And here it is, the trial. Dun dun DUN! To answer some questions that have been coming up on FFnet and AO3, don't worry, you'll see the execution. I just left Hanamura's out because it wasn't any different than in canon. And this will be the full trial. I don't think a cliffhanger would work here.
Also it really has been interesting watching people guess the culprit. I wonder what you'll think of me by the end of this… but do I mean the end of this chapter or the end of this story? I do not know.
TWs: Brief self-harm, plus about what you'd expect from a School Trial.
Chapter Two, Part Five
By the time Hinata and Togami arrived at the central island, everyone else was in the process of entering the mountain. Once they'd fielded all the questions about their absence – "So how's he kiss?" was Saionji's contribution – they followed the rest of them into the mountain and entered the elevator.
They descended in silence. Fear and apprehension were the most common emotions on everyone's faces. Kuzuryuu was an exception; he looked morose, but confident. Togami was looking into a corner with his arms folded across his chest, and Hinata could not see his face.
They soon arrived at the trial room and took their places. Hanamura's and Pekoyama's portraits had joined Komaeda's – Hanamura's X was in the shape of a knife and fork, and they lost about thirty seconds while everyone reacted. Monobear opened the trial from his seat, no differently than he had the last time, and from there the debate began.
Hinata had expected swift action from either Kuzuryuu or Togami regarding Pekoyama's killer, but Mioda and Nanami led the conversation towards the circumstances of Pekoyama's death. Much of it Hinata had already figured out for himself, and he added details where the others were confused – Tsumiki had somehow gotten it into her head that Pekoyama's lock had been stuck. Togami did the same, while Kuzuryuu remained silent.
It was likely, Hinata thought, that Kuzuryuu was waiting for the right time to act, and it wouldn't surprise him if Togami was allowing him to determine what time that would be. The only time Kuzuryuu reacted to any of the discussion was when Owari mentioned that Pekoyama had attempted to break down her door, at which point he'd looked down and smiled to himself. Hinata hadn't realized that Kuzuryuu hadn't known about that.
After what seemed like ages, Nanami suggested a recap of everything they'd figured out. "Apart from Hinata-kun and Togami-kun, who were both by the game, everyone says they were in their cottages by 10:30 PM," she said. "Sometime between then and 12:30 AM, the culprit left their cottage and went to Pekoyama-san's. They disconnected her water supply, sealed the door with the rubber cement, and threw the empty tube under the cottage. After waiting for the rubber cement to dry, they lit all of her paper windows on fire with a match, then lit the entire matchbook and threw it onto the roof. Then they returned to their own cottage.
"We can assume Pekoyama-san woke up not long after and discovered both the sealed door and the disabled plumbing. Given the windows were inaccessible she performed her last resort, breaking down the door with her wooden practice sword, which created the cuts on her arm from the flying splinters. But she was overtaken by the flames before she could break through.
"Around this time, Mioda-san found the fire. She yelled to Pekoyama-san, but it was too late. So she woke everyone, including the culprit, but despite their best efforts the cottage collapsed and Pekoyama-san was killed –"
"Yay, wow, we figured it out again," Saionji said, rolling her eyes. "But we still don't know who the killer was, so it's still all useless."
"But was there really nothing we found that could lead to their identification?" Nidai said. "No chance observances? Nothing?"
"Upupupu…that's a bit of a problem!" Monobear rocked back and forth in his seat, grinning. "Have we got the perfect crime on our hands? That'd be stressful, wouldn't it?"
"That can't be, though," Hinata said. He waited for a second for Togami or Kuzuryuu to interrupt him, but it didn't happen. "Maybe if we look somewhere else…somewhere we haven't considered…"
"Okay, okay, I get the hint," Kuzuryuu interrupted. "Shut up for a second, will you?"
Togami turned his head sharply toward Kuzuryuu, and everyone else followed suit. Kuzuryuu folded his arms, and a grin spread slowly across his face. "Got a bit of a surprise for you guys," he said. "I know exactly who the killer is, not to mention why. But if I hear any of that shock and awe bullshit Komaeda got," he yelled over the wave of noise that was beginning to form, "I'm stopping and you're on your own. Got it? No reactions 'til I'm done."
"You're building yourself up a whole lot," Souda said.
"I have also observed this," Tanaka said. "How do we know you are worthy of our trust?"
"I said shut up!" Kuzuryuu shouted. "I think you'll find me very convincing. And I've got Togami to back me up. Don't I, Togami?"
He grinned mockingly at Togami, who did not turn to look at him. "We'll see about that," he said.
"Alright, enough waiting around." Kuzuryuu folded his arms and looked down at his trial stand. "So…wanna know a little something 'bout Peko? We're not exactly strangers. We've known each other since we were kids. Actually, that's puttin' it a little too lightly." He looked back up, his expression harder than Hinata thought it would be. "She was my hitman."
Several people stifled gasps, but just as many didn't bother to hide their reactions in the least. "Your hitman?" Koizumi called out. "That's absolutely ridiculous!"
"I'd shut your lying mouth if I were you," Kuzuryuu said. "Like I said, hitman. So when Togami and Owari wanted to see who could stuff the most food in their faces, who'd Peko choose to come guard the game with her? Me. And when I got there, I decided I'd go play the game. So I did. And you know what Peko did? Nothing."
No one called out this time, though most wore expressions of shock and disbelief. Koizumi still looked indignant, and Togami's head fell into his chest. Kuzuryuu ignored them all. "Now, you wanna know what was in that game?" he said. "I'd say it doesn't matter anymore, but that wouldn't technically be true. At first it didn't make any sense. It was just some dumb story about some girls finding a body and another girl ending up dead. But once I got past the dull start, things started coming together. Things like the names in the credits. Let me see if I remember right… Satou, Kuzuryuu, Kuzuryuu, Tsumiki, Mioda, Saionji, Koizumi." As he said each name, Tsumiki, Mioda, Saionji, and Koizumi looked at each other in confusion.
