Never Say Never
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa or the characters associated with it.
Chapter 2
Act 10
Mondo leaned against the wall, his arms folded and his hands gripping the sleeves of his duster. After the assembly message went out, he and Sakura hastened to the first floor, making them among the first ones to arrive. While the biker assumed that the martial artist was concerned for the others, her friend Hina in particular, Mondo himself was consumed only with thoughts of guilt and disgust.
"I…I outta just come clean," he had tried, and failed, to reason with himself ever since the investigation began. "If I just admit to it…no one has to die…but then, I'll have to tell them the truth…and Chihiro's secret will…will…"
For the first time in all his life, Mondo cursed his manly pride, as the honor that he'd lived his life by was now tearing his soul apart. If he spoke up, even if he didn't reveal the exact reason why he'd attacked Chihiro, he'd have to explain how he'd gotten into the girl's locker room. And he certainly couldn't show them Chihiro's e-handbook, tucked away deep in his pocket, because he knew someone smart like Kyoko would examine it and find out the programmer's biological gender.
He could make up some bullshit about finding Sayaka's e-handbook, also being kept hidden in his pocket, before he went to meet Chihiro and just forgot to give the device back to the pop idol. Then again, that would also give them cause to believe that he'd used Sayaka's e-handbook to intentionally get into the girl's locker room and attack Chihiro…
It would make him look like he'd been targeting Chihiro instead of trying to help her. And if that was the case, since his life was literally in the hands of his classmates, he wasn't so sure they'd be willing to forgive him.
"I know I wouldn't…if someone admitted to trying to kill someone else, I'd vote 'em dead without a second thought…"
So, either he told them the absolute truth about his rage, and by that extension, his own weakness fueling the attack…or he did what he was doing now, keeping quiet until he could figure out what the right thing to do was.
"Hell…I know what the right thing to do is…I just…how can I…?"
As though a hole had been torn open in his heart, Mondo lowered his head and let those dark thoughts consume him as he waited for everyone to arrive.
You could practically taste the tension in the air as the students gathered in the small room leading to the class trial, only half prepared for an entirely different kind of ordeal than last time.
"Is this everyone? It feels like we're short a few people," Taka announced, standing next to the elevator. Glancing around, the moral compass instantly identified who was missing. "Has anyone seen Junko, Sayaka, Leon, or Toko? They should have been in the dorms when the announcement rang—".
Before he could finish, the large red double doors were pushed forward, an appropriately dressed Junko holding it open for the slow moving Sayaka and Leon.
"Ah, Junko, Sayaka, Leon! Welcome! It's good to see you all got here safely, and all dressed in appropriate attire as well!" Taka signaled as they joined the mass of people gathered for the trial.
A look of confusion spread over most of the students at the attire comment, aside from Hina who giggled, and Junko who simply rolled her eyes before closing the door after Sayaka and Leon were through. All eyes lingered on them, for reasons that were obvious to them all.
"I'm glad to see you could join us," Celeste said to them with a sickening smile, her eyes focusing specifically on Sayaka and Leon. "It would be a shame for you to miss such an important meeting."
Her insensitive comment only further increased the tension swirling around everyone. However, Leon and Sayaka chose to remain silent, knowing that answering her would be like kicking a hornet's nest. Instead, Junko openly scoffed and said, "Yeah well, we were having a hell of a time trying to get Toko out of her room. We can't all be spending our precious time sipping tea and being utterly useless, now can we?"
Beyond a light twitch that only a few students seemed to notice, Celeste appeared to be unfazed by her classmate's curt words. With a sideways smirk, the gambler turned her back to the Fashionista with a light sigh.
"Indeed, it takes a refined eloquence to properly appreciate tea and it's ceremonies. And while it seems I possess such eloquence, I'm afraid that I do not possess the tenacity for grueling detective work. I merely 'did what I could'. I believe you are the one who keeps insisting that, is that not so?"
Junko narrowed her eyes and scoffed, "Yeah, well, I have serious doubts that you were actually doing 'all you could' and were just being a lazy bitc—".
"Enough prattle. We don't have time to waste on this trivial finger pointing," Byakuya abruptly interrupted, unexpectedly halting the conversation before turning to glare at Junko. "You mentioned that Toko refused to leave her room. Does she not understand how dire of a situation we are in?"
"Actually," Sayaka spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "She asked for us to come and get you."
A raised eyebrow followed that question, as Byakuya clearly seemed perplexed by the request. However, unlike his usual demeanor would suggest, he didn't immediately refuse. In fact, his features hardened as he said, "Very well. I'll drag her from that room if I must—".
"No need for that! I got it!"
Before anyone could react, the red double door flew open, startling everyone. Struggling to regain their composure, the students were shocked to see Monokuma waddle into the room, dragging a kicking and panicking Toko across the floor. Her face was reddened, and tears poured down her cheeks.
"N-N-Nooooo! Let me g-g-goooo!" she screamed, flailing and trying to get free of her captor's iron grasp. "I don't want this! Y-You can't d-d-do this!"
As sickening as this was, it seemed that Byakuya was enjoying the sight of Toko's incessant screams, as he could only smirk as he watched Monokuma drag her right in front of the elevator and push the button to open the metal gate blocking the entrance. Once the elevator doors were completely open, the bear spun around to the other side of Toko and shoved her inside, despite her continued frenzy.
Glancing over its shoulder, Monokuma almost seemed to smirk as it said, "Everybody in! We're already running a few minutes behind because of the wet blanket here—".
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
Absolutely no one was surprised when Makoto stepped up, stepping around Monokuma and speeding to Toko's side. However, when he approached, she immediately shirked away swatting her arms at him in a vain attempt to protect herself. Makoto's face scrunched in anger and he turned to glare at Monokuma with the fury of a thousand suns.
"What did you do to her?" he demanded, barely able to hold himself back.
With a light huff, Monokuma turned its back to the lucky student and answered, "All students must be present for the class trail. When I went to fetch her, because she was late, she started resisting. So, to prevent her from being penalized for disobeying the rules, I generously offered to escort her myself. Really the nerve of you youngins, trying to label me the bad guy—".
"That's because you are," Junko interjected swiftly, folding her arms and glaring at the bear with heated intensity.
"Details, details! Let's get on with the class trial!" the bear insisted, motioning for everyone to get into the elevator.
"How can we? With Toko in such a state, will it not make the trial all the more difficult to proceed?" Celeste offered, twirling her hair as if uninterested in her classmate's suffering.
"That sounds like a personal problem…" Monokuma nonchalantly answered.
As the tension was beginning to become stifling, Byakuya abruptly weaved his way through the crowd of students and marched directly up to Toko. His shadow cast over her, she slowly lifted her gaze to see him glaring down at her, his eyes unreadable.
"Now isn't the time for sniveling. Pull yourself together."
His tone was cold and cruel, and everyone expected Toko to burst into a fit of hysteria once more. However, they were all shocked when a strangely perverse smile erupted on her lips and she leapt up to her feet. Wiping away her tears, and drool, she nodded emphatically and answered, "Y-Y-Yes! I understand!"
A sense of confusion settled onto everyone at the scene but none of them had time to process it before Monokuma shouted, "See? All's well that ends well! Let's get the show on the road—".
"Hold on," this time it was Kyoko who spoke. "I assume that Chihiro is excused from the trial, due to her condition. Correct?"
Obviously becoming fed up with the constant delays, Monokuma's face reddened as it turned and flashed it's claws at her, to which the stoic girl didn't even flinch. Suppressing an angry growl, the bear cleared its throat and replied, "…Yes. Lamb Chop can stay peacefully sleeping in the nurse's office until further notice…anything else?"
Already in the process of walking past him, Kyoko answered, "No, let's get on with this."
Once she said it, it appeared that everyone else consented as well, cautiously walking past the bear as they all piled into the elevator. When all of them were safely inside, the elevator roared to life, the metal gates closing and separating them from Monokuma, who remained with its back to them.
Without warning, the elevator began to descend, sinking into the earth and taking them to where destiny awaited their decision.
