-This is made by Starrshard on Ao3 and Wattpad, please check them out. I have been given permission to upload this to, as they do not have an account on this website-
"It looks like… we're leadless," Shouto murmured, hand to his chin, eyebrows furrowed.
"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right," Mirio affirmed. "The traitor… is the killer of both of our victims. But how are we supposed to figure out who this traitor is?"
"Is it hopeless?" Nejire whispered. "Are we all going to die if we don't figure out who the killer is?"
"Guys… we can't just give up like this," Yaomomo spoke up. "You're all going to die if we stop here."
"Says you," Tamaki murmured. "Weren't you the one losing hope? The one who said everything was meaningless?"
"That's… maybe that's true," Yaomomo replied, finding herself at a loss for words. "But… for some reason… maybe I don't want you all to get executed. Is that such a bad thing?"
A lapse of silence. Tsuyu was gazing at her with thoughtful eyes. "Let's go over the case again," the Swimmer said, shattering the quiet. "Maybe we'll see something new."
"Good idea," Yaomomo sighed. "Let's debate."
Non-stop Debate : Start!
Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #5, Camera, Net, Mei's Wounds, Knife - Mashirao, Megablade
"Let's review the order of events again, from the top," Tsuyu prompted, surprisingly herself. I'll assume the haze in her head cleared a bit, if only just for today. "First, Mei and her accomplice, the traitor, set up the trap and camera in the laundry room."
"They were targeting Mashirao, and only Mashirao, for some reason," Yaomomo added, hoping the others would continue the conversation.
"M-Mei set up a camera and tablet to monitor the room. She also provided disguises," Denki said.
"This afternoon, when Mei caught Mashirao alone in the laundry room," Tamaki said. "Sh-She and the accomplice put on their disguises, got their weapons, and went down."
"Mei and her accomplice cornered Mashirao and set the trap on him," Shouto said. "And the accomplice beheaded Mashirao."
"They hid his head in the laundry, along with his clothes, and turned it on," Yaomomo said. "Then they left and went back to the lab."
"Once they got there, the accomplice turned on Mei and killed her," Mirio finished.
"After that… we found the bodies," Yaomomo added on. "We found Mei's body first."
"No, that's wrong!"
Break…?!
"Huh? Shouto?" Yaomomo was surprised to find her cut off by a certain Theorist.
"What do you mean, Mei's body was found first?" Shouto inquired. "You may have found her first, but remember that the two body announcements were nearly one after the other. It's definitely possible Mashirao was found first."
"I agree with him," Mezou spoke up as well. "Mashirao is just as likely to have been found before Mei as vice versa."
"Ah. That makes sense…" Yaomomo murmured. "So who died first?"
"Well, the first announcement went off as soon as I entered the room and saw the body," Shouto replied. "Since Mezou found it first, and then found me in the hallway to see it."
"Same here, though," Tooru said. "Our group saw Mei, and the announcement went right off."
"But what about the second announcement?" Mezou brought up. "There was a breathable pause between the first and second announcements, even if they were pretty close together. If they had really been found at the same time, the announcements would be one after the other with no pause."
"Nobody showed up after Mezou and I, until you, Yaomomo," Shouto spoke. "The second announcement couldn't have been for Mashirao. It was for Mei."
"Wait… but why wouldn't Mei's announcement be triggered by Tooru, Denki, and-" Yaomomo was about to ask, before something hit her. "Oh. Oh…"
"What? What is it?" Nejire asked hesitantly.
"The body discovery announcement rule. The announcement goes off if three people other than the killer see the body," Yaomomo said slowly. "When Tooru, Denki, and I saw Mei, her announcement was not triggered. If all three of us had been innocent bystanders, the announcement would've gone off. But it didn't."
"So that means… one of you is the traitor," Tamaki finished for her.
Yaomomo felt a chill go through her spine. Tooru. Denki. Me.
One of us is the traitor…
"H-Hey! Guys! I'm definitely not the traitor!" Denki yelped. "I would never..!"
Double!
"Well, I'm also not the traitor!" Tooru cried. "How could I ever kill Mei?!"
Triple!
"Well, I'm also not the traitor," Yaomomo cut in. "We have to find out who it is!"
"I would never be a villain!"
"I would never kill Mei!"
"I would never betray my class!"
