Chapter 10:

AUTHOR NOTE: My personal life has been extremely rocky, and striving to be my particular major is no easy task. Also, I realize that this is the make or break moment of my story. It's the chapter covering the first trial in-story. While the part leading up to the actual trial went smoothly, the actual trial required several rewrites in order to get the feel just 'right' for my taste. So as always, reviews are heavily appreciated.

Monokuma's explanation was extremely short and to the point.
"Now that everybody who is still alive is awake and present. - Naegi."
"Hey!"
"You guys have to figure out the death and who caused it. Since you lot already displayed some common sense and empathy by going ahead and investigating the double KO, we're going to cut straight to the trial. Oh, and if you guys don't figure out who was behind the whole ordeal, the rest of you die, and the real purp goes free."
. The students' reactions were all cut from the same cloth.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?
"What the hell, man?"
"We would have done it better if we had known."
Only Togami remained perfectly unperturbed.
"We saw exactly what happened. We know exactly who caused the pair of deaths. If we screw this up, we're a bunch of retards."
"Yes, but we still should know what happened." Kirigiri responded.
Only Hagakure had a question.
"Monokuma, you say that if we get this wrong, the killer goes free and the rest of us get executed."
"Yeah. Where are you going with this?"
"Why?
"Why? It seems we've finally reached my motivations! Finally. I want you to experience DESPAIR!"
"That's it. That's all?" Naegi deadpanned. " Are you serious? You want us to experience a single emotion? Did we all agree to follow Togami's example and go cold turkey from emotions during the time we were knocked out?"
"Makoto Naegi, so help me, I will..." Togami interjected before being cut off by Maizono.
"You'll do what?" Maizono said. "Think carefully."
"Uhhhhh..." Monokuma continued. And then, amazingly, Hagakure brought up a good point.
"I mean, what benefit does it have for you? If someone successfully commits a murder, that means your little game is over." Hagakure pointed out. "Is there some great philosophical meaning behind it? Are you like, broadcasting this all over the world with the intent to display the fault of humanity? Because you've chosen the worst possible candidates for it, a bunch of teenagers."
"For an idiot, that's surprisingly deep." Fukawa twiddled her thumbs.
"Holy crap. The shaman is actually making sense!" Leon said.
"Character depth from the shaman." Yamada commented. "My eyes do decieve me."
"Oh, you're one to talk." Hagakure muttered.
"ENOUGH!" Monokuma shouted. "Go to the pair of red doors on the first floor. I have to get the trial room ready. Oh yeah, if any of you want to check your Student ID-s, you find something for all of you. The Monokuma File! This gets handed out everytime there's a murder."Monokuma continued before hastily disappearing.
. And on that odd note, ten of the students walked out of the gymnasium.
"Naegi, come on." Maizono coaxed.
"Do you think you could help me? I'm still a bit weak in the knees from all this." Naegi admitted.
"Of course. You didn't even need to ask." Maizono said, slinging Naegi's arm around her.
"Are you going to be able to stand, Naegi?" Kirigiri asked. "Should I ask Monokuma if we can bring a chair to whereever we're headed?"
"Nah. I think I should be able to stand witness to this." Naegi said.
Maizono shot Kirigiri a glare. Kirigiri responded in kind.
"Come now, Maizono. We need Naegi for this. He's the lynchpin. After all, he saw the whole thing play out in real time."
"It was more like quick-time." Naegi responded.
"Quick-time?" Kirigiri asked.
"I'll explain later." Naegi hastily replied.
. The three of them walked out of the gymansium past the foyer where Peko Pekoyama's award of a golden sword still remained. They passed the crushed gates that had previously cut off the second floor which had been damaged by several swift punches from Oogami. All of three turned left and passed the set of bathrooms and the locked-up infirmary. And as he stared at the sealed windows, Naegi couldn't help but ponder his situation in his head.
