-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-
"T-Tamaki?!" Nejire cried out. "What do you m-mean..?"
Yaomomo could only stare at the scene unfolding before her. Confusion riddled her thoughts. Tamaki? I thought we already figured him out...
What is he doing..?
"I killed M-Mirio," Tamaki said, this time his voice shuddering. "I poisoned my own drink and traded with him, because I knew he'd take it- he trusted me, I trusted him, and now he's dead and gone and it's my fault, it's my fault, everything is my fault-" His words were coming faster and faster, the hollow, empty feeling of loss resonating in them. He took a quivering breath. "A-And... I did work with Nejire..."
"Eh? Nejire?" Tsuyu turned to her blue-haired friend. "Why would you..?"
"I... I..." Nejire seemed at a loss for words. She was breaking down again, droplets of diamond lighting up her eyes like stars, dying stars ready to burst and finally break. "Tamaki... why..?"
"She helped poison the drink, since she was preparing them," Tamaki continued, his voice becoming more and more frantic, ever more anxious and strained. "She even went as specific as to give me Mirio's favorite flavor, just so he'd take it, because we'd thought everything through, we had this whole plot worked out to kill Mirio, to backstab him, and- and-"
Tears were falling down his face like rivers, like the glorious rivers of heaven falling down to earth and soaking into the ground, soaking all the way to Tartarus and vaporizing into sacredly divine smoke and steam. Like angels crashing down all the way to hell on broken, bloody wings.
"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice was hopelessly pathetic, agonizingly helpless; she seemed incapable of doing anything but stare at her friend and cry. Unspoken words of betrayal glistened like glass over her expression, over her teary eyes and reddened face.
"I've given in!" Tamaki suddenly wailed. "I give up! This is all my fault! I wish... I wish I hadn't killed Mirio! I wish I hadn't betrayed him! I wish I could've had hope, wish I didn't kill the one person who I trusted! I wish I didn't kill the only person I loved!" The tears kept falling, kept cascading down his face, down his cheeks. "But I did! I fucking did, I'm just a stupid fucking traitor, and I regret it, I regret everything that's happened to this day, so please! Just vote for me! Kill me and let me go to hell already!"
Heavy silence followed his words, punctured only by his quiet sniffles and stifled sobs. Yaomomo could only stare at his feet; to gaze upon his broken, terribly human face would be too much for her.
But there was something wrong, there had to be, because Tamaki can't be the killer, so why is he masquerading as so?
"C-Come on, everyone," Tamaki mumbled. "Please... kill m-"
"Not so fast..!"
Break!
"Hold on, Tamaki, please," Yaomomo pleaded. He turned hollow eyes to her. "We can't..."
"O-Oh, so you suddenly found the ability to feel human emotion, h-hm?" he managed to say through his sobs; he was trying his best to make his words angry and spiteful, but his heart wasn't in it. "A-All of a sudden... you have a problem with killing me?"
"Th-That's... that's not what I meant!" Yaomomo retorted. He peered at her with an unreadable expression as she continued on. "There's no way you're the killer... I can't possibly let us vote for you! You're going to kill us all!"
Rebuttal Showdown : Start!
Tamaki Amajiki : Momo Yaoyorozu
Truth Blades: Banquet Details, Body Discovery Announcement, Monokuma File #7, Tsuyu's Account
"Wh-What are you doing, Yaomomo?" Tamaki asked. "Why are you doubting me? I'm the killer! I killed Mirio, and I deserve to take the punishment! It's my fault, so why are you opposing me?"
"Because you can't be the killer, you can't!" Yaomomo cried back. "It's impossible!"
"A-Are you sure about that?" Tamaki cried, crystal droplets slipping down his face. "Y-you can't be serious... you c-can't be!" A sob took hold of his words, strangling them. He paused and continued, his fingers raking through his messy hair, twirling the navy-dyed lock by his ear. "Th-there's no evidence against me being the killer, i-is there?"
"I will cut through your words."
Body Discovery Announcement : Cut!
"There is still one piece of evidence against you," Yaomomo insisted. "It's impossible you were the killer because you helped trigger the body discovery announcement."
"I thought we already outruled that," Tsuyu piped up. "What if a different person had been standing there, by the door, in the vents, or something?"
"If that's the case, they may step up now," Yaomomo interjected. "Please... tell the truth. This is the one piece of evidence that may determine Tamaki's account."
A beat of silence. The tension in the air was palpable; Yaomomo could only hope and pray that someone wouldn't step up. She was sure Tamaki was innocent, but she couldn't direct all the votes away from him if she didn't have evidence.
Please... don't let anyone move...
The silence stretched on.
"I-It was me."
"Eh?!" Yaomomo turned to the one who had spoken out, silver eyes wide.
"I- I saw the death! I watched Mirio die from the doorway. S-Sorry I didn't mention it earlier!" Denki's voice was fearful; edged with a frantic anxiety. "I'm so sorry I kept quiet..! Please don't... please don't hurt me..!"
A beat of silence. Yaomomo could only stare at the blonde, at the tears spilling over his hazy golden eyes.
Denki...
"W-Well, it's all settled, then, ri-right?" Tamaki's voice shuddered. "Come on. Let's vote, please..."
Panic was rising in Yaomomo's gut. She instinctively turned to Shouto, to her partner in anti-crime. His expression was muddled with confusion; he didn't know what was happening either. When he met her eyes, she could see the despair in them; their light had gone out.
It's over.
I can't stop this.
I can't stop Tamaki... even if I think he's wrong...
But what if he's right? What if I'm just overthinking everything..?
Stop it, Yaomomo. Just go with the trial.
"Um, okay then," she began, her voice wavering. "Let's... let's do the closing argument, review everything we know. This is i-"
"WAIT!"
Break!
...
Huh?
"Guys, please... h-hold on a second!" Nejire called out. Tears slipped down her face in a river, one by one, droplets filled with guilt and melancholy, but she appeared dead-set on what she was about to say. "Let me speak first!"
