Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, this is a pretty long chapter; been a while since I've hit 7,000 words. Apologies once again for the wait, but I hope this'll be worth your patience. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
Chapter 81: Watching Chapter 4: All Star Apologies Part 15
'Could we really be missing something so important…?' Makoto mused to himself, 'If there's another possibility, maybe it's…'
"According to the Monokuma file, Sakura had vomited blood," the lucky student spoke aloud, "I think we can assume there's a chance this was related to her cause of death. In fact, there was even a trace of blood left around her mouth."
"Well, I mean… maybe when she got hit with the bottles, she cut the inside of her mouth…" Hina argued.
"If that's all it was, the file wouldn't have specified 'vomited blood'," Kyoko pointed out, "Not to mention, I didn't find any cuts inside her mouth."
No one was surprised at this information at this point. "Seriously girl, is there any part of the body you won't check?" Junko remarked.
"If it's related to the crime? No," Kyoko answered easily, "In order to solve a case, you must examine every minor detail. Many times, you'll have to look in uncomfortable areas to find the truth."
"One of those places being in people's pants…" Leon said dryly. The detective ignored him.
"I still need to talk to her about that…" Sayaka muttered to herself.
"You even checked in there?!" Jill asked incredulously, "God, you really ARE into dead bodies!"
"No, I'm not 'into' dead bodies. What I'm 'into' is solving mysteries," the lavender-haired girl retorted.
"You know, I have to wonder…" Makoto spoke, looking at Kyoko curiously, "Do you think your future self will figure out that she's a detective? If she hasn't already, I mean."
"It's likely a guess in her mind," Kyoko mused, "But it will be among other guesses. There are other occupations and titles that would require some level of investigation skills, so I can't consider detective being the only option."
"And being the Ultimate Detective, at this point, would feel pretty cliché," Hifumi added. His comment earned a few weird looks, but no one said anything about it.
"But if there wasn't a cut or anything, then what made her vomit blood?" Hiro questioned.
"Some sort of reaction within her body. Most likely… Sakura was poisoned," the Togami heir concluded.
"Poisoned…?" Hiro repeated with some surprise.
"That's right! This is the conclusion I've arrived at, and so there can be no mistake," Byakuya stated arrogantly.
Of course, his declaration caused a lot of groans and eye rolls. "Really wish the asshole could be wrong for once…" Mondo grumbled bitterly.
"You're not the only one," Sayaka muttered, just as unhappy.
Toko, of course, was the opposite of everyone else. 'Master is so dreamy…' she thought, smiling dreamily.
"Ahh! You're making me go all weak in the knees!" Jill moaned, wrapping her arms around herself.
"She was poisoned…? It isn't possible!" Hina denied.
"Is it really so hard to believe?" Byakuya rhetorically asked, "Then let me explain exactly how the culprit was able to poison her."
"You can… explain it?" Hina asked with some disbelief.
"Okay, I have to ask: what's up with Hina?" Junko questioned, getting the attention of the others, "She's been acting really weird in this trial."
"I… noticed it as well," Sayaka agreed, frowning worriedly, "Hina doesn't seem like herself here."
"Well, this is a trial about the murder of Sakura. Wouldn't it be natural that she isn't really herself?" Taka pointed out.
But Sayaka shook her head. "Even with that detail, she seems to be acting strangely," she argued, "This doesn't feel like it's just being upset from Sakura's death."
"I… also agree." Makoto turned towards the swimmer herself. "Hina, you noticed it too, didn't you; how strange your future self is acting?"
The girl in question held a look of unease, one that sprouted once her classmates pointed out her future self's oddities. "...Yeah."
"Why is she acting weird, though?" Chihiro asked the obvious question, looking pensive. "What's causing this behavior?"
Byakuya sighed. "No point speculating on this," he stated bluntly, "It'll likely be revealed in the viewing, so let's continue this rather than give a half-baked hypothesis."
While several did not take kindly to the wording (as well as who said it), they all saw Byakuya's point. So, eyes moved back towards the screen, albeit with a few guts twisting in dread.
"Of course," Byakuya nodded, "If you don't mind…"
"Everyone, quiet!" Jill ordered viciously, "Shut up and listen to Master!"
"But you're the only one talking…" Hiro pointed out.
Ignoring the two, Byakuya continued. "The key to unlocking this mystery was hiding in the chem lab, up on the 4th floor."
"Huh?! Not in the rec room?!" Hiro gasped in shock, "Then I could've found it all along!"
Despite previous unease, that earned a few snorts. "When the fool gave up on the search the moment he got barred from the room?" Celeste remarked dryly, "Not likely."
"Not to mention thinking he was the one that killed Sakura…" Leon added his own remark, "No way he would think to look for evidence while thinking that."