"Ten Centimeters. That's all we are away from freedom. Just ten centimeters. Just the width of a perimeter wall from getting out of here. Ten centimeters. Such a short distance, and long trek to get there. And now, two of our number are dead. And I was there. I witnessed it happen right in front of me, and yet ... when it's all said and done... could I have done more?"
. Naegi shut his eyes and kept moving forward, a detail that neither Kirigiri nor Maizono could fail to notice.
"Naegi, we're here." Maizono whispered to him.
. Naegi opened his eyes. In front of him stood a pair of blood-red double doors. Kirigiri opened the doors to let Naegi and Maizono through. The other ten students were there. Some like Leon and Oowada were fidgeting with anxiety. Celeste remained as cool as a cucumber while Yamada gripped his backpack. Togami kept pushing up his glasses and tapping his foot, ready to go. Ishimaru was stretching his legs. Asahina was leaned against the wall. Her eyes still appeared dead. Naegi briefly wondered if the brightness would ever come back.
"DING"
. The elevator had arrived. Naegi braced himself.
. The trial room perfectly reflected Monokuma. The floor was white and black checkerboard like a chessboard. There were upholstered curtains an equal shade of red to the original doors. There were cinematic red carpets leading to some of the students. There were already two signs up, one with Enoshima's face and another with Oogami's face.
"Question: If there are fifteen of us, why are there sixteen slots?" Kirigiri asked.
"The courtroom just happens to sit sixteen people, that's all." Monokuma replied.
"You're not going to spring some hidden sixteenth student on us, are ya?" Leon commented.
"Well, including Monokuma, there are sixteenth people here." Yamada pointed out.
"I think it's safe to say that Monokuma's operator is not one of the fifteen original participants.
. Togami said. "Which would make sixteen people accounted for so far."
"Alright, Alright." Monokuma said. "Let's get to the assigned places. And just so we're clear, the trial is going to be one hundred percent fair. You get it right, you live. Simple as that.".
. With the sixteenth space between Asahina and Hagakure, the lineup clockwise went as follows: Hagakure, Fujisaki, Togami, Celeste, Leon, Fukawa,Yamada, Naegi, Maizono, Ishimaru, consecutive markers for Enoshima and Oogami, Kirigiri, Oowada and Asahina.
"Oh, wow. When I said I would be able to stand witness for this, Maizono. I didn't think it would be at an actual witness stand." Naegi commented.
"Snarky as ever, Naegi." Togami said. "Why don't we cut straight to the point? What did you see, Naegi?"
"First, what are those two markers for, Monokuma?" Kirigiri said, cutting across Togami.
"Oh, I think it was just be horrible if they were left out just because they were dead. Friendship lasts in death too, don't ya know?"
"Hey, guys, can we all agree that the Spears of Gungir are the murder weapons Enoshima and Oogami used to finish each other off." Leon postulated.
"Yeah/Of Course/Duh."
"Spears of Gugnir?" Hagakure asked. "I must missed that."
"How the hell could you have missed the giant spears?"
"Oh, those spears!?"
"Yeah, dumbass."
"Leon?"
"Yes?"
"Are you done pointing out the quantity of Hagakure's intelligence?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway... I was sitting in the cafeteria, eating a sandwich when suddenly Oogami attacked me. She destroyed a couple of tables, and I just kept trying to roll away and not get hit." Naegi began.
"Why were you rolling away?" Celeste asked.
"I can't get hurt if I can't get hit." Naegi replied.
"So why are we able to dodge Oogami's attacks but not Oowada's punch?" Ishimaru asked.
"Simple. Oowada is faster than Oogami. Oogami is stronger, but she was built for power, not speed." Naegi explained.
"That makes sense." Ishimaru replied.
"And then what happened?" Leon asked.
"Well, as soon as I got out of the cafeteria, Enoshima swooped in and literally carried me on her back." Naegi said.
"Seriously?" Fukawa said. "Why would the model put herself in danger like that?"
"Perhaps it was that she felt she could do something about it." Celeste explained.
"What do you mean?" Asahina said.
"I mean, when Fujisaki and I checked out Enoshima's room, we found some self-defense and some military magazines." Celeste said.
