Naegi looked from Togami to Kirigiri, trying to ignore the throbbing ache the movement sent through the base of his skull. Whatever strange hallucination he'd had a few moments ago had left his head pounding again, worse than any of the other times it had hurt — but what was a little pain against the possibility that his boyfriend and best friend might finally be willing to make peace?
Even with the opportunity to return to their cutthroat argument, the pair just watched Naegi instead, reigniting a spark of hope in his heart. And even though Kirigiri's eyes still reflected nothing more than her emotionless walls and Togami looked like he was taking a mental inventory of Naegi's wellbeing, at least they weren't glaring daggers at each other anymore. This might be only the first step, but they could build on it — Naegi believed that wholeheartedly.
"Okay," he said before the fragile moment of truce could end, making sure to position his head so that Togami could read his lips. "I know you both have your own ideas about how things could have happened… but right now, we don't know for sure what's right. I think we need to go back to the parts we can be sure about, and work from those. If —" he gulped. "If one of you really is right, then the facts will make that clear."
"But are there truly still facts that we've left unexamined?" Ogami asked, frowning deeply. "I do appreciate your insistence that we should all be involved in this decision, Naegi, but… I must admit I do not see anything that would shed a new light on the situation."
Naegi shook his head gingerly, trying to avoid another wave of pain. "No — there's still something. We haven't figured out what happened yet, not for sure, so there has to be something we missed." But as he racked his brain, reviewing the different pieces of evidence they'd talked to pieces already, he wasn't sure what that could be.
"Hey, don't go counting everyone out before time's been called!" Jill said, and something in her tone sounded falsely bright instead of her usual genuine cheerfulness. "I've got a question that needs answering, if none of you are gonna bother asking it!"
Naegi blinked at her, wondering what she thought they'd missed. But… as he thought it over… there was really only one question that Jill would care so much about. "You mean — who locked you up?"
"Ding ding ding — give the boy a prize!" Jill sang out, but none of the playfulness reached her eyes. "But no point in aiming low, Big Mac — let's go for double or nothing!" She shot forward, pointing her razor-sharp scissors straight at his heart. "I want their name."
Naegi had the sudden, horrible suspicion that getting Jill the answer she wanted wouldn't be the safest course. In the midst of a trial, the others might react to accusations differently… but none of them had weapons primed and ready to go. And after Jill had flung two pairs of scissors at him in the garden, when he and Kirigiri had found her slicing open her own skin, Naegi knew all too well just how effective they were as throwing weapons. He didn't think even the genocider would aim seriously, not right here in front of Monokuma… but she didn't have the expression of someone willing to stay her hand.
But even if he had qualms about making suggestions, it didn't seem like the other students shared them.
"Obviously there are only two possibilities," Togami said, scowling at Jill like he was annoyed to have to explain something so simple. Naegi expected the heir to spin in his direction and demand that he be the one to finish the answer — but instead, Togami only shot him a brief glance before carrying on with his own conclusions. "The only people with a motive for getting another student out of the way would be the ones who were creeping around the school for some nefarious purpose — the one who committed a murder and the one who only intended to do so."
"Wait — you mean you think that Ikusaba could have done it?" Naegi frowned, trying to follow Togami's logic. "So you're saying that Jill was locked up before Ikusaba got killed?"
"She must have been," Togami said. "I last saw her when I went downstairs to see you, around the nighttime announcement — before Ikusaba drugged Ogami and stole the knife."
"But maybe while she was planning to do it," Naegi said, nodding. "She would've had to sneak from the fourth floor down to the first — and she probably didn't dare let anyone catch her. I mean, as far as we knew, she wasn't even supposed to be in the school! Even with the mask hiding her face, it still would've given away that there was another person in the school."
"Sure it would — if I'd caught her at it," Jill said, tossing her braids. "And yeah, a girl's gotta keep her eyes open for any cuties that might wander by — but the super soldier isn't the type to ping my radar. She could've waited a few more seconds for me to get back in the library and she'd've been free to pass go and collect her winnings!"