"And then there's these photos." Kuzuryuu put heavy emphasis on the last word, and Koizumi blanched unmistakably. He reached inside his bathrobe, and after some struggling a manila file folder fell out. He bent to pick it up, wincing in pain, and used his half-unwrapped hand to open the clasp on the envelope.
"K-Kuzuryuu-san," Tsumiki stammered, "you shouldn't be using your hands until they're fully healed…"
"And I don't wanna see 'em, either!" Souda said, looking away determinedly.
"I said shut up!" Kuzuryuu pulled four photos out of the envelope, and held up the first. "So Monobear gave me these 'cause I was the first to finish the game. Like this first one…one of the girls in the game took a photo like this. These girls look familiar to you?"
Hinata could hardly see the picture, but as Kuzuryuu held it up an enlarged image was displayed on the screens around the room. It was unmistakably a photo of Tsumiki, Saionji, and Mioda, all wearing vaguely similar school uniforms. "Ibuki doesn't remember that being taken at all!" Mioda called out before catching herself and covering her mouth with her hands.
"What part of shut up do you guys not understand?" Kuzuryuu folded his arms. "Of course you don't. It's from the memories we lost, at Hope's Peak. But that's all that one does. This one…" He held up a photo of a blonde girl, dead from a blow to the head. "This one is my sister."
In the corner of his eye, Hinata saw Koizumi do a double take, then cover her mouth with her hands. "Now, I'll go quick with this," Kuzuryuu went on. "But let's just say this next picture–" he held up a photo of a broken vase – "would've implicated Satou without a doubt. But it didn't. The photographer let her get away with it. Not that it made any difference for her." He held up a photo of a girl with her face hidden by her hair, also dead from a blow to the head.
Koizumi's eyes went very, very wide, and several people in the trial room looked at her with confusion or concern. "But back to me and Peko," Kuzuryuu continued, putting the photos back. "My sister's a key member of my family. And when someone hurts your family, you hurt 'em back. I don't need to say what we were sayin', but what I am sayin' is we're not the only ones that heard what we were sayin'."
"Wait a moment." Sonia's eyes went wide. "Kuzuryuu, what exactly are you admitting to…?"
"Now you may be thinkin', plottin' revenge isn't anything you want anyone to know." Kuzuryuu looked briefly at Sonia, then forward again. "Why would I ever admit to it? Well, I'll tell you this. It isn't about you. I still don't give a shit what you think of me or whether you live or die – unless you're Mahiru Koizumi and you're the piece of shit that killed Peko!"
Kuzuryuu pointed at Koizumi, and Hinata turned to look at her, along with everyone else. Her eyes had gone wide with shock, and she still covered her mouth with her hands. "I – I didn't do it," she said, her voice muffled. "I didn't know, I – what? – "
"You killed her!" Kuzuryuu's face contorted, his voice became a hoarse scream, and tears flew from his eyes. "You killed her like you killed my sister! And now you're lying about it again!"
The entire room broke out in whispers ("What's he talking about? Didn't he just say that Satou girl killed his sister?" "I can't even follow all this!" "What's going on? What's Koizumi-san got to do with anything?"), but Hinata kept his eyes on Koizumi first and foremost. Her expression was changing as well – her eyes were still wide and staring, but her expression had hardened.
"I'm not lying about anything!" she said. "All this stuff you're saying, I didn't know about it, I don't remember any of it, and in any case –"
"Liar!" Kuzuryuu shouted. "You heard us talking after you saw us at the game, then you killed her like a fucking coward –"
"Hey, don't talk to Big Sis Koizumi that way!" Saionji pulled herself up on her trial stand and leaned so far over Hinata was sure she was going to fall into the center. "If you don't stop I'll pour so much salt on your hands you'll shrivel like a slug!"
"Hiyoko-chan, that's not really necessary…" Koizumi shook her head, and put her hands at her sides. "Listen, Kuzuryuu, you know I didn't kill your sister! I didn't even know you had a sister! And I definitely didn't kill Peko-chan!" She gritted her teeth. "I don't care what she was to you, or what you were making her do – Peko-chan was still my friend!"
"Making her do?" Kuzuryuu laughed. "Are you serious?"
The screens above them flickered to life, and both Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama appeared on what looked like security camera footage. "You can't show anyone these photos," Pekoyama said. "In fact, I would recommend destroying them at the earliest opportunity. If anyone discovers them, or anything we've learned from them, it's likely they'll report directly to Togami. If Koizumi learns anything about her past, it should only be in the last moments of her life."
"I don't care about that." Kuzuryuu looked very distressed in the footage, at least as far as Hinata could tell from his wide eyes and pleading tone. "But if we kill her…"
"Why would you be hesitating? The people on this island are nothing more than the means for your escape, you've said it yourself. Mahiru Koizumi attempted to hide the slayer of a key member of the Kuzuryuu family from those that would need to exact revenge on her. She has taken that burden on herself. I don't need to tell you what this means."
The courtroom fell silent. Hinata felt his stomach twisting in a knot – he had never seen Pekoyama look so menacing. "I can't believe it," he heard Sonia say. "All this time, she was capable of saying such horrible things…?"
"No, she…" Koizumi held her hand to her chest. She appeared to be having a stronger emotional reaction to the footage than to the accusations. "Even if I had known, I wouldn't…I'd never…"
"You're wasting my time!" Kuzuryuu interrupted. "Everyone knows you did it! They've seen proof!"
"Proof?" Koizumi looked round the room, perhaps spot-checking to see if anyone actually believed Kuzuryuu. Most looked uneasy, but none but Kuzuryuu appeared truly angry. "That wasn't proof at all! If you'd just shut your mouth for once, I'd be able to tell you I do have an alibi!" She looked right past Hinata, over to Saionji. "Hiyoko-chan and I were having a sleepover. I was at her cottage the entire night!"