"You and Fujisaki checked out Enoshima's room?" Kirigiri asked. "What did you find?"
"Not only did we find self-defense magazines, we found that they had been marked up in pen. Apparently she was making corrections to them." Fujisaki said. "It was really strange. I mean, why would a model not only have self-defense magazines but know enough about self-defense to correct experts?"
"Well, I mean she is a model. There must be sleazy guys coming up to her all the time." Yamada said. " And perhaps a few had hostile intentions."
"Wait, if she was that much of a target, why didn't she have a bodyguard?"Sayaka said. "I mean, my manager was floating the idea around to our idol group right before I arrived at Hope's Peak Academy."
"Is that so?" Celeste said.
"Yeah."
"Anyway, let's get back on topic. Enoshima and the self-defense magazines. Why?" Togami said, attempting to steer the conversation back on track.
"I think the more potent question is: how did she get them?" Kirigiri said. "I mean, we all brought our stuff in several weeks before the first day."
"You guys did?" Naegi asked. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, Naegi. Did you not bring... anything?" Maizono said.
"No. I didn't. I mean, I live somewhat close to Hope's Peak. And I'm just an ordinary guy, I don't have a fandom that risks bothering me wherever I go. So I was going to live at home most of the time, and only stay at Hope's Peak if I needed to." Naegi replied.
"Ah. I see." Leon said. "Wait, you live this close?"
"Yeah, I walked over here on my first day." Naegi replied.
"How pedestrian." Togami said.
"Only when I'm not biking here." Naegi replied.
"Anyway. We're drifting off topic." Celeste said. "We've figured out how Enoshima could have gotten the self-defense magazines. Asahina, and Leon, what did you find in Oogami's room?"
"Go on, Asahina, tell them. Tell them the note you found hidden under Oogami's pillow." Leon said.
"I found a motive for Sakura's attack." Asahina said.
Everybody gasped collectively.
"It's here." Asahina said. "I'll read it aloud for everybody."

"Dear Asahina, I hope you will find this. So I'll address it this to you. I'm sorry. But Monokuma has forced me to be his spy. My entire dojo is at stake. The dojo is my family's legacy. I could not let myself be the one to lose it. In particular, the mastermind keeps suggesting the same person over and over for me to kill. I trust that you would be able to figure it out."

I apologize, for the moment I knew Monokuma had gained leverage against me, there was no outcome other than my death.

Sakura Oogami."

"So there you go. That was Sakura's motivation for attacking someone."Asahina explained.
"Are you serious?" Togami said. "I don't believe it. Is there any proof at all that this letter wasn't made up to save your friend's reputation?"
"Dude. I saw Asahina pull out from under Oogami's pillow." Leon said.
"And how long were the two of you in Oogami's room?" Togami asked, smirking.
"About twenty minutes." Leon replied, coolly.
"And what point in your searching did you find it? Because if you found it immediately, then that has suspicion right all over it." Togami repiled. "Who finds something so convenient like that?"
"Forget it, Togami." Naegi said. "You're wrong. Oogami expressed the same modi operandi when she was attacking."
"Oh, don't tell me you're just trying to make Asahina feel better?" Togami said.
"Naegi." Asahina said.
"No. Listen. In the cafeteria, Oogami said to me '
"Why are you attacking me?"
"I am truly sorry, but I have no choice."
"You do realize what will happen if you kill me."
"You do realize what will happen if I don't kill you."
"Fair enough. You don't need to say anymore, but you do expect I am going to fight for my life."
"Yes. But you will not survive."
"When this is all over, neither will you."'
"So that settles it." Celeste said. "Oogami chose Naegi at the mastermind's suggestion, attacked Naegi with the express intent of saving her dojo, but when Enoshima stepped in, she changed her target to Enoshima instead. We saw what happened with the fight."
"Naegi was the mastermind's suggestion to be killed." Maizono said. "Why Naegi? No, seriously, why?"
"Yes, that is most certainly curious." Togami said.