Mass Panic Debate : Start!
Truth Bullets: Monokuma File #5, Laundry Room, Hitoshi's Account, Ochako's Outfit, Megablade
"Come on, guys, believe me when I say…" Denki began.
"I would never kill Mei! She was my best friend!" Tooru wailed.
"After everything I've done for all of you, there is no way I could be a villain!" Yaomomo declared.
"That I would never be a villain!" he continued.
"You being her friend makes it more likely that you were her accomplice," Tamaki pointed out.
"Regardless of how you treat us," Shouto retorted, "there is still no evidence backing you up."
"But you have no evidence backing you up; your argument is insufficient," Mezou commented.
"Even if I was her best friend… even if I loved her…" Tooru sobbed.
"Yeah! And you, Yaomomo, as a detective, should know that best!" Mirio added.
"C-Come on!" Denki wailed. "I could never kill my friends…"
"I WOULD NEVER HELP HER KILL SOMEONE!" she wailed, tears threatening to spill over her red eyes.
"There may be no evidence defending me…" Yaomomo said.
"Eijirou, Katsuki, Mina, Hanta… all of them killed in this game…" Denki murmured.
"It's okay, Tooru. It's just… there's no evidence directly putting you in the clear," Nejire reassured.
"...but there is also no evidence in the defense of any of us!" she finished.
"N-No, that's wrong..!"
Break..?
"Denki has an alibi," Tsuyu said firmly. Her eyes darted left and right and her expression was unfocused, but her words were clear.
"Eh?" Yaomomo was surprised by the cut in from the ill girl.
"I said, Denki has an alibi," she repeated. "He was with me since after lunch."
"Th-That's right!" Denki affirmed. "Nejire usually accompanies her, but she was sleepy, s-so she asked me to do it!"
"I did ask Denki to walk with her," Nejire added.
"If that's the case, then Denki's in the clear," Tamaki said. "Which means…"
"The traitor…" Tooru turned to stare Yaomomo in the eyes.
"Is one of us." Yaomomo stared right back at her, gazing into her vibrant crimson eyes.
The traitor, huh…
Evidence. I need evidence against Tooru…
…
Maybe… maybe that one occurrence right after we woke up from anesthesia, a few days ago…
"I believe there may be a piece of evidence in my favor," Yaomomo said slowly, turning away from Tooru. "Remember when we were all thrown into this trial room after Monokuma knocked us out, during the hero rescue operation?"
"Yeah. We were calling out names to make sure everyone was here," Shouto commented. "What about it?"
"Well, remember how there was a pause between the sequences of names called?" Yaomomo prompted. This is probably a stretch… but it's worth a shot.
~*Flashback*~
"I'm Mashirao, and Hitoshi's with me. Seven," the tailed boy said.
A heartbeat of silence followed, as if the remaining five were musing who should go first without running over each other. A light thump could be heard against the floor, as if someone moved on a carpeted floor.
"I'm present. Shouto. Eight." The heterochronous Theorist started the count back up.
~*Back to Present*~
"That thump during that lapse of silence… it sounded like someone had just entered and hit the ground with their feet. As if someone were dropped out of a portal into the room. It would make sense for the villains to talk to their traitor about what to do next," Yaomomo reasoned.
Mezou scoffed. "That just sounds like you're trying to grasp at random strings. Try something more solid."
"I h-hate to say it, but I agree with Mezou…" Denki murmured. "There's no evidence in either of your defenses."
No… no, no, no, there has got to be something…
I have to think…
"Hey, Yaomomo!" Tooru called out. "If you're really intent on trying to paint me as the traitor… Then I guess I'll have to give it my all too, right?"
"What do you mean?" Yaomomo asked hesitantly.
"I'm sure there's got to be evidence against you!" Tooru declared. "I'm not the traitor… I know I'm not the traitor! So that means you have to be it, right?"
The Artist's eyes were nearly manic as she glared at Yaomomo with a challenging stance. She's not backing down.
Well, neither am I.
"If you've really got evidence against me, then go ahead," Yaomomo prompted calmly. "I've got plenty against you, too."
I can't go down here.
No way. Not in a hundred trials could I go down by some villain's false claims.
I have to protect my class. Protect them from the traitor.
Argument Armament : Start!