Hinata gasped, and several others followed suit. "That's right!" Saionji folded her arms in midair and grinned. "Big Sis Koizumi didn't even leave once!"
"And Ibuki can vouch for them too!" Mioda said. "They both came out of Hiyoko-chan's cottage when I came to get them!"
"See?" Koizumi turned back to Kuzuryuu. "I…don't really deny I did this thing I don't remember doing. But you're using a motive I didn't know about to accuse me of a murder there's no way I could've committed!"
There were palpable signs of relief on many faces – all except Kuzuryuu's. He shook and trembled with renewed anger. "No…she's…they're lying!" he shouted. "They must have conspired to kill Peko together!"
Hinata shot Kuzuryuu an incredulous look. "Where the fuck did you get that?" Saionji shouted from next to him.
"That's absolutely ridiculous!" Koizumi now looked well and truly angry. "Didn't Monobear say you can't work with someone else?!"
"Well, I did say that only one culprit would get to walk free," Monobear said, "But I'm not going to say you bastards are all completely rational…"
"Of course she isn't!" Kuzuryuu said. "She must've brainwashed Saionji, like Komaeda brainwashed Hanamura! And now she's protecting the guilty party!"
"What are you even talking about?" Koizumi's brow furrowed. "You can't make stupid accusations like that without proof!"
"I don't need any more proof," Kuzuryuu said. "I have all the proof I need. Why would anyone else want to kill Peko?"
"Could it be that the murder was done at random?" Nidai said. "It may not have had anything to do with this."
"I don't think we should consider that yet," Nanami said. "The Twilight Syndrome motive is the only lead we have, and it's a pretty strong one. If we abandon it as a motive, our investigation will fall apart. We need to examine everyone's relationship to it before we can discount it."
"You already have it!" Kuzuryuu shouted. "Koizumi conspired with Saionji and killed Peko! No – even worse – Saionji did it to protect her from what she deserves! There's no other way!"
"What?" Saionji waved her fists menacingly over the trial stand. "Did you burn your brain, too? That doesn't make any sense at all!"
"She's right. I don't even believe this anymore," Souda said. "Is there any way to reassure this guy?"
"I think there is." Hinata had a sudden flash of memory. "Kuzuryuu, you're saying that Koizumi being vouched for by Saionji isn't reliable enough evidence that she didn't commit the murder. But you're also saying that in order to commit the murder, she must've known about the motive. There was no way Koizumi could've been on the central island while you were playing the game, though. Togami saw her at the eating contest!"
Koizumi froze, and turned to face Togami. "You…did?" she said in a voice that was barely audible. "I did go in at one point to get dinner, but I saw something going on, so I left. I didn't even know there was an eating contest…"
Togami did not speak for an awkward moment. He had raised his head while Koizumi was speaking, and for the first time Hinata got a good look at his face – he looked shaken, but determined. "There was, and I can confirm I saw you," he said.
"So there you go," Hinata said. "I'm willing to say Koizumi's innocent."
"Of course she is." Togami turned to face Kuzuryuu, a fierce anger in his eyes. "Kuzuryuu, even taking your unfounded and nonsensical insistence on a conspirator into an account, there is no way Koizumi could have been at the central island park in time to see you. And we already know there is no way she could have committed the murder. Continuing to insist on her guilt will only hinder the trial."
"But –" Kuzuryuu was breathing very heavily, and shaking his exposed hand. "Saionji – what about –"
"Koizumi has vouched for Saionji," Togami said. "Considering this, if Saionji had truly killed Pekoyama to protect Koizumi as you claim, either she would have confessed or Koizumi would have revealed her. It is therefore impossible for her to be the culprit."
"But the photo – my sister –"
"You are referring to an event none of us remember and which is not the subject of this trial." Togami looked briefly at Koizumi, but did not say a word before straightening up again. "But this wasn't a complete waste of time. We have a motive. We must consider that someone else may have acted on it, for whatever reason."
"And not only that, but we have a timeframe." Hinata closed his eyes for a moment and skated through the twists and turns of his mind, assembling the pieces of the night into something he could use to help the investigation. "In order to have committed the murder according to the motive, someone would have to be unaccounted for between 6:15 and 7:00 PM, when the eating contest was taking place, or between 12:00 and 1:30 AM, when the murder was being committed."
"But what about the period we saw in the security footage, when Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama were talking?" Nidai said. "Isn't that also important?"
"I don't know about you, but if anyone ever makes noise in the cottages I can't hear it from the road," Owari said. "If you wanted to listen to anything you'd have to know what you were listening for."
"Ibuki agrees!" Mioda said. "Ibuki can hear anything but the noises in the cottages may as well not exist!"
"And few of the suspects would even pass Kuzuryuu-kun's cottage on the way back to their own…I think," Nanami said.
"That's enough evidence for me," Nidai said. "But we all say we were in our cottages after 10:30 PM, so that's not going to be a very useful time interval."
"Not all of us," Togami said. "Hinata and I were at the game. We can account for each other."
"And I know Owari-san, Tsumiki-san, Nidai-kun, Souda-kun, and Mioda-san were at the eating contest, along with Hinata-kun and Togami-kun," Nanami said. "They can account for me, and Togami-kun already accounted for Koizumi-san."
"That's a lot of you!" Monomi said, sounding joyful.
"And I can account for Saionji after 10:00 PM," Koizumi added. If her emphasis was directed at Kuzuryuu, he did not react to it, or to anything happening at all. He had assumed a position not unlike the one Togami had been in, with his head down and his arms folded.
"So that's ten of us with alibis now." Togami looked around. "That leaves…Tanaka, Sonia, and Kuzuryuu."
"Wait – what?!" Kuzuryuu's head jerked up. "Why am I still a suspect?"