Left alone in the foyer where the elevator had been, Monokuma stood silent for a few moments before a low chuckle seeped out. "Confident, aren't they? We'll see just how long that lasts…"
As the overbearing hum of the elevator echoed all around, Sayaka felt what little strength she had fading. Her body was still weakened and there had been a great deal of walking and moving around today. After all, she'd nearly collapsed on her way to get breakfast, helped with the search for Chihiro and somehow managed to lose her e-handbook, all without having much time to rest. Then, with the realization that she may lose her life if they didn't find who attacked Chihiro, her mental fortitude was spent as well.
She wouldn't even be standing right now if it weren't for Leon holding her up…which was another shocking development for her.
Briefly recalling their conversation in the cafeteria, she wasn't quite sure what it was that made her suddenly feel more comfortable around him. Nothing had really changed. She was still his attempted murderer and he was still her attacker. And yet, somehow in the chaos of having to go through her first class trial, she'd completely forgotten about that. It was like it had been before that fateful night, with them just being classmates and fellow prisoners, doing all they could to survive.
In fact, Sayaka kind of surprised herself when she discovered that, before she had even realized it, she was grasping a tight hold on Leon's hand, her fingers intertwined with his own. However, instead of wanting to let go, she found herself holding on tighter, fearful that if she let go, her resolve would go with it.
Little did she know, that Leon was having similar thoughts as the elevator came to an abrupt halt.
"Take your seats and shut up! No more delays! Get those young asses in gear!"
When the doors to the class trial room opened, they found that Monokuma was already there, sitting upon its throne and lazing about. The bear seemed impatient, waving its hand to encourage them to find their own spots.
It was Mukuro's first time in the courtroom, aside from seeing it on the monitors in the surveillance room. She had never actually imagined she'd find herself here, always having thought her sister wouldn't betray her and simply excuse her from the trail system altogether. Now, standing here in this intimidating place, she fully understood her classmates' horror at having to return.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?" the smug voice of Byakuya interrupted the silence, the bastard himself already heading for his seat.
Without another word, everyone spread out to get to their assigned position. Mukuro easily found her spot between Taka and Sakura. Meanwhile, Sayaka was forced to hold herself upright in her own station, right next to Makoto of all people. Ironically, Leon, who had once been thrilled he wasn't right next to Sayaka, now felt worry as he watched her using her arms to keep herself standing, holding onto the rail in front of her for support. Finally, in place of where Chihiro would have stood was a large sign that read:
SORRY! IN A BIT OF A COMA RIGHT NOW! AFK!
The sight of it made Mukuro uncomfortable, a sentiment that most of her classmates probably shared.
The room itself had changed too, some of them noticed. While the courtroom itself had the same structure, the walls and floor had been changed. Not that Mukuro had taken the time to really inspect what was different about the room itself. She'd practically raced through it last time, on her way to stopping Leon's execution, giving her no time to even be able to identify differences, if there were any significant ones. Instead, she focused on paying attention to her classmates to try and help solve the mystery of who attacked Chihiro.
"This time, I'm just as much a player in the game as they are," the soldier told herself, as mentally prepared for the class trial as she could be. "No room for errors this time. We gotta find out who attacked Chihiro or else…we all lose this time."
"As this class trial operates a little differently, allow me to explain the updates to the class trial system!" Monokuma brazenly announced once everyone was settled, focusing all attention toward itself.
As all of the students turned to listen, Kyoko took that brief opportunity to scan the room, looking for anything she could use in her investigation of the school. Once finished, she also diverted her attention toward the bear, intent on using whatever it could tell them to her own advantage.
"We are here to discover who it was that attacked and almost fatally wounded Chihiro Fujisaki. As per the usual rules, you may debate who is responsible and present any evidence you may have. And, following discussion, there will be a majority vote! If you can all figure out, whodunit, then the choice to punish them will be left in your greasy little palms. But if you pick the wrong person…I'll punish everyone besides the culprit, as per normal class trial rules!"
Kyoko listened carefully to each word but something felt off about that speech. She couldn't quite put her finger on what, but something about those rules seemed to curry favor toward Monokuma's side. However, she didn't have time to focus on that right now, she could ponder the bear's schemes once the culprit had been identified…though she already had enough evidence to suggest who it was.
As usual, Kyoko was keeping her senses sharp, ready to pick up on any inconsistencies or falsehoods she might overhear during the debate.
"Alright then! Now that that's been settled!" Monokuma said, glaring around the room maliciously. "Let's start this case off right with the 'murder' weapon!"
Finishing its speech, Monokuma leaned back to lounge in its seat to watch over the proceedings. It was then that another classmate decided to make his opinion known.
"Chihiro was obviously struck in the head with an iron pipe!"
Another heavy silence fell over the room as Hiro made his outrageous claim, earning a glare from not only Monokuma, but every single student present. At first, he didn't notice, too pleased with the conjecture he'd presented. But slowly, he became aware that everyone was staring at him and he nervously laughed to try and cover up his ineptitude.
"Can we all agree that the dumbbell found on the floor of the girl's locker room was the weapon the culprit used to attack Chihiro?" Makoto jumped in, dissolving any remaining confusion and getting the trial back on track.
"Can we also agree that this dumbbell shouldn't be allowed to present more evidence?" Byakuya quipped, motioning toward Hiro with a sigh. Before anyone else could react, an enthusiastic voice shouted over everything else.
"Yeah! That's right, Makoto! Do the thing!"
The entire courtroom froze for a moment before everyone turned to see Leon, who was looking at Makoto expectedly, brandishing those brave and easily misunderstand-able words. And no one looked more shocked than the lucky student himself.
"Uh, Leon…what are you talking about?" he questioned, his mind completely taken off the trial due to this unexpected shout out.
"You know, the thing! Do the thing, Makoto!" the baseball star insisted again, his eyes holding a great deal of hope.
"W-What thing? What are you talking about?!" a very flustered Makoto inquired, feeling his face flush as everyone began to look to him for answers to Leon's madness. Particularly, he felt extra embarrassed when Kyoko stared at him, expecting a better answer than he'd given.
Feeling a bit embarrassed himself, Leon huffed and said, "Uhg, you know! That thing where you point at someone, tell them they're wrong, and make them guilty! Do that!"
All at once, understanding flooded the courtroom, followed by some sighs and a few curt words spoken under breaths. Still looking at Makoto like he was going to 'do the thing' any second, Leon was oblivious to the angry glares that Hiro had been the subject of moments ago. At the same time, Makoto was becoming desperate for help, glancing around from Kyoko, to Junko, and even over to Byakuya; his eyes silently pleading for help.
A deep sigh escaped Junko as she came to Makoto's aid, "Leon, he doesn't make people guilty. They just are guilty."
"Well yeah, but last time no one knew I was guilty until Makoto pointed at me and did the thing!" Leon bitterly defended, much to everyone's chagrin. "So, come on Makoto. Do the thing! In fact, point at Byakuya! Point at Byakuya and do the thing!"
Adjusting his glasses, the Togami Heir scoffed, "Is this your way of insinuating that I could be the culprit?"
"That's right!" Leon shouted, finally turning serious it seemed. "We found you at the scene with blood on your hands! Who else could it have been?!"
A curt laugh from Byakuya ceased the ballplayer's instigations, allowing the Togami Heir to counter, "Well now, I never expected such a response from an attempted murderer. You're logic is about as reasonable as Hiro's was about the pipe."
"…Hey," Hiro briefly spoke up before falling silent as everyone shot another glare at him.
"As I explained before, the blood on my fingers was due to my checking if Chihiro had been fatally injured." Byakuya wasted no more time, thoroughly explaining himself. "I believe that Kyoko also had to bloody her hands inspecting the body, did she not?"
All eyes turned to Kyoko, who remained utterly silent and stoic in response.
"Hey, well…that was after we found you alone in the room with Chihiro!" Leon tried to rally his cause again. "We don't know what you did before we got there! For all we know, you were the one who strung up Chihiro—!"