{Tooru's Audio Clips Letters to Counter}
Phase 1
"Yaomomo, you've got to be kidding me!" (W) (W) (W) (W) (A) (A)
"Me? The traitor? There's no way!" (A) (A) (D) (D)
"You've got no solid evidence against me!" (S) (S) (S) (W) (W)
"There is literally NOTHING you can put in your own defense!" (W) (W) (W) (S) (S) (A) (D)
"I have evidence, all right, and I intend to beat you with it!" (D) (D) (D) (S) (S) (A) (A) (A) (S)
Phase 2 : Advance!
"Look, so after lunch…" (W) (W) (W)
"...you went unaccounted for for quite a while, right?" (W) (A) (A) (D) (D) (D)
"When Denki, Tsuyu, and I found you…" (S) (S) (S) (W) (W)
"...you were in the cafeteria making tea!" (W) (W) (W) (S) (S)
"That leaves a big gap between lunch ending and the body discoveries!" (S) (S) (S) (A) (D) (D) (D) (W)
"Therefore, you have no alibi!" (D) (D) (D)
Phase 3 : Advance!
You can't see anything… anything at all..!
"Yaomomo, quit insisting already!" (W) (W) (A) (A)
"You know I'm right…" (S) (S) (D) (D)
"You know you're just a filthy villain…" (W) (W) (D) (D)
"You know you're a traitor and a mole!" (S) (S) (A) (A)
"So just stop trying to fool us already!" (W-A-S-D)
"Just shut up!" (W) (A)
"Shut up…" (W-A-S-D)
"Shut up…" (W-A-S-D)
"Shut up!" (W-A-S-D)
"Shut your mouth, you dirty villain!" (W) (A) (S) (D)
Final Blow!
W = Katsuki's
A = During
S = Rescue
D = Helped
"You have no evidence to even defend yourself, you liar!"
"Yes, I do."
D-A-W-S : HelpedDuringKatsuki'sRescue : Break!
"Tooru. I'll acknowledge one thing… you're right I have no way to find definitive evidence that pins it on you within this case," Yaomomo began. "But I do have something that works roughly in my own favor."
"Oh? What is it?" Tooru's voice was pushy; irritated.
"Back when we were heroes in training… Katsuki got captured by the villains. You got knocked out by the pink gas in the woods. I got away with just a head injury though, so I got a tracker onto a Nomu and created a device to follow it, remember?" Yaomomo looked to the rest of the class.
"Yes… it was a great help to the rescue operation." Shouto's eyes were misty as he said that. Out of the six people who were involved in that incident… only two remain alive today.
Funny who quickly things changed, huh?
"Well, I willingly helped by tracking the Nomu. On my own accord. The only person with me was Yosetsu, a One-B student who helped me put the tracker on. If I were the traitor, I wouldn't pop up with the idea of tracking the Nomu to find the villains base and raid it, especially when I was injured. I could have just faked that my injury was too much, or even faked being unconscious. Even easier, I could've just done nothing. A mole wouldn't just give the heroes a huge weapon on their own free will," Yaomomo explained.
"Meanwhile, on the other hand… Tooru, you were unconscious at the hospital until after the raid. You didn't know about the Katsuki Rescue Operation, or my device. You couldn't have provided the villains intel on the rescue operation going after them, which was why the villains weren't prepared for the attack." Yaomomo stared pointedly at the Artist. "This is just one piece of evidence that points to you."
"S-So what? Give me more evidence!" Tooru exclaimed. She was noticeably getting on edge, though; her stance was more agitated. Her eyes were fixated on Yaomomo with a burning intensity.
"Well, how about the USJ attack? Being invisible, you were completely under the radar the entire time. Nobody knew definitively where you were; only you could provide an account saying you were in the Landslide Zone. You have no alibi. You easily could've stayed in a safe area while completely invisible, since the villains would have no wish to get their mole hurt or killed." Yaomomo met Tooru's startled eyes. "There's plenty of evidence to use against you, Tooru. But you can't pull anything out against me."
"None of th-that relates to this case, though! You're only digging up old information!" Tooru was still desperately trying to grasp for something to defend herself.
"Tooru, stop trying to find something to put on your side," Mirio cut in. "We've already established that the killer of our case is the traitor, right? By finding the traitor, you find the killer. It all goes hand in hand."
