Too many seconds ticked away after Togami had finalized his vote, a far longer wait than they'd ever had to endure before. Of course, they'd always been in agreement on the culprit's identity before now. With the trial ending so abruptly, before he'd had a chance to convince the entire circle of the truth, it was no surprise that the other students were taking their time making their decision.
Because that had to be the cause of the delay. He couldn't let himself consider the possibility that anything other than indecision was keeping Naegi from voting. His eyes flickered in the direction of his boyfriend once more, in spite of his best efforts not to stare desperately at the injured boy. With billions of eyes trained on them all through the glaring cameras, he had to stay strong through whatever was coming next… and if he looked too long at Naegi lying prone on the ground, he didn't know if he could. Even thinking too long on Naegi's condition sent fear flooding through him, chilling whispers of all the things that could have happened to make the boy's injuries worse.
No — no, this wasn't the moment for that, not yet. The ban on leaving their places in the circle seemed to end after the voting results were announced, based on the previous trials, so he'd be able to check Naegi's wellbeing for himself in just a few moments… one way or another. And if everything turned out as it should, Naegi would need support at the moment that Kirigiri was dragged to her well-deserved fate.
Because that would be the result of the voting — it had to be. The truth had to win out, and the true culprit had to be convicted. Any other result was just — unacceptable. It couldn't occur.
He stole another glance in Naegi's direction, willing his face to remain unchanged — but that resolve flew from his mind when he spotted the slightest twitch of movement. Naegi's hand crept slowly across the podium until finally — finally — he pressed a button.
Togami froze, scarcely daring to breathe. Then — that was it. Naegi had voted, and now this mockery of a trial could end. At this distance, he couldn't see which button Naegi had pushed… but of course there was only one option. Naegi always saw sense in the end, even if it took him a while to get there. He had to have chosen correctly… he couldn't have been so taken in by Kirigiri's manipulations that he would ignore all the evidence pointing her direction.
But whatever Naegi had chosen, Togami knew he wouldn't learn the truth of it by watching his boyfriend lying on the floor. Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away from Naegi and looked upward at the brightly glowing slot machine of portraits.
The images spun round and round, almost too fast to make out the individual features — not that it mattered. He knew every face in the mix all too well, and his mind could fill in details that his eye couldn't see. The neon whirl of faces burned against his tired eyes, but he didn't look away for a second. He had to wait until the spinning slowed, until the portraits settled on a choice…
Until three identical images of Makoto Naegi stared back at him.
Junko beamed up at the monitor, soaking in the delightful reactions of her darling friends. Shock, horror, dismay, a thousand lovely seeds that would bloom into the most beautiful despair… oh, this was the nicest gift she'd given them yet! She was so glad to see they appreciated it properly.
All of them but one, anyway. The star of the show was still lolling around on the floor, not even lifting his head to check the final score. Well, that wouldn't do at all! She leaned towards her microphone with a grin.
"And the results are in, folks! The blackened you all chose as Mukuro Ikusaba's killer is…." She took a deep breath, savoring the tension in the air. "Makoto Naegi!"
And at the sound of his name, the silly boy twitched, a full-body shiver from head to toe, as if she'd pumped a jolt of electricity right up through the floor. Well, that couldn't be good for his wounds! Not that it made much difference at this point, but Junko wanted him in the best shape possible — how else could he enjoy the full experience of her lovingly crafted executions?
"What the hell is that supposed to be?"
Togami was the first of the students to break free of his initial shock, though his face was still pale enough to pull off a fantastic vampire cosplay. He managed to tear his eyes away from the results and spun to glare — not at the enthroned Monokuma, but at Kirigiri. "What did you do?"
But Little Miss Detective ignored him, just as deafened by the thoughts running through her head as he had been by the explosion. She slowly lowered her gaze from the lights, pupils contracted to tiny dots as she narrowed her eyes at the camera embedded in Monokuma's eye. Junko settled back in her seat, steepling her fingers in front of her face in her best evil mastermind impression as she waited for Kirigiri to find her words.
"Is this some sort of joke?" There it was, an oh so tiny hint of a quaver in the detective's strong, steady voice. Kirigiri might have forced her hand with the gun threat, but now control of the situation was back where it belonged. "Are you mocking me?"
Junko bit back her giggles so that the microphone wouldn't pick them up as she leaned forward. "Huh? You want me to tell jokes?" She tapped a button to tilt Monokuma's head with innocent confusion. "Well, okay, you asked for it! A headmaster, a detective, and the world's most adorable bear walk into a bar —"
"Do you think this is funny?" Kirigiri's glare could have frozen over a volcano.
"Aw… have you heard that one already?" Junko heaved a disappointed sigh.
"Stop that!" She clenched her fists, so tightly her nails had to be gouging her palms even through the gloves. "Just tell me what this is supposed to mean!"
"Hmm? You can't tell?" Junko tsked and shook her head. "I guess they don't make Ultimate Detectives like they used to! I told you already — these are the results of your vote!"
"I know that," Kirigiri snapped. "But — this can't be right. These can't be the real results."
"You think so? Well, too bad for you — they are!" Junko laughed. "But you don't have to worry your pretty little head about it — because they're absolutely correct!"
"What? No — they can't be!" This time it was Ogami, looking from Togami to Naegi in growing panic.
"Oh? Are you gonna argue with a passing grade?" Junko kept her eyes on Kirigiri even as she answered the other girl. "I mean, you wouldn't want to be wrong, would you?"
And she saw it hit home, striking right through all Kirigiri's layers of icy armor like a dagger finding its way to her heart. That was it. After all the plans and machinations she'd juggled in the past few days, that was it — the moment she knew she'd won. It was perfect, exactly how she'd wanted it, so very perfect —
So perfect it was boring. Junko sighed, slumping back in her chair. Was it really fun like this — if her friends didn't even have a chance? If it just played out exactly the way she'd planned?
Barely a fraction of a second had passed before she leaned back towards the microphone once more. "Unless, of course, someone wants to challenge the verdict."