"Why don't we go over this case from the beginning? That way we can try and put all the pieces together," Kyoko suggested, cutting through Leon's protests. "Let's start with why Chihiro was in the girl's locker room in the first place. That is, unless, you happen to have that the answer to that already, Leon?"
Leon opened his mouth to protest but said nothing as a look of genuine confusion came over his face. "Uh…I mean, I know that Mondo was meeting up with Chihiro there but, I don't know exactly why. Well, I can kinda guess but—".
"Pardon me, but I'm afraid I have to ask," the sickly sweet voice of Celeste cut him off. "You knew that Mondo was going to be meeting Chihiro in secret?"
Raising an eyebrow, Leon answered, "Well, I don't know about it being a secret but, I ran into him in the hall and he told me he was going to meet Chihiro."
"When was that?" Celeste immediately followed up, her voice demanding an answer.
Although a bit frustrated with how she was grilling him, the baseball star thought for a moment and said, "I'm not really sure. It was a few minutes before the nighttime announcement, I think?"
Surprisingly, he received a pleasant smile from Celeste for his answer. "I see. Thank you for clearing that up," she said plainly before turning to face the rest of the class. "It would seem that yet another one of us has been ignoring our self-imposed nighttime rule. Despite the tragedy that always brings."
Although she hadn't said it to either of them, both Sayaka and Leon knew it was a jab at them. They both cringed slightly at the implication but said nothing, out of shame or self-loathing, no one could say.
"Well, we all are kind of doing that tonight…" Makoto tried to joke to relieve some tension. However, it didn't get so much as a chuckle. Forcing away his embarrassment, the lucky student returned his thoughts to the trial. "A-Anyway, we need to figure out why Chihiro was in the girl's locker room first."
"She probably wanted to exercise!" Hina jumped in, trying to help in her own way. "But, we still don't know why Chihiro wanted to meet Mondo so late at night!"
Makoto nodded in agreement and said, "Alright then, let's start with you, Mondo."
Startled by suddenly being called on, the biker's mouth hung open for a second before he replied, "H-Huh? Why me?!"
His surprised and defensive tone made it clear that he hadn't been paying close attention but he was certainly aware now. Not to mention that, anytime someone was called upon during a class trial, the tension in the room spiked. After all, any insinuations could be deadly here and it was obvious that they were all on edge.
"You were the one who found Chihiro, right? Tell us what happened," Junko insisted, diffusing the situation before it could turn sour.
"Oh…right, yeah," Mondo concurred fumbling his way through until he took a breath.
"Just play it cool. Just tell them that you found her like that…" Mondo told himself, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts.
"So, Chihiro asked to talk to me. Told me to meet her outside the locker rooms," he began, already getting skeptical looks.
A puzzled expression crossed Makoto's face as he asked, "Do you know what she wanted?"
"N-No…she just asked me to meet her. I figured she needed help opening something or…something…" he half-lied, considering he didn't know what she'd wanted at the time. "She caught me in the bathhouse changing room—".
At the mention of that, a few of the students, including Celeste and Hifumi, gave him a raised eyebrow.
"She caught you in the bathhouse?" Celeste said suggestively, a mischievous giggle escaping as she raised a hand to cover her mouth. "In a state of undress, I am to assume?"
"I never imagined Mister Owada to be so forward!" Hifumi instantly backed up, a slight bit of jealous drool dripping down his chin.
No matter how much he tried to suppress it, Mondo found his rage beginning to return as the embarrassment their reactions caused began to overtake him. Leaning forward and glaring furiously at both of them, he defended, "It's not like it was my idea! I went there to clean off after working out and she was there when I went to change!"
"I can vouch for Mondo, at least about the working out!" Taka inserted himself into the assessment, hoping to cease the rude treatment his friend was getting. "I offered to join him but he said he needed time alone…after the motive was announced."
Being reminded of the motive, a deafening silence hung over the room. Most of them had forgotten it in the chaos of this new trial, and even though it had only been announced that morning, it felt so far away now that things had escalated back to this point. Mondo, however, couldn't stop thinking about the motive…even now while he was trying to defend himself.
"Anyway," Junko disrupted the silence, obviously wanting to get back to the trial. "So Chihiro asked you to meet with her? What happened after that?"
Reining in his anger, Mondo continued, "I, uh, went to go and meet her and ran into Leon."
"Yeah, just like I said before," Leon concurred with a nod. "I saw him in the hall and he told me he was going to meet Chihiro."
"Did that happen after I saw you on my way back to my room?" Junko spoke up again, to which Leon nodded again.
"Yeah, only just after really," the ballplayer confirmed. Turning back to Mondo, Leon asked, "So, what happened after you and I talked?"
On the inside, Mondo was pleased that the baseball star hadn't mentioned exactly what they'd talked about. It reminded him that someone had been trying to help him keep from ending up in this kind of situation…and it hurt that he'd found himself here regardless. Plus, Leon's testimony served as a kind of alibi, which the biker regretfully embraced.
"I went up to the locker rooms to wait for Chihiro," Mondo continued, only now beginning to fabricate his story. "When I got there, I knew something was wrong because the door to the girl's locker room was propped open. I thought Chihiro might be in there and I didn't want to get riddled with holes by that freaking gun, so I stayed away from it and just waited. After about five minutes, I thought maybe Chihiro wasn't gonna show. I thought about leaving but the way the girl's room was propped open still bugged me, so I thought I'd call out to whoever was in there, tell 'em the door was open—".
"And what happened then?" Byakuya suddenly interrupted, eyeing Mondo suspiciously.
Even though it pissed him off, Mondo knew the bastard was just trying to get to him, probably suspected him. Which, unfortunately, he was right to do so. Even so, the biker couldn't give in now. He had to follow through with his story.
With a huff, Mondo continued, "I shouted loud enough to see if anyone was there but heard nothing. I figured someone just forgot their bag or something and decided to pull it out of the door. When I did, the door flew open—".
"That's incredibly dangerous! You could have been shot, numerous times, just for trying something like that!" Taka immediately reprimanded, a concerned look mixing with his stern visage. "You should have come and gotten us and we could have gotten one of the girls to investigate."
A hint of anger rose in Mondo as he retorted, "Yeah! Well if I hadn't, I never would have seen Chihiro lying on the floor with blood on her head!"
His own words echoed and brought an uncomfortable silence to the courtroom. As everyone digested his story, Mondo wiped the sweat from his brow and took deep breaths. The hard part was over. In truth, he wasn't sure he'd actually be able to lie to all of his classmates like that, considering he'd had no reason to lie to them up until now.
"Then again…I had no problem lying to my boys about what happened to Daiya…" he regretfully mused, blocking out that memory as much as possible.
"And that's when you came to collect the rest of us?" the stoic voice of Kyoko sounded next to him, almost startling him.
"Y-Yeah…" he answered simply, relieved that his lying had come to an end, at least for now.
A surprised huff sounded from across the room and no one was surprised to see Celeste staring at Mondo with suspicion. "I'm surprised that you did not rush in to try and help her. Regardless of the gatling gun stationed above."
Gritting his teeth, the biker practically snarled, "I didn't know what the fuck I should've been doing! But I knew that I couldn't go in there so I kept out!"
"Indeed, that's what strange to me," Celeste interrupted, looking away from him and over to Monokuma. "I have a question for you."
With a disgruntled sigh, the bear pulled itself up out of the slump it had fallen into and answered, "Ask and thou shalt be made less stupid."
Disregarding the bear's obvious insult, the gambler asked, "Why was it that the boys were allowed into the girl's locker room when we all went to investigate? Is it because Chihiro had been attacked and you were already planning to establish more rules?"
"Pretty much," the bear said with a shrug of its shoulders. "Although, honestly, I didn't expect to have to add those rules. They were kind of a back-up in case situations like this happened."
"…That makes sense," Junko unexpectedly said before quickly realizing she'd said it aloud. "I mean, it figures that even if we don't actually kill someone, you'd come up with twisted crap like this!"
