Ice flooded through Togami's veins as he heard his conversation again as if through Ogami's ears. He and Jill had been discussing the end of the world — not as a bit of hyperbole in poor taste, not as a failed joke, but as an actual event that Jill had witnessed. It was an unpleasant enough topic for him even with his prior information about whatever horrors had occurred — but Ogami hadn't known any of that. The first she'd heard of it was now, at this moment — and now that the opportunity was past, Togami could only wish he'd thought to take a few moments to prepare her. The painful shock written across her face spelled out a time sink that they couldn't afford.

"We don't know the full extent of what's happening," he said, giving voice to the arguments he'd already developed to counter the fearful images that Jill's descriptions evoked. "Jill admitted herself that she doesn't recall the event properly, since Fukawa was the one to experience the majority of it. Yes, it seems certain that something terrible has happened in the world outside this school — but until we can verify it for ourselves, we don't actually know what it was."

It took a moment for his words to filter through the horrors to reach her — but as she understood his point, Togami could see her slowly regaining possession of herself. When she met his eyes with the veil of unthinking fear lifted from her gaze, he gave her an approving nod. If they wanted to retain any hope of surviving the final trial, they couldn't let their own imaginings weaken them. They had to save their strength to oppose the mastermind's attacks.

In fact… perhaps it might even be better that Ogami had heard Jill's story about the outside world now. If they knew the truth already, then the mastermind couldn't attack them with a sudden revelation during the trial. Anything that gave the mastermind one less weapon to use against them had to be a good thing, no matter how painful the experience might seem in the moment.

"We can't let these questions about the rest of the world distract us," Ogami said softly, clenching one fist. "The mastermind is our opponent — we can't afford to divide our attention if we want to escape. And… and surely… even the worst world we could imagine would surely be better than remaining imprisoned in the mastermind's killing game."

Togami's jaw clenched tight at that, so tense he could hardly bend his neck enough to nod his agreement. Remain here — in the power of the monster that had murdered the boy he'd loved? No — no — no. He flexed his hand beneath the wrapping of Jill's skirt, focusing on the bite of his barely-healing wound. Anything would be better than remaining here.

"Then if you're gonna forget about the past again, does that mean we can skip the history lesson?" Jill asked, her eyes fixed on the scissors she'd begun twirling rather than on either of the other two.

Skip it? Just… give up on learning more…? A frown creased Togami's face as he realized that path didn't sound right, either. He shook his head slowly, the reason barely formulated to support the decision. "No… I don't think we should risk ignoring it, either."

Ogami's lack of enthusiasm for this decree all but screamed from her face — but however reluctant she might feel, she still nodded her eventual agreement. "If you believe it to be necessary."

That final word cemented his resolve, a shot of iron straightening his spine. "I do." He looked back at Jill, whose eyes remained locked on the rapid whirl of her scissors. "So? Going back to the beginning — when did all of it start?"

Somehow, Jill kept her scissors moving without a single spray of blood from a missed catch. "About a year ago, maybe? First I heard was sometime in 2011, but it had already pretty much happened by then."

"A year ago… in 2011?" Ogami's eyebrows knit together in concentration. "Then you're saying that the year now is… 2012?"

Jill shrugged. "Probably? Dunno how long we've been in here, and the year wasn't exactly fresh out of the box last I heard. I guess it could be 2013 by now, and we wouldn't know the difference!"

2012, or even 2013? Goosebumps prickled down Togami's neck at the thought of those dates. No matter how many times he repeated to himself that he'd lost two years of memories, his mind couldn't quite grasp that it was no longer 2010. He remembered writing the date on his response to the Hope's Peak acceptance letter, and in spite of every fact he'd been told, the memory felt no more than a few months old.

But that wasn't true. His own mind was lying to him — had been lying to him from the moment he'd awoken in this hellhole of a school. Each and every time he'd thought that the world was the same one that it had been before he'd come here, his mind had lied.

What was left for him to believe, if his own thoughts could no longer be trusted?

His gaze flickered back toward Ogami, and he saw the same kind of anxiety written in her eyes. What could they do with the knowledge that the world no longer matched what was in their heads? How could they find answers if they didn't even know what questions they ought to ask?

But… at least now they had the chance to try. They knew now that something had been lost, and Jill had agreed to help them try to find it again. Even if they didn't know what to do, at least they had this time to —

Ding dong bing bong.

Togami froze, the cheerful schoolyard chimes striking through his heart like the grim knolls of a funeral bell. It couldn't be time for this, not now, not yet. It couldn't —

"How long has it been since I've seen your happy, smiling faces around me?"

Even without any speakers in the bathhouse, Monokuma's voice still rang loud and clear from outside the doors.

"It's so hard to remember the last time all our friends were together, isn't it?"

A wistful sigh drifted out from the speakers, and Togami couldn't help the intense stab of relief that he couldn't see the mockery of an expression on that bear's face now.

"Let's give one last shot, for old times' sake. See you all at the usual spot for the big finale!"

A burst of his wild laughter cut through the room, leaving the three students staring at one another as it died into silence.