"We still don't have proof of your whereabouts after 10:30 PM." An edge was entering Togami's voice. "For all we know, this could all be a very involved con."
Kuzuryuu's mouth fell open. "Are you shitting me right now?!"
"Togami-kun, I know where you're getting this," Nanami said, holding up her hand. "But I think I'm going to trust Kuzuryuu-kun. Without this information, we wouldn't have been able to eliminate seven people from suspicion. And we know he and Pekoyama-san were close." Nanami looked up at the screen, where Pekoyama's face was frozen. "I…really don't believe he intended to leave this island without her."
Togami looked over at Kuzuryuu, who was quite determinedly looking away from him. "There's no proof," he mumbled.
"There's no proof he did," Tsumiki said, trembling. "But there's also no proof he didn't…"
"There could be, but only if Tanaka and Sonia are accounted for," Hinata said. "I think we should put Kuzuryuu aside for now." Or forever, Hinata thought. He really didn't think Kuzuryuu had done it. He wasn't too familiar with emotional displays, but his grief over her death had seemed genuine. And from the looks on most everyone else's faces, it appeared they agreed with him.
"You're functioning exactly as I thought you would, Hinata," Togami said. "Now… that leaves Tanaka and Sonia. Neither of them can be accounted for during either time."
Everyone looked from one suspect to the other. They each had very different reactions to the news, Hinata noticed. Sonia's eyebrows lifted slightly, but otherwise her neutral expression did not change. Tanaka, on the other hand, had gone very pale, and his mouth hung open as if in shock. His arms were folded across his chest; the Four Dark Gods of Destruction peeked out between them.
"But…that means Tanaka did it, right?" Souda looked wildly from Sonia to Tanaka. Sweat beaded on his forehead. "'Cause t-there's no way Sonia-san would–"
"Souda, enough." Togami turned to face Tanaka. "Tanaka, where were you between 6:15 and 7:00 PM last evening?"
"Last evening…" Tanaka took a deep breath. "I was in my cottage, reading aloud to the Dark Gods, as is my custom. I remained at this task the entire evening, until they grew tired."
"That's…weirdly adorable," Koizumi said, her eyes wide.
"No, it's ridiculous!" Souda shouted. "Reading to a bunch of hamsters? What kind of an excuse is that?"
"You dare doubt the importance of the rituals of the Four Dark Gods?" Tanaka thundered. "Is it so different from your slavish devotion to your metal machines?"
"Yeah it is!" Souda yelled, "You're a delusional murderer, and I'm –"
"Souda-san, if you will, I need to offer my own alibi," Sonia interrupted.
"O-of course!" Souda gave Sonia a simpering look. "You can do it, Sonia-san!"
"Thank you," Sonia said. "I too was in my cottage the entire evening. I was also reading, if not to hamsters. I did leave at one point to eat, but this was shortly before the nighttime announcement. I met Nanami-san in the lobby. She can account for me."
"I can," Nanami said.
"Very well, but one of you is lying," Togami said. "Does anyone remember seeing either Tanaka or Sonia between 6:15 and 7:00 PM?"
"Ooooh! I do!" Monobear raised his hand. "But what does that mean? Hm, I don't know!" Several people rolled their eyes, but no one else spoke.
"Then we haven't made any progress," Nanami said. "We can't prove either of them innocent or guilty …"
"Does this mean we have to guess?" Mioda said.
No one answered, but not because they weren't sure. Hinata himself couldn't make the call. If no one could disprove either of their alibis, then guessing would come down to who they might think would be most likely to kill Pekoyama. And even if one of them really had... even if Hinata knew one of them had...
"Wait." Koizumi raised a shaking hand. "I have something that could eliminate Tanaka."
Tanaka's eyes went wide, and he began shaking even more violently. "S-speak, then," he said.
"Well, Hiyoko-chan and I were up all night," Koizumi said. "We saw the fire around the same time that Ibuki-chan came to get us…but that's beside the point. If anyone had come past Hiyoko-chan's cottage after 10:30, we would have seen them."
"But no one did," Saionji said. "And Big Sis Sonia's cottage is past mine..."
Hinata's heart was just about to fall into his stomach when Souda interrupted them. "That isn't proof!" he shouted. "You had your lights on! Tanaka could've gone around the other side to avoid you!"
"But…couldn't Sonia-san have done the same thing?" Tsumiki said.
"She didn't. She came through just before 10:30. Peko-chan came through shortly after she did –" Koizumi froze. "Kuzuryuu…what time did you meet with Peko-chan?"
Kuzuryuu looked up again, his eyes slowly widening. "We met at ten," he said. "And she left just before 10:30…"
"And Chiaki-chan," Koizumi said, turning to Nanami, "What time did Sonia-chan leave the restaurant?"
"She left just before ten," Nanami said.
This time, Hinata's heart really did fall. He looked over at Sonia, who didn't appear to have reacted to the discussion about her at all. Her hands were set neatly at the sides of her pajama bottoms, and her lips were halfway between neutrality and a smile. "Sonia…" he said. "Where –"
"That doesn't prove anything!" Souda shouted. "If Sonia-san had been there someone would've seen her! She wasn't there! She was reading in her room!"
There was an uncomfortable silence, which Tsumiki broke. "Like I said, she could have gone around the back, into the water…oh, that's just stupid, isn't it…"
"Tsumiki, I will be the judge of that." Togami's eyes narrowed. "If that were to be the case…her clothes would be wet, wouldn't they?" He turned around. "Monobear, is there any way to confirm whether the clothes Sonia wore during the day are wet?"
"Hey, if you want to snoop around in a girl's laundry that's your own prerogative!" Monobear shouted.
"You're one to talk!" Monomi yelled down from above.
"Oh? What's this you're accusing me of, little sister?" Monobear jumped up in his seat. "Are some of your panties missing?"