"It's what we've come to expect from you. That's much is clear," Kyoko surprisingly agreed, to which even Junko seemed a bit startled.
"Okay, okay! Enough pampering your Headmaster's ego! Get back to the case before I get super bored!" Monokuma shouted, obviously not wanting to stray too far from the trial.
"If no one minds, let's move on to the discussion of the culprit," Byakuya cut in, ignoring the fact that everyone seemed to mind his involvement. Regardless, there was an eagerness to him that no one had seen before as he continued, "Although, I believe the culprit in this case is already quite clear."
A wave of shock shook the courtroom and the previously silent Hiro couldn't stop himself from shouting, "Really?! For serious?!"
Without waiting for another interruption, the Togami Heir declared, "The one who attacked and crucified Chihiro…was none other than the fiendish serial killer, Genocide Jack!"
At the mention of her other half's name, Toko felt ice run through her veins and her entire body trembled.
"No…no…it can't be! I don't…remember letting her have control! I mean…I took a nap after the motive today but I'm sure she didn't get out! I always wake up with knots in my stomach after she takes control! How could this be happening?!"
As she tried to convince herself it wasn't true, she noticed that everyone around her was disbelieving that a famed serial killer was among them. Toko felt that she may yet be saved…at least, until Makoto of all people told them about a file he'd found on Genocide Jack in the library!
"W-Wait! That's the same file that Master was looking at! Why does Makoto have it?!"
Turning her terrified gaze over to her Master, she noticed that Byakuya was purposely avoiding her gaze…as if to spite her. It was as if he was plotting to…to…to betray her!
"N-No! Master Byakuya would never do that to me! He…He's just trying to prove that I'm not the killer…He…He has to be! He would never break our promise!"
That tiny bit of hope was completely shattered when Byakuya spoke his next few words.
"Just a little more…and I'll be able to expose her to everyone, drag her into the spotlight where she can't hide from us anymore. With that accomplished, I'll have more eyes and ears open for if Genocide Jack tries to come after me!" the Togami Heir thought to himself as he set up the last piece of the puzzle he'd created for his classmates.
"So, apart from the bloody message, how would the person who attacked Chihiro have known about the method of crucifying Genocide Jack's victims, if only high-ranking police officials knew about it? There's only one logical explanation I can think of. And that's because the culprit in this case…is the real Genocide Jack!"
As his claim reverberated off the walls, he noticed Toko becoming increasingly terrified, exactly as he'd planned. And just as he predicted, one of his classmates called him out on his claim, which he was entirely prepared for.
"You're saying…Genocide Jack, is one of us?" Celeste inquired, which he found odd for a woman of moderate intelligence like her to be questioning but he didn't have the time to be disappointed.
"Yes. In fact, it's Toko."
Although he couldn't openly express it, a sick and twisted pleasure enveloped him as he saw the painfully betrayed expression on Toko's horrified face. Completely ignoring her and her pain, Byakuya stared straight ahead without a hint of sympathy.
"Genocide Jack's true identity…is Toko Fukawa."
"No fuckin' way…" Mondo stammered, surprised for more reasons than anyone could have guessed.
Not only was he floored by the news, it also came with a flood of relief. If that bastard Byakuya was telling the truth, it may actually have been Toko who strung up Chihiro. And, as heartless as it sounded, this would put them off of his own trail completely. No one would believe that the guy who found Chihiro was the one who attacked her, and with Toko as a scapegoat, he was essentially in the clear!
If that was the case…he just might get away with it…but then all his classmates would…get executed.
Suddenly, his feet felt cold as he momentarily glanced around the room, taking in the shocked faces of all his classmates…and his friends. His eyes lingered on Leon as his gaze passed him, feeling like even more of a prick than Byakuya for what he was potentially doing. After all, even considering what the baseball star had done, he clearly didn't deserve to be executed…none of his classmates did. And absolutely no one deserved it less than…his new Bro…Taka.
Shifting his gaze over, Mondo focused his eyes on his newfound friend. In all honestly, it seemed that Taka had been valuing their new friendship more than he had. Not that the biker didn't get it, the bookworm probably didn't have many…or any, friends before him. And now, here he was, about to throw that new friend to the wolves just to save himself. Sure, there was a chance that if he confessed, everyone would forgive him and not vote to execute him…but he doubted that…he really did.
Before he knew it, it seemed that Taka had seen him glancing toward him and turned to look Mondo in the eyes.
Misreading the biker's worried glance, Taka smiled confidently and nodded firmly, as if trying to reassure him. All at once, Mondo felt like shouting the truth to everyone but his own fear kept him in check, unable to reveal what he'd done. He couldn't…and he knew that. He truly was… a weak and pathetic coward.
"…I…I…I don't know…if I can do this…but…I can't break…my promise…what the fuck am I supposed to do?!"
As those thoughts plagued him, the trial continued on, unabated.
"YOU LIIIIEEEEEE!" Hifumi abruptly shouted in response to Byakuya's insistence that Toko was Genocide Jack…although it was probably more because he was standing right next to her, rather than truly not believing the claim.
At the same time, Leon, who was standing to Toko's right, inched away from her slightly, trying to hold a composed visage himself. By now, almost everyone was staring at Toko expectedly, for her to either refute Byakuya's claims or to acknowledge them…no one could guess at that time. And when she did open her mouth, it wasn't what they hoped to hear.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What?!" she stuttered furiously, incapable of answering due to shock, it seemed.
"Um, excuse me…I don't understand something," Sayaka finally spoke up after being silent for most of the trial. "Doesn't Toko have hemophobia? A fear of blood? How could she be a killer if that was the case?"
Byakuya sent a crippling glare her way, as if to challenge her for questioning him but she merely stared back, completely unaffected by his gaze. With a huff, the Togami Heir decided it was best not to argue and simply answered, "Is Toko really Genocide Jack? The answer is yes…and at the same time, no."
Although the riddle Byakuya proposed seemed to perturb many of the students, Makoto stepped up once more to do his thing.
"You're talking about the fact that the police believe Genocide Jack has a split personality. I read that in the file too," he surmised for Byakuya, feeling used somehow.
At the same time, a nervous Hifumi spoke up, "Okay, I get that but…to say something like that about Miss Fukawa is—".
"Perfectly acceptable, if you think about it." Again, Byakuya's commanding tone demanded attention and everyone was forced to listen. "Toko's strange behavior after we found Chihiro proves, without a doubt, that she has a split personality."
"That's true!" Taka agreed, nodding repeatedly. "Her melancholy tone was completely gone after she awoke and she didn't seem bothered by the blood on the wall!"
"D-Don't go assigning adjectives to my t-tone without permission!"
Everyone was startled when Toko abruptly spoke, not to defend herself, per se, but to correct Taka's ascertain of her usual demeanor.
"Oh…my apologies," the Moral Compass said with a bow, trying to be respectful, even in this situation.
With a disbelieving scoff, everyone turned as Junko glared at Byakuya and countered, "So…you're saying that the reason Toko was acting weird and okay with blood was because her split personality that's a serial killer came out at just that time? Do you know how stupid that sounds?"
No one was surprised to hear Junko refuting Byakuya's claim, considering her obvious dislike for him. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Togami Heir was prepared for this, and replied, "Alright then, can you offer a better explanation for her strange behavior? Or, for that matter, why she felt the need to lock herself away in her room, like a criminal terrified of facing their own trial?"
Again, his words seemed to frighten the already frantic Toko, flinching at almost every syllable he spat out about her. Her entire body trembled horribly and she clutched her hands together tightly, as if holding onto the last bit of sanity she could muster.
At the same time, it seemed that Junko didn't appreciate Byakuya's asshole tendencies, narrowing her gaze as she challenged him. "Because she was terrified that she'd be attacked, obviously! That's why she hid in her room! And so what if she was acting a bit weird after she woke up! You'd be out of it too if you saw what you thought was a real dead body and fainted!"