"Wh- What? Neji-" Tamaki tried to cut in, but she screamed over him, drowning his voice in her own.
"TAMAKI'S LYING!" she screamed. "HE'S LYING! HE'S TRYING TO KILL US ALL!"
"Wh-What are you saying, Nejire?" Tamaki inquired meekly, his voice full of sorrow. "I'm s-so sorry... has Mirio... has Mirio's death finally driven you over the e-"
"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! HE'S LYING! HE DIDN'T KILL MIRIO!" Nejire's voice was full of passion, full of unadulterated grief and sorrow. "I DIDN'T PREPARE HIS DRINK!"
"H-Hey, Nejire, calm down..!" Yaomomo cut in. "Take a deep breath and speak."
"Okay. Okay..." Nejire seemed to deflate a little; she took a deep, quivering inhale. "Umm... at the banquet, M-Mezou and I were preparing the drinks, right?"
"She is correct," Mezou reaffirmed.
"W-Well, I didn't make Tamaki's drink! Mezou did!" Nejire insisted, her voice rising once more. "Mezou's the killer! He killed Mirio!"
"Nejire, shut up! Just- Just shut up!" Tamaki suddenly snapped, whirling upon the bluette. An expression of unreasonably harsh anger slipped over his face. "You don't know what you're saying! You handed me my drink; it was cherry, right?! You know I don't like cherry but Mirio does, so you gave me cherry!"
"But here's the thing: I didn't make the cherry drinks!" Nejire screamed back, her voice cracking. "Mezou and I divvied up the flavors! I prepared the lemon, apple, and grape ones! Mezou made the orange and cherry ones!"
"..." Mezou himself stayed silent, opting to observe the dispute with an icy expression instead.
"H-Hey! Guys!" Tsuyu suddenly cut into the argument before Tamaki could throw another set of sharp retorts at Nejire. "I... I don't know much about what happened in the kitchen... but I can say one thing!"
"Well? Spill the beans," Hitoshi prompted.
"The entire time she was in the kitchen working with drinks, she was with Mezou," Tsuyu explained. "Mezou never left the kitchen while you were working, right? He never left you alone, right?" She turned to her older friend.
"Y-Yeah... Yeah, that's true!" Nejire confirmed.
"Well, at one point, Mezou was alone in the kitchen," Tsuyu continued. "When Nejire was taking me to my seat in the cafeteria, Mezou was alone, since everyone else was already sitting down. There's no time when Nejire could have shoved some poison into a glass when Mezou was right next to her!"
"..." Tamaki was quiet, his gaze shadowed as he stared at the floor.
"..." Mezou was quiet too, his eyes closed in concentrated isolation.
"Well, Tamaki?" Yaomomo turned to the ravenette. "Got anything to say to that?"
"Don't even try to lie again," Hitoshi stated, his voice colder than the darkest winter night. "Just tell us the truth. Why did you try to kill all of u-"
"Okay, okay! I get it! I give up!" Tamaki cried out. "I give up, okay?!"
That's what you said last time, Yaomomo thought bitterly, but she kept her mouth shut.
"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice had gone soft. She was still weeping.
Tamaki himself seemed to hesitate before allowing himself to speak. "...why did you have to ruin it, Nejire?" His voice was plaintive; tears welled in his dark eyes. "Why do you ruin everything you touch?"
There was no hatred in his voice; the words themselves were as deadly as knives already.
Nejire visibly flinched; a sob rose in her throat. The blood of the wounds Tamaki had just torn open without mercy nor regret was soaking through her expression, through the despair and regret and self-hatred that became visible in her every breath. "B-Because... because I don't want to die!"
Her words were thick with grief, with heart-wrenching passion. "I-I don't want you to die! I don't want to know in my last moments that one of my best friends killed themselves, killed me, killed Tsu and Denki and Yaomomo and everyone in this room! I don't want to live with that, nor carry that to hell with me!"
A wave of quiet flooded through the trial circle once more, like a white cloud of noxious gas. Tamaki was staring, wide-eyed and teary, at the bluette, who was wiping at her face with the back of her hand. Yaomomo couldn't rip her gaze away from them, from the scene before her, either.
"I... I'm sorry..." Nejire's voice was weak, small as a child's. "I'm so sorry..."
As she fell into silence, Tamaki let out a shuddering sigh. "I guess... this is it. I have to explain myself now, hm?"
"If you're going to make a speech, hurry up already! I'm getting bored up here!" Monokuma suddenly called out, his voice a harsh throw back into reality. This is a trial. We still haven't figured out the killer. And the villains are getting impatient...
"I... Originally my plan was to get everyone to vote for me. That way, we would get an incorrect majority, the real killer would be exposed, and then we'd all be executed," Tamaki stated.
"Why... did you want us all to die..?" Tsuyu's voice was fearful; good to know she has enough sense to be scared of death.
"It's... I..." Tamaki seemed at a loss of words for a minute. He clenched his fists at his side, anxiety radiating from him in waves. He let out a sigh, tearing up once more at the mere thought of summoning words to explain himself. "It's because I wanted to carry out Mirio's last wish."
"What do you mean?" Hitoshi snapped. "There is no way Mirio told you to kill everyone."
"No, no, he didn't say that..." Tamaki murmured. "But... he told me... to get you all out of here..."
Huh..?
"He told me to get us all out of this living hellscape, get us out of the Killing Game," Tamaki explained, franticness creeping into his voice again. "Isn't just dying a perfectly plausible way to escape this? Even hell itself is better than this eternal torture, don't you think? Aren't I genius? Aren't I right? I've got to be, right? Right?!"
Words spilled over his tongue in an unfiltered torrent; a desperate plea for validation, validation for his questionable actions that he himself thought were of utmost reason. Yaomomo stared at him, at the startled expression painted over his face, at the tears dripping from his eyes, at his hands raking through his hair, at his eyes, his dark, hollow eyes.
An expression of despair.
"Tamaki..." Nejire's voice was haunted. "Of... of course you did the right thing..."