"I think this is worth exploring." Kirigiri said. "After all, from here on out, it's not going to be often that we're all together. We should lay all out where the chance for miscommunication is slim."
"Says the girl who rarely talks." Yamada said. "If you ask me, Anya Alstreim shows more emotion than her."
"Who's Anya Alstreim?" Kirigiri asked. "I don't believe I've ever heard of her."
"Anya Alstreim is from Code Geass. She was introduced in R2 as the Knight of Six, and, if you ask me, probably would have been Lelouch's own Knight of Honor if he and Nunnally hadn't been sent into Japan." Naegi explained.
"Do you know of Code Geass, Master Makoto Naegi?"
"Of course, I do. I have internet access. As a matter of fact, just chalk it up to the fact that because of the nature of my talent, I didn't spent countless hours honing my skill or hobby, but just exploring around the facets of life."
"Are you so sure?" Yamada asked.
"I'm dead sure."
"I meant about Anya being Lelouch's Knight of Honor."
"Well, yeah. Who else would it have been? Gino? It wouldn't have been Suzaku."
"I concede the point, though the fangirls probably wouldn't ever."
"Hold on, I thought we were discussing why Naegi was the target." Kirigiri said. "First, a comparison between myself and a Blaze the cat, and now another one to this Anya Alstreim. How is this about me now?"
"Isn't everything? Isn't everything about you? Ms. I-Don't-Want-To-Reveal-My-Talent. If you ask me, you're clearly hiding something!" Fukawa said, waving an accusatory finger at Kirigiri.
"What are you implying?" Kirigiri said.
"What I'm implying is that this whole game is your idea." Fukawa said.
"If this whole game is my idea, why am I a part of it?" Kirigiri replied.
"Maybe you suggested the idea to Monokuma's operator, and then as a sick, twisted idea agreed to let the operator wipe your memory and put you in this game."
"Fukawa, you can't go making wild accusations about who the mastermind is this early in the game." Togami said. "It's not very sporting."
"So we should wait for several more murders to occur." Celeste said. "From a gameplay standpoint, that might be a legitimate strategy. But from a practical standpoint, that's not really an option."
"I would have thought you of all people, Celeste, would understand, that no matter how high stakes are, this is still a game." Togami said.
"Oh, I intend to still treat this like a game." Celeste said, smiling. "But here's where our playing styles differ. You like to simplify everything because you believe you have a natural advantage. I prefer keep things to complex. I find it easier that way."
"You mean you find it easier to create solutions to in-game problems." Togami said.
"Yes, it's not just winning a game, but there is as much value in how you win as there. Always having to winning in the same way is quite boring. The more tools and assets you have the more creative you can get in terms of winning. And as far as I'm concerned, we've lost two our of assets from this whole thing."
"Is that all Oogami and Enoshima are to you?" Asahina said. "Assets?"
"Coming from a chick, that's messed up." Oowada said of Celeste.
"What does that even mean?" Leon asked, with his arms folded.
"That means he can't tell that the girl who dresses in all-black and who sports a fake European accent has a dark morality." Fukawa said. "What a poor judge of character."
"This is how I normally speak!" Celeste said, briefing losing composure, before Ishimaru spoke up.
"That is an unacceptable opinion, Celeste. Enoshima and Oogami are not assets. They are our comrades and friends." Ishimaru interjected. "Or at least, they were."
"They still are." Asahina said. "Now, I can't speak for anyone else, but they are to me."
"I was wondering when Ishimaru and Oowada would speak up." Togami smirked. "Have you two settled your petulant little issue of whether Naegi should wear his hood indoors yet?"
"Uh... is that really relevant, right now, dude?" Hagakure said. "I mean, Naegi's not wearing his hood rig...ht... now." He trailed off as he noticed Naegi had, indeed put up his hood yet.
"ENOUGH."
"Naegi?" Maizono said, hesitantly.
"We're drifting off-topic. I'll tell you why I think Monokuma chose me as the target for Oogami to go after."
"Why?" Fujisaki said.