"Oy, shut up!" Togami slammed his fist on the trial stand. "This is necessary for the investigation. If you can produce the meat on a bone, you can –"
"Monobear's lack of cooperation won't be a problem, Togami-san. My clothes are wet, at least from the knees down." Sonia's smile faltered, and lowered her head slightly. "This ties me directly to the crime, and I don't mean to make a scene about it like Hanamura-san. So I confess. I killed Pekoyama-san. My methods were exactly as you said."
An eerie silence descended on the courtroom. Kuzuryuu's mouth fell open, and several others followed suit, including Hinata. Tanaka's shaking had quieted, but not entirely gone away, and he stared wide-eyed at Sonia, still hugging the Dark Gods to his chest. Everyone else was regaining the ability to speak little by little, and as they did the noise level built in stages.
"Sonia-san…" Souda's lip twitched, and his gaze shifted rapidly from left to right. "You don't…you don't have to defend Tanaka like that…"
"Such a calm confession…" Mioda tugged at her hair. "S-s-so scary…"
"Why…" was all that Hinata could say. "Why…why…?"
"Why?" Sonia folded her hands on her lap. "It's…a simple matter of economics, isn't it?"
"Economics…?" The determined expression Togami had held seconds earlier had melted. What remained was something like anger, but for the hollow look in his eyes. "What…what are you…"
"The foundation of economic theory is the manipulation of factors available to you in order to create the greatest profit," Sonia said. "That's…the basis of my killing of Pekoyama-san."
"Wait, so…" Owari's voice was far more subdued than usual. "You killed her for…money?"
"You've completely misunderstood, but it's not an uncommon mistake, Owari-san. Usually one's first thought of economics is of money."
Sonia looked up, her smile returning just a little, but Hinata couldn't look at her smile, not now. He couldn't comprehend it in the context of the Sonia he knew and this other Sonia who was speaking in her voice. But when he averted his eyes they fell on Komaeda's portrait, which stared back at him with a similar serenity. He had misremembered his appearance; his eyes were wider than he had thought, and the shape of his face much sharper.
"This doesn't make any sense," he said in Komaeda's direction. "You told me once…you said you had no intention of killing, or of being killed…"
"I did, didn't I? I'm sorry, Hinata-san…" Hinata turned back to face Sonia, whose deep-set look of concern was almost worse than her smile. "It may be hard for you to believe, but I wasn't lying, not at the time. I had no intention of killing anyone, especially not Pekoyama-san…not until I was given a reason I couldn't avoid."
"But what reason could you possibly have?" Nidai shouted, his voice full of heartbreak.
"No different than the one that was figured out," Sonia said. "I didn't intend to go to the central island at that time, but I had just finished the first volume of The Vicomte of Bragelonne and I simply had to intercept Togami-san and demand the next one! But by the time I had arrived…"
"Sonia-chan saw Fuyuhiko-chan and Peko-chan playing the game," Mioda said, forlorn.
"I did," Sonia said. "And when I saw that the two were in concert with each other I definitely did not mean to be discovered – but at the same time fleeing was not an option! So I hid in the trees until everyone from the eating contest had returned. I left following Kuzuryuu-san and Pekoyama-san, and I heard them making plans to meet just before ten. So I returned at that time and listened outside Kuzuryuu-san's cottage. Then, when Pekoyama-san spoke of leaving, I hurriedly made my way back as well, so that Pekoyama-san would not see me."
Sonia looked over at Kuzuryuu, who still stood motionless, his jaw slack. Her serene face hardened at the sight of him. "My first thought, when I saw them in the park, was that what I had witnessed was a great misunderstanding. I never wanted to believe that Pekoyama-san and Kuzuryuu-san had betrayed our trust! But I found I couldn't deny that at all… so instead I hoped that, after having seen the game, they would regret their actions and stand strong against this motive, just as they had against the motive of escape! At that time I was still determined to go to Togami-san with all this information, but as I knew of their later meeting I knew I couldn't do this unless I had the straight poop on the situation.
"But what I heard…was not what I had wanted to hear at all!" Sonia's head fell, and a choking tone entered her voice. "They had not resisted the motive, but were making plans to act on it out of revenge! I learned that and many other terrible things… among them that seeking Togami-san's help would not be a solution to the problem."
"Not a solution?" Togami's hands had found the ridges he had made in the previous trial; he dug further into them now. He was breathing slowly and heavily, with great determination, and his voice shook as he spoke. "And are you trying to tell me that murder was? Are you expecting me to accept that?"
"Togami-san…" Sonia fixed him with a surprisingly pitiful look. "I have nothing but the utmost respect and gratitude for your concern for us. But I don't think you understand the workings of murder motivated by revenge."
She looked over at Pekoyama's portrait. "When someone wishes for revenge they cannot be reasoned with. Their motive cannot be removed, and they will destroy any and all restraints put on them until the object of their revenge has been eliminated. You may reason with them all you wish, and even they may attempt to restrain themselves, but the desire for revenge cannot be extinguished, especially when it's a matter of honor."
Sonia turned to Koizumi, and Hinata could swear there were tears in her eyes. "And it was for that reason that I was quite troubled! I was so sure that you were doomed to die, Koizumi-san! Even if Kuzuryuu-san had decided against killing you, Pekoyama-san did seem determined in her efforts to convince him otherwise!"
Hinata looked at his neighbor to find her face frozen in horror, her eyes wide open and staring. She opened her mouth, but said nothing, so Sonia went on. "Again I considered telling Togami-san, but I came to the same conclusion as before. Pekoyama-san was a highly skilled killer, and fiercely loyal to the Kuzuryuu family. Even if any other deaths had been required to reach Koizumi-san I do not doubt Pekoyama-san could have carried them out… and it was in thinking of this that I hatched my plan, the one based on economics."
"No, you didn't," Souda interrupted. "Tanaka did…Tanaka killed Pekoyama..."