Hiro could only chuckle sheepishly for his future self. "Yeah… true…"
"You never would have, since you gave up on the search the moment you were barred from the crime scene," Byakuya rebuked.
"Well… yeah, good point…" Hiro conceded sheepishly.
"There's a big shelving unit in the chem lab that houses a variety of mixtures and chemicals," the Togami heir continued on, "And that's where I found… this." He then lifted up a bottle labeled C-9.
A few eyebrows shot up at this. "One of the poisons from section C," Taka immediately deduced, "But why has that particular bottle taken Byakuya's notice?"
"Yeah, any one of those poisons could've killed Sakura," Mondo nodded in agreement, "No way Togami would have been able to pick which was used."
"Perhaps some of it was used up, and it took Mr. Togami's notice?" Hifumi offered.
Mukuro, however, shook her head. "If I remember correctly, that particular brand of poison isn't particularly strong," the soldier stated, "For it to have a fatal effect, especially for someone of Sakura's stature, a whole bottle would've had to have been drunk up."
"So why did Byakuya grab that bottle?" Sayaka asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
The Togami heir himself had his eyes narrowed at the screen. Why indeed.
"I-Is that… the poison?!" Hiro exclaimed nervously.
"It's not an especially powerful poison, but it'll still kill you if you drink an entire bottle," Byakuya explained, "But the specific properties don't matter. What does matter, is where I found it."
"Where you… found it?" Hiro repeated, scratching his head in confusion, "Wasn't it in section C with all the other poisons?"
Byakuya's eyes lit up, as did some of the other students'. "Perhaps not," he stated, "Perhaps it was somewhere else."
"Where'd you find it…?" Hiro inquired.
"The shelf is divided up into three sections - A, B, and C," Byakuya continued further, "In section A, dietary supplements; in B, reagents; and in C… a variety of lethal chemicals."
"But the poison was actually in section A, wasn't it?" Makoto then spoke up, a flashback of him looking through the chem shelf.
Now the whole class saw why Byakuya took notice of that bottle. "So, the killer has gotten sloppy, and misplaced the poisonous bottle…" Celeste mused, "Must've been in a hurry."
"But didn't Mukuro say that an entire bottle is needed to kill someone?" Sayaka pointed out, "How can there be a full bottle left to be misplaced?"
"That's… a good question," Chihiro voiced in agreement, looking thoughtful.
"Huh?" Hiro looked confused at the revelation, "But you just said that section A was for supplements or whatever…"
"Strange, isn't it? Why would there be a bottle of poison mixed in with all those nutritional additives?" Byakuya rhetorically asked.
"Yeah, so… why?" the fortune teller asked, still confused.
"Because the culprit switched it out, that's why," Byakuya finally answered.
"W-What do you mean?" Hina hesitantly asked.
"I mean… this." And, in front of the whole room… Byakuya drank the bottle of poison.
Eyes widened in disbelief as they witnessed the future Byakuya drink the poison… and that was soon followed by equally incredulous exclamations.
"What's Byakuya-?"
"Is he actually drinking-?!"
"What the actual fu-?!"
"Master!"
None of the shocked students were quiet about what the Togami heir was doing. Even the heir himself found himself taken aback by his future self's action… before realization quickly hit him.
"I couldn't believe my eyes…" Narrator Makoto spoke, as the present Makoto stared in shock, "Byakuya put the bottle of poison to his lips and…"
"Huh? Master…!" Genocide Jill cried out.
"We were so shocked at what we were seeing, all we could do was stand there and watch." As the narrator spoke, the camera showed the shocked looks of the students' faces. "But as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Byakuya was as calm as ever…"
Finally, the Togami heir put the bottle down, a disgusted look across his face. "Ugh, that tastes awful."
"That's all you have to say after drinking poison?!" Leon exclaimed incredulously, "Just that it tastes awful?!"
"Has Togami lost his goddamn mind?!" Mondo spoke right after.
"He needs to spit it out!" Hiro cried out in panic, "Someone needs to get him to spit it out!"
"Don't die Maaasssterrr…!" Toko shouted in terror, sounding slightly deranged.
Before more panic could be expressed, Byakuya spoke up firmly. "Relax," he stated, "My future self is fine."
"Huh?" Was what several of the students voiced, their panic shifting to confusion.
"Oh no! Master's in real trouble!" Jill cried out in worry, "You have to drink some water! You can't just swallow powder; it'll stick to your throat!"
"Idiot! He just swallowed poison!" Hiro exclaimed back, "We need to make him spit it out!"
"The flavor makes me want to spit it out," Byakuya snorted, "What's so 'high quality' about this stuff…?"
As that statement confused the students some more, quite a few eyes started lighting up in realization. "Protein powder…" Makoto voiced out.
