It was a good question. However much Togami might hate Kirigiri's attitude and behavior, he had to admit that when it came to solving mysteries, she knew what she was doing. And while her question to Makoto had been rude, overbearing, and obnoxious… it hadn't been out of line.

Because now that she pointed it out… how had Makoto known about the two-year gap in their memories? If it had just been a matter of his current knowledge, that could be explained easily enough by his time with the mastermind. Who knew what the lunatic behind this mess might have taken it into their head to say while they'd personally held Makoto captive? Knowing now made a certain kind of sense…

But knowing earlier didn't. How could Makoto have told Ogami the correct year before he'd even had a chance to talk to the mastermind? He would have loved to write it off as a coincidence… but could they really afford to dismiss a potential clue so cavalierly?

Makoto would have asked about it, if it had been anyone else. In all the other trials, every time one of his friends had kept a secret or avoided an uncomfortable truth, he'd always asked. So with that in mind, Togami swallowed back his instinctive interruption and let Kirigiri's question stand.

"I know about our memories because… well…" Makoto took a slow breath, and Togami knew this one was more to calm himself than from exhaustion. "Because I remember them."

"You… remember?" Togami couldn't quite believe he'd understood what Makoto was trying to say. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I mean that when I woke up after the execution, I had all my memories back from the two years we lost." Makoto met his eyes, and there wasn't a flicker of confusion or uncertainty in his gaze. "I can remember the real first time we all met each other, and… and everything that came afterward."

"Everything?" Togami's mind reeled at the idea. Two years in which they'd known each other, in which anything could have happened… two years in which all kinds of horrible things had happened, according to Jill's account of them. It had sounded bad enough from her vague, spotty descriptions… and now Makoto said that he remembered everything?

"Yes." Makoto dredged up a smile from somewhere, though it didn't have his usual sunshine. "We all really were friends."

And that was what Makoto had focused on. He'd regained memories of what Jill had described as destruction beyond anything imaginable… and the first thing he told them all was that they'd all been friends with one another. Not one person in a million would react that way, and a fierce burst of warmth flooded through Togami's heart for the boy who'd done so. It seemed impossible that so much caring and kindness could exist in the world, let alone gathered into a single human… and Togami knew he would do anything, anything, to protect this boy's innocent soul.

But maybe he wouldn't need to. Because if Makoto really did remember everything… if he had access to the two years that the mastermind had taken from them… "What else can you tell us, then? You must have seen clues to any number of the mastermind's other mysteries, hints that the rest of us wouldn't notice without the full picture. What can you remember?"

A startled frown creased Makoto's face, though Togami couldn't see why he wouldn't have expected the question. "Well, I —"

"Hold on." Kirigiri didn't even let him finish the sentence. "You haven't answered my question yet."

"What are you talking about?" Togami snapped impatiently. "He just —"

"Just left us hanging before the big finish, is what he did!" Jill interrupted, rolling her eyes with undue energy. "Seriously, Makyhutie, you're gonna have to put in a lot more effort than that if you wanna bring a girl to the endgame!"

Kirigiri didn't even react to the crude nonsense Jill spouted, her eyes still fixed on Makoto. "You told us why you know about our missing memories now, but you haven't explained Ogami's point. If your memories only returned after the execution, how did you know the correct year the day before that happened?"

Makoto blinked once, then twice, until at last he slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know. I don't actually remember saying that." He looked hastily at Ogami. "Not that I think you're lying — I'm sure it really did happen like you said!"

"A genuine mistake wouldn't be unreasonable after all your injuries," Ogami said, crossing her arms as she considered it. "Are you saying that choosing the correct year was merely an unlikely coincidence?"

"Not necessarily." Makoto's arm shifted, like he intended to raise it to tap against his chin — but Togami tightened his grip on the other boy's wrist to prevent such a strenuous maneuver. He glanced up to give Togami a sheepish smile before continuing. "If it were just the year, I guess it could have been a coincidence… but it wasn't. While I was unconscious a few days ago, I thought I had a dream about all of us living normal student lives at the regular Hope's Peak Academy — but now that I can remember everything, I know that moment actually happened. So maybe my memories have been coming back slowly for a while, without me noticing."

"Based on a dream?" Kirigiri's skepticism was unmistakable. "How do we know you're not simply projecting your current memories back onto it?"

"He told me about it at the time," Togami said at once, recalling Makoto's wistful description of a world where they could have been happy. A world where they had been happy.

"Did he?" Kirigiri raised an eyebrow. "Then it seems very convenient for all of us that you two found the time for a dream journaling date."

Togami's face burned at the dig, the flare of embarrassment all the worse because he hadn't expected such a jab from Kirigiri of all people. However much she'd gotten on his nerves out in the rest of the school, she'd never derailed a trial just to fling an insult at someone. She'd always looked down on that kind of frivolity when the other students had indulged in it. Why had she suddenly decided to do so now?

Before he had a chance to come up with a response, she was already moving on. "But in that case, why were your memories the only ones to begin returning? Why hasn't anyone else begun to remember the past, if it's so easy that you could do it in your sleep?"

Just as before, it was a perfectly reasonable question — but still, it struck a slightly discordant note in Togami's mind. Was this another instance of her obnoxious habit of forcing other people to follow her deductions instead of just explaining herself… or was there something else he was missing?

Makoto didn't hesitate to answer her, just as he always did. "No, I wasn't the only one — don't you remember the third trial? When we found Hifumi the second time, right before he died, he said that he'd met us all before. It didn't make sense at the time, but now it does — somehow the attack triggered his memories, and he realized that this was actually our second time meeting!"

Togami couldn't stop a frown at the name — since when did Makoto refer to Yamada of all people by his first name? It had to be a result of his memories… apparently he hadn't been exaggerating when he'd called them all friends. But that didn't make it any better to hear, not when the two of them had also been on a last name basis before this.

"Well, if attacks can bring back memories, that sure explains what happened to you!" Jill flicked the tip of her scissors in Makoto's direction. "You're a shoo-in for the 'Most Likely to Get Clobbered' vote!"

"That's certainly true," Ogami agreed grimly. "Not just the execution itself, but there was also the incident in the library — and before that, you were also a victim of one of Fukawa's poisoned needles. Surely that would be enough trauma to trigger anything."

"And that's not even all of it," Kirigiri added, her face as unreadable as a stone wall. "As I recall, there was one other time you were attacked, wasn't there, Naegi?"

"You mean when you sent him to investigate the mastermind's hidden storage room, and he got knocked unconscious?" Togami answered, cutting off whatever blander version of the truth Makoto would have given.

"That's right." Kirigiri didn't show an ounce of remorse for her actions. "Which would bring Naegi's total encounters with the mastermind up to two." She tilted her head, one eyebrow lifting. "It almost makes it sound like you're their favorite."