"I-Is it true, T-Tooru?" Denki faltered. "Did you… kill Mashirao and Mei?"
"O-Of course not! I could never… kill Mei..!" Tooru's eyes were welling with tears, spilling over and sliding down her cheeks.
But Yaomomo knew she was lying. A traitor. A liar.
A murderer.
A villain.
"Ignore her. Come on, guys. Let's just go over the case again before we vote," Yaomomo prompted gently. "Then we can vote."
And get this over with.
Get us out of this wretched place.
She sighed, as if simply exhaling would release all of the weight in her heart. "Here is what happened."
Closing Argument : Start!
"This whole case began when the traitor motive was announced. Mei decided to kill Mashirao; the reason why is unsure, but it's clear she was specifically targeting him exclusively. She decided to enroll in the help of her best friend to assist her in her murder plot.
"However, unbeknownst to her, Mei's friend happened to be the traitor of the class. A villain. She blindly trusted them, which would eventually lead to her demise.
"The two of them set up a trap to isolate Mashirao. Mei crafted a camera, a sensor, a buzzer, a tablet, a button, and a piston-operated falling net. She placed the camera and sensor in the laundry room. The sensor was connected to the buzzer, and the camera to the tablet. That way, if someone were to enter the laundry room, Mei would be alerted, and she would check the tablet to see who it was. She was monitoring the room; waiting for a chance to catch Mashirao there, alone. The net was placed in the ceiling in the corner, for use once the murder was underway. The button activated it.
"On top of the trap in the laundry room, Mei and her accomplice created disguises. They stole spare outfits from two of the deceased: Ochako and Mina. They also crafted full-head masks. Also, Mei created a rather peculiar weapon… the megablade. A massive curved knife, which could be retracted into a small swiftblade handle.
"After a few days, the two finally caught Mashirao in the laundry room alone, washing his clothes. They threw their costumes on and rushed down, carrying a bag of supplies: the megablade, two kitchen knives, a cleaning cloth, and the button. The buzzer was still in Mei's pocket, as well as a mysterious set of batteries.
"Mei and her accomplice barged into the laundry room, keeping Mashirao in. Mei's accomplice was holding the megablade and the button, while Mei held the bag. The killer likely backed Mashirao into the corner, using the megablade as a threat. They hit the button and the net dropped down onto Mashirao's back when the trap activated. Small sacs on the net, filled with some sort of acidic substance, burst, burning him as well. All of these contributors -the megablade, the net, the acid- were to panic Mashirao, so that he would accidentally tangle himself in the net.
"Mei's accomplice got into close quarters with Mashirao- close enough that Mashirao could grab something from their outfit. Mashirao reached out and managed to snag a scrap of the blue ribbon off of Mina's outfit, which was the disguise the killer was wearing. The killer, using the megablade, sliced Mashirao's head clean off his neck.
"Their job completed, the killer and Mei began setting up the scene. Mashirao's head was thrown in the washing machine, along with his clothes and some laundry detergent. The machine was turned on. Also, they took one of the kitchen knives, stabbed it into Mashirao's arm to cover it in blood, and left it at the scene. They cleaned the blood off of the megablade using the cloth in their supply bag, and folded it up. Mei and her accomplice left after that.
"But the case is not yet over. As soon as Mei and her accomplice got back to Mei's lab, the killer -her accomplice- turned on her. They used the second kitchen knife in the bag to stab Mei once in the back, before delivering a fatal blow to her chest. If I had to imagine for a moment, I could see Mei feeling shocked as her friend, the friend she trusted enough to kill someone with her, betrayed her.
"The killer, satisfied with their work, placed Mei's body on the worktable. They took her device; it's unknown where it went, but they likely hid it somewhere nearby, or broke it and hid the pieces. Regardless, they followed to hide the rest of the items used in the murder in various boxes in Mei's lab. The only thing they could not hide was the costume Mei was wearing; we found her still wearing Ochako's outfit. The rest of the equipment was scattered around the room, including atop the worktable.
"Their own dirty work done, the killer finally had to make up a fake story for themselves. They ran to the cafeteria crying crocodile tears, alerting Denki, Tsuyu, and I that they found the body.
"And all this… the murder of both Mashirao and Mei, the backstabbing of your supposed best friend… it was you, wasn't it? Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Artist… and the traitor of Class One-A."
Break!