His words got the attention of the others. "Huh? Protein powder?" Sayaka asked in confusion, "Are you saying that bottle is actually protein?"
"It must be," Celeste said, supporting Makoto's words, "Recall Sakura and Hina talking about the high quality protein in the chem shelf. Do that, and Byakuya's statement makes much more sense in context."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" was Hiro's confused question.
"I'm talking about the protein, of course," Byakuya answered.
"Protein…?" Makoto voiced with some surprise.
"So, the bottle of poison… is actually protein?" Taka summarized with slight shock.
"Which would mean that rather than the bottles being switched from one shelf to the other… it was the content in those bottles," Mukuro said in musing, "Or at least, the labels of those bottles."
"But then… why was the bottle in Section A, rather than section C?" Sayaka asked with a confused frown, "Wouldn't it make more sense to move the bottle to ensure the disguise?"
"As I mentioned before, they must've been in a hurry," Celeste deduced, "And they may have assumed that no one would actually drink the bottle labeled as poison, or look through the shelf itself."
"Can I see that bottle for a second?" Kyoko requested.
"Ah, sure," the Togami heir shrugged, "Do whatever you like." With that, he passed along the bottle to the lavender-haired girl. As soon as she grabbed it, she scraped a bit of the content with one finger and placed it across her tongue.
"This is… it's protein powder," Kyoko stated, surprise evident in her voice.
"Huh?" was all the lucky student could say.
"Correct," Byakuya nodded in confirmation, "That wasn't poison in the bottle, but harmless protein powder. Which makes one wonder… the poison that should have been in that bottle… where did it go?"
'The bottle of "poison" was actually filled with protein powder,' Makoto thought to himself, the camera shifting the side. Once again, flashbacks were shown of both the chem lab and areas of the crime scene. 'Which would mean that conversely, the poison must have been in… could it be…?!'
"The poison… must have been poured into the protein can," the luckster voiced, "If the protein's in the poison bottle, it seems only logical to assume the reverse is true, right?"
Eyes lit up in remembrance as the protein can was brought up. "Oh yeah, there was a protein can laying around," Hiro voiced out, scratching the side of his head, "That means the killer tricked Sakura by giving her that drink?"
"Exactly," Byakuya confirmed, "Someone gave her the can filled with poison, and thinking it was a protein shake, she willfully drank the whole can."
"When you say that, it's easy to see how Sakura was poisoned," Makoto mused. However, there was a frown across his face. 'But again… would Sakura really accept the drink without question?'
Sakura held the very same question, judging by her own frown. While protein shakes are one of her favorite things, she's not obsessed to the point of disregarding logic or caution. To accept a drink like that, it would have to be from someone she trusts completely. Someone she knows wouldn't backstab her.
"Absolutely. The contents of each container were switched," Byakuya confirmed confidently, "So the protein was in the bottle of poison, and the poison was in the protein can… once you accept that, it becomes obvious how the culprit was able to get Sakura to drink the poison."
"Alright, now they've figured out how exactly Sakura was given the poison," Taka stated, watching with rapt attention, "Now all they need to do is figure out who the exact culprit is."
"But… who could've done it?" Chihiro asked softly, his face scrunched in thought, "Because from everything being gathered, all that has been discussed… there doesn't seem to be anyone that would be able to do so."
"You don't think Byakuya is the one?" Leon asked the programmer, raising an eyebrow.
Chihiro shook his head. "At this point, it wouldn't make sense," he explained, "Not only is he giving out this information, none of which seems false at the moment, but the scenario would've required the drink to be from someone she absolutely trusted. I don't think she would accept it from just anyone, even if she's one of the less distrusting survivors."
"I… would have to agree," Sakura herself spoke up, "While I'm not as guarded as Kyoko or Byakuya, I wouldn't do such things without any suspicion."
'But that's the thing; you do have someone you trust,' Byakuya thought to himself, 'Someone you have full confidence in that you would accept anything offered from her.'
"Holy crap!" Hiro gasped.
"All they had to do was hand her something there at the scene, and she was happy to drink the poison herself," Byakuya declared, "A protein drink which actually contained a deadly poison…"
"...What?!" Hina exclaimed incredulously.
"That's all it took to kill Sakura. That is the true cause of death!" the Togami heir concluded confidently.
'I wouldn't be too sure, Byakuya,' Kyoko thought to herself. Oh, for sure, she agrees that poison was the thing that killed Sakura; the how, however, was what she disagrees with.
'Although…' there were pieces of evidence that seemed to conflict with her deduction. The protein can on the floor, the footprints aimed towards Section A, the bottles and labels being switched out. All of these point to the idea that someone poisoned Sakura themselves. Almost as if-
'...Someone was deliberately falsifying the evidence. Trying to lead us to the wrong conclusion,' the detective realized. And, judging from everything gathered… there's only one person who could've possibly done all of that.