"Tanaka-san killed no one, Souda-san." Sonia fixed Souda with a far more restrained look than before, and then faced forward again. "I knew it was wrong. And I can't even imagine the pain I put Pekoyama-san through. But it would have been so much worse if I had done nothing. If I had, Koizumi-san would, sooner or later, have a one-hundred percent chance of dying, and either Kuzuryuu-san or Pekoyama-san would have a fifty percent chance of dying, pitted against the rest of us also having a fifty percent chance of dying.
"But if I were to intervene, and kill Pekoyama-san, Koizumi-san would gain a fifty percent chance of dying, and no one else's chance of survival would change. In essence, by killing Pekoyama-san, I gave Koizumi-san the chance to live. And Kuzuryuu-san, too. I don't believe he will go through with killing Koizumi-san without Pekoyama-san's influence."
"Shut up," Kuzuryuu muttered suddenly under his breath. "Shut up, just, shut up, shut up…"
Sonia lowered her head again. "Sometimes a leader must do something horrible in order to achieve something greater," she said. "I've read about this, many times over. But I'd hoped I'd never have to carry it out myself…"
"You didn't," Togami interrupted, his voice rising in volume. "You're feeding us logic built on nonsensical assumptions. How could you know that Pekoyama couldn't be stopped if you denied us the opportunity to try? How could you jump to such a ridiculous conclusion?"
"Togami-san…" A pitiful look returned to Sonia's face. "You are not a cruel man, no matter how you try to convince us that you are. But we both know this world is cruel, even if we wish it weren't. Believe me…I wish I could believe Pekoyama meant us no harm."
She raised her head. "From there events went largely as you had figured," she said. "I chose the method, crept past Saionji-san's cottage back to the supermarket, and obtained the items I needed. I then returned to my cottage, donned my wetsuit and a swim cap so that I would not be recognized in the dark, and did all you said."
Kuzuryuu ceased muttering, and lapsed back into shaking silence. Hinata couldn't help but notice the number of people struck the same way – Tanaka, Koizumi, even Saionji now, though she looked more surprised than horrified. Nidai, Owari, Tsumiki, and Mioda looked dumbfounded. Souda was still babbling softly to himself, Nanami was still the picture of calm, and Togami was still wide-eyed, still breathing heavily, still gripping the trial stand for dear life, and now looking as though he were barely restraining himself from calling out.
Hinata wasn't sure what they thought of his behavior, or if they could see the burden weighing on his mind. Had no one else seen the biggest issue of all? Or were they too caught up in the moment to bring it up? "Sonia," he said, "you're trying to tell us you killed Pekoyama to save Koizumi. But if that's really the case…wouldn't she have died if you hadn't been discovered? Why didn't you just confess when Togami asked you to?"
"I was…hoping you wouldn't ask that," Sonia said, her smile faltering. "I was unsure myself. Certainly I wanted to escape. I'm sure we all do. And if the world truly has been destroyed, as Monobear says…"
"It has!" Monobear interjected gleefully.
"Then there are concerns out there that I had to consider as well," Sonia went on. "My country, my people… but returning to them would mean killing all of you! It was another difficult decision, one which I could not live with myself with if I had chosen one over the other…so in this case, I did believe that inaction was best. I decided neither to help nor hinder the investigation. I left my fate up to you all…although, looking back, I don't think I really had any doubt you'd solve this." She smiled with renewed strength, the last thing Hinata had wanted to see.
"Okay, sure, but that doesn't change that you were totally okay with killing all of us!" Owari shouted. "Did the rest of our lives just not matter to you?"
The corner of Sonia's mouth twitched so quickly Hinata was unsure if he'd imagined it. "Owari-san…again, you fail to understand economics." She laid a shaking hand on her trial stand, and it was clear to Hinata that she had moved into position to press her own button. "That is all. There is no need to delay the vote any longer, Monobear."
"Yahoo! Correct again, you bastards! The student who killed Peko Pekoyama is…Sonia Nevermind!"
Monobear laughed and leapt in his seat, grinning at the silent circle of students. Hinata couldn't speak for anyone else, but he didn't see any reason to react very strongly to Monobear's words. The moment of shock had passed, and there was no continually screaming Hanamura to deal with. Sonia's serenity, which had not broken even after Monobear had said her name, seemed to have fallen on him and many of the others.
"But the vote wasn't unanimous this time!" Monobear chirped, interrupting Hinata's thoughts. "Not one, but two votes were given to the wrong student! That's dangerous and irresponsible, you know. You're lucky the majority saved you!" He sat down again, and leaned against the armrest. "Not only that, but both votes were for the same student! Souda-kun, are you really so convinced of Tanaka-kun's guilt? And Tanaka-kun, the dramatic device of voting for yourself is one-use only! Why are you boring me to tears?"
"Wait – what do you mean?" Sonia said, surprised. "Souda-san, I appreciate the gesture of goodwill, but you know as well as I do that's not correct! And Tanaka-san, why did you do such a thing? You know you've done nothing wrong!"
"No…" Souda did not look Sonia in the eye as he spoke. A shaking smile had spread across his face. "No, Sonia-san, it's okay, it's going to be okay…it's just a joke, it's just a mix-up, you'll see, he'll say it in a second, he'll say Tanaka did it…"
Souda looked over at Tanaka, but Tanaka did not pay him any mind. Instead he fixed Sonia with a hollow look, then turned his head to the side, away from her. The Four Dark Gods of Destruction disappeared inside his scarf, and he hugged his arms closer to his chest.
"Oooooohhh! This is almost better than the murder!" Monobear spun in his seat. "All this despair, from all corners of the room… what do you think, little sister? Should I execute her now, before anyone can start talking my ears off? Or let her live for a while so the despair can grow?"
"Y-you could start by not executing her at all!" Monomi's gaze darted back and forth between Monobear and Sonia, who, despite it all, was still looking at Tanaka with worry.