"But that might have been an unacceptable risk," Ogami said, frowning. "The stairs going up to the third floor are right beside the library, are they not? If she had exited the stairwell only to hear someone nearby, taking offensive measures would have been a better way to remain undiscovered than gambling that Jill wouldn't notice her."
"No… I don't think that can be right," Naegi said, starting to shake his head before remembering that it would prevent Togami from understanding his words. "I'm pretty sure there's a corner between the stairwell and either the library or bathroom doors. She would have had plenty of time to retreat if that was the only reason."
"Are you certain?" Ogami asked, forehead creasing. "I do not mean to cause an argument, but I have noticed that Jill is able to move far more rapidly than —" She cut herself short, glancing briefly in Jill's direction with concern. "Well, that aside, she habitually moves swiftly enough to outrun someone not prepared for it. I doubt that Ikusaba would have had the opportunity to hide if a location did not immediately present itself."
Naegi frowned, doing his best to picture the stairway entrance on the second floor. He was pretty sure something wasn't right with what Ogami was saying… but when he tried to envision a specific place in the school, a jolt of pain stabbed him right between the eyes. His vision wavered, and for a moment the dingy gray of the trial room turned to a brighter, rawer red as the stairs of Hope's Peak Academy flashed before his eyes. Blood streamed down the steps, washing over hands and faces and other scattered limbs that weren't — oh god — weren't attached —
No. No. It wasn't real, he knew it wasn't real. Naegi swallowed hard, forcing back the thick, sour nausea that clogged his throat. He was just tired, that was all. Maybe Togami and Ogami had been right when they said he shouldn't exert himself this much. These horrible visions were probably just his subconsciousness's way of telling him that he'd reached his last dregs of energy.
"—not listening! Something isn't —"
As Naegi did his best to slow his breathing to something less frantic, a voice made its way through the agony pounding through his head.
"—wouldn't just ignore me! I refuse—"
Even drowning in pain and confusion, the unmistakable fear in Togami's voice would have cut through to stab Naegi's heart. Naegi clenched his teeth and forced himself to lift his head from where it had slumped down to his chest. It felt as though he had to fight against the force of a thousand anchors dragging him down to do so… but finally, he managed to straighten enough to meet Togami's horrified eyes.
"What the hell just happened to you?" Togami snarled, looking like he was mere seconds away from leaving his podium and heading to Naegi's side, rules be damned. "You — you just stopped moving — I thought —" He shut his mouth with a sharp click, lips pressing together till they turned white as he held back whatever he'd meant to say.
"Sorry." At the sound of his own wisp of a voice, barely audible even to his own ears, Naegi couldn't help but feel a little grateful that Togami couldn't hear him try to speak. "I guess I'm just tired."
"Huh? Is that the problem?" Monokuma's voice rang through the trial room, unsettlingly cheery as ever — but this time, Naegi thought for a moment that he could hear something else when the bear spoke. It was almost like hearing double, another voice speaking in perfect time with the robot's words. Was it some kind of audio glitch? "Are you sure?"
Kirigiri looked up at Monokuma, eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting that there is some other cause?"
"Well, as you know, the best headmasters always fall into the 'strict but secretly kind' character type," Monokuma said, tiling his head like he was saying something genuinely deep. "So if I'm going to fit the mold, I have to take the worst possibilities into account and make sure none of you are trying to get away with something terrible!" His paws flew to his mouth in shock. "What if cute little Naegi is just trying to avoid the end-of-term exams by pretending to be sick?"
"You're accusing him of faking?" Ogami demanded, appalled. "He's obviously unwell!"
"Maaaaaaaybe!" Monokuma said. "Or… maybe he just didn't study!" He threw back his head and laughed, the sound echoing round and round in Naegi's skull like ricocheting bullets. In spite of his best efforts, Naegi couldn't help but flinch away from the noise.
Kirigiri crossed her arms. "If you have a point, make it."
"Aww… I guess someone isn't any fun!" Monokuma sighed heavily. "I just wanted to remind Naegi that he doesn't have to worry if he didn't finish studying. After all, I made sure he had his very own extra special cheat sheet!"
