As if summoned from his memory by Junko's words, Naegi heard Kyoko's voice whispering through his head. I can see the trap being set in this trial… that was what she'd said in those last moments they'd had to confer in the bathhouse before the trial began. She'd believed the trial had been staged as a trap for her, because of something that she'd learned by using her stolen key — and now Junko had confirmed that her deduction had been right.
Except… how could it have been? For all the suspicion directed against Kyoko during the trial, she hadn't been the one named as the culprit. He would have liked to believe that Kyoko had managed to avoid the trap through some clever plan… but that would mean Junko had failed. And the girl sitting in front of him definitely didn't look like someone who'd seen a plan go up in flames.
"Why?" Naegi asked at last, when it became clear Junko didn't intend to say more without prompting.
"Hmm?" Junko tilted her head inquisitively, in a manner a little too much like Monokuma for comfort. "Why didn't it work out — or why is it a shame? Oh, or is it supposed to be why did I set the trap in the first place?" She shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, sweetie, but you're gonna have to be a little clearer!"
Even the thought of trying to find the breath to explain made Naegi's lungs ache with exhaustion. The most he could manage was to tell her, "All of them."
Junko raised an eyebrow. "Someone's getting gree-eedy!" she sang, her voice taking on a childish lilt for a moment before she stopped and giggled again. "Aw, but don't worry — I get it! I mean, we have so much to catch up on after all that time apart! Who could blame you for wanting to know absolutely everything you missed?" She clapped her hands together once, taking on the air of an over-enthusiastic elementary school teacher. "Okay then — all of them it is!"
For a moment Naegi had the distinct impression she was about to jump out of the chair with the sudden burst of inappropriate enthusiasm, and he tried his best to brace himself for the impact. But no — no, she managed to stay in her seat, though frenetic energy all but vibrated visibly through her.
"I mean, it's not like I wanted to have to organize a verdict for one of you! You get that, right, hon?" She clasped her hands together in front of her heart, eyes wide and deceptively innocent. "I promised that all of you would have the chance to win the game yourselves, and I just hated to go back on my word! But after Kirigiri took advantage of all the freedom I've given you guys to steal her daddy's key… well, I couldn't ignore that, either! If she'd rather sit by herself than play with the rest of you, she can go right ahead and embrace her inner stick-in-the-mud — but I couldn't let her spoil the game for everyone else!"
Spoil the game — the casual reference to the killing game could have come from Monokuma's mouth. Before waking here in Junko's clutches, Naegi would've expected the mastermind to speak more seriously about their plans once the ridiculous mask was stripped away — but Junko still talked as if they were playing at nothing more significant than a hand of cards.
Did that mean that even now, after he'd learned her true identity… she still didn't have any reason to treat their attempts to defy her as genuine threats? Had nothing they'd worked so hard to do even come close to breaking her control? Faces of the friends he'd lost flashed through his mind, friends who'd only wanted their freedom… and two years' worth of forgotten affection welled up until tears burned at the corners of his eyes.
"Oh, man — tears already? Before we even hit the part of the sleepover where we watch sappy movies and eat way too much chocolate?" Junko asked, falling back against her chair with shock too blatant to be sincere. "Well, you always were too soft for your own good!" She shook her head, bouncing back from the shock like it had never happened. "Don't worry your concussed little head about it, sweetheart — the game's still going strong as ever! Our Detective Princess hasn't dragged us off the rails yet — and of course I got to you before you could do any damage either!"
A frown creased Naegi's forehead, and the changing pressures in his skull whispered of a different new pain somewhere far away. But he pushed the warning away, Junko's alarming words consuming all of his attention. He could understand why Kyoko's investigation might have been a problem… but what damage did she think he could have done? When she'd put her plot in motion, he'd been injured and unconscious after the accident in the library. Even afterwards, during the investigation, he'd barely been able to stand on his own — he'd even collapsed halfway through the trial! He should have been the least dangerous person left in the game, not a threat she had to neutralize.
He should have been… but if he could believe what Junko told him, that hadn't been the case. Was she just playing mind games with him… or had he actually had the power to strike at the killing game somehow? If he'd had a chance like that… if he'd missed it…
"Wha…" Half a word croaked out of his throat, unrecognizable as his own voice. It had to hurt, even if he couldn't feel it now, that couldn't be a healthy way for his voice to sound… but leaving the question unasked would hurt more than any physical pain could. "What… did I… do…?"
"Huh? You're worried about that?" Junko tilted her head, sending the tiny Monokumas bobbling above each pigtail. "It's okay, sweetie, I know you didn't do it on purpose! You're such a good kid — it's not your fault you got caught up with so many bad influences!"
Did she mean Kyoko? Or maybe one of the others? Either way, Naegi didn't think she had any room to talk about people being bad influences… not after what she'd done to the friends, the sister, who'd trusted her.
"But even if yours was an accident, the Princess's sure as hell wasn't," Junko went on, tapping her nails against the chair's armrest in a chaotic sequence that never quite matched a single beat. "Poking her nose all around those second floor dorms, like she had no respect for the fact that the door was locked for a reason! Man, it was a lucky break for the rest of us that her detective skills aren't quiiiiiiite as sharp as she thinks they are, you know? For a minute or two I was worried she might knock the whole game board right over!"
So she'd gotten that close? The soft glow of pride in his friend's abilities warmed Naegi's chest. He might not always understand what she was trying to do, but he could always have faith that she was doing it well. Not even the mastermind herself could deny that.
"But hey, at least I figured from the get-go that she was gonna be a problem student," Junko said, the air around her going abruptly silent as her nails stopped tapping mid-beat. "So there were all kinds of options ready to deal with whatever she cooked up. But you — you came out of nowhere! And by the time I caught on that you were an even bigger wrecking ball than the Princess, it was nearly too late!"
He'd been worse for Junko's plans than Kyoko? That didn't make any sense. He hadn't even had the strength to lift his head by the end the trial — he couldn't imagine anything further away from a wrecking ball.
"But hey, it turned out okay — because I still figured out how to salvage the game!" She beamed happily, like she expected him to congratulate her. "I mean, we were only about halfway through the trial — so there was still time to redirect attention to the bigger target. Because sure, there was plenty to worry about with the high odds that all the clues in the locked dorms would help her lost memories start breaking through… but that chance that her memories might come back was nowhere near as bad as the fact that yours already were."
