"That's wrong."
The words tore themselves from Naegi's throat, draining his limited supply of energy without a conscious decision on his own part. But he didn't need to think, not about something as simple as this. Every part of his existence screamed out in protest of Junko's absurd declaration — of course he had to refute it.
"Huh? It's wrong?" Junko tilted her head, pigtails swishing. "Mm… no, I don't think so. That really is the game we're going to play! But don't worry — I'll make sure it's lots of fun!"
Naegi didn't even try to parse the sentence to figure out what new mind game she was trying to play with him now. He glared up at her, summoning all the breath he had left to give the words the weight they deserved. "Byakuya… won't… murder… anyone."
"Oh, really? So that's your guess?" She gave him a bright smile. "Wow, someone likes risky bets… but I wouldn't expect any less from my very favorite luckster! Okay, then I'll put you down for —"
"No." He wasn't going to let her twist the conversation around again… not this time. Not about Byakuya. "I'm not… playing games… about him."
"Is that so?" Junko raised her eyebrows, the gesture eerily reminiscent of Byakuya's usual expressions. "I guess all those memories didn't matter so much to you after all, then."
Naegi blinked, the apparent change of topic taking him off guard. He'd been prepared for her to argue, complain, threaten, do whatever she could do force him to participate… but…
"Sounds to me like you're turning your back on an easy win." She shrugged. "I mean, you ought to know your own boyfriend best, right? So it should be a piece of cake for you to beat me. It's like I'm giving you those memories back!"
Naegi might not be the best at seeing through people, but that manipulation was too blatant to miss. "You're… trying to trick me."
"Oh, no, you spotted it?" Junko's jaw dropped in theatrical shock. "Oh, well, I guess that cat's out of the bag, huh?" She giggled. "But you know, that shouldn't matter, right? Because if you're so sure you're right, then nothing I can do would make a difference. There's no way you could lose… if you're right about him."
She did have a point, much as Naegi hated to admit it. He bit his lip, trying not to dwell too much on the memories of other friends he'd believed would never murder anyone. He'd been wrong before… and Byakuya had been the one to hammer that point home in the aftermath of the second trial. People cared about different things than he did… they valued different principles and fought for other causes. He couldn't know for sure what someone else would do.
Byakuya did have it in him to kill, Naegi couldn't deny that. He'd had to learn the mindset as part of his training to become the Togami heir… and later, after the Tragedy, it had been put to the test. But… being willing to kill in self defense was different from what Junko had implied. She'd said Byakuya would kill one of the other girls just because Naegi wasn't with him any longer… like Naegi had been the only thing holding him back from condemning the others to die. And that wasn't true.
Yes, Naegi might have been the impetus, the last drop to tip the balance of the scales — but Byakuya had been the one to make the decision. He'd chosen to open his eyes to the truth of the situation… the fact that the mastermind was the real enemy to defeat. And now that he'd acknowledged it, how could he back down and return to playing the game as Monokuma presented it? That would be no better than giving up and accepting defeat… and the Byakuya that he knew would never do such a thing. Even if he'd lost his memories, would that really change his personality so much as well?
Of course not. It couldn't. Everyone who had been trapped in the killing game was the same person, with or without their memories. That was why Junko had been able to manipulate them so easily. It was why they'd still reforged friendships here, enough to hurt when marred by death or betrayal. And it was why he and Byakuya had found one another again.
Junko could erase their memories, but she couldn't take away their souls. He had to remember that… and he had to believe that the man he loved would never let the mastermind beat him.
"Soooo? What do you think, sweetie?" Junko's words slithered into his thoughts, poison spilling out to contaminate every memory that she touched. "Don't you want to play with me? Or do I need to come up with a game that would be even more fun?"
Naegi didn't doubt for a second that she'd do so if he refused… and that she'd be sure to make any replacement game even worse than this one. If it were just his own life at stake that would be one thing… but he didn't want to risk turning her imagination back on his friends. He had to play… and in a game like this one, there was only one choice he could bring himself to make.
"He won't… kill anyone," Naegi repeated, wishing that he could at least sound confident even if he didn't feel it. "I'm… sure of it."
"Fantastic!" A brilliant smile broke over Junko's face, so full of delight that it was hard to remember it couldn't possibly be genuine. "And you're even gonna stick to the high-risk stakes come what may? This game is just gonna be the best! Because you think your one true love couldn't possibly kill anyone — and I think he's not even gonna make it a full day before he snaps!"
A day? She thought he'd kill one of their friends… within a single day? Naegi's eyes shot back up to the monitors, where Byakuya hadn't moved from where he'd sunk to the ground by the bed. He didn't look like he was plotting murder… he didn't look like he had any intention of moving at all. Naegi's heart ached at the blatant misery in every line of the huddled body, and he would have given anything to gather the other young man in his arms even for a moment. He looked so sad…
But sadness by itself wouldn't make him kill. Junko had to know that. Was she just trying to get to Naegi with her guess… or did she know something that he didn't?
He bit his lip, looking back at her — and this time he was only half surprised to find that her entire attitude had shifted again. A pair of glasses perched on the tip of her nose, and she peered down at him with the patronizing stare of someone who knew she was smarter than anyone else in the room.
"That's right, a single day," she said, as though answering the question he hadn't asked aloud. "Twenty-four hours from now, to be precise. Byakuya Togami will murder someone before tomorrow's nighttime announcement — I'm certain of it." She smiled, sharp and cold. "And of course, you're certain he won't. Technically you said he would never kill someone — but as you ought to know, it's impossible to prove a negative. Thus, we'll use a time limit. If he kills someone before the deadline, then I win — but if not, you do."
It seemed simple enough. Naegi swallowed back the lingering guilt about betting on his boyfriend's emotions and his friends' lives… and nodded.
Junko's smile didn't make him feel any better about agreeing. "Then let the games begin!"