"Y-Yeah..." Denki stammered. "Yeah, that's true..."
"W-Well, that's Tamaki's account," Tsuyu suddenly cut in. "But what about Nejire? Why did Tamaki drag her into this? Why did she lie earlier?" Her face was all concern as she turned to her friend and unofficial caretaker.
"O-Oh... umm..." Nejire spluttered.
"I involved her in my account because I thought she'd go with it," Tamaki grumbled, unable to keep bitter irritability out of his voice.
"Ahh... waahh..." Nejire mumbled. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't listen to him, Nejire," Yaomomo soothed, a pang of sympathy striking her in the chest. If only he'd drop it already. "Just tell us why you lied earlier."
"Oh... well, since his death... I had been thinking that it might've been me kicking him in the gut that triggered the fit and killed him..." Guilt was alight in the girl's sorrowful expression. "Then the Monokuma File said he had a ruptured appendix... and then it was mentioned in the trial, and I kind of thought that maybe I was right, that I had killed Mirio. I guess it kinda just finally got me to break down, forced me to acknowledge something I was trying to avoid."
An awkward silence. Yaomomo wasn't sure how to fill it; despite the sympathy and sorrow overwhelming her heart, jitters were bubbling within her mind. What if the villains get impatient and force us to cast votes..? Then what?
"Come on, guys," Hitoshi spoke up. "Let's get a move on. You heard Monokuma before; they're getting fidgety. We have to hurry up, so let's set Tamaki and Nejire aside for now." There was a certain sort of distracted air to his words, as if his head weren't really in the investigation. Don't tell me he's thinking about what Tamaki and Nejire said...
"Considering how close we are to the answer, it shouldn't be too hard. Right, Miss Detective?" Shouto prompted, turning to Yaomomo. "You know who it is already, don't you? Nejire's rant should've given you enough information to figure it out."
She met his steady heterochronous eyes, his trusting, ever-so-trusting gaze. "If that's the case, I sure hope I'm right."
I know I am.
There's no other choice...
Pick a person!
...
Mezou Shouji : It's got to be you...
"Mezou."
"What?" The Heavylifter's voice was cold.
"It's you. You're the killer," Yaomomo murmured, her voice dangerously soft. "You're our only option. The drinks were poisoned... you and Nejire were preparing the drinks, and we just ruled her out. You're the only one who could have done it."
Mezou only stared back at her with a blank expression before seeming to smirk under his mask. "Ha... you're so wrong it's hilarious. What if I made the drinks? What if this poison wasn't even the cause of Mirio's death? He had a stab wound and a ruptured appendix, or am I mistaken? What if one of those was the cause?"
Yaomomo racked her brain for evidence. The stab wound... he just opened up a whole new door, huh?
But first and foremost, the appendix... it can't be, because-
Select a Truth Bullet!
...
Monokuma File #7 : I can see it.
"The Monokuma File stated that the ruptured appendix was an "other wound", right?" the Detective recalled. "That must mean it wasn't the fatal wound. As for the stab wound, well... if he got stabbed and killed that way, Tamaki, Nejire, and Tsu would have a word or two to say about it. Except we ruled them out, and nobody was at the scene, so it's impossible."
"Wait... if that's the case, how did the stab wound get there?" Hitoshi spoke up softly. "When would someone get the chance to stab him and place the knife?"
When Mirio could have been stabbed... it could only have been...
Select the Correct Option:
Before the Body Discovery Announcement
During Training
During the Blackout
During the Blackout : I got it.
"It must have been during the blackout," she mused. "But how?"
"Um, I heard someone enter the gym during the blackout," Tsuyu added. "If that helps, that's cool."
"That someone was likely our problem person here," Shouto commented. "And that would be..?"
He's right... the person in the gym vandalizing the body, it's got to be...
Select an Option:
The killer
Tamaki Amajiki
The mastermind
The killer : I got it.
"...the killer must have been in the gym messing with the body," Yaomomo deduced. "If you were good enough in the dark and found the body, any good number of stab wounds would have done the job quite nicely."
"Isn't just finding the body in the dark by chance a little odd?" Mezou retorted. "What if... the killer mapped it out in their head beforehand? What if... they were there... before the blackout occurred?"
A jolt went down Yaomomo's spine. It must have shown on her face, because Mezou laughed. "You've just realized, haven't you? The person more suspicious here... I'm sure you can see now."
He's... got an awfully good point...
Select a person!
...
Denki Kaminari : It's got to be you...
"Hey, Denki..." Yaomomo spoke out, her voice bleak. He jumped and turned, shaking, to face her. "Didn't you say earlier that you saw Mirio's body from outside the gym?"
"Ehh..?! H-Hey, wasn't that for Tamaki's alibi thing?!" Denki protested, despite the panic clearly melting over his expression.
"Well, that only makes it worse," the ravenette shot back. "Why did you defend Tamaki?"
"I... I don't know! I was telling the truth!"
"So you're saying you really were at the gym and watched Mirio take his last breath?" Shouto inquired. Denki quickly nodded. "So... that makes you our prime suspect for stabbing Mirio's body. And only the killer would have the incentive to do such a thing."
"Wh... What..?" Denki's words were horrified; he was stunned. "H-Hey! I'm- I'm not the killer! I swear, I'm not the killer!"
"Protesting like that isn't going to help anyone," Hitoshi shot back coldly, much to Yaomomo's surprise. I thought... they were allies?
Denki visibly flinched. "Hitoshi..?"
"Why would you stab Mirio's body in the dark?" the violette continued. "Why would you, unless you were the killer?"
"Hey! That- That logic doesn't even make s-sense!" The Electrician was visibly growing panicked, hurt flashing across his expression at Hitoshi's confrontation. "I... the poison killed him, right? When- When would I get the chance to poison his drink?! Or food, for that matter?!"
"So why did you stab the body? Nobody but the killer would do that!" Hitoshi snapped back. Denki flinched again, seemingly wishing he could crawl back into a shell and stay there until the trial was over.