"Y'know… I do remember Ogre saying that protein stuff was good for all kinds of aches and pains!" Hiro brought up, "So maybe she took it to try and help with the whole bleeding-head-wound thing!"
"But what was offered to her instead was a bottle full of poison," Byakuya stated, "And I already know exactly who swapped the mixture!"
Once again, Byakuya took the class off guard.
"Seriously?!"
"He figured it out?"
"How?!"
"Who is it?!"
"Is he even telling the truth?"
As her classmates were throwing question after question, Junko had to fight an evil grin that was threatening to grow. 'So interesting!' the fashionista thought with glee, 'So many curve balls are being thrown here! Hina's odd behavior, conflicting evidence… such an interesting trial!'
"For real?!" Hiro exclaimed in shock, "Who was it?!"
"Evidence revealing who replaced the two materials was left in the chem lab for anyone to see," Byakuya told them all.
"The footprints left behind in front of the shelf…" Makoto was the one to reveal it. "That's the evidence you're talking about, isn't it?"
"I visited the chem lab this morning, and there were definitely no footprints there at that point," Byakuya explained, "They must have appeared around the time of the murder, which leaves no doubt that they're connected."
"Again, should we really trust him on his word?" Sayaka asked the group, "We said before that he could be lying, and like Mondo mentioned, he could be trying to put out false evidence."
"At this point, it's doubtful," Celeste refuted, "There's no way to create fake evidence like footprints with no access to other shoes. And, if it were his own footprints, why would he bring attention to them? No, it's best to conclude that he isn't lying."
"Then… who did it?" Hina demanded, confusion and frustration clear in her voice, "Is it Hiro, after all? Is it Toko? Who poisoned Sakura?!"
"I think we're about to find out," Mukuro said, eyes narrowed, "After all, with footprints, they can check each other's shoes and see which fits."
"What's more, the footprints were in front of section A, where I found the bottle meant for the poison. The culprit must have gone to section A to swap the poison and protein, leaving their footprints behind," Byakuya continued, "And given how clear the prints were, figuring out who they belong to will pose no problem. All we have to do is check everyone's footprints right now! Then we'll see who-"
Byakuya was interrupted by a soft, resigned sounding voice. "...It was me."
And just like that… the room went cold by those three simple words. But no, it wasn't just the words themselves that caused the drop of temperature; it was the person who said those words.
"W-Wha-..." Hiro stuttered, gobsmacked.
"Huh…?" Leon breathed in disbelief.
"I… this…" Sayaka looked white, the dreadful feeling making much more sense.
"No way… no fucking way…" Mondo shook his head, completely stunned.
A growing horrified look was across Makoto's face. 'But this… doesn't make sense…!'
Sakura shared a similar petrified look, unable to comprehend who said those words, who made this admission of guilt. 'This is… not possible! This cannot be possible!'
As for Hina? The girl's angry expression turned into one of shock, and of disbelief. 'Wha-... Why is…?'
The camera moved to show a resigned looking Hina. "The footprints… they're mine."
"Why… Why is she saying that?" Hina asked numbly, having difficulty processing what's being said. "Why would she say something like that…?"
Byakuya sighed, a rare look of sympathy coming across his face. "I think this should be obvious at this point," was all he said.
But the swimmer was too stunned to snap at him in any form. "No… this can't be true… IT CAN'T!" She began looking desperate, almost manic in her denial.
"H-Hina…?" Makoto gasped, looking shocked.
"..." At first, she was silent. Then Hina began speaking. "If you're all gonna find out anyway…"
'No… no, don't say it!' Hina demanded in her head, her body shaking, 'Don't you dare say it!'
"I'd rather you hear it straight from me, ya know?"
'Don't you dare say those words! DON'T YOU DARE TELL THAT LIE!' At this point, tears started swelling up in her eyes, as the swimmer wrapped her arms around her shaking body. 'Please… please, don't say it… please…'
"Then… Ogre's killer was-!" Hiro exclaimed in shock.
"Yup…"
"Don't… please, don't…" Hina started muttering, looking completely terrified at this point, "Please, it can't be true… it can't…"
"I did it! I killed Sakura!" Hina declared to the whole room.
And with that statement… Hina found herself going limp. Tears slipped down her eyes once again, her expression practically hollow, as what her future self said repeated in head. 'I killed her… I killed her… I killed her…' Her greatest fear, the scenario that she thought impossible, was being played right in front of her.
