTEN STARTED!"
...
...
...
A/N: Hooooooooooooooooooftah! Oh dear god, finally! I'm not going to jinx myself guys, cause I always end up doing that when I do this, so I'm just gonna say this. We have 2 more chapters to go. The first half of the second half of this trial (if that even makes sense), and then the finale! oh gawd, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.
I would also like to take this time to clarify something some new readers have complained about in the reviews- not that i blame them since i joked about it in the authors notes, but it needs to be clarified. Naegi's death earlier in the fic and sudden "brought back to life"-ness was 100% intentional. I can tell the joke definitely threw some people off, but it was actually planned and part of the script. Several aspects of this fanfic required it, such as Naegi's memories, as well as more tension between Ikusaba and the Mastermind.
On top of that, without spoiling things, there will be another aspect of it required for the next part of the trial, so dont go thinking anything I did I did without reason...unless I forgot something in which case that was by accident (I've been working on this fanfic for 3 years so cut me some slack if I forgot something I wrote XP).
Again, I apologize to everyone if the writing itself is choppy- I hate it too, trust me, it was a little hard getting back into it. But you know what makes this grand? I did this in over the course of a DAY, just like the olden days when I first started this stuff X). Idk if it's a sign that I'm back or what, but within less than 24 hours (since i technically started this at 8Pm, stopped at 10, then continued from 8 to 4 right now), then maybe it's a good sign.
As a result from the number of votes we got last chapter, I think I will work on Danganronpa V3 after this guys. Alternatively, I could technically work on danganronpa 2, but the issue with that is that it has a lot of spoilers for the Despair Girls fanfic I was planning to do after. Granted at the same time, that fanfic wold spoil things for danganronpa 2 as well, but not until closer towards the end of the fic as opposed to DGR2 which mostly has spoilers in the midst of the first class trial I have planned. So a vote would need to be determined for even that then, but honestly, I feel more inclined to do Danganronpa v3, cause GOD DAMNIT does the outcome of the first chapter piss me off and bring upmost pain just thinning about it X(!1
But regardless, I'd like to take this time to take a shoutout to all the fans out there who've never left me and have been supporting this fanfic since it came out, most iconic of all being Chaosrin at this point, because he's the only one i remember seeing throughout the years, as well as being one of the few faces I remember reviewing recently. As well as thanks to all you old and new fans who wrote those extremely long reviews which gave me the motivation i needed to push this out in under a day- you have no idea how much encouragement those reviews help X).
So once again, thanks to all of you who've been with me up to this point. I hope despite it's shoddy writing that you still found this fanfic enjoyable, and continue to enjoy the series until it's grand finale, which we're only two chapters away from X).
As always, leave a like, a fave, and review if you enjoyed the fic ^^!