As if not really considering what she'd said, the Togami Heir countered, "What if she locked herself in her room, not to keep others out, but to keep her other side in?"
Before Junko could try and refute that, someone else joined the conversation.
"Wait…how would that work?" Leon abruptly interrupted, grinding the argument to a halt.
With a raised eyebrow, Byakuya questioned, "How would what work?"
Having been given leave to elaborate, Leon didn't waste his chance.
"Okay so, let's pretend for a second that you're right, and I'm not saying you are, but hear me out on this one! How would Toko locking herself in her room solve anything? I mean, if she did have a split personality, and I'm not saying she really does!" He paused to glance at her apologetically for a moment before continuing, "What would stop her other personality from unlocking the door from the inside? It doesn't make any sense!"
The entire courtroom was silent as Leon purposed that theory…to which no one seemed able to question. Even Byakuya stood there for a moment, staring blankly as he realized just how valid of a point Leon, of all people, had made. At the same time, Leon was feeling kind of proud of himself for mentioning it, even if it didn't impact the case hardly at all.
"…Anyway, putting aside that…strangely valid point," Byakuya continued, slowly recovering the ambitious attitude he'd had previously. "I will agree that Toko was indeed afraid…afraid of the murderous fiend inside her, afraid of it clawing its way out of her mind in order to kill one of us."
At long last, it seemed that Byakuya's words had dug too deep into Toko, as she slammed her hands down on the railing in front of her, getting everyone's attention.
"H-H-H-How…" was all she muttered in response though, as if losing the rest of her sentence.
"Yeah! How can you know all of this?!" Hina chimed in, trying to defend her fellow classmate.
With a confident smirk, Byakuya replied, "…I do believe you misunderstood her. She wasn't trying to ask, 'How can you know this?'. Instead, what she's most likely asking is, 'How could you tell them?'"
"That's crazy! You're just trying to shift the blame away from yourself!" Leon shouted, clearly not believing what the Togami Heir was telling them.
Without bothering to even glance at him, Byakuya continued, "Earlier today, when we were all searching for Chihiro, Toko approached me and confided her secret to me. I have no idea what possessed her to do such a thing, but in all honesty, it makes the most sense."
"Okay, let's say you're not completely bullshitting us," Junko jumped in, seemingly getting more and more nervous as he continued, "What does that clear up exactly? We still don't have proof she attacked Chihiro!"
Rather than immediately defend himself, like usual, Byakuya remained silent for a moment, locking eyes with Junko and having a battle of glares with her. When it became clear that neither of them would give in, the Togami Heir scoffed before smirking and said, "If you don't believe me…why don't you try asking Toko herself?"
"I think I will!" Hina intruded on the conversation, making a face at him before trying to smile gently at Toko. "Go ahead and tell us the truth. It's all a lie, right Toko?"
Everyone's gaze fixated on Toko, whose hands were grasping her own hair and tugging at it slightly. When she finally lifted her head, her eyes stared directly—no, accusatorily at Byakuya.
"Y-You said you w-wouldn't t-tell anyone…!"
A wave of shock hit almost everyone in the room as she unfortunately admitted to everything Byakuya had said.
An almost elated smirk crossed Byakuya's face as he answered, "You have only yourself to blame. I never asked you to tell me your secret."
"B-B-But! Our promise!" she tried to reason with him, but he merely scoffed at her.
"You broke your promise to me, first. You said that, as long as you were here, you wouldn't let Genocide Jack out—".
"I t-t-tried! I tried to k-keep my promise!" Toko insisted, moisture building up in the corner of her eyes. "Y-You said that…if I kept my p-p-promise…you would g-go out with me! T-That's the only r-reason I promised!"
As if she'd committed some kind of major offense against him, Byakuya's face and tone completely darkened as he glared at her, not minding her tears in the least.
"This is the real world. Not some romantic fairy tale. And besides," he turned his face away from her and seethed, "I never said anything like that."
In one last attempt to reason with him, Toko stared at him and shouted, "B-But! I t-tried to control her! I-I really did—!"
Before she could properly defend herself, the Togami Heir scoffed and finished, "But your efforts were useless. What a disappointment."
"Uhg…I…hate you…" she choked out, her tone not as convincing as she probably wanted it to be.
"And with that, the opening act is finished," Byakuya informed everyone, almost gleefully. An instant later, his cruel and calculating eyes bore into Toko's, as if commanding her to obey. "All that's left is to hear from the person in question…personally."
A look of absolute fear overtook Toko as her brain understood what he wanted…and reluctantly started to obey. Trying to fight it off, albeit unsuccessfully, Toko's final words came out just before she collapsed to the floor.
"The…p-p-person…you don't…m-m-m-mean…!"
A great darkness was closing in on Toko with each word Byakuya had spoken, betraying her trust and violating her good name with the awful truth. Slowly but surely, her mind began to crack under the pressure.
()-()
**ATTENTION: Toko's -Fantasy- (Nightmare)**
(Toko shivers as her 'lover' shouts her secret to everyone. She collapses to her knees.)
Toko: (Begging) "How could you do this to me?! Did our love mean nothing to you?!"
(The pure white glow around her 'lover' vanished. Without a shred of kindness, he glared at her.)
Byakuya: (Angrily) "You broke your promise to me and let that fiend out! You have only yourself to blame!"
Toko: (Pleading) "But I tried! I did all that I could! Does my struggle mean nothing to you?!"
Byakuya: (Seething) "Face reality! I never loved you and I never will!"
(The aura around her 'lover' darkened and he turned his back to her, trapping her in darkness.)
Toko: (Prostrating herself) "Please! Give me one more chance to redeem myself! I beg of you!"
Byakuya: (Without turning back) "Your pleas are useless. You are nothing but a disappointment."
(Her 'lover' begins to walk away…and a new presence appears behind Toko.)
? : "It's time for me to come out and play…right?"
(Toko recognizes that voice…and wails.)
**EXITING: Toko's -Fantasy- (Nightmare)**
()-()
Wailing at the top of her lungs, Toko's legs lost their strength and she began to topple backward to the floor. Just before she hit the ground, darkness consuming her…and a voice echoes:
"…Showtime!"
From the deepest recess of Toko's mind, Genocide Jack, or Jill depending on if you want gender specific pronouns, finally resurfaces. As she gained consciousness, and control, the first question on her mind was an obvious one.
"Okay…where the hell am I? This doesn't look like a normal court room…a lot more colorful sure, but a judge'd have to be colorblind not to be disturbed by the crazy varieties!"
The second thing that her mind registered was that she's on the floor, and she doesn't like that.
"Alley-oop!" she thought as she flips herself up and back to her feet, finally being at eye level with everyone else in the room.
Third and finally, she quickly glanced around at everyone in the room and instantly recognized her audience.
"The gang's all here!" she thought to herself, mentally checking them all off as she went around the room.
"Big Mac's leading the charge…as usual," she thought while staring at Makoto.
"And it seems Little Miss Psychic is having trouble standing…musta been penetrated by something fierce to knock her off her feet!" she chuckled as she glanced at Sayaka.
"Looks like Tick Tock is his usual stick-up-his-ass self, I wonder how many tickets he wrote today?" she considered as she noticed Taka.
"Huh…weird how Roid-Rage isn't next to Milk Jugs over there…" she pondered, getting a good look at both Sakura and Hina respectively.
"Holy shit! I almost didn't notice Scary Lady over there! I hope she keeps those of hers gloves on because if they come off, she's gonna finger me for something!" she flinched slightly in paranoia as she saw that Kyoko was present too.
"Oh and Corndog made it here too! I'm hungry now…" she realized as she glanced at Mondo's hair.
"Ohhhh, there he is! My Master! My Prince!" she thought, salivating at the sight of Byakuya before forcing herself to check on everyone else.
"Eh? Cherry's missing? Off programming something or something?" she questioned, not seeing Chihiro anywhere among them.
"Oh and That-Lady-Whose-Name-I-Can't-Pronounce is here too!" she finally noticed, getting a good look at Celeste.