Silence filled the trial room. Yaomomo could hear a ringing in her ears, like the buzz of air shattered by a bullet. The atmosphere was electric, chills running through her palms in nervous energy.
It's over. It's done.
Tooru, the traitor...
The Artist was standing, cowering, on her podium. Her crimson eyes flickered from side to side, fear alight in her expression. Her hands were clasped together over her collarbone, like a quivering child awaiting chastisement.
"Come on, guys." Hitoshi's voice was cold; tense. "Let's vote for this bitch already."
Yaomomo felt a pang in her chest. There was a sort of frozen anger in his tone; a sort of rage that, when unleashed, would strike fear and agony into anyone his words graced. Sympathy washed over the Detective as she gazed at his coiled stance.
"Listen to the Psychic, kiddos!" Monokuma grinned. "It's voting time!"
The class collectively looked down to their levers, pointing them to the blackened of choice. As the last vote was placed, the slots machine made a small ringing noise, announcing voting time as over.
"Puhuhu! Who will be chosen as the blackened..? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"
The slots machine burst to life.
Spinning, spinning, spinning icons of our faces… Yaomomo stared, entranced, at the blinking lights and flashing images. Tooru...
All three slots landed on the Ultimate Artist's portraits. The machine cheered in victory, all glitter and shine.
Traitor.
Class Trial : End!
"So, it really was you…" Denki whispered, his voice haunted. "Tooru…"
Yaomomo dragged her eyes away from the flashing slots machine, directing them to the girl in question instead. "A villain…"
I was right.
Of course I was right.
Tooru herself was now staring down at her feet, her face cast in shadow. Her hands were clenched in fists, gripping her dress jacket and bunching up the edges. Is she scared? Ashamed? Angry? Disappointed?
Then she began to laugh.
"Fufu…" A small giggle.
"Tooru?" Nejire's voice was small. Sad. Awash with concern. "Are you..?"
"Fufufu… fufufufufu…" Tooru was still giggling. There was a smile on her face. Why is she..?
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tooru raised her head to meet her classmates' stunned stares. She lifted her hands, palms skywards, arms outstretched. "Oh, this is just wonderful!"
A chill ran through Yaomomo's entire body like an electric jolt. Those eyes.
Tooru's eyes were manic; gleaming crimson, swirling shades of red and magenta like pools of blood, blood that she helped shed. There was a sort of ecstatic insanity in her eyes. A sort of… despair.
Her expression was horribly delighted, especially for someone who'd just had their role as a mole revealed. She's mad, Yaomomo realized. Absolutely crazy.
"Tooru…" Tamaki murmured. "What happened to you?"
"What happened to me?" Tooru grinned. "What happened was I was forced to be a goody two-shoes for the last almost-year! A hero? What a joke. I wish they picked Saya-chan for this U.A. infiltration job, but oh wells." She pouted, a mask of innocence plastered all over her face.
"Eh? Then that means…" Shouto's eyes were sharp as they regarded Tooru.
"You're a villain. A true villain. Not just someone who was dragged into this by the League, or someone brainwashed into helping them," Mezou said coldly, his face stony.
"Thaaaaat's right! This is me! The real me! Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Spy!~" Her expression was alight with mania. She could barely contain herself, it seemed.
"Ultimate Spy, huh?" Mirio muttered.
Yaomomo could only stare at her, stare at someone she once saw as a hero, as a classmate, as a friend. A happy girl, an innocent little ball of boundless energy… it was all fake.
Fake. Everything was just a show, a trick, a mole dangled right before our eyes by the villains.
And we didn't even know it.
"Tooru… why?" The trial room fell silent. Yaomomo turned to Hitoshi, who had spoken out. He was glaring at Tooru, his eyes pointed in fury. He was trembling, his jaw tense. Tears welled over his eyes, slipping down his face like a river of crystals.
"Huuuh? What is it, lover boy?" Tooru taunted.
"Why did you kill them?" Hitoshi asked, his voice shuddering. "Mashirao and Mei… how could you kill both of them so cruelly? Why did you… why did you have to be the traitor? Both of them trusted you… so why did you betray them?"