Hitoshi's wrong, he's got to be, Yaomomo thought desperately. Come on... think..! Why can't Denki have stabbed the body? He's got to be innocent, he's got to be...
Psyche Taxi : Start!
Question 1: Why can't Denki have stabbed the body?
Left: Because he was with Yaomomo during the body discovery announcement
Middle: Because he was in the cafeteria when the blackout occurred
Right: Because he met up with Yaomomo shortly after the blackout occurred
Right : Correct!
...
Question 2: Who else but the killer would stab the body?
Left: Nobody else
Middle: An accomplice
Right: Tamaki Amajiki
Middle : Correct!
...
Question 3: Did Denki really see Mirio as he was dying?
Left: No
Right: Yes
Left : Correct!
...
Question 4: Why did Denki lie about seeing the death?
Left: Because he is an accomplice
Middle: Because he wanted everyone to die
Right: Because he wanted to protect the killer
Left : Correct!
Success!
Question 1: Because he met up with Yaomomo shortly after the blackout occurred
Question 2: An accomplice
Question 3: No
Question 4: Because he is an accomplice
Break!
"Hold on, Hitoshi," Yaomomo cut into the dispute. Everyone turned to face her in surprise, unknowing of what input she could possibly contribute. "I think I figured it out."
"Oh, really?" Hitoshi scoffed. "Well, what have you figured out this time, Miss Ultimate Detective?" Sarcasm edged his voice.
"Well, first off, going to the body in the dark and stabbing it, before throwing away the knife, would take a minute or two, right?" Yaomomo began. "Well, about a minute after the blackout occurred, Denki found me in the cafeteria. He had been wandering down the hall calling out for someone. It's unlikely he could have been up at the gym, vandalized the body, and come down to the cafeteria all in one minute."
"Umm... y-yeah! That's right..!" Denki stammered. "I met up with her after the blackout occurred!"
"I'm not done," she murmured. So don't get so happy... "Secondly, I'd like to propose the idea of an accomplice."
"An... accomplice?" Nejire whimpered.
"Why does it matter?" Shouto inquired, more curious than anything.
"Well, think about it this way. Someone must have shut off the power from the main office, and immediately after that happened, someone entered the gym and vandalized the corpse," Yaomomo explained. "It's impossible to shut off the power from a distance, since the switch is in the office. And you can't get from the office up to the gym that quickly. The only explanation is that there were two people involved."
"Interesting," Mezou mused slyly. "Any idea as to who this accomplice is?"
Quit playing innocent. Yaomomo put on a straight expression. "It's Denki."
"Wha-?!" Denki's wide-eyed expression betrayed panic. "What do you... mean? I would never..!"
"But it's the only way!" Yaomomo argued back. "Why else would you lie about seeing the body at all? It's like you were trying to push blame onto Tamaki, and take it off of yourself and your partner."
"Listen to her," Shouto commanded. "And confess. Why would you accomplice Mezou?"
"Hey! Since when did we determine I was the culprit?" the Heavylifter called out. Yaomomo ignored him.
"Umm... umm..." The electric blonde looked from side to side, as if debating what to say. "Umm... okay! I'll confess! I was the accomplice! I lied earlier about seeing the body..!"
"Anything else?" Hitoshi pushed.
"N-No!"
"I think that's all the information we need for now," Yaomomo interjected. "Remember, this conversation branched from determining Mezou as the killer. We should focus on that right now."
"Since when were you so sure I am the killer?" The Heavylifter prompted. "You seem awfully certain of your little theory, Miss Detective. Are you really sure you're right? You might accidentally kill everyone if you're wrong, you know."
Yaomomo held his challenging stare. "If you think I'm wrong, how about you prove it so?"
Mezou seemed to grin under the mask. "Kehehe. Let us see, shall we? Give it all you've got, and it'll still never be enough!"
Argument Armament : Start!
{Mezou's Audio Clips Letters to Counter}
"This is a pathetic argument." (W) (W) (W) (A)
"Me? The killer? Really?" (A) (A) (S)
"You cannot determine anything precise with these rough alibis." (S) (S) (D) (S) (S)
"Do you really trust the words of someone so emotionally unstable?" (D) (D) (S) (S) (D) (S) (W)
"Heck, are you sure the poison was even administered during food prep?" (A) (A) (W) (W) (A) (W) (S)
"What if someone poisoned the items beforehand, during the day?" (S) (S) (A) (A) (S) (A) (D)
"If that's the case, nobody is out of the question, including you." (W) (W) (D) (D) (W) (D) (S)
Phase 2 : Advance!
"Quit being a tryhard already, Yaomomo." (W) (A) (S) (D) (W)
"You don't even have any direct evidence against me." (A) (S) (D) (W) (A)
"Even if I did poison the drink, does that mean it was a direct cause of death?" (S) (D) (W) (A) (A) (A) (S)
"Shouldn't Nejire's kick count as the trigger for Mirio's death?" (W) (A) (S) (D) (D) (D) (W)
"Shouldn't she be the blackened?" (W-A-S-D)
"Shouldn't we vote for her?" (W-A-S-D)
"Drop this petty argument already." (W) (W) (W) (S)
Phase 3 : Advance!
"Come on, don't keep whining at me." (A) (A) (D) (D)
"Don't play the victim just because I'm better at debate than you." (S) (S) (S) (W) (S) (D) (S)
"You're truly twisted, Yaoyorozu." (W-A-S-D)
"What if you were the real killer?" (W) (A) (S)
"What if you poisoned the drink beforehand, just to kill some random person..." (D) (D) (D) (W) (A) (W) (S)
"...because you just wanted to get out of here?" (S) (S) (S) (W) (S)
"You don't really care about any of us, do you?" (D) (D) (D) (W) (W)
Final Blow!
W = Broken
A = Poison
S = Causes
D = Bones
"How do you know the poison was the direct cause of Mirio's death?"
"This is how."
A-S-W-D : PoisonCausesBrokenBones : Break!