"Awww, and it looks like the Weenie is scared of me…that's kinda hot, too bad he's not cute enough for me to murder," she calculated, seeing Leon's terrified visage right next to her.
"Did Huffy lose weight? He's panting like crazy for some reason…" she wondered, seeing Hifumi also trying to back away from his spot beside her.
"I feel like I'm missing someone…oh right! The Stoner! I didn't even notice him for a second there!" she felt a bit embarrassed for a sec as she finally saw that Hiro was with them.
And finally, glancing over to the other side of the court room, she laid eyes on someone she hadn't seen for a while.
"Oh and Muku is here too! Her wig looks great today! Going light on the make-up though, weird."
After identifying everyone, Genocide Jill finally noticed that absolutely everyone was staring at her, as if expecting her to say something. She didn't normally like being put on the spot, but she figured she could do it for her adoring friends!
"That's what friendship is all about…right?!" she told herself with a maniacal laugh before deciding to address everyone.
"Well hello there! Is it me you all were hoping to see?!" Not Toko said to everyone, a collective gasp resounding through the room. Leon and Hifumi, in particular, lurched as far away from her as they could, trapped in their places beside her. Without giving anyone time to speak, Not Toko shouted, "Well, here I am! The Ultimate Murderous Fiend! Genocide Jack…or better yet, let's go with Genocide Jill. Gender pronouns are important, you know!"
If Makoto hadn't been so utterly terrified and in complete shock, he would have said something about how calling her Jill had nothing to do with gender pronouns but he knew this wasn't the time. An uproar of confusion suddenly spread through the courtroom, with many students shouting questions about who Not Toko was.
"What the fuck is this?!" Mondo shouted, completely dumbfounded.
"Toko…what happened to you?!" Taka questioned, his composure slipping.
"She's so…intense! It's like she's not Toko anymore, man!" a terrified Hiro spouted, earning a death glare from the Ultimate Murderous Fiend.
"Uhg! 'Not Toko'! That sounds so stupid! Plus…Toko is a loser's name!" she instantly corrected before directing her intense gaze toward Taka, to answer his question. "What we've got here is a textbook split personality! Down to the 'complete opposites' analysis and everything! Kyahahahaha!"
The entire room felt ten degrees colder as the reality of Toko's situation began to set in with everyone.
"So…it's actually true?" Sayaka hesitantly asked, her hands trembling as she held herself up. "Toko really is…a serial killer?"
"Well, as they say, 'sound in murderous mind, sound in murderous body'! And can we please stop calling me 'Toko'?! Its grating on my nerves! I've got an amazing name…so use it!" Genocide Jill assured her, making the pop idol flinch as the serial killer addressed her personally.
"This one is so different from the one we've come to know…" Sakura surmised, careful to respect Jill's wishes and not address her as Toko.
As if given a pedestal from which to preach from, not that she wasn't already, Genocide Jill cleared her throat, preparing to address everyone…again.
"Yes, well, the world is comprised of a front and back, you know." Stealing a glance at Leon, she uttered, "Just like every inning has a top and a bottom." Her gaze suddenly shot over to Junko for some reason, "Or how in the depths of every truth, lives a little lie…"
Junko visibly flinched at those words but no one seemed to notice…aside from Makoto. He figured it probably had to do with her secret or something and left it at that, instead returning his focus to Genocide Jill's rambling.
Slowly raising her hands up to the sky, Jill finished, "Behind every dark and gloomy soul…lives another that shines as bright as the sun! Kyahahahahahahaha!"
Makoto couldn't help but notice how…poetic the serial killer was. But then again, she and Toko were technically the same person. And if Toko could craft wonderful amazing lines for her romantic novels, then it shouldn't be a surprise that Genocide Jill could do the same. Not to mention, that creativity probably lent itself to Jill when she first decided on her…killing method. Suddenly, the unwanted images of Genocide Jill's victims began flashing before Makoto's eyes, chilling him to the bone…
Shaking his head to get rid of such horrific thoughts, Makoto forced himself to concentrate on the trial.
"Um, excuse me…Miss Jill?" Hifumi spoke up, breaking through her laughter.
Surprisingly, Genocide Jill politely and, even with her tongue hanging out, beautifully smiled at him as she answered, "What's up?"
"Some of us think…you may be the mastermind behind our imprisonment…any comments on that?" the fanfic creator asked, being very careful with his words.
Obviously enjoying the attention, Genocide Jill suddenly smirked and shouted, "Well let me tell you…I am the mastermind of all masterminds—just kidding! Kyahahahahaha!"
Picking up where Hifumi left off, Junko abruptly asked, "So, does that means that you don't have any kind of connection to why we're trapped here?"
For the first time since Jill had 'arrived', she fell silent and blankly stared at Junko. In fact, a look of confusion seemed to warp her already warped features. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, a hated voice spoke up.
"Of course she's got nothing to do with it!" Monokuma shouted at everyone, reminding them all that the bear was still there. Glaring down at Junko from high on its judge's chair, the bear continued, "How dare you try to impose some kind of connection between me and the scissor-scissor-cut-cut-bitch!"
Everyone was startled by Monokuma's fierce words, which seemed far harsher than usual.
High up in the fourth floor Monokuma control room, the real Junko practically seethed as she held down the talk button used to speak through the bear.
"And another thing! The police and government on the outside are tooootally useless! They can't even figure out that a closet case writer is a renowned serial killer! I mean, they just let this idiotic, blood-thirsty killer run wild all over town!"
Taking her finger off the talk button, Junko panted as she finished ranting, flustered over the fact that Mukuro had dared to insinuate that such a carefree killer would be connected to her. It had struck a nerve, comparing her brilliance to the sloppy work Genocide Jack...Jill…the scissor-scissor-cut-cut-bitch had been doing until being trapped in the school! It was maddening! It was infuriating! It…It…It really shouldn't be bothering her this much but it was!
Junko had been so frustrated over Chihiro's survival and even though the trial was mildly entertaining, mostly due to Trust Fund's interference, it wasn't as despair-inducing as she'd imagined it would be!
"Where's the senseless accusation?! Where's the pointless arguments?! Why hasn't anyone called Byakuya a dick yet?! They've called him, like, everything else but that!" Junko shouted upwards, venting her non-despair frustrations.
If this trial had brought despair, she would be rolling in it, like she had been during the first trial. But considering that during the first trial everyone thought Sayaka was dead and were beginning to fall into despair, it made the apprehensiveness of her classmates during this trial nowhere near despairing! None of them were being backed into a corner, at least not yet!
Her only hope that was Mondo would eventually be found out and, due to him lying about everything and almost getting everyone killed, they'd vote to kill him off the island! Or, at the very least, the other outcome…
Taking a deep breath, knowing that now wasn't the time to blow a gasket, Junko focused on pleasant memories to calm herself.
"Mass genocide…drowning puppies…imprisoning my classmates…" almost without knowing it, Junko's voice began to get higher and higher as she spoke, and an almost too cheerful tone began to resound from her. "Clubbing baby seals, global warming, and, oh, Monokuma condoms!"
Before she knew it, she wasn't only calm, she was downright kawaii! Her hands made cute little gestures and her innocent sounding voice completed this new persona. She reminded herself to try out this persona more often, to keep from getting bored.
"Ooooh! I wonders what other kinds a personalities I can be?" Kawaii Junko asked herself before turning back to the monitor. "Ooopsie! I made a mistake and forgotted about them for a sec! Well, not a problem! I just gotta wait a bit longer! Uh-huh, that's alllll there is to it!"
Taking her own sound advice, Junko slowly slipped back into her usual persona and returned to monitoring the trial.
"To live is to hurt other people! No one in this world can live without their very existence hurting another…just kidding! Kyahahahaha!" Genocide Jill said in response to Monokuma's taunts.
Strangely, Makoto noticed that no one seemed to be that unbelieving of the serial killer's claims. They were surprised to be certain, but no one refuted the killer when she openly declared who she was. Perhaps it was Byakuya's influence, the insistence he'd had during Toko's questioning, but either way, the students were quickly forced to accept that their classmate, Toko, wasn't present anymore.