"Well… first off, killing these two benefitted me," Tooru said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Hitoshi's breath hitched. "Mei-chan came to me after the traitor motive was announced. After some intensive -but very misguided- theorizing, she came to the conclusion that Mashi was the traitor~
"Of course, I went along with it. It would be worse if she found out I was the real traitor; that would destroy the whole trust thing I built up with her. She designed the trap. She only wanted to capture him, but obviously I had other ideas." Tooru winked, a small giggle sliding off her tongue.
"I suggested she create the megablade. Originally, I told her it was to scare Mashi into the corner, so we could drop the net, and then make him panic enough by waving it around him so that he got tangled. The tip is curved to it's super tough to try a little stabby-stabby work with it, so that Mei-chan wouldn't get suspicious. When we got to trapping him, though, I took my opportunity and sliced his head clean off~! Of course Mei-chan was horrified, but I convinced her it was the right thing to do, since he was the traitor. She begrudgingly took my word, the trusting little honey she is~" Tooru giggled, her hand to her mouth. "Fufu… she was a wonderful girl.
"When we got back to her lab, I promptly killed her. It was a shame really… I did love her. But I couldn't risk her spilling in the trial. I hid the evidence and took the device. That's it." Tooru smiled as she concluded her side of the tale. "So how 'bout that? What do you think?"
"Tooru…" Tsuyu murmured. "You… you… you're hungry."
Yaomomo blinked. Tsuyu's voice had swapped from being haunted and angry to an everyday tone, casual and relaxed. Eh..? What..?
"Hmm? I'm hungry?" Tooru sounded genuinely confused. "Yes… I suppose I'm hungry… for death and despair." She lowered her voice dangerously, bouncing back swiftly, keeping everyone's focus on her.
"You're a fucking psycho," Hitoshi hissed. The room went silent again. "Tooru… you…"
"Eh? What did I do?" Tooru cocked her head thoughtfully, finger to her chin. "Do you mean what I did to Mashi and Mei-chan? Don't worry, I'm sure they're happy floating around up there with their heads in the clouds."
Hitoshi seethed at the Spy's words. "Y-You have no right to say their names… Mashirao… and Mei… you have no right to speak of them like that when you betrayed them!"
"Oh? Does that set you off?" Tooru grinned, clearly enjoying the argument Hitoshi was digging himself into. "Mashi, Mashi, Mashi… does it hurt to know you're responsible for your precious boyfriend's death?"
"E-Eh?!" Hitoshi looked startled for a moment, his eyes lighting up with agony, before he fell back into a cloak of anger. "Bullshit… you killed him, not me! I've only ever wanted the best for him, while you betrayed him!"
"But think about it this way…" Tooru grinned sadistically, her teeth flashing. "If you had stayed by Mashi's side this afternoon, instead of selfishly wanting to stay by yourself in the library, then he wouldn't have died today. Mei-chan and I, we had to catch Mashi alone… your presence would've kept us at bay. If you had stayed with him all the time without fail… well, we probably would've given up eventually.
"You could've saved a life, but you didn't. You didn't, because you were selfish and let him go alone." Tooru continued pushing, jabbing at all of Hitoshi's weak points, hitting him where it hurt. Yaomomo winced just hearing Tooru's words, even though they weren't related to her in the slightest.
Crystalline tears were cascading down Hitoshi's face in a steady stream of liquid pain. He silently glared at Tooru, his eyes filled with grief and loathing, unable to speak. Yaomomo could tell he was shaking.
"You idiot," Tooru scowled, enjoying every moment of the hurt she was inflicting on Hitoshi. "You bastard. Murderer. Guilty."
"Hey. Tooru." Mirio cut into the girl's knife-edged rambling, a warning tone in his voice. "Stop."
Tooru let out a long sigh. "Awwww. Ruining my fun, Mr. Hero?"
"Tooru… why did you choose to be a villain..?" Nejire whimpered. Her voice was small; weak. "You were… going to be such a good hero, had you stayed in Yuuei…"
"Pah! I never intended to stay one moment longer than needed in this wretched hero school, much less play false hero," Tooru spat. "I've been a villain for a while now, since my second year of junior high. I was recruited by the League."
"Wh-Why..?" Denki's voice was hushed. "Why would you accept those villains' offer?"
"Because I wanted to, duh!" Tooru said that like it were the simplest thing to understand in the world. "All my life… All my life, I've had to fight to be noticed. Because of my quirk, of my cold personality, I was always forgotten. Ignored. Left out. I could skip classes easier than anyone, even if the teachers would notice there was nothing at my desk."