"Because I'm the easiest. Because I'm always going to be the easiest. Because compared to the rest of you guys, my personality is almost nothing. It should be swallowed up by everybody else here."
"No, Naegi." Kirigiri responded quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's because you're the only one who isn't a known quantity. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What's your breaking point? Everybody else here is a known quantity."
"You say that, Kirigiri." Togami cut over her. "But we're right back where we were a little while go. We still don't know your talent. Come on, reveal it. Reveal it now." Togami said, with an outstretched arm.
"What are you doing, summoning a trap card?" Yamada said.
"What?" Oowada said.
"Did anybody else here watch Yu-gi-oh when they were younger?"
Everybody else shook their head.
"Okay, then. Never mind."
"I can't reveal my talent, Togami." Kirigiri said.
"You say, 'I can't.'" Fukawa said. "Then why do I hear 'You won't.'?"
Kirigiri sighed.
"I'm not the mastermind."
"No, of course, you're not." Togami said. "I've been thinking. You're really just a bait student, aren't you? Monokuma's operator and you both answer to the true mastermind!"
"Byakuya. What good does this endless postulating do us at this point?" Celeste said. "As far as I'm concerned, we know what happened, which was the whole point of this 'trial'. Oogami and Enoshima fought hand-to-hand until they reached the gymnasium. There Monokuma gave them the Spears of Gugnir and they finished each other off. I hate to quote Monokuma here, but it was a double knockout. Why don't we finish this trial off?"
"But I'm not done yet." Togami said.
"No, you are not." Celeste said, twirling her hair. "But we're going to be here forever at this rate. At this point, this is just padding and filler. Save it for the next trial."
"That assumes that's there going to be next trial." Ishimaru said. "Which I doubt very much."
"You have too much faith in everybody." Oowada said.
"Ishimaru, I think you're wrong." Naegi said, quietly. "I'm willing to bet there will be more murders."
"Naegi, don't say that." Maizono said.
"No, there will be. Leon, Kirigiri, back me up here. That box."
"Yeah." Leon said.
"Of course." Kirigiri said.
"I don't trust anything you say!" Fukawa interrupted.
"We-"
"Hmmm"
"Well"
"Hmmmm!"
"Well, you see."
"HMMMM!"
"FINE!" Kirigiri said, losing her composure slightly. "Leon, you explain it."
"Alright. You see, Naegi found this box in the entrance hall."
"So?" Maizono asked.
"The box had a piece of scotch tape with the words 'Dead Students' ID-s' scribbled on it."
"That could have been meant for the ID-s of only the first victim and murderer."
"No." Fukawa said.
"Are you actually contributing to this trial?" Yamada asked incredulously.
"Yes, fatty. You see, Oogami actually broke down the gate leading to the second floor during the whole incident, and Kirigiri, my white Knight, and I actually got quick preview of the second floor prior to this trial."
"So?" Ishimaru said. "I don't see how that leads to the idea that there will be more murders."
"Because there was a staircase to the third floor, and there's nobody else here who could possibly punch the gate down." Fukawa said.
"Oh no." Maizono said.
"Scared, Maizono? Scared that the guys here will take advantage of the pop idol and get one on ya?"
"What are you saying, Fukawa?"
"I'm saying if that happens, you totally deserve it." Fukawa smirked.
"Fukawa. I'm only going to say this once. But shut the hell up." Naegi said, with deadly stoicism. "In here, nobody deserves anything that happens to them."
"Naegi?" Maizono said.
"We know how exactly how everything went down. Let's end this trial." Naegi said.
"Wait, something doesn't make sense." Fujisaki muttered. "But I can't place my finger on it."

AUTHOR'S END NOTE: I wrote the Kirigiri-to-Anya comparision several chapters back, (a little bit after I finished the Kirigiri-to-Blaze comparision) but was never able to find a proper place to put it in. Coincidentally, that's where the chapter's length really took off. (And by took off, I mean, there was enough and the creation of ideas to almost double the chapter's length.)