She wasn't the only one in shock. Nearly everyone was staring at the TV in disbelief, almost as if it was playing a terrible joke. Sayaka and Chihiro both had their mouths covered, eyes dilated and tear-filled; Leon and Mondo had their jaws dropped, staring at the TV numbly; Hiro and Hifumi were stunned beyond reality; even Celeste and Mukuro looked openly shocked, near unbelieving at the words said.
Makoto looked nearly as bad as Hina, his body entirely stiff and his eyes staring hauntingly at the table in front of them. There was part of his mind that was rebelling, practically screaming against the idea, against that small possibility. To him, to the one that befriended everyone here and believed in the best in all of them, the thought of Hina being Sakura's killer was such an unthinkable scenario that it was almost laughable.
'But then… wouldn't that explain how weird Hina was acting?' the luckster numbly thought. Not staying with Sakura, rushing the vote, even fighting the idea that Sakura was poisoned… wouldn't her being the blackened explain all of this? But, even with these logical explanations…
'No!' Makoto gripped the sides of his head, anguish now clear in his expression, 'This still doesn't feel right! I can't imagine any scenario where Hina kills Sakura!'
As for Sakura, the martial artist's mind went blank at Hina's confession. She could only stare vacantly at the screen, unable to process, unable to accept, what was being shown on screen. The idea, the thought, that Hina would be her killer, would be anyone's killer… that was something that Sakura wasn't able to comprehend as fact.
Byakuya was one of the few that didn't look shocked. 'Look like I was correct, after all,' he thought to himself, 'With all the evidence gathered, it was the only logical conclusion.' He took no satisfaction in this. Knowing that Hina, of all people, would be capable of such a devious scheme was not something to relish. He could only watch and wait to see just what pushed Hina to do this.
Kyoko also wasn't surprised by this, closing her eyes in resignation. However, her conclusion was different from Byakuya's; this confirms that Hina was the one who tampered with the evidence. That she's doing all she can to lead everyone to the wrong conclusion. Which would mean… 'She knows.'
Junko had to slap both hands across her mouth, to stop any insane giggles that would've bubbled from her mouth, had to curl up her body so no one could notice it shaking, and she had to look down so no one could see her eyes practically glowing with maddening glee. 'Such despair~!' She wanted to shout to the rooftop.
It's now clear to her what Hina is doing, what their bubbly little swimmer is trying to achieve. And this revelation fills her heart with such despair-ridden joy!
"Just as I expected," Byakuya said confidently, "The footprints were made by a pair of sneakers - there was no mistaking it. And the only people here who wear sneakers are…"
"Me and Hina," Makoto finished reluctantly, "Oh, so Byakuya… that explains why you…"
A flashback of Byakuya interrogating Makoto about the footprints was shown, before moving back to the current Byakuya. "If the footprints didn't belong to Makoto, that left only one other possibility."
"Just Hina…" Hiro answered, still stunned by this.
"Plus, Hina's been acting strange ever since the trial began," Byakuya pointed out, "You were in an awful rush to get to the vote, weren't you? This whole time, you've been focused on pinning the crime on someone else, haven't you?"
"..." Hina was silent, neither confirming or denying the accusation.
"I… I can't believe it," Makoto said, looking at Hina with disbelief and sadness.
"What about it can't you believe it?" Byakuya asked in response.
"...Is Byakuya really asking that?" Sayaka finally spoke up. Her voice was quiet, almost like a whisper, an array of emotions across her face. "Does he really think that this isn't something hard to believe? Refusing to consider the fact that those two… those two are so close?"
"...It probably doesn't register to the fucker that friends don't turn like that," Mondo stated, his head bowed. Like Sayaka, his voice was unusually quiet, much of the heat constrained within that volume. "He doesn't care that those two are practically sisters to each other; he just sees another killer to take down. For the sake of winning this goddamn game!"
No one else could say anything to that. Byakuya himself took it all in stride, knowing that this reveal and his other self's mannerism is going to make the others volatile.
"Well, it's just… the two of them were so close," Makoto pointed out.
"That's likely exactly why it turned out this way," the Togami heir stated, "Because they were so close, Sakura didn't think twice about it when Hina handed her the concoction. Hina used that trust to kill her! She deceived the victim, and she tried to deceive all of us. I have to say, Hina… coming from you, this was a particularly nasty little scheme."
"Look like you were right, Mondo," Leon let out a dry, sardonic laugh, looking done with all this, "The asshole is using their closeness as a reason why Sakura was able to be killed."
"As… unpleasant as the future Byakuya's words are, I admit that he has a point," Mukuro spoke up, "The fact that it's Hina who did this is… shocking."
"Indeed," Celeste nodded in agreement, her eyes narrowed at the screen, "The idea that Hina would kill someone is already jarring enough. But her target, and the way she went about it, makes it almost unbelievable."
