Junko's brilliant smile, so apparently open and friendly, came very close to blinding Naegi to the actual content of her words. Even knowing that she was the mastermind behind the killing game, even after seeing the horrors despair had caused her to unleash on her own friends, he still felt the pull of her charismatic spell. Her casual comment, spoken as part of a normal conversation without any hint of malice, slipped easily through his tired mind… until it didn't.
I did try to kill you, too!
The words echoed back through his head, changing as they replayed. Junko's overwhelming energy and manic brightness shifted, another voice overlaying hers and drowning out the false kindness with the sound of real friendship.
Kyoko's voice snapped through his head, flat and sharp as it always became when she was waiting impatiently for him to realize the flaw in his thinking. He'd heard that tone a hundred times, whether reviewing forgotten class notes the night before a test or working out the ending of a popular television drama, and it inevitably led to the realization that he'd missed something painfully obvious.
… tried to kill you too …
And that time he really heard them. Kyoko's voice replayed the words in his head, stripping them of whatever magic Junko infused them with until only the chilling facts remained. Any scrap of hope still lingering in the back of his mind that he might have been wrong about Junko had to evaporate now, when faced with her unprompted confession. Using the same friendly voice that greeted him each morning back in their long ago school life, Junko had admitted that she had been the one to try to execute him.
… tried to kill you …
No… that wasn't quite right, was it? He could hear his friend's admonishment to pay attention to details as clearly as if she stood there at his side. Junko had said that she'd tried to kill him… not "execute" or "punish" or any of the other words she used when speaking to them through Monokuma. She'd always been very careful when talking about the game, choosing words that implied the responsibility for the deaths belonged elsewhere. It had infuriated Naegi every time he'd heard her do it, because obviously the mastermind behind the game was more at fault than the unwilling victims she'd forced to play it… but even if what she'd said was wrong, she'd still been consistent.
But if she hadn't been referring to his execution at the end of the trial… what had Junko meant when she'd said she'd tried to kill him? He blinked up at her with a frown — only to realize that she'd leaned forward to watch him, chin propped on both hands as she rested her elbows on her knees. And while the bright smile gracing her lips looked identical to the one she'd worn just a moment ago, now feeling it directed at him for more than an instant sent chills down his spine.
"Look at you, plugging away at those tough questions even when you're down for the count!" Junko beamed at him in delight, as if he'd been trying to figure things out solely to please her. "But what kind of friend would leave to work so hard all by yourself? I'll be glad to give you a little help, at least till you're back on your feet!"
Terror crawled down Naegi's arms, leaving a stinging trail of goosebumps in its wake. Any help she offered would only be meant to hurt him further in the end, he knew it — but when he tried to say as much, nothing but a dry rasp came out of his mouth.
Junko tsked, shaking her head sadly. "Aw, is it really so hard for you to rely on a friend when you're in trouble? I know it's a tough lesson for some people to get the hang of… but don't worry! I'll be sure to work extra hard so that you understand your situation!"
She bounced forward and patted the top of Naegi's head, an almost affectionate touch that sent sparks of pain flickering across his vision. Had he hit his head during the execution, or had she found the remnants of one of his slightly older injuries? He couldn't be sure, not when he had no way to gauge what had happened to him or how badly hurt he'd been. All he knew was that it was bad enough to stop him from moving… leaving him entirely in Junko's power. And if even a brief tap of her hand could cause so much pain… what else could she decide to do?
The possibilities were too horrifying to contemplate. The only saving grace was that at least she wasn't doing any of those other things… not yet. But the threat still lingered in the air between them, underscored by the pain ringing through his skull. She could change her mind at any moment, if she got bored of this new game… so it was in his best interests to make sure she didn't.
The realization must have shown on his face, because Junko leaned back and clapped her hands in absurdly childlike glee. "And we're starting to understand each other already! Isn't this great?"
She paused for a moment, like she was waiting for a response. Naegi had never thought he'd be grateful that his injuries prevented him from speaking, because he had no idea what she wanted him to say.
After a few seconds of silence, she shrugged. "Well, it'll be better once you're up to joining in on the fun. Until we can have that great big gossip session I promised you, I'll just have to guess what you need!" She put her hands up to her temples, squeezing her eyes closed like a terrible fake psychic.
Psychic… like Sayaka had pretended to be whenever she could see right through him. Like she'd done again at the start of the killing game, when they'd reforged just enough of their friendship for the mastermind to manipulate them.
Why had Junko done this to them? That was the question he really wanted to ask, the one thing he needed desperately to know. Was it that they'd never meant much to her at all, so that they'd simply been the most convenient victims after the Tragedy had driven her into despair? Or had she hated them all along, even when they'd thought of her as a friend, and the despair had finally allowed her to express her true feelings? If he'd had the strength to speak, he didn't know if he could have restrained himself from asking the questions screaming through his mind.
But no matter how much he wanted to know, those weren't the questions that Junko wanted to answer. She dropped her hands from her temples and grinned. "Aha! I get it now — you're worried about how I told you I wanted to kill you! I'll just bet that you can't bear to think it was the truth, huh? You're hoping it was all one big nasty lie!" Her cheerful giggle scraped his nerves raw. "But sorry — I'm not gonna tell you any lies. That was one hundred percent truth!"
So it was true… if he could trust her word, anyway. But it made sense, when he thought about it. The mastermind had to know the real killer's identity… but she'd chosen to declare Naegi guilty anyway. If she hadn't wanted him and only him to die, all she would've had to do was announce that wasn't the one who killed Mukuro Ikusaba.
The one… who'd killed… Mukuro…
Naegi stared up at Junko again, eyes narrowing as he took in the details of her features. Her face, that was definitely her face, he'd know her anywhere… and he'd know who she wasn't.
Another face flashed before his eyes, a face that didn't fit the bouncing pigtails and playful grin she'd worn. But it was another face he knew, one that belonged to short dark hair and careful eyes that never seemed to smile.
It hadn't been Junko Enoshima that they'd met at the start of the killing game. It had been Mukuro Ikusaba, putting on an awkward facsimile of Junko's identity. It wouldn't have fooled anyone who knew the real Junko, of course… but they'd all forgotten that they did. But even without remembering, too many questions might have ruined the disguise… except that they'd never gotten the chance to ask. She'd died before anyone had tried to get to know her, the first death of so many.
She'd been killed by the mastermind… several weeks ago.