"But do you really want a murderer loose on this island? That's a rhetorical question, by the way. It's not happening." Monobear laughed. "Maybe there's something else you want instead? Like a punchline? Or a blackjack to the head?"
"W-what are they even talking about?" Tsumiki whimpered.
"Nothing. Foolishness. This is a complete waste of my time!" Togami straightened himself, his eyes flashing. "Sonia!"
Sonia started, then directed her gaze forward. "Togami-san," she said.
"You – this – how?" Togami paused, put a hand to his temple, and took a deep breath before continuing. "How can you be so calm?" he said, hardly sounding calm himself. "How can you insult us like this?"
"Insult...?" Sonia began to fidget. "Togami-san…I can't say I'm confused by your reaction, but wasn't Hanamura-san also willing to risk all of our deaths to achieve his goal? And you were about to sacrifice your life for Hanamura-san's, weren't you? Is your risk any different from mine?"
"You – that – Komaeda manipulated Hanamura into killing him!" Togami shouted, his face contorted with fury. "Did you think I wanted Hanamura to do that? Did you think I ever wanted that to happen again? You weren't manipulated. You killed Pekoyama by your own volition for fully selfish reasons. How dare you compare yourself to him!"
Togami gritted his teeth, and his whole body heaved with his jagged breaths. Hinata opened his mouth to say something, but Togami began again before he could. "I trusted you. I thought you, of all people, could be reasonable. I can't even comprehend you trying to justify your actions like this. You can't. You won't. You've done nothing but play into Monobear's hands!"
Several people looked surprised at Togami's outburst, but none looked inclined to disagree. Sonia's smile disappeared, and she did not speak for a time, but when she did her voice sounded hollow. "You're right," she said. "I can't justify myself the way I wanted to. There was really no way to do that at all. But you've already caught me, and the vote's been cast."
Sonia looked over in Hinata's direction, and Hinata started before he realized she was looking at Koizumi. "Koizumi-san…no matter what may have happened in the past, I do believe you're a very strong and responsible person. If you will…please remember the sacrifices I've made for you, and use your life to its fullest potential. I have strong faith in the great things you can do."
Sonia attempted to smile, but did not do so as strongly as she had before. Hinata wondered whether this was a reaction to how Koizumi was looking at her – her face was blue with shock, and she tore at her hair with both hands. "Stop…" she said. "Stop using my name…I didn't ask for this…I never wanted this to happen!"
"Upupupu! You might say that, but would you really rather be dead?" Monobear said.
"Uwaa! That's unnecessarily cwuel!" Monomi said. "Everything is, of course, but this especially is just…just…"
Monomi did not finish her sentence – she whimpered into her hands instead. Koizumi shuddered and hunched over her trial stand, tears falling onto the wooden rail. Sonia looked down, her smile now faded completely. "I know. I'm sorry," she said. "But what's done is done…"
"Yeah, and you know what you did? You made Big Sis Koizumi cry!" Saionji slammed her fists on the trial stand. "You're just as rotten as you look, you dirty foreigner!"
"Saionji-san…" Sonia looked around the room, from face to face, but Hinata found no sympathy on any one. Nidai was looking at the ground, Souda was still shaking and making eye contact with no one, Mioda looked apologetic but unsympathetic, and Hinata hoped his scorn and betrayal showed clearly enough.
Eventually, to Hinata's surprise, she came to rest her eye on Kuzuryuu, who had, Hinata now realized, been looking over at her the entire time. "You've been quiet," Sonia said, an odd tone in her voice. "You were so angry at Koizumi-san. Do you not have the energy to be angry at me?"
Kuzuryuu blinked, then looked over at Pekoyama's portrait. It hardly showed any of her face, and almost none of her hair. "You knew." His voice sounded oddly dry and hoarse. "You knew I'd suspect her."
Sonia looked to the side. "I said I'd neither help nor hinder."
Kuzuryuu sniffed loudly, and it was only then that Hinata noticed the redness around his eyes and the tearstains on his cheeks. "She'd kill you. She'd kill you in a heartbeat…I'd kill you myself…I don't care…"
His bandaged hands shook; without warning, he banged them both on the trial stand, howling in unrestrained pain as he did so, then banged them again, and then again, crying louder and louder each time. He was the only one making any sound – no one else was able to speak. Sonia only watched for a moment before she looked down at her stand.
"Woooow, really?" Monobear shouted. "Nothing else? I thought I could milk a good amount of despair from you bastards! Whatever. I'm getting tired and I kind of want to get this over with."
"But we can't," Monomi said. "Not again, not like this…"
"Actually, Monomi, I think I understand how Monobear feels." Sonia walked several steps away from her trial stand, towards Monobear and Monomi, and then turned back, giving a small bow. Her face looked oddly blank, as if she had purged herself of all emotion. "Goodbye, everyone. I really can't stay any longer. I…wish you the best of luck in your efforts to escape."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Hinata yelled, but to what end not even he would ever know. His words were drowned out by Monobear's gleeful announcement of Sonia's punishment, and Sonia turned her back on them for the last time, standing still in the face of the large metal chain rising from the doorway to meet her.
As the curtain rises, observe our culprit. See the ropes binding her to the stick – they are merely an aid in playing her part, for she has been negligent and has not read our script. Our other players are preparing, not tied to the sticks but piloting them as a means to tell our tale, but witness her in the meantime, for your entertainment. How serene her face. How blank her eyes. How ambiguous the curve of her lips.
But that is enough. Now they are ready to begin, and our play shall be entitled:
Love Like Salt
Witness the Queen – no, not the culprit, not at the moment, but the Queen, bedecked in her finest robes and jewels, a wise and clever ruler whose judgment is never doubted. A banquet has been laid, and her three daughters have come before her with answers to a question she has previously posed – "What is it that you love your mother more than?"