"...Yet it did happen," Byakuya finally spoke up. He ignored any glares sent to him and continued. "As much as no one wants to believe it, Hina is the only one who could make those footprints and one of the few that has Sakura's trust. Out of all of us, she is the only one that is capable of doing this scheme."
"But… why?" Makoto was the one to ask this, his voice weak. A simple question, but one that carried a lot of weight. The boy had his eyes on the screen, those eyes conveying an array of thoughts. "Why would Hina do this? Why… would she kill Sakura?"
And that was an answer no one could give. But it was one that resounded in almost everyone's mind. Most especially Hina's, who managed to catch that question in her inanimate state. That question got her to slowly look up at the TV.
"..." Again, the swimmer was silent.
"Hina… is it true?" Makoto asked the swimmer herself, "Did you really… kill Sakura? And if you did… why?! Why did you do that?!" At his last questions, more intensity was held with his tone.
'Why…?' was the thought echoing in Hina's head, 'Why? Why? Why? Why? Why…?!'
'Why would you do it?! Why did you kill Sakura?!' Those questions were practically screamed in her mind, distress now added to her tear-streaked face. 'What reason was there to even have that thought cross your mind?!'
"..." At first, Hina continued to be silent. Then, slowly, she spoke. "I found her, there in the rec room… she was hurt. She asked me to bring her that protein drink. But… when I went to get the powder from the chem lab, it just… occurred to me all of a sudden."
"'Now's my chance to kill her.' That's what you thought, right?" Byakuya finished for her, "That's when you switched out the protein powder, and that's when you gave her the poison mixture."
"...No…" Hina muttered, shaking her head in denial, "No. No, there's way that kind of thought would go in my head! There's no way I would suddenly feel that desire to kill!" The girl held her head in her distress, her breaths coming out faster. "I wouldn't do that just to escape! And out of everyone, I wouldn't target Sakura! NOT HER!"
Hearts clenched at the sight of the distraught, hyperventilating swimmer. Leon, Sayaka, Mondo, Chihiro, and Taka all felt empathy for her, each of them being in the scenario Hina was experiencing. And despite what's being revealed… none of the more sympathetic students could argue with what's being said.
"...I… I have to agree," Makoto spoke up, his voice wavering. Anguish was clear in his voice and posture, but resolution was slowly mixing in. "Hina… she's not that malicious! She's never been that desperate to escape! And she was Sakura's most staunch defender! Why would she go and kill her friend when she was so adamant on defending her all this time?!"
He wasn't sure what it was that was pushing him to speak. He's not sure whether it's denial that something like this would ever happen, or if there's some logic deep within that's pressing the lucky student. Regardless of the reason… "It makes no sense!" he shouted, standing up from his seat, "Nothing about this makes sense!"
Byakuya let out another sigh. "Perhaps she was holding in some resentment." he theorized, "Or the stress of the killing game finally got to her, and caused her to snap. Any of those things could…"
"...No." A very dangerous sounding growl cut off any more of what the Togami heir would say. That growl came from none other than Sakura, whose posture and expression screamed of a growing rage. "Hina… Hina would never do this! She would never deliberately kill someone!"
"As much as we want to believe that," Celeste spoke up, supporting Byakuya this time, "Hina herself admitted this. We can't keep-"
"SILENCE!" That roar silenced anything else Celeste had to say, the gambler flinching back in shock and fear. The martial artist was now standing up, now in a state of furious disbelief. "Say what you will, make any justification you desire! It does not change Hina's nature! It does not change the friendship we share! Hina would not stoop so low as to use that very friendship to kill me and escape!"
Hina stared at her best friend, her breathing momentarily in control now. "Sakura…" A fresh wave of tears couldn't help but escape the girl's eyes, happiness and guilt swirling in her heart.
While Celeste found herself backing off from an enraged martial artist, Byakuya wasn't so easily cowed. He merely looked at her with growing irritation. "And do you suppose we just disregard what's being shown? Just write it off as false or mere coincidence?" he questioned back, "Your belief in your friends does not change the evidence shown, does not change the facts being presented. So long as everything presented points to Hina, then-"
"Then that just means evidence that conflicts with your conclusion would have to show up, correct?"
That question had all eyes turn towards the source. That source was none other than Kyoko, who looked as composed as ever.
Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "What are you getting at, Kyoko?" he asked, "There is no other evidence. Everything has been prese-"
"I wouldn't be so sure, Byakuya," Kyoko cut off, "I'm sure that if we continue this, something new will present itself. Sakura…" The detective then addressed the still volatile martial artist, "For now, calm yourself. This trial isn't over yet. There are still quite a few things that need to be discussed, so keep a level head and let's continue this."
For a moment, Sakura remained standing, her figure quite imposing. Then, slowly, she sat back down, her hair shadowing her upper face.
