Togami had never hated Kirigiri as much as he did in that moment, as she made a logical and well-reasoned argument to force him to confront the mutilated corpse of the boy he loved. How could she say that this was the only way to accomplish their goals? If she had any right at all to the title of Ultimate Detective, surely she could craft a better plan than this.
But no, apparently not. She held up that ridiculous ticket as if it offered the perfect solution to their problems, just like Naegi had when he —
Like Naegi had… when he'd used an identical ticket so that Monokuma would let him and Togami investigate the headmaster's office.
"Where did you get that?"
He could hear someone speaking off to one side, the rapid-fire patter that could only be the genocider, but the words couldn't break through to reach him. All his attention narrowed into a single spiraling lance, zeroing in on Kirigiri's dark gloved fingers wrapped around that horribly familiar slip of paper.
"Why do you have that?"
It had to be the same ticket from before, he knew even from this distance. How else could it have the same childish artwork scrawled across it that he remembered? None of the other students in the circle had seen those tickets, so no one should have known enough to replicate them. And surely the mastermind wouldn't be so careless as to give Kirigiri such an open-ended advantage, not after the earlier one had gotten them into an otherwise sealed room.
"That was Naegi's!"
A loud crack shot through the room, shattering through the narrow tunnel of his awareness and jolting him back to the trial. His hand ached, new slivers of pain gouging into each of the cuts on his fingers, and only when he looked down did he realize that he'd slammed his palm against his podium.
Kirigiri sighed, lowering her hand so that the top of her podium concealed the ticket from his view. "Yes, I know that it was. I found it in the back of his e-handbook when I checked the front hall earlier."
"You — found his handbook?" Togami blinked, the gears of his mind creaking slowly to the obvious conclusion. "You mean — you were looking for the upgraded map?"
"Initially, but that function was apparently removed before the handbook went back into circulation." Kirigiri gave an indifferent shrug. She made it look natural, but he could still recognize the gesture as a declaration that she didn't need the mastermind's gimmicks. "However, the ticket was still where Naegi had presumably placed it for safekeeping. And when I found it…" A slight smile crossed her lips. "I thought that it would be fitting to use it during the trial."
Togami's throat clenched so tightly that he could barely move his neck enough to nod… but he dragged his aching muscles through the pain. For once, he agreed with Kirigiri completely — using Naegi's possessions to defeat the mastermind was far more appropriate than letting them languish in an empty hall.
"I'm not sure I understand what you two are discussing." Ogami's hesitant interruption almost seemed like an apology for breaking into a conversation that had somehow narrowed to include only Kirigiri and him. "How would anything of Naegi's help us find an opportunity to investigate a body more fully? I don't think he would have had a chance to enter the Bio Lab."
"It had nothing to do with the lab." Togami had to force the words from an aching throat, and they emerged far softer than he'd intended. "It's the mastermind's idea of a joke — tickets for two students to go on some mockery of a date at any location in the school. Monokuma made him take them along with the upgrade to his e-handbook."
"Ohhh, so that's how Big Mac talked his way into my me-time in the library!" Jill nodded as if in agreement with herself. "And all this time I'd been thinking it was just Pooh-bear playing favorites!"
Considering the mastermind's fixation on the appearance of fairness, Togami half expected Monokuma to jump in with some ridiculous defense of his actions — but the bear just sat still and unmoving on its throne. The only other time Togami had seen him so unresponsive had been in the library before discovering Ikusaba's corpse, when he'd taken the deactivated robot to pieces. Had the mastermind decided to avoid interfering in this particular debate? Or… was there some reason they couldn't…?
"And you believe we could use these tickets to — to compel the mastermind?" Ogami's eyes widened, a dark fear flooding through them. "No, we can't! That would be far too great a risk!"
No one needed her to explain what she meant — not when her gaze had locked on Asahina's faded portrait. They all knew that meddling with the mastermind's loopholes could bring terrible consequences.
But after a moment, Kirigiri shook her head. "No… I don't think the risk is quite as high as you're assuming. Using the tickets obviously doesn't break rules, because Naegi did so without consequences. And even if we inadvertently violated the conditions for using a ticket, there's no indication that it would result in punishment, extreme or otherwise. Without a broken rule to justify a punishment, it would be nothing more than murder."
Murder… like what the mastermind had done to Naegi. That was the reason they were all standing here right now… and the reason Naegi wasn't. The mastermind wanted to hide behind their rules and their games, wanted to pretend that none of this situation was their fault even though they were the author of it all. He still didn't understand what exactly the mastermind wanted to accomplish with this nightmare… but he knew they couldn't do it if they appeared to act as a murderer.
But they couldn't run from their crime forever. They'd forced him into this barren, empty world, devoid of all color or happiness… this world that didn't have Naegi in it. And as long as he had to draw breath after miserable breath in this nightmare where Naegi wasn't, Togami wouldn't allow the mastermind to pretend their hands were clean. Even if it meant facing the ruin of his lover's remains.
"The ticket should have information on the back about the criteria for using it," he said, before he could think the better of supporting Kirigiri's plan. "The one I saw listed it out quite clearly."
Kirigiri nodded immediately. "As does this one." She looked down at the ticket on her podium. "It says, 'This trip ticket can be redeemed for one day's heart-pounding excursion for the bearer and any one additional student of their choice. Locations include —'"
"Whoa there, Nancy Drew!" Jill slammed a hand down on her podium, metal screeching through the air as her scissors gouged into the surface. "Back up a second — are you saying this gig has to be a solo job? One of us going off on corpse duty all by our lonesome?"
"I don't see the problem." Kirigiri shrugged. "As I was saying, 'Locations include any area within the bounds of Hope's Peak Academy that is unlocked at the time of redemption.'"
Togami could see her point — the trial room was certainly unlocked now, after all. And while the ticket did say that the bearer could only choose one person to accompany them on the trip, it didn't actually specify that the excursion had to be limited to those two people alone.
In short, there was nothing to prevent Kirigiri from using the ticket to bring Naegi's body here.
"Then do it!" he snapped, cutting off whatever confused protest the other girls had tried to make. "If you're going to insist, then — then just get it over with!"
"Now, that's not a very nice way to talk about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Togami spun towards the throne — and Monokuma grinned back at him, alert and aware as he'd ever been.
"After all, it's not every day you get to experience the thrill of both a class trial and a group date at the same time!" Monokuma's shoulders heaved as he pretended to pant at the thought.
"Then you're saying that you wouldn't prevent us from doing this?" Ogami asked, crossing her arms suspiciously. "This would indeed fit all the ticket's criteria?"
"Hmmm…" Monokuma tilted his head innocently. "Well… I don't know if I'd go that far." His red eye gleamed directly at Kirigiri. "Sounds to me like someone needs to take a closer look at some of the fine print!"
Kirigiri didn't answer. Not a single muscle in her face moved, not even when the three other students turned to look at her.
"Oh? Tired of reading?" Monokuma laughed. "That's okay — I remember the rest!" He cleared his throat. "'All deceased students are disqualified from participation in trip ticket adventures!' No necrophiliacs allowed here — I don't care how much you want to paw at a rotting day old corpse, tickets are for live students only!"