Her eldest daughters are wise – one loves her more than gold and diamonds, the next more than these original copies of the entire Nirvana discography – what a treasure, what a compliment! But the youngest, the Princess Monobear – how dare she bring her mother something so worthless as salt? We move her finger forward, we banish the princess –
Oh, but would that it were so easy. Of course the Princess Monobear had been expecting such a response, and what better chance to prove the worth of salt than this? This play is set before the invention of modern refrigeration – and now don't you smell the rotting meat lain before you, and perceive the value of her gift as a preservative?
But that simply won't be enough to teach her mother the proper lesson. So the Princess Monobear had an alternative prepared, and lo it has arrived with a splintering of wood. Big, Bad Wolf meat, fresh from the wrong fairytale, so fresh it's still alive.
Ulp! goes the sister with her gold and diamonds, less worthy than her mother but more worthy than their bearer, and Ulp! goes the second princess and her discography – All Apologies, my sister, but you were just Something In The Way. And now the Wolf rounds on the Queen, his teeth thick with slaver, and he runs but the chain around his neck holds him back, though only for a moment as the bolt in the opposite wall grows ever weaker.
How serene her face. How blank her eyes. How ambiguous the curve of her lips. We have not bound her head, and yet she does not shrink from death, she gives it who knows what regard, but the chain does not break as fast as she'd expected –
But her concentration is broken, along with our fourth wall. Her gaze slides away, the audience fills her eyes, and now that she has seen them there is no going back. She looks, she searches desperately, but where is it? Wasn't it supposed to be there, if it was there for Hanamura-san? It could very well be the last thing she sees, someone must have it, the vision most valuable for her right now, the assurance, the justification she craves in order to be able to look back, why oh why did she ever look away –
Togami-san. Togami-san, what are you thinking? Why are you looking at me that way? Hinata-san, too? And Souda-san, and Tanaka-san, and Koizumi-san, even… One after another after another, they allow her none of what she needs…
She cannot look back, and the moment has passed. The chain breaks, the wolf pounces, and Sonia Nevermind dies screaming
Hinata didn't remember very much of what happened after that. Maybe it was the exhaustion, given he hadn't slept for more than twenty-four hours, or maybe it was – no, he couldn't pinpoint one thing that might have affected him over another. It was all too much to sort out, not before he could sleep, or find the strength to berate himself for wanting sleep so badly.
He remembered rage and pain, his and everyone else's. He remembered Monobear saying something and Monomi saying something. He remembered Tsumiki's tears, Kuzuryuu's laughter that hardly felt like laughter at all, Koizumi and Tanaka's silence, and his own hollow sense of betrayal, not to mention his wonder at whether there were yet more potential betrayers he would soon encounter.
He remembered Togami, stuck staring at the place where Sonia had died while everyone else spoke and fretted and feared. He remembered him turning and heading for the elevator before anyone else. He remembered loud stomps, much louder than usual. Mioda had followed after him, had tried to reach his shoulder, but he had walked too far ahead of her for her to catch up before they disappeared into the elevator. By the time Hinata entered some moments later they were standing next to each other, neither touching nor speaking.
It was six-thirty in the morning when the elevator doors opened to bright sunshine. He had been aware of Souda slumped against the door on the way up, but it wasn't until they'd reached the surface again and he fell to the ground that anyone knew he'd fainted. Nidai knelt to catch him, and Owari ran to get some water. She was the first to leave the island; Kuzuryuu left not long after, stomping away with his hands over his eyes, and Tsumiki followed him, trying to catch his trailing bandages. Tanaka followed them, pulling his scarf up over his face and not speaking with anyone.
Then Hinata left with Nanami, just behind Togami and Mioda. Koizumi and Saionji did not follow for quite some time, and when they did Hinata looked back to see Saionji leading Koizumi by the hand. Mioda took occasional looks at Togami, and once tried to reach up and pat him on the shoulder, but he did nothing but assure her that he was alright, though in Hinata's eyes he looked anything but.
They entered the hotel area. Pekoyama's body was gone from the boardwalk, but the ruin of her cottage remained. Before they parted, Hinata asked Nanami if she was okay. Mioda followed suit. Nanami said she was fine. Togami bid them goodbye, headed to his cottage, and shut the door.
Hinata entered his own cottage, pulled off his shirt and pants, and fell into his bed, but after ten minutes he got back up, put his clothes back on, and left again. He wandered the hotel grounds for a time, looking to see if anyone had stayed outside, but he found no one. Briefly, as he stood by the pool, he considered knocking on Togami's door, checking to see if he really was alright, but he felt he already knew the answer to that question, not to mention whether Togami would be willing to answer it himself. In any case, he thought, it was a stupid idea. If he got some sleep he wouldn't have it anymore.
He returned, pulled his clothes off again, and climbed into bed. No sooner had he shut his eyes than the screen next to his bed lit up, playing Monobear's morning announcement. He pulled his pillow over his ears until it ended, then slammed himself back down, screwing his eyes shut. He did eventually sleep, but with far more difficulty than before.
komaeda theater
"Do you see it, Sonia-san? Do you see the wild, maddening hope flowing from your every deed? And you, Pekoyama-san! With every move you've used your talent to the fullest! I don't know how I could be more proud! Your goals, your mission, the changes you've wrought…I'm sure now this will unite them more than ever. It's changed them, that's for sure! It's shown them an entirely new definition of hope! I just hope, if I can use that word, that they can comprehend it, like you did. I hope you've taken them that far. I hope, even, that you've been an inspiration to them for the future.
"I welcome you even though no one is coming, even though the only memory of your existence lies in the minds of those that witnessed your deeds. But in that memory there is hope, and that hope comes to me wherever it lies. I may not be Super High School Level Hope. But I don't have to have a talent to covet it with every fiber of my being."
13 DAYS LEFT
And that's a wrap for Chapter 2. Up next, Titty Typhoon! And also everything else that happens in Chapter 3.
- Carth