"At the very least, the poisons definitely caused the brittle bones and the ruptured appendix," Yaomomo began. "The ruptured appendix caused Mirio's fit, and the fit caused his bones to break and create internal bleeding. That amount of internal bleeding, judging by the purple patches all over the body, must have caused his death. It all ties back to the poisons, which were your doing, Mezou."
"Quit being petty already," Shouto scoffed. "You're the only one who could've poisoned the drinks. Nobody here is reckless enough to take a gamble and poison a random person. What if you accidentally got poisoned yourself? It's rather stupid, in all honesty."
"Don't call me stupid," Mezou snarled, obviously on edge from losing the fight he started. "I still have a good point, y-you know..."
He's panicking.
"Sorry, Mezou." Tamaki's voice was as cold as ice, yet filled with fiery rage all in one confused mish-mash of feelings. "I guess you failed after all, huh? Killing the Ultimate Hope..." His voice shuddered, but he continued. "Denying Fumikage's last wishes... you're just a horrible person, hm? No matter what your logic and reasoning are, that'll never change."
"Well, isn't that hypocritical..." Mezou muttered, anger bubbling just under the surface of his skin, threatening to break through at any given moment.
"Come on, everyone," Yaomomo called out. "It's time for-"
"BEEP!"
A horrible, screeching alarm noise echoed throughout the room. Yaomomo yelped and brought her hands to her ears. She looked up to see Monokuma holding a large red button; it was glowing red, the light within spinning and blinding her.
"Time's up, ya doofs! I told ya we were getting impatient!" Behind the rodent, Chisaki was scratching at his face with a mechanical finger; Yaomomo could see that he was drawing blood, slowly but surely. He was either doing it on purpose or hadn't realized it yet; she didn't really care. "Vote already with your little levers and screens! I'm getting tired of your babbling, there's not enough action!" Monokuma declared.
Yaomomo turned to her panel. Good. He forced us to vote right after we figured it out...
Mezou Shouji...
As the last button was pressed and voting concluded, Monokuma leaped down from the throne and pulled the lever on the slots machine.
The faces spun and spun for a second, five seconds, ten, before they finally slowed-
-and all three ended on a certain Heavylifter.
...was the killer.
Class Trial : End!
"Congratulations! You were all correct once more! The blackened was Mezou Shouji!" Monokuma cackled. "Looks like you're on a streak of five!"
Denki felt like he could barely breathe. He stared at his feet, fingers clasping and unclasping in front of his chest. He could feel cold sweat beading down the back of his neck.
He remembered walking down the dimly lit hallway in the middle of the night- a bad idea, but he didn't really mind. He had been scampering by the laundry room, memories of Mashirao's death all too present in the front of his brain, when someone grabbed him by the collar.
"M-Mezou..." Tsuyu's voice was hushed. "Why..?"
"Why?" Mezou scoffed; even the simple motion made Denki wince. "Is that all you can say? Have I rendered the lot of you pathetic cretins speechless?"
"You killed someone..." Yaomomo murmured, her voice hushed. "I thought... Fumikage..."
He couldn't say anything to that. He fell silent and averted his eyes.
"Why don't you answer Tsu's question first?" Shouto inquired with a cold tongue. "Why did... why did you kill Mirio?"
The Heavylifter let out a long sigh, as if that would rid him of all the sins threatening to crash down on his shoulders, rid Denki of the turmoil in his head. "That filthy wretch, always positive and unfeeling... I thought you'd all understand. He had it coming for a long time. I merely rid us of a useless weight."
Denki had tried to scream; panic was already setting into every bone of his body. Every nerve was on fire. A large hand cupped tightly over his mouth; he went limp in his captor's arms.
A cry of rage echoed throughout the trial room. In a flash of black and blue, Tamaki frantically leaped at Mezou; ever a hero, always moving, all for the sake of justice. Of course, he was too slow; Mezou batted him away with a powerful arm, sending him tumbling across the ground.
"H-Hey! Tamaki..!" Nejire ran forwards on shaky legs and grabbed him by the arms. Tears were streaming down the Florist's face, and his eyes flint-sharp with loathing- a terrible loathing directed with all of its power towards Mezou. "Please don't fight..."
One look at her pitiful expression, at her weeping face, and Tamaki allowed himself to go limp in her arms. She let go of him and sank to her knees on the carpeted floor; Tsuyu stood over her. Denki scratched at the back of his hand frantically, trying to ignore the memory flashing through his head.
Denki had been hauled into a closet. The door clicked shut. He was trapped. Everything had become incredibly hot, incredibly claustrophobic. He couldn't breathe.
He can't breathe.
"Ahem. As I was saying..." Mezou glared at Tamaki, who shot him a look of sorrowful, fiery hatred. Another twist in Denki's stomach; seeing the two of them doing anything in tandem was horrifying. "I killed Mirio because of just how plainly insane he was. Hope? Positivity? Escaping together? He spouted bullshit at every turn with his rambling of friendship and love. There is no sunshine in this hell. There is only despair; that is what he failed to understand, and that is why I did him in."
"You... you MONSTER!" Tamaki broke free from Nejire's reach before she could even react. He darted at Mezou again, nimbly leaping and aiming the grab him around the neck. Of course, Mezou easily batted him off again, and he hit the ground. "I'll kill you before Monokuma can even touch a hair on your head, you fucking bitch!"
"Enough already," Mezou huffed. "It's all in the past. You can't do anything but move on."
Was that... sympathy in his voice? No, it can't be... not after...
"Hey. Denki." Denki whimpered; tears were sliding down his face. He barely choked down a terrified sob. "Relax, relax. I'm not going to kill you, as long as you work with me here."
"Anyway, in the end, I still failed," Mezou continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "I never intended to poison him."
"Huh?" Tsuyu blinked. "But that doesn't make sense. If you wanted to kill him, you'd poison him, right? And he did die. You succeeded."