Instead of worrying about that, Makoto simply stared blankly at her, his brain trying to solve an all encompassing question:
"If Genocide Jack—err, Jill, was the one who attacked Chihiro…why was she still alive? According to the police file, no one who's had an encounter with Jill has ever lived to tell about it. Not to mention, there's something else about this whole case that's bothering me…"
Without even realizing it, his eyes drifted over and focused on the one who gave him the file. To the lucky student's surprise, even though Byakuya appeared affected by Genocide Jill's presence…there was a decisive calm about him…as if he knew this would happen all along. Before Makoto could gauge his fellow student any more, the Togami Heir adjusted his gaze, as if knowing he was being watched, and glared directly at the staring lucky student.
Instantly avoiding his gaze, Makoto's mind was already piecing together all they knew about the case.
"And now for the final push…" Byakuya told himself as Jill dug her own grave.
"This should be enough to convince you that Genocide…Jill, was the one who attacked Chihiro," the Togami Heir posed, folding his arms behind his back as if lecturing everyone. "There's clearly a motive, so there should be no doubt."
Even Byakuya knew he was laying it on a bit thick here, but he had to be sure that even someone as dimwitted as Hiro could understand exactly why they should believe it was Genocide Jill. A part of him knew it would make his counter argument that Mondo was the true assailant harder for his classmates to swallow, but if all went according to his plan, a certain someone would intervene to assist him…
"Motive…are you talking about our secrets?" Junko said, confirming what he was trying to get them to understand.
"Indeed. When faced with the decision of having her secret revealed, Toko or should I say Genocide Jill, took it upon herself to—".
"Bzzzt! Sorry but you're wrong about that!" Genocide Jill cut him off, not letting him utter another word. "As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not the one who attacked Cherry!"
A wave of confusion spread over the courtroom, not only from Jill's confession but her apparent nickname for Chihiro…
All the while, Byakuya was forced into silence. A strange mixed expression of shock and anger marred his features as Genocide Jill cackled from across the room. He couldn't remember the last time someone had interrupted him, actually forced him into silence. Honestly, he should be countering her right now, but if he was going to expose the real culprit in this case, he would need to stomach her meager words for the time being.
It was almost time for him to become the villain.
"But other than yourself, I cannot imagine anyone else would be capable of doing such a bizarre thing as crucifixion," Celeste openly admitted, challenging the serial murder's claim of innocence.
"Nevertheless, nevertheless, it's all true! I was just as shocked as anyone to see my handiwork laid out in front of me," Genocide Jill refuted,
"…Do you really expect any of us to believe you?" Sakura countered, folding her arms over her massive frame.
"Yeah! I could never believe a word you say, you monster!" Hina concurred, followed quickly by a cacophony of agreement from other students.
"That's right! A serial killer like you can't be trusted!" Taka agreed, glaring at Jill.
"Case closed! Let's vote for this bitch now!" Mondo suggested, cracking his knuckles.
"I would like to request a seat change, if I may?!" Hifumi pleaded, finally voiced how uncomfortable it was to be positioned next to the serial killer.
"Only if I get one too!" Leon insisted, almost bumping into Celeste, who glared at him as he put as much distance between himself and Jill as possible.
All too pleased with the chaos he'd created, Byakuya was prepared to sit back and watch until Makoto finally refuted them…just as he'd planned. However, in the midst of all that shouting, a melodic voice rang out over everyone else, forcing them into silence.
"Can everyone quiet down for a second?!" Sayaka abruptly shouted, drawing attention over to her. She panted, obviously not wanting to have to shout over everyone, but with the roar of her fellow students, she must have had to. After several deep breaths, she said, "Something about this doesn't make sense…why would Jill be the one to attack Chihiro?"
A bit of perplexion was shared by the students, but none more so than Byakuya himself. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that a pop idol like her would be the one to question this situation. She had seemed just as lost as everyone…hadn't she?
True he hadn't exactly been keeping an eye on her, but he assumed that she had been quiet because she couldn't understand the situation, like Mondo or Hiro had been. Had she really been paying so close attention…and he was only now noticing it?
For a time, all were silent, until Hiro nonchalantly replied, "Because she's a serial killer?"
"Uhg…" Sayaka scoffed as she realized she needed to explain her point. "If Toko was the one who wanted her secret hidden, why would Jill be the one who attacked Chihiro? Toko wouldn't give her control voluntarily and Toko's smart enough to know not to copy her other side's method of killing. It doesn't add up!"
Sayaka was almost frantic by the end of her speech, desperate to get them all to understand. And to Byakuya's frustration, her words struck home. One by one, everyone began to mentally question her words, their expressions told him that. They were beginning to doubt him, which is what he had initially wanted, but it had come in a very different way.
He had expected Makoto, whom he'd practically groomed for this moment, to be the one figure out that detail…how on earth had Sayaka of all people been smart enough to figure it out? She couldn't even handle murdering a simpleton like Leon, so how was she able to conclude a more complicated scenario so quickly? He couldn't let this stand.
"While that may be true, there's no refuting the evidence," he countered, challenging Sayaka with both his words and a harsh glare.
To his surprise once again, she me this gaze head on and seemed to have absolutely no fear of him. It was the second time she'd done it and it only served to infuriate him. However, he didn't have time to put her in her place right now. Instead, he decided that to pull out a trump card to kick-start Makoto if he wasn't so quick to catch on.
"The method that was used to hang Chihiro, the modus operandi…is exactly the same as Genocide Jill's previous cases…"
"No, that's wrong…" Makoto said, his usual fervor stunted. "Chihiro is still alive…and there weren't any scissors used on her at all…"
"Eh, what the fuck do scissors have to do with this?" Mondo questioned, his words echoing the same thoughts as some of his classmates.
"All me to explain!" Genocide Jill shouted, leaping back and away from her seat, giving momentary relief to Hifumi and Leon. However, tension in the room skyrocketed when Jill flipped up her skirt, revealing her 'Genoscissors' strapped to each leg. With a flick of her wrist, the serial killer snatched up one from each leg, brandishing one in both of her hands. "If I ever commit murder, I would never leave out my trusty 'Genoscissors'!"
Everyone reeled from the reveal that the serial killer was fully armed.
"She's fully equipped!" Hifumi screamed, his arms flailing around.
Seeming to disregard the clear threat that Genocide Jill now presented, Byakuya scoffed and averted his gaze from her.
"However, this is merely an attack, not a kill. Therefore, your rule of having to use those scissors is null and void," Byakuya mentioned, making a valid point…or so he thought.
"Don't insult me!"
From across the room, a pair of Genoscissors flew, brushing past Byakuya's cheek and slamming into the wood of Monokuma's chair. The Togami Heir found his eyes widening as he'd felt the cool metal lightly scrap his skin, leaving the tiniest of marks. Very slowly, everyone turned to see Genocide Jill glaring at him with the fury of a thousand suns.
"If, and that's a big if, I ever decide to kill someone…then they're dead! I wouldn't have left Cherry alive! Plus, if I was trying to get away with murder, then I wouldn't have made the scene look like my work! And regardless of killing her, I certainly wouldn't have left out the use of my Genoscissors regardless of whether or not I killed someone!"
She paused only long enough to take a large breath before continuing.
"I'm a professional! I'm incredibly picky about my methods and my tools! I don't half-ass my work! It would be like a famous Italian restaurant serving Chef Boyardee from a can right in front of you!"
Pausing again, and taking another huge breath, everyone figured they were in for another shouting bout…until Genocide Jill exhaled and said, "Whew, I needed to get that out. I feel so much better about myself now. Thanks for listening everyone!"
Abruptly bowing to everyone and returning to her seat, much to Hifumi and Leon's chagrin, an uncomfortable quiet fell over everyone, and no one could muster up the courage to speak. Not even Byakuya, who was still visibly shaken by the scissor throw, seemed to be able to find words again. In fact, even though he was gripping the sleeves of his folded arms, the Togami Heir himself appeared to be trembling. He was putting up a brave front but he was obviously distraught over the fact that, if Jill had aimed just slightly to the side, he'd have a pair of scissors embedded in his face.
