Togami didn't lift his eyes from the ground ahead of him as he trudged down the stairs back to the first floor, watching his feet take step after careful step. If he filled his head with the inanities of such basic motions, perhaps it would be enough to distract himself from the sinking realization that his determination to search for clues to the last trial might be futile. He and Ogami had scoured the fifth floor for any hint that might point to the truth of Ikusaba's murder… but they hadn't uncovered a single clue the earlier investigation had missed.

It seemed impossible that he and Naegi could have been that thorough in their initial investigation, with exhaustion clouding their judgment and injuries slowing their steps. And it was just as unlikely that this killer had managed to avoid leaving any trace of her crime.

Could there have been outside interference? It would have been easy enough for the mastermind to dispose of any other clues when they'd removed Ikusaba's corpse from the scene. If it was something the initial investigation had overlooked, there'd be no way to know.

Togami's fingers curled into fists, undeterred by the needle-sharp slivers of pain shooting through his injured hands. Finding out the truth of the murder was the last thing he could do for Naegi, ripping away the lies to show how badly the kind, trusting boy had been betrayed. With his promise to protect Naegi so brutally shattered, this was the very least Togami owed him.

But what was he supposed to do when the mastermind was determined to conceal the truth? With their complete control of the school, they could easily keep him away from the information he wanted. He didn't have any leverage to use against the mastermind, any knowledge of the person hiding behind their robotic mask. With a real person, he would at least have had a chance at getting the truth out of them, but Monokuma was —

Wait. Togami stopped short as his mind hurtled down a new path. Getting Monokuma to talk would be impossible, he'd seen that too many times to count since getting imprisoned here… but the robot wasn't the only connection left to the mastermind.

Togami knew the mastermind had shifted the blame for Ikusaba's murder to Naegi in order to protect Kirigiri, the real murderer. Not to let her win, as the rules said she should have if the vote went to Naegi… but to keep her in the game. Add that to the last name she shared with the headmaster of Hope's Peak and the Ultimate Talent that was a little too suited to a killing game, and the only possible answer was spy. She had to know more than she was admitting.

And maybe not just her. After all, if that vote really had been accurate, Kirigiri couldn't have been the only one to vote for Naegi. The math wouldn't work unless the genocider had done so, as well. But Naegi hadn't even been under serious consideration at the time — they'd all been arguing over a choice between Kirigiri and Togami himself. Jill might be a psychotic serial killer, but that didn't make her stupid — she wouldn't have switched her vote to Naegi unless she had a reason.

But what exactly did she know? That was the real question. Would it be worthwhile to tackle her first, or should he head straight for Kirigiri? And whichever girl he confronted first, he'd need a plan…

"Togami? Are you all right?"

He glanced sharply to the side, where Ogami had been following half a pace behind him. She'd stopped in her tracks as well, but she seemed somewhat puzzled as to why they were standing in the middle of the first floor hallway. And while it wasn't as though he owed her any kind of explanation for his actions… it couldn't hurt to give her a general idea of his plans. After all, if the confrontations with the other girls turned sour, it would be far preferable to have Ogami on his side instead of confused by the situation — or worse, supporting the other two.

"I'm considering alternative approaches to gathering information," he said at last. "Going over the crime scenes hasn't produced anything — but discussing the trial with the other two girls might."

"Now?" Ogami's frown deepened. "Is there time before the nighttime announcement?"

There almost certainly wasn't, even if he knew where the other girls were. "We'll track them down in the morning," he decided after a brief moment of thought. Frustration tightened across his shoulders at the thought of putting his investigation on hold for so long — but he needed the time to plan his approach.

Ogami nodded, her expression clearing. "Very well. Then that should give us time to stop in the cafeteria before the announcement sounds."

Togami grimaced. That was right… he'd finally given in to her badgering and agreed to eat something after they'd finished searching the fifth floor. But even though he hadn't eaten all day, the hunger pangs drowned beneath the wave of nausea that lurched through his stomach at the thought of sitting down at one of the dining hall tables without Naegi beside him. Grief tightened through his throat at the memory of how Naegi had always tried to make sure they ate breakfast with the others, as though it could somehow make them bond into a unified group. Swallowing past that would be impossible, no matter how hungry he might be.

"Or perhaps it would be better to remove a few simple foods for consumption elsewhere," Ogami said suddenly, and Togami's eyes narrowed at the unexpected shift in her tone. "It would be best to leave quickly so that we do not run the risk of staying beyond the curfew."

She was lying. Togami didn't even need to draw on his years of practice with skilled manipulators to spot the deception easily. She knew perfectly well that they had a reasonable amount of time to eat a meal in the cafeteria without risking the curfew, and she had to be aware that he knew it too — but she'd made the claim anyway. She'd come up with a flimsy excuse to avoid eating in the cafeteria… before Togami had to scramble for one of his own. But why…

Her eyes flickered once, in the direction of the nearest camera, and Togami understood. She was trying to help him. She'd seen his moment of weakness and rather than taking advantage of the vulnerability, she'd sought to hide it from the rest of the world. It had been a clumsy attempt, easily seen through by anyone with multiple working brain cells… but even so, she'd made it without hesitation. She'd… been kind.

It was a strange thought, and one that he would need more time to consider. For now, Togami pushed it from his head and gave his best effort at an indifferent shrug. "If you think so, then I suppose we might as well."

He turned and strode down the hall, pretending not to notice the relief in her eyes. At least this would make it easier to get through the night. He could distract himself from the pain of reality long enough to eat, and then —

Crash!

An avalanche of loud metallic clangs echoed through the halls as they entered the dormitory. It took Togami a disoriented second to pinpoint the source of the sound using his only working ear, but Ogami didn't hesitate. She charged forward through the large open area, veering right to charge through the cafeteria doors. Togami followed close behind, bracing himself for whatever new problem had arrived.

But even so, nothing could have prepared him to see Genocide Jill on her knees in the middle of the cafeteria floor, pinning a struggling Kirigiri to the ground.