The trial room looked surprisingly professional, though that wasn't Makoto's focus.
Monokuma explained the rules, giggling all the while. "If you can all successfully guess whodunnit, only the blackened will be punished. But if anyone other than the blackened is chosen, everyone else will be punished, and the blackened will graduate from the game!"
Immediately, Yasuhiro cried out, "Ogre did it! She's the only one who could have!"
"Sakura has a solid alibi backed up by Asahina," Kyoko snarked.
"Is it not possible that Asahina aided and abetted Sakura?" Celeste asked. "Perhaps they decided to take justice in their own hands?"
"We know Sakura knocked on Mondo's door to wake him up, they both confirmed as much," Makoto replied, "If they were plotting murder, why risk Mondo waking up and catching them?"
"W-why would anyone agree to be an accomplice anyway?" Hifumi asked. "Do they count as a blackened too?"
"Nope!" Monokuma cackled. "It only counts if you're the one doing the dirty deed yourself!" He grinned. "That means murder by the way. All you horny teens get your heads out of the gutter!"
"So there's no benefit to working together on a murder. Though I suppose we can't rule it out if someone finds a weak-willed sucker." Byakuya reasoned.
"Then perhaps we should focus in on who disposed of the kn-knife used to kill Sayaka and Leon?" Chihiro suggested.
"O-o-obviously we sh-should," Toko scoffed. "You-you moron."
Chihiro looked like she was about to be driven to tears.
"Actually," Makoto interjected. "Upon examining the body, Kyoko found evidence that the knife couldn't have been used to commit the murder."
"Gross!" Aoi cried. "You actually got that close to the body! You better wash up, Naegi."
Why is she zeroing in on me for that? Makoto cringed.
"He's correct," Kyoko replied. "The knife wound would have been too long and flat to match the wound found on the neck of Sayaka. It was a puncture wound in and out."
"Th-then wh-why would someone m-m-move the knife?" Toko scowled, pulling at her hair.
"To divert our attention," Byakuya rolled his eyes. "Obviously."
Toko's face flushed. Apparently the insult was the greatest thing to ever happen to her.
"Then can we perhaps consider the sewing needles were what made the puncture?" Sakura suggested.
"No, I don't think we can do that either," Kyoko replied, shaking her head. "The sizes of the wounds don't match up."
There was a pause amongst the trial, until Mukuro spoke up. Her voice was closer to her normal voice, not the rehearsed Junko persona she hid behind. But it was hesitant and unsure. She had never anticipated to make it to a class trial. "I might have found something."
Everyone turned to see Mukuro produce the shears she had found from the school store. "These had been rather hastily cleaned and shoved back on the shelves of the school store. There's still some traces of dried blood on them, if you look."
"Hey hey!" Monokuma growled. "The Monokuma merchandise is all new, never used! No refunds, no exchanges."
Kyoko stepped over to Mukuro to examine the shears, but the two made eye contact. Immediately, the soldier could sense something different about the way the detective was looking at her. For a minute, Mukuro believed the silver-haired girl could see right through her. And perhaps she could; her talent was why her memory-wipe was just a tad stronger than everyone else's.
But there were more important matters at hand. Kyoko examined the scissors and compared the diagram she had drawn. "This matches. This could very well be the murder weapon."
"Tch," Byakuya scoffed. "Scissors to commit a murder? Why?"
"Doesn't make any fucking sense, a knife was right there." Mondo agreed.
Makoto and Mukuro made eye contact from across the trial room.
They knew exactly liked to use scissors to commit murder.
"Hey Toko," Mukuro called.
"W-w-what do you want, you whore?" Toko stuttered out.
Quickly, Mukuro bit her thumb hard enough to draw a trickle of blood, and showed it to Toko. The shorter girl collapsed, causing everyone in the courtroom to gasp.
"What the hell was that about!" Yasuhiro cried, "did she just freaking die too?!"
"Junko, explain yourself!" Sakura scowled.
"PLEASE, SELF-HARM IS NOT THE ANSWER!" Kioyataka shouted.
Before any more exclamation could be made, a cackling laughter echoed in the room.
"OH MY GOD I THOUGHT THAT STUFFY LOSER WOULD NEVER LET ME OUT!"
Genocide Jack jumped up from the floor. "I GET A FIVE MINUTE RUN AND THEN I GET STUFFED AWAY AGAIN AFTER TWO YEARS! UGH!" She turned to Makoto. "BIG MAC! HOW THE HELL ARE YA?"
"What... what is this?" Kyoko asked, bewildered. This was the first time since the memory wipe she ever sounded genuinely floored by something.
"WHATTAYA MEAN?!" Jack cackled. "CORPSEY CALLED FOR ME, DIDN'T YOU?!"
Mukuro almost flinched - she had really hated that nickname.
Makoto wasted no time questioning the killer. "You recognize these scissors, Jack?"