The mysterious kidnapper in the dark instructed Denki of his plans. Stand in the main office, tell everyone you're investigating, and when a Body Discovery Announcement goes off -and it will, trust this guy- cut the power. Of course, Denki refused; he wanted nothing to do in this twisted game of murder. He had enough to deal with already; another nail in his brain would be too much.
"No." The masked boy paused. "No, to kill someone as obnoxiously positive as Mirio, it would be necessary to destroy his mind first."
The figure had immediately pinned him to the wall. Something pressed against his face; a battle-hardened hand. A finger crept up his cheek, rested in the crook below his eye. "Go with it, unless you want to feel pain."
"N-No... please... no..!"
"Which is why I poisoned Tamaki's drink."
A tense silence swept through the trial room at once. Denki, snapped out of his thoughts at once with this comment, turned to stare at Tamaki; it only took the Electrician a minute to figure out what the cruel Heavylifter was implying. Tamaki obviously thought the same thing, if his face was anything to go with.
"...eh?" His expression had gone blank; a shadow was cast over his visage. His eyes widened. "So you..."
"Precisely so. I meant to poison and murder you, Tamaki. Even if it cost me my death, I knew for sure that it would destroy Mirio from within," Mezou explained.
That sentiment threw Denki back into his downward spiral.
A second, rough hand grabbed his face; it was wide enough to cover pretty much all of his features. Despite his struggling, the captor leaned forward, a muscular body pressed against him, trapping him against the wall. One hand's fingers parted his eyelids; Denki tried to shake his head, shake them away, but he was held tight in their grip.
"Do you still want to refuse?"
Some sort of ridiculous hero-thought flickered through Denki's mind; heroes always do what's good for everyone, right?
"Y-Yes! I refuse! I don't want to help you kill someone!"
"And yet I failed," Mezou continued in present time. "I served to you your least favorite flavor, and you traded with Mirio. I was concerned at first, but decided it would work once he fell ill. I poisoned a few other drinks at random with a simple stomach bug, just to throw everyone off the scent for a few extra days."
A finger hit his eye, and a searing agony burned through his face. A thumb pressed roughly against his lips, preventing him from screaming. The taller's index rubbed roughly against the side of Denki's sclera; something warm bubbled from his tear ducts. He wasn't sure if it was tears or blood or mucus; he didn't care, he just wanted to get out, get out of this closet, away from his attacker.
Denki shook his head, trying to shove the disturbance away. Surely trembling -but unnoticed-, he tried to focus on the matter at hand.
Tamaki was shaking, too. Tears overflowed once more, sliding down his face silently.
"T-Tamaki..!" Nejire leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him from behind; an attempt at comfort. "I'm... I'm sorry..!"
"I killed Mirio, huh..?" Tamaki's voice was hollow. It was as if he were in a bubble, and everyone else -Nejire, Mezou, Tsuyu, Yaomomo, everyone- were mere voiceless ghosts. "If I hadn't handed him my drink... he'd be alive, right?"
"Tamaki... it's not your fault..." Yaomomo tried to say in a gesture of comfort, but Denki was pretty sure he didn't hear her. The room fell into an awkward silence and watched as he wept silently, Nejire clinging to his back, Tsuyu crouched next to them and unsure of what to do.
"Even after killing our Ultimate Hope... you really don't know where to stop, do you?" Shouto growled; Denki nearly jumped at his harsh tone. "Manipulating Denki, ruining Tamaki and Nejire, poisoning Fumikage's legacy... you really are just a horrid person, huh?"
Shouto, I'm thankful, really, but I don't deserve your sympathy.
"Being better at surviving doesn't automatically make me a bad person," Mezou huffed. "This is a death game. You have to do whatever you can to survive; play the game to live. Isn't Yaomomo doing the exact same thing? Pushing onwards, playing the game, even if half of the students have given up and desire to stop?"
Tears welled in Denki's eyes. He wasn't sure why.
"Even if you have logic, even if it's for the sake of the game..." Yaomomo's voice shuddered, but she pushed on, defending her friends, because she's a real hero, one who protects people, does what's good for everyone else. "None of it makes you a better person, Mezou! You hurt those around you, you betray those who died before you- tell me, does that make you a good person? Does ruining those who surround you make you a good fucking person?!"
"Facts don't care for feelings, Yaoyorozu."
"You're dodging my question."
"And you're dodging mine. All is fair."
"What would Fumikage say if he were still here?" Tsuyu suddenly cut in. Both Yaomomo and Mezou's heads snapped around at the mention of the ex-Assassin; a heavy silence filled the room. The viridian-haired girl continued, her voice hollow and desolate. Desperate for an explanation. "He told you to keep living, right, Mezou? And he was fine with Yaomomo taking the role of case-solver, the detective. Don't you want to honor his legacy?"
The Heavylifter had been sufficiently shut up with that point. He fell silent, eyes going to the floor. Yaomomo huffed. "What, the moment there's a good point against you, you clam up?"
"I..." Mezou's voice broke, and he hushed again. Denki was surprised. How did she stop him?
"P-pleash shtop!" he'd cried, his words mashed against Mezou's thumb.
"Say you'll comply with me, and I'll stop!" he'd growled.
"Come on, speak," Hitoshi snapped. "Why did you go back on Fumikage's last wi-"
"I don't want to die."
"I-I'm sorry!" At that, Mezou had pulled back the thumb on his lips; his hand shifted to his shoulder, and Denki flinched at the contact; the rough finger that remained in his eye socket rubbed, and the burning continued. Saliva slid down Denki's chin, but he didn't bother to care. Sobs escaped his throat; his lungs were screaming for air, his heart racing in his ribcage. "I don't want to die, so please stop! I'll do anything you want, just please... let go of me..!"
Denki was shaking, but he was invisible, invisible to the trial room.
"Say again?" the Psychic lowered his voice.
"I don't want to die," the convicted repeated. "I want to escape. I want to get out of here... and share Fumikage's legacy." He looked up to meet the class' judgement stares, and Denki immediately moved his blurring line of vision to the carpet. His ears were ringing. Tears burned in his eyes, and it obviously didn't hurt as much as Mezou's finger, but it burned and he hated it. "But I failed. And now..."