"Cold… personality?" Yaomomo murmured, eyes fixed nervously on the girl with the pink highlight in her hair. A highlight the color of blood.
"That's right~! Little ol' me… cold and shy. Socializing was hard, y'know?" Tooru said. "I was quiet and seldom spoke to anyone throughout junior high. I think I had a friend in primary… when I was little. But she left me. Left me for another girl, because she was more fun to play with and better and smarter than me. Stupid. She was my first target when I became a villain.
"Anyway, in my second year of junior high, I was walking with a group of girls in my class. I think they forgot I was even there for a while. Anyway, a villain jumped out and attacked me and one of my classmates. The rest of the girls managed to band up and get their friend free, but then they ran for it, even though I screamed for their help. Abandoned me." Tooru scoffed, as if the very memory made her mad.
"But that was when Tomura found me. Saved me from that villain who was attacking me. He said he knew about how I was mistreated by my peers, how he understood, how he could help me. I took up the offer because… well, what other choice did I have?" Tooru smiled. "That's how I got into the League!~"
Yaomomo stared at the Spy with dark eyes. "You bastard," she muttered. "Why didn't you pull out of the League the moment you realized they were villains?"
"Because I didn't want to, obviously," Tooru huffed. "Geez, is it so hard to understand? I became a villain because I wanted to. My classmates, who all wanted to be heroes? Pathetic. Heroes are supposed to help people, right? Nobody helped me. Looked out for me. Some heroism."
Silence flooded the trial room as everyone gazed at Tooru, wondering how they could've been so wrong, so ever fucking wrong about their friend, their classmate, the girl whom they thought was a hero.
A happy, optimistic person who wanted only the best for everyone.
It was all a lie.
So this is the real Tooru. A crazy bitch, a villain from head to toe.
"Welp, that was uneventful. If you're not going to mind, I guess I'll be going now," Tooru said cheerily. "Sayonara~"
"W-Wait! Tooru! Where're you going?" Denki spluttered. "Are you gonna- gonna-" His words died in his mouth, but the horror in his expression finished his question for him.
Are you gonna execute yourself?
For being the blackened, for killing her best friend… Would Tooru seriously be far enough gone that she'd follow the rules of the Killing Game?
But Tooru merely laughed. "What, you think I'd kill myself? Are you an idiot? Why the hell would I do that? After all I've accomplished, that would absolutely be the dumbest way to go. Only someone as psycho as… um… oh!" Tooru's eyes brightened up. "Only someone as psycho as Junko-senpai would do that!"
"...Junko?" Mirio stared at the traitor, confused. "Who's Junko? The name rings a bell for me…"
"Oh, nothing. Just a villain friend of mine." Tooru brushed it off. "Anyway, off I go!" She gave a little wave and was about to turn on her heel to step off the podium.
"B-But… you're still technically a participant of the Killing Game the League created for us," Tamaki reasoned, making the girl stop dead on her feet. "You must abide by the rules of the Game. The League'll give you an execution, I'm sure."
"But look at it this way," Tooru cut in, whirling around to point at him with one finger. "I'm a villain. I created the rules. I enforce the rules. The rules can't control me."
"EHH! Wrong!"
"Huh?!" Tooru whipped around to face the throne, from which Monokuma had spoken out. "What do you mean, wrong?!"
"The Killing Game is still the Killing Game, and you're still a participant of it, no matter your role outside of the Game!" Monokuma barked. "Tamaki's right! You're off to the guillotine, Miss Hagakure!"
"N-No..." Tooru murmured, panic alight on her face. "No... after everything I've done for you... please..."
"Nuh-uh! Rules are rules! You're a participant of the game; an Ultimate. So you must suffer the execution!" Monokuma exclaimed, a grin plastered across his face.
Tooru, on the other hand, looked positively horrified. "Hey... Monokuma... that's..."
"Don't blame me! I'm only following through the League's orders! Speak to Shigaraki yourself!" The bear's robotic red eye gleamed sadistically.
On cue, the monitor on the ceiling flickered to life. Shigaraki's figure was displayed on its screen. He wore an expensive-looking fur coat, his crimson eyes seeming to glow through the fingers of the hand on his face. "It's true, Tooru. It's still the Game. You killed. You got caught. Now you face an execution," he drawled.