"Sakura…" Hina repeated her friend's name, her gaze never leaving the martial artist.
"You didn't do it," was what Sakura stated, her stance firm on this, "I do not know why your future self would claim this, but… I know you well enough to say that you don't have the heart to do this, that no reason sufficient enough was given for this claim to be true."
Hearing her say that… made Hina hope that this is indeed true, that her future self doesn't fail that belief Sakura has in her. But, if it wasn't her…
'Why… why would I lie about that?'
"Kyoko…" Meanwhile, Makoto placed his eyes towards the detective. The fact that she's questioning this… it instills in him more confidence that something is up with this trial. That something isn't right. Still, what else have they yet to-?
'The locked door,' the luckster realized. They still have yet to figure out the locked door mystery! And if Hina was the one to kill Sakura… just how was she able to get out of that room?
Not denying it, Hina continued, "and then… she downed it, all at once. And… and then…"
"Hold it!" Kyoko cut in, "I'm not convinced…"
"If both Kyoko's aren't convinced of this…" Leon spoke, eyebrows rising up, "Then doesn't that guarantee that Hina isn't the killer?"
With that question, several of the students dared to feel some hope rise within. The hope that Hina, of all people, wasn't the killer.
"But… if Hina wasn't the one who killed Sakura…" Taka began asking his own question, starting to look a little lost, "Then who did? And more importantly… why would Hina lie?"
Once again, there was a question that stumped the group. After all, Hina herself said that she was the one to kill Sakura. So, if she wasn't the killer… does that mean she's lying to them?
"You're not about to claim she wouldn't kill a close friend, are you?" Byakuya sardonically asked, "You still don't get it, do you? The game we're playing here isn't so kind. Honeyed words like friendship don't matter here. What matters is outwitting the opponent, defeating them…"
"Not a person alive would sacrifice themselves for another. In the end, we're all in it for ourselves. Just like how this girl sacrificed Sakura… to save herself," the Togami heir concluded.
"..." Once again, the girl in question was silent.
"Does… does he truly think that?" Again, Byakuya's words sparked an anger that has been simmering ever since chapter 2. One of the students who was angered was Taka, who felt himself shaking from that aggravation. "Does friendship and comradery truly mean nothing to him? Not even when others clearly show such things?"
Mondo let out a snort, his head bowed to hide the rage radiating in his eyes. "Isn't it obvious at this point, bro? There's not a single nice bone in Togami," he stated viciously, "So of course stuff like that wouldn't mean shit to the bastard!"
"But… to think that every one of us would be willing to kill everyone else to escape…" Chihiro whimpered, more tears slipping from his eyes, "To believe so easily that Hina is capable of doing that… of killing Sakura…"
"The bastard knows nothing about us," Sayaka spoke up this time, her voice icy cold. Like Mondo, her head was bowed, hiding how angry she truly was. "Not a single thing about Makoto, about Hina, about Chihiro, Taka, Mondo, Kyoko. He's only judging us based on his own, sick worldview. He doesn't know a single, little thing about the class!"
No one could disagree with her words. Even Makoto, who held no hatred for their present Byakuya, felt discomfort at what the future Byakuya was saying. It was something he definitely did not agree with.
And the Togami heir himself remained silent, not bothering to argue with his classmates. While he firmly believes that Hina is the killer, even he sees that several of his classmates don't hold that kind of heart. Unlike his future self, he's not blind to their characters. So, he doesn't see this worth arguing.
"You say that, but I'm still not convinced," Kyoko stated firmly.
Byakuya let out an annoyed sigh. "How many times do you plan to repeat yourself?"
"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying it because of some misguided sentimentalism," Kyoko corrected him, "But there's still that one unsolved mystery, and I'm not convinced."
"Are you talking about the locked room problem?" Makoto inquired.
Eyes lit up at this, the storm of emotions being held at bay for the moment. "I keep forgetting about the locked room!" Hiro exclaimed, palming the side of his head, "With all these bombshells thrown around, it's hard to remember that the room's still a thing!"
"But that's still a big mystery. One that hasn't been solved yet," Makoto stated, his confidence rising, "Because if Hina's the killer… then she should tell us how she created that room."
"That's true… Hina should be able to reveal how it happened!" Chihiro said in agreement, feeling more and more hopeful, "And since she was outside with Makoto and Kyoko when they first saw the body, she can't say that she was in the room the whole time!"
"But this all depends on what she has to say…" Mukuro pointed out.
"Hina… if you really are the killer, explain it," Kyoko requested, "How did you create the locked room?"
Hina's eyes widened at that, taken off guard by the question. "W-Well…" For a moment, she couldn't say anything. Then she scowled, getting defensive. "Th-That doesn't matter! Just cuz I'm guilty, that means I have to tell you everything?!"
