Walking down to the trial ground, Togami let the others outpace him as he tried to buy himself a few more seconds of time to think. He knew he'd be able to figure this out if he just had the facts in front of him, but Monokuma had sounded the class trial bells before he had a chance. He scowled at the thought. That bear had deliberately created a scenario where he had less information than the others, putting him at a disadvantage when he would need to defend himself. That flagrant disregard for the rules of the game was almost more of an annoyance than the murder set-up.
At least the set-up had been moderately clever, from what Togami had been able to gather about it. Whoever had done it couldn't be quite as stupid as they seemed. But which of them could it have been? That was the real question, the part he couldn't work out just yet.
Naegi's idea about accomplices had some merit to it, since that was clearly the only way to get around the alibi issue. But that still didn't explain the who.
He looked ahead, eyes narrowed, to where Asahina and Ogami were walking close together. Those two had certainly clicked fast, and for some reason, Ogami went mad at the slightest hint of a threat to Asahina. Would she take it far enough to assist Asahina in a killing, knowing that it would mean her own death if they got away with it?
Or there was the possibility that someone had been tricked into it. Lord knew Hagakure was stupid enough to fall for anything. It would be no trick at all to get him to help with a murder. Unless – was it possible that Hagakure's idiocy was all an act to hide some dark intent? It seemed unlikely, since Hagakure's stupidity predated Monokuma's announcement of the killing game, but Togami supposed he couldn't rule it out entirely.
Could Fukawa have been the one? Togami was of two minds on that idea. On one hand, she was certainly the person most likely to choose to target him. Someone had knocked him out and stuck him in that locker, and the thought of Fukawa being the one to manhandle his unconscious body made him shudder. On the other hand, he was fairly sure that if she'd done so, he wouldn't have woken up alone. Besides, if she were really going to target him, she wouldn't bother with the elaborate trap – she'd go straight for the scissors.
Celeste was the last possibility, even though she did frequently profess her desire to stay in the school forever rather than kill. There was always something insincere in everything the Ultimate Gambler said, and Togami had never been able to get a good read on her. She seemed like she might be clever, and no gambler as successful as she'd been could be entirely stupid – but she had gone along with several wrong ideas during the past trials, when being wrong would have fatal consequences. Togami couldn't be sure, not with what he knew of her.
By the time he reached the red door, he still didn't have an answer. Well, he'd just have to figure it out on the trial grounds.
When Togami pushed the door open and entered the waiting room outside the elevator, all eyes turned to him. The atmosphere felt different this time than at the previous two trials – the air nearly crackled with the electric stares of the other students. Asahina's bubbling fury, Fukawa's dark eyes, Celeste's sharp smile, they all came together in a whirl of accusation.
But he didn't really care what any of them thought of him at this point, not until the trial began in earnest. Togami ignored the others and looked at the only one of the group whose opinion mattered.
Naegi's eyes were fixed on him, but with such an intensely inward focus that Togami wasn't sure the boy was actually seeing him. His lips moved faintly, a whisper of words only to himself. Togami thought he could see Naegi form the phrase "have to…" but he couldn't tell what the rest of it might mean, or what Naegi thought he had to do.
Before Togami could decide whether to approach Naegi and ask him, Monokuma's voice echoed from all around the room. "Hello!" "Hello!" "Hello!"
Two Monokumas burst forth, side by side – as if one of that thing wasn't enough.
"Whoa – two Monokumas?" Hagakure gasped, jumping back.
"Nope, still just the one and only me," Monokuma said. "You only think I've multiplied because of an illusion! I'm just moving so fast that you think there's more than one of me! Can you tell which one is the real Monokuma?"
"Can we just get on the elevator?" Kirigiri asked, her bored tone appropriate for once.
"Aw, tough crowd." Both Monokumas took on a sad pose, like Kirigiri had hurt their feelings. "You're not playing along." "along…" "along…"
So they had time for this stupidity, but not for him to have a real investigation? Togami glared at both bears. "We're not here to play with you!"
"Aw, fine." One of the Monokumas vanished. "Then if everyone's ready to go, please board the pain train – er, the elevator."
Was that bear even capable of speaking without a stupid joke? Togami scowled and strode into the elevator as soon as the doors opened. Time to get this over with.
After riding down in silence, the elevator doors opened on walls of a pale sky blue, dozens of hanging moons, and heavy brocade curtains over false windows. It seemed like a bizarre choice for a trial, like a parody of the night sky, but who knew why the mastermind decorated the way they did.
He took his place at the podiums, ignoring Monokuma's repetitive explanation of the class trials. Really, if anyone could forget the rules of the trial at this point, they deserved what they got.
Apparently, the others had equally little patience with it.
"We already know who did it!" Asahina snapped, cutting Monokuma off mid-sentence.
"It was Togami," Celeste added. "He is the only one to lack an alibi, and he was found in the suit. We found the blueprints and parts to build it in his room." She pulled out a box of papers and crafting supplies for the rest of the group to see. "The evidence is quite compelling."
"You only think it's compelling because it's a set up," Togami said, crossing his arms. "I was knocked unconscious last night, and when I woke up this morning, I was in that suit."
"So you say," Celeste said. "But you haven't provided any evidence to prove your claims."
"Why would I be stupid enough to commit a murder without crafting a reasonable alibi for myself?" Togami countered.
Celeste shrugged. "Perhaps whatever you were planning failed, and you are now trying to salvage it." She leaned forward. "Maybe you are not as smart as you think you are."
"That's for sure," Asahina said. "You told us you were going to kill someone right at the start. Of course we'd suspect you!"
"I'd intended to do it in such a way that I wouldn't look suspicious," Togami said, rolling his eyes. "My plans would not have involved wearing something as eye-catching as that monstrosity. Just looking at it makes my eyes hurt. Why would I inflict it on myself willingly?"
Asahina clenched her fists. "So you admit you were planning to kill someone!"
Togami curled his lip. "Don't act so high and mighty. Everyone in this room has at least considered it, even if you didn't decide to go through with it. I was just the only one with the nerve to be honest about it."
"Until your oh-so-sudden change of heart, that is," Celeste said, tilting her head with a deceptively innocent smile. "You changed your mind most conveniently, did you not? You found a reason to give up on committing any murders, mere days before you became a suspect."
Togami narrowed his eyes at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that the timing suggests that you deliberately manipulated Naegi into a love affair to make yourself appear innocent," Celeste said. She shook her head sadly. "And the poor boy has fallen right into your trap, even going so far as to try to defend you in the face of your crimes."
The words made Togami's eyes snap over, around the circle – and he saw Naegi's face crumple. The sight knocked the air out of Togami, like Celeste had punched him in the stomach. That was what Naegi thought had happened? Togami might have done that with someone else, if he'd deemed it necessary – but he hadn't been able to fake anything with Naegi. The boy pulled honesty from him without even trying, like iron to a magnet. Did he really not realize how he'd affected Togami, even in the short time they'd had together?
"I don't see how it's relevant to dissect anyone's love life," Kirigiri said, looking irritated with the digression. "The facts of the case are the same whether or not Togami and Naegi are involved."
"Yes, the evidence does stand even without that aspect," Ogami agreed. "The question of alibis is difficult to put aside."
"And the blueprints," Hagakure added, pointing to the papers Celeste had produced. "I totally saw them, right there in your room! How'd they get there if you didn't build that suit?"
"Obviously someone else put them there," Togami said, rolling his eyes. "They could easily have used my room key after knocking me out."
"Then how come it has your notes all over it?" Hagakure grabbed one of the papers and waved it triumphantly. "Look, it's right here in your own handwriting –"
"No! That's wrong!"