A heavy pause. The blonde was trying not to cry.
"I'm sorry, Denki."
He jumped, looked up, met Mezou's eyes, and immediately regretted it.
There were tears edging his dark, flinty gaze. Denki hated it; Mezou was the villain, the real villain of this class, and he didn't deserve to feel bad, didn't deserve to play the victim after every fucking thing he had done, what he did to Tamaki, to Kyouka, to Fumikage, to Denki.
"I'm sorry for using you in my plan."
Denki was silent. He hated this. Blinking away tears, tears that slipped down his face as twin crystals, he turned away and darted to Hitoshi's side. The violette took one look at him and allowed him to sidle behind him. The Psychic offered Denki his hand, and he took it with his own shaky fingers. A squeeze of his palms, and it felt like old times again, when Mashirao was still alive and the three of them would comfort each other at night when they had nightmares.
Denki watched hazily over Hitoshi's shoulder. Mezou had ignored his rejection and had turned to scan over the rest of the class. "Yaomomo, Tsu, Nejire... I'm sorry you had to go through with this mess. I'm sorry you're all still trapped in this cage while I get to depart."
"Depart..?" Nejire's voice was haunted.
If Denki could see his mouth, he was sure Mezou'd be smiling. Smiling despite the filthy, sinful tears sliding down his face, tracking down his wretched mask. "Even hell is better than these ruins... right, Tamaki?"
Tamaki jumped, snapped at once out of his stupor. "Don't... don't use my words..."
Denki flinched; Hitoshi's grip tightened. Tamaki's voice was small; meek. Defeated. Finally broken. He had fallen at last, like a bird whose ragged, bloody wings had finally given out, a bird who had hit the ground hard and lay awaiting his demise. Nejire placed a hand on his shoulder; he ignored her.
It was the same tone Tamaki used when he grabbed Denki by the arm as he tried to leave the gym before the trial, the same tone he used as he requested him for some assistance in his plans, asked to borrow Denki for yet another selfish plot, borrow his body, his voice, his mind; a plot to which the Electrician gave dubious consent to in his hustle to run away.
"Don't use my words, you murderer. You fucking wretch... you've ruined everything! I hope you suffer forever- I wish I could drive a knife into your gut myself... I HATE YOU!" Something had come unhinged, and Tamaki screamed at Mezou, his eyes alight with grief, tears sliding down his face in torrents. "Don't come near me! I hope you rot alone!"
Another pang in his chest, and Denki felt tears wash over his sight again; seeing someone else break only reminded him of himself. Or is it because seeing another villain break pisses you off?
Mezou kept his distance; he merely gazed upon Tamaki, upon Nejire holding her friend back from throwing himself at him. The taller merely closes his eyes, plaintive and quiet. "I'm sorry, Tamaki."
"Go away!" the Florist spat.
"Sure." Mezou turned away from him to face Yaomomo instead. "Miss Detective, huh? I guess you were our Fumikage replacement."
"Sure, if you want to see it that way," the ravenette shrugged; unshowing of emotion. "I just... took up the job, I guess. Someone had to do it if we wanted to live another day, and Fumikage died."
"Maybe that's why I resented you after Fumikage's trial," Mezou admitted, his voice growing soft. Almost kind. Almost like the old Mezou, the Mezou who was my friend, who was a hero-in-training. "Because you took his place. In the end, I was just petty, hm?'
"Ahem ahem!" Denki jumped, as did Hitoshi. His hand went clammy; he hoped Hitoshi didn't mind if he was excessively sweaty. Monokuma had sliced into the damper atmosphere like a katana slicing a block in half. "I'm sorry to cut into this, but the execution is coming up real soon! Any last words, any last regrets, you might want to say them now!"
Mezou sighed. Perhaps there was a smile under his mask. Silent tears ran down his face. "I should've seen this coming."
"M-Mezou..." Tsuyu's voice was small as she spoke up; she seemed to waver. She paused, as if thinking, a finger to her chin. "I think... you're actually a good person. One with a poor ability to handle trauma. Something like that. Like, Denki cuts, I talk to Ochako, and you kill."
A jolt went through Denki's entire body, and suddenly he couldn't breathe all over again. How does she know? She knows, she knows, now everyone knows, and they'll call me weak, call me pathetic, they'll kill me, they'll kill me..!
Hitoshi turned to him, but Denki didn't look up; he stared at the floor, wished he could stop crying and being pathetic. The bandages wrapped around his wrists were too tight, too snug, the dried blood underneath soggy and uncomfortable. He wished to rip them off, but he couldn't, he couldn't, because what's worse? Bandages or a barrage of bloody cuts?
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mezou inquired; it appeared nobody else had taken Tsuyu's words too seriously. The Heavylifter's voice made him flinch; he was fully prepared for his icy tone to cut through the air, send cold sweat running down his spine all over again, but instead, all he got was a warm, gentle murmur; he wasn't sure which would've hurt more.
Tsuyu silently got up and began to shuffle towards Mezou. He watched her with curious eyes. She looked up to meet them with her own hazy, green gaze when she was only a foot away from him. "I think you're a good person," she explained with a sweet smile on her face. "One who was misguided, sure, but a good person."
With that note, she leaned forward to wrap her arms around Mezou's midriff, her face buried in his chest. "It's okay. I think Fumikage would agree, right?"
The Heavylifter appeared awkward in the sudden embrace. "Erm..." An expression of guilt melted across his face.
Traitor. Fucking traitor.
Wasn't Fumikage's last wish for Mezou to live, unlike him? To trust us, love his classmates, as he did before?
Isn't that the exact opposite of what he did, what he's done?
"Haha! So touching!" Monokuma grinned. "So despairful! Now, without further ado, it's time to conclude this little dump of confessions!"