"No, it doesn't," Kyoko conceded, "But the fact that you won't tell us concerns me."
"...Well, this confirms it. Hina really isn't the killer," Celeste stated, her eyes narrowed at the screen, "This also confirms that she is hiding something."
Seeing the swimmer unable to answer how the locked room was created… it changed the atmosphere of the room. Much of the anguish began to evaporate, leaving a heavy amount of confusion and concern.
Byakuya, however, took this with some level of surprise. But then he scowled in clear confusion. "What is this?" he questioned sharply, "How could Hina confess to being the killer, but then be unable to explain the locked room?"
"I told you; the mystery isn't over yet, Byakuya," Kyoko stated, arms crossed confidently, "There's still plenty more to be revealed."
"Surely you're not - do you honestly think Hina didn't actually kill her?" Byakuya questioned, baffled.
"And if I do?" Kyoko asked back in retort.
"Impossible," Byakuya stated stubbornly, "She switched out the mixtures. She's the culprit. There's no way you can doubt this."
"Are you sure about that?" Makoto spoke up, "Even ignoring the fact that I don't want to believe it… it just doesn't fit."
"What doesn't fit?" Byakuya demanded.
"I mean… why would someone leave such a clear clue like a footprint?" Makoto pointed out, "It's too… obvious. Too easy."
"He's right," Kyoko agreed, "It makes it look like you wanted people to suspect you."
"That's a good point, actually," Taka said, looking down in thought, "Why would you leave footprints behind like that? Why leave such easy clues?"
"Yeah. Even with how ditzy she is, I don't think Hina would leave something that obvious," Junko pretended to muse.
"Does that mean… Hina wants the others to suspect her?" Sayaka cautiously asked, "She wanted to be pointed out as the culprit?"
"I would go as far to say that she would rather have anyone be picked as the culprit," Mukuro theorized, "So long as they chose the wrong suspect, she doesn't care who was picked. It would explain why she was rushing the vote."
Mukuro's theory made quite a few stomachs drop. Because, that would imply that Hina was purposefully trying to have everyone but the blackened killed. Including herself.
'But… why would she do that?' Makoto now found himself asking, 'Why would she sacrifice everyone, even herself, like that? She has to realize that she won't survive this, right? The only person that would get out of this is the blackened them… selves…'
And just like that… it hit him like a brick. 'There's… there's no blackened is there?' the luckster realized, his eyes growing with horror, 'Or rather… the blackened is already dead. That would mean…'
He couldn't believe it. He doesn't want to believe it. But with everything they've seen… this is the only conclusion that makes complete and total sense.
"Th-That was…" Hina stuttered, "I was just… nervous! So I-I didn't notice I'd left a footprint!"
"...You didn't notice?" Kyoko repeated flatly.
"Y-Yeah! That's just how it was," Hina replied with a nervous shrug, "What can I do?"
"And this is supporting that theory," Mukuro continued on, "If Hina truly was the killer, why would she attempt to refute things that would help her innocence? Even better, why would she immediately admit to being the killer in the first place, instead of trying to make any case for herself?"
At this point, a new wave of confusion and fear hit the group. Now, all were wondering if Hina was trying to get people to suspect her… and if so, why.
Hina herself was the most confused out of everyone. 'What… what are you doing, other me?' she asked in her head, 'What are you trying to do? Why are you doing this?'
'Hina…' Sakura also felt that same confusion and anguish, unable to discern why the future Hina is doing this. 'What are you attempting to accomplish? What is your goal?'
"..." For a moment, Kyoko was silent. Then, she made another request. "Listen, Hina… could you go into a bit more detail? Tell us more about when you switched the poison and the protein."
"H-How come! That doesn't matter!" Hina protested.
"Hina… please, I'd like to know, too," Makoto pleaded softly.
The plea caught the swimmer silent, before reluctantly agreeing. "F-Fine…"
'We're getting closer to the end…' Kyoko thought, gazing stoically at the screen, 'Soon, everything will be revealed.'
'Oh, this is so exciting…' Junko covered her mouth once again to hide her giggles, 'Getting closer and closer to the reveal, and soon… soon there will be despair!'
'Hina… how much are you hurting right now?' Makoto couldn't help but wonder, his hands clasped tightly on his knees, 'How much pain would our Hina, as well as Sakura, be feeling?'
And just… what had pushed Sakura to choose suicide?
And that's the end. I hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter. I really wanted to make sure that the emotions are properly conveyed here, so it took some time to figure out how exactly each character would react to these scenes. It's easy to imagine the reactions; a tad harder to put it all in detail.
Anyways, the next chapter will likely be the end of the trial, and the reveal of Sakura's suicide. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you guys later.