For nearly an entire minute, silence reigned over the classroom, until finally, a stoic voice interrupted it.
"Let's get back to what we know about this case so far. That way we can discover whether or not Genocide Jill is really telling the truth," Kyoko suddenly spoke up, much to Makoto's relief.
The lucky student had noted how silent she'd been up until now, probably piecing everything together a lot better than he had. But now, when they were all too scared to continue, Kyoko had stepped up to get them back on track.
Drawing strength from her conviction, Makoto nodded firmly and concurred, "Right. Let's figure out how Chihiro was suspended. There are actually two distinct characteristics of the Genocide Jack cases that need to be pointed out…"
A part of her felt bad for shifting all the focus onto Makoto, but Kyoko was prepared to accept it. The lucky student had already proved to be far more resourceful than she'd expected and, unfortunately, it was easy to take advantage of him for it.
Like last time, she'd stayed relatively quiet during the proceedings, already sure of whom the culprit was. However, she wanted to see if Makoto could solve it on his own this time, with as little interference from her as possible. She was testing him…and for the first time, she realized that she didn't like doing it.
"By putting focus on him, he'll become a target instead of me. I can't say that I want that…but if I don't let it happen, then it'll make investigating the school much more difficult."
Kyoko had spent a great deal of her free time investigating everything the school had to offer. She'd even found something rather interesting during the search for Chihiro. However, it was only possible because people like Junko and Makoto were actively interacting with everyone, drawing attention away from her actions. And while that shouldn't bother her, for some reason it did.
For Junko, it was because she was becoming more and more of a mystery. Kyoko had noticed that Genocide Jill had been staring at the Fashionista as she'd talked about lies and truths. Even if no one else had noticed it, Kyoko just couldn't let it go for some reason. And while she was sure that Junko probably had her own secrets, that feeling that she somehow knew more than she let on was bothering Kyoko.
She'd need to keep a closer watch on the Fashionista…
On the other hand, as for Makoto…she genuinely felt bad for using him. He was suffering ever since he'd spoken to Sayaka the other night. He hadn't mentioned it to her, of course, but she could tell that he must have gone to see her, considering he couldn't even make eye contact with the pop idol right now.
Kyoko knew he was suffering but didn't feel…adequate enough to be able to help him. It was the only thing she actually didn't feel capable of accomplishing, which was upsetting in a way she'd never experienced before.
"Makoto needs someone who can be there for him emotionally…something that I can't do for him."
It was the first time in her life, that she could remember, wanting to be there for someone other than herself. She felt that Makoto, more than anyone else here, deserved her respect. And that's why she needed to find a way for her to be able to help him. At the moment, the only thing she could think to do was help guide him through the case, preserving their lives for as long as possible.
She could focus on how to help Makoto emotionally after she'd revealed Mondo's betrayal.
"Now's not the time to worry about Makoto. I need to get this trial back on track," she told herself, turning to listen to the tail end of Makoto's speech.
"…because of that, it's clear that something off about this case!" Makoto finished explaining about how Genocide Jill always used her scissors to suspend the victims.
"That's right!" Genocide Jill confirmed before pointing over at Makoto, "But there's something Big Mac didn't explain! There's actually a third difference that he didn't mention!"
"B-Big Mac?" a confused Makoto stuttered but was unable to stop Jill from continuing.
"The only kind of people I like to kill…are all adorable little men! Kyahaa! I can't believe I finally admitted it! Suck it, Miss Morose! I'm getting my boy-on-boy fever on and you can't stop me this time!" she shouted…pointing at herself from some reason.
"Was she referring to Toko when she said Miss Morose?" Makoto briefly wondered before realizing that it didn't matter all that much.
"Ngh…nrrrhgh!" Taka abruptly groaned, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I just don't get what's going on anymore! Could such a heinous villain really be…innocent?!"
The Moral Compass' sentiment was shared by many, as they found themselves increasingly confused by the fact that Genocide Jill might not have been the one to attack their classmate.
Out of that confusion, an unexpected voice emerged.
"But…Chihiro was suspended like Christ, right? And nobody but the police knew about that, right?" Mondo announced, trying to make sense of everything.
"Isn't that why we thought it had to be the real deal?" Leon speculated, trying to answer him as best he could. "Because none of us would know about that crap!"
All at once, Makoto came to a realization…there was one person who would know the method of Genocide Jack from before even coming to Hope's Peak.
"Indeed, as long as that fact remains, only Genocide Jill could have been the one to attack Chihiro," Byakuya concurred, his arms folded as if he'd made a decision.
The instant the Togami Heir spoke those words, Makoto felt that they were directed toward him. Even though Byakuya wasn't even looking at him, the lucky student somehow knew those words were meant for him…and he didn't like it.
Makoto felt like he was being set up. He honestly couldn't tell how or why, but he knew that Byakuya was baiting him. After all, with all of the research that Byakuya had given him, it was obvious that the Togami Heir knew absolutely everything about the Genocide Jack cases. For Byakuya of all people to make such a mistake…it felt impossible.
Regardless, Makoto also recognized that he had no choice but to refute him.
"Byakuya…it's possible that you could have already known about Genocide Jack's methods. You told me your family had access to police records that no one else would be able to get, isn't that right? Not to mention that you've probably already read the Genocide Jack file you gave to me," he questioned, and was frustrated when he got an answer.
Silence.
Byakuya didn't say a single word to him…to anyone for that matter. It was as if he was spectating, enjoying the show from a private box seat. It infuriated Makoto to think like that, but given the circumstances, it was the only logical explanation that he could come up with. And it only made him feel more used…like Byakuya had planned this all along.
Even so, that didn't explain everything. Even if he was right, and Byakuya did crucify Chihiro…was he really the one who attacked her? How would he have gotten into the girl's locker room?
There were still so many answers that Makoto needed to discover…
"You certainly took your time, didn't you Makoto?"
It had taken longer than Byakuya would have liked, due to those unplanned interruptions, but at last, they were finally beginning to unravel the mystery he'd laid for them. The mark on his cheek actually served as a reminder of why he'd gone to so much trouble in the first place. Genocide Jill had shown that she was a danger to them all, himself in particular. Even if she wasn't the culprit this time, he had no doubt at some point she'd try to come after him. But now, with everyone wary of her, Byakuya had multiple eyes and ears looking out for her at all times.
"My safety isn't guaranteed but at least these fools will now know to watch their backs…like they should have been doing from the start," the Togami Heir seethed, continuing to remain silent.
From the very beginning, he'd tried to warn them that forming friendships was dangerous. However, they'd all refused his superior logic and now that Chihiro had been attacked and new rules had been added, he hoped that they might learn from their mistakes. He doubted it, but there was always a chance of a miracle happening. But now wasn't the time to be concerned over the fates of those inferior to him.
"All that remains now is to expose the true culprit…that should be rather easy."
Stealing a glance at the biker seated across from him, Byakuya couldn't wait to expose him and drag him into the spotlight…just as he'd done with Genocide Jill.
"And now, the game can officially begin…"
To Be Continued…
Greetings, my beautiful readers! Well, the second trial is officially underway and though it didn't go that far, I hope your enjoying the…improvements I've made so far!
But what's going to happen now?! Will Byakuya continue to manipulate his classmates as he predicts he will? Will Mondo's guilt consume him and lead him to confess or will he continue to betray everyone? Will Leon or Hifumi ever get that seat change? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to get the answers!
By the way, thanks to everyone who wished my beta well. She's fully recovered and thoroughly corrected all the grammatical errors this chapter would have assaulted you with had she not been here. Other than that, I'm wondering if some of you picked up on something interesting that Genocide Jack…Jill…Scissor-Scissor-Cut-Cut-Bitch mentioned. Can you spot it?
Until next time, having a great day and keep on smiling my beautiful readers!