Mezou seemed to relax in Tsuyu's loose grip as the bear announced his death. He moved one hand to place it on her back; her gesture had not been unreciprocated. The other hand moved upwards, towards his mouth.
"I've prepared a very special punishment for Mezou Shouji, the Ultimate Heavylifter!"
Mezou paused, his finger hovering, before hooking his index on the top of the cyan mask hiding his lower face.
"Are you all ready..?!"
He pulled down the garment, revealing a scarred nose and a thin, crooked mouth; a small smile tugged at its edges.
"Iiiiiiit's..."
"I'm sorry, Fumikage."
"PUNISHMENT TIME!"
His teeth are sharp, like Eijirou's.
Mezou's grip tightened on Tsuyu's fragile figure, holding her to his broad chest. She seemed to enjoy the touch, despite the tears sliding down her face.
"Everyone, please... get out of here and become heroes." Mezou offered a shaky chuckle. "Become who I couldn't."
I hate you so much.
GAME OVER
Mezou Shouji has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!
Mezou was standing in the center of a large arena. Colosseum-like walls encircled him, effectively trapping him in a seemingly-tiny circle. The earth was a dusty, dry brown; overhead, a domed hologram of the sky flickered cerulean. Wispy white clouds glided across the vast expanse.
Mezou was on edge, feet spread in a battle stance. He flexed his bicep muscles, warming himself up for whatever disaster was about to be thrown his way. His dark navy eyes darted back and forth, warily watching the environment, as if something were about to leap out of the ground.
Then the earth began to shake.
Mezou Shouji's Execution: Heartbreak of Pangaea : Executed!
A rather violent crashing noise came from one side of the arena.
Mezou started, whirling around to see a massive chunk of the ground behind him splitting apart. Chunks of stone went flying as the rocky area split off, sliding up and away by a few inches. The wall on that side shook; part of it crumbled and fell out of the enclosed space.
More screeches of rock breaking exploded from all around the arena. Mezou leaped onto a separate plate as the earth split directly below his feet. The plate he crouched on began to sink, slowly but surely; Mezou stayed on it for a moment before running to a different one, one that was rising.
The plates were starting to move faster and faster at this point. Mezou rushed from one rock to the next; the more Denki watched with bated breath, the more he noticed.
Mezou was leaping to only the rocks that rose; he avoided the ones that fell and slid below each other. As he watched, Denki could noticeably see him getting higher and higher in the arena, centimeter by centimeter. He was trying to get out; trying to live, despite all of the sins he hauled about on his shoulders, hid in his pockets, away from the world; unforgiving. Untrustworthy.
I hate you, I hate you so much.
I hate you enough that I'd kill you.
He was getting higher, leaping swiftly and nimbly, effortlessly, from plate to shattered earthy plate. A rush of terror flew through Denki's body; nervous sweat dampened his palms. He still hadn't let go of Hitoshi; the violette being annoyed with him about it was the last thing on his mind.
He's going to come back. We can't get rid of him.
Why can't I get rid of him?
Why can't he get out of my fucking head?
Mezou was still going, and he was barely breaking a sweat. He was pretty much at the edge of the top of the arena at this point; he leaped for a section of wall, one powerful hand hitting the rock and pulling him up single-handedly. A jolt struck Denki in the chest.
But as he crouched and bounded off of the crumbling wall, he flew out not even a foot before he hit an invisible barrier and bounced backwards, tumbling over the wall and falling ungracefully onto a conveniently rising chunk of earth. A glass wall. The holographic sky was confined within a dome, blue and white projected upon the solid walls. As he hit it, the image flickered and pulsed; beyond the glass dome was mere darkness; presumably an execution room underground somewhere.
Mezou glared up at the dome; he was clearly unnerved by his newest discovery. He clenched his hands into fists and stood up, defiance clear in his expression.
But as he rose, a swiftly rising rumble below his feet snagged his attention.
He looked down just as a criss-crossing of cracks erupted in the earth beneath him.
A particularly large ravine suddenly pulled the ground apart as easy as snapping ice. Pulled the ground apart right under Mezou's feet. He had jumped the moment the earth broke, but as he flailed to grab the newly formed cliff's edge, Denki could see the despair in his eyes.
Despair.
How beautiful.
The giddy feeling in his stomach made him feel sick as he watched Mezou begin to fall, hand outstretched for the cliff as he swiftly plummeted to his impending doom at the bottom of the ravine.
Before he fully vanished from sight, the two plates suddenly slammed back together.
He was buried alive, crushed by the force of nature itself, of the very earth he was born and raised upon. It was such a fitting end. Denki couldn't help but heave a silent sigh of relief, his hand squeezing Hitoshi's before finally letting go.
He's gone.
A flash of red; Denki felt chills seize his entire body once more as the sensation of fingers against his face, a leg against his, the wall on his back, the voice, the voice, hushed and vengeful and cold and unforgiving, the voice that snaked into his ear like a centipede, brushed every last one of his innards, licked him until he was at his captor's mercy.
Leave me alone, please...
Get out of my head.
Why won't he get out of my head?
Get out of my head, out of my head, out of my head, getoutofmyheadoutofmyheadoutofmyhead-
"Denki?" Hitoshi's soft, violet voice crept into his senses. The blonde jumped, startled, as this single name pierced the chaotic scribble of charcoal black in his head. He hadn't realized he was shaking, or that tears were sliding down his face, until Hitoshi spoke again. "Are you okay?"
"I'm... I'm okay..." Denki hiccuped quietly and tried to control his shuddering. He wiped away the tears on his face, only for new ones to replace them immediately. At the very least, nobody was paying him any attention; everyone was still staring at the screen displaying the ever-shifting execution arena as it ground up the remains of Mezou's body. Why am I so weak? Why can't I control myself, control my own body, my mind?
I hate this. I hate this all so, so much.
It's all their fault... all their fault...
Please... leave me alone...
I don't want to do this anymore...
Chapter 7 : To Breed Endemic Death and Despair : The End | Surviving Students : 8 | To Be Continued
Item Obtained: Mezou's Mask