"No... Shigaraki, no..." Tears welled up in Tooru's magenta eyes. "After all I've done... you're just going to betray me again? Just like all those other people?"
"Puhuhu! Sorry! The rules are rules, no matter who you are!" Monokuma laughed. The monitor flickered to the darkness again.
"But... I'm on your side..." Tooru sobbed. Tears, like drops of diamond, were sliding down her cheeks. Impure diamonds, tainted with chemicals and poison. "Would you really kill a useful member of your League?"
"Pah! With all our power, I'm sure there's plenty of other perfectly capable villains out there for our numbers," Monokuma reasoned. "And now, without further ado..."
"No... please, no!" Tooru wailed.
"I have prepared a very special punishment for Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Spy!"
"No... please..." Tooru murmured.
"Are you ready?" Monokuma grinned, flashing his pearly whites.
"Saya-chan... Himi-chan... Junko-senpai..!" Tooru sobbed. "I don't want to die... I want to keep having fun with you all..."
"It's PUNISHMENT TIIIIIIME!"
"Please don't leave me!"
GAME OVER
Tooru Hagakure has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!
Tooru was thrown into a glass tank in the middle of a small, sterile room. It looked like a science lab; there was a sign next to the tank, which the camera panned to. 'DANGER! TOXIC ZONE' it read. The lights were glaring bright, glowing from the ceiling.
There was no escape out the tank. Tooru pressed her palms against the glass, peering towards the iron door on the other side of the room, separated from her by the tank wall. She banged on the glass with her fists, screaming. Her voice was muffled through the tank, making it sound as if she were drowning.
The iron door opened. Monokuma stepped through, dressed in a white lab coat. He waddled up to the table in the middle of the room, in front of the tank. He leaned over the controls on the surface of the iron desk.
His paw clicked a red button labeled 'Release'.
Tooru Hagakure's Execution: Bathing in Pleasure : Executed!
Immediately, the back wall of the tank -which was part of the wall for the actual room- began to seep a strange pink liquid. Tooru whirled around in the tank and stared at it, watching the liquid slip down the wall, rapidly increasing in speed and amount. It pooled on the floor, thick and hot.
Pooling like blood.
The blood-like liquid touched the soles of Tooru's sandals, and immediately the shoe sizzled and melted wherever the blood touched. She yelped and jumped away from it, but it was useless. The pink substance was spreading, rushing out of the wall in a thick curtain of magenta.
Everyone could only watch as the liquid rose within the tank, slowly filling it with sticky magenta fluid. Tooru was screaming, flailing her limbs. Her clothes were disintegrating in it, leaving her body covered in the pick liquid, likely burning away at her skin. Her eyes were frantic; manic, desperate, filled with tears.
The tank was filling with blood.
And Tooru was drowning in it.
Everyone could only watch as the liquid sloshed over her head and hit the top of the tank.
Silence.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three.
There was no more movement from inside the tank.
Monokuma jumped up from the desk and waddled up to the tank. He rapped on the glass with his paw.
Nearly instantly, a pale hand suddenly appeared from inside, pressing against the glass.
Monokuma started in fear and ran out the room.
The lights turned off.
Everything went dark.
Yaomomo could only stare blankly at the screen as it flickered to nothingness.
Slowly, everyone began to turn to look at each other, confused and fearful after the odd execution.
"Wh-What just happened..?" Denki murmured.
"It doesn't matter now. Tooru drowned in the tank," Shouto reasoned.
Yeah. There's no other option. There was no escape...
She could only stand there and wait to drown, wait for death to take her.
Fitting for a wretch like her.
"Let's go." Yaomomo said, her voice cold. She turned and stepped off of her own podium, heading for the elevator. With no other choice, the rest of the class followed.
Liar. She was a liar.
That rat...
Tooru Hagakure, the Ultimate Spy, a traitor, a member of the League of Villains...
How could we have ever been so wrong about her?
How could we have ever been so wrong about any of our friends, all of the blackened who have killed already?
How many more will there be?
It doesn't matter now, does it?
They're all gone anyway.
Chapter 6 : Curtain Call of the Two-Faced : The End | Surviving Students : 10 | To Be Continued
Item Obtained: Full-Head Mask