"YEAH, I USED THOSE TO KILL THE TEENYBOPPER LAST NIGHT!"
A silence fell over the courtroom. No one would have expected Toko to grow a second personality, let alone confess to the murder.
"Wait a minute," Byakuya asked. "First of all, who the hell are you supposed to be?"
To everyone surprise, Toko wailed sadly. "WAAAAAAH! MASTER! YOU CAN'T SIT HERE AND TELL ME YOU ACTUALLY FORGOT ABOUT ME?!"
"Um... why is Ms. Fukawa referring to Mr. Togami that way," Hifumi mumbled.
"EW!" Jack laughed, already over the crying fit. "DON'T CONFUSE ME WITH THAT LAME BUNDLE OF SELF-LOATHING AND SEXUAL TENSION! I'M GENOCIDE JACK! YOU ALL KNOW THAT!"
Yasuhiro, Chihiro, Hifumi, and Kiyotaka all screamed. Even Celeste was aghast, her poker face falling momentarily.
"Wait, like the fucking serial killer?" Mondo asked. "What the fuck is she doing at the school?!"
"I GO HERE, LIKE ALL OF YOU!" She cackled. "DID YOU ALL TAKE SOME OF THAT HIPPIE'S STUPID PILLS THIS MORNING?"
"I've... I've read all about the cases of Genocide Jack!" Byakuya scowled, still reeling from being called Master, "The killer known as Genocide Jack only kills boys! And she crucifies them and writes a secret phrase at every scene, and it's not released in any official reports-"
"WHAT, BLOODLUST?" Jack cackled again. "I DIDN'T HAVE TIME!"
Byakuya was floored again. "...yes. Yes, that's the phrase. And... I guess it does match up..."
"Match up to what?" Makoto asked. He had been floored since Genocide Jack's reappearance. The killer had not reared her head in the entire year they had spent captive at Hope's Peak. Further, he hadn't expected her to have killed Sayaka. Toko had it under such good control over the last few years.
"Well, I checked all the sewing kits in the girl's rooms," Byakuya replied. "Only Toko's was opened."
"That is crucial evidence, why wouldn't you start with that?" Kyoko asked, a hint of annoyance coming through.
"And make this whole event boring?" He sneered back.
"But... but why would you kill Sayaka?" Makoto asked, pleadingly. "She wasn't a guy! You didn't use your MO? You only kill guys, AND you hang them up vertically with the scissors!"
Jack turned serious. "I know. I hated every second of it. But when Toko saw the Punky McBaseball's blood ALL OVER Big Mac's bathroom, I just wanted to come...BURSTING OUT! And then... Andthenandthenandthenandthen! The BITCH had the audacity to get called a murderous harlot by my master!"
It took everyone a second to piece together that Byakuya had, in fact, called Sayaka a murderous harlot.
"...and you killed her..." Mukuro reasoned, slowly, "because she got insulted?"
"I AM MASTER'S MURDEROUS HARLOT YOU STUPID WHORE!" Genocide Jack screamed.
It felt weird for Mukuro to be called that by someone who wasn't Junko. Why did I even like it when Junko did it?
"SO WHEN THE COAST WAS CLEAR, I WAITED FOR THAT STUPID OGRE TO LEAVE BIG MAC'S ROOM UNATTENDED! WHEN BOOBS MCKENZIE ASKED FOR OGRE, I MADE A BREAK FOR IT! I GOT THE NEEDLES AND THE SCISSORS AND GOT TO WORK! I WAS WORRIED THE BIKER WITH THE POMPADOUR WOULD CATCH ME, SO I HAD TO BE QUICK. IF I HAD TIME, I WOULD HAVE CRUCIFIED HER UP! EVEN WITHOUT MY SPECIAL SCISSORS!"
"Th-then why mess with the knife?" Kiyotaka asked.
Jack's tone turned deadly serious. "I heard all about the investigation when I came out. That other me kept me in the dark about this stupid killing game. BUT I HAD TO STAY ALIVE FOR MASTER! SO I THOUGHT I'D THROW YOU OFF THE TRAIL! I DIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULD GO LOOK FOR A STUPID PAIR OF SCISSORS, BUT GUESS I WAS WRONG!"
Monokuma stood up, interrupting the matter. "Well, who woulda guessed the first murder would be a hidden serial killer. I assume you're all ready to vote for the culprit?"
No one said anything as the vote was cast. Even Genocide Jack voted for herself, cackling all along.
Confetti and balloons fell from the ceiling as a screen behind Jack announced her as the guilty party. She and Monokuma cheered like she had just won some sort of sporting event.
Then, without any sort of sequitur, Monokuma threw a chained collar around Toko's neck and led her off to be executed. The remaining students watched in horror as she was executed in front of their eyes.
Hung up with a rope by her wrists, with a weight tied to her feet, first some pepper was sprinkled on her nose, making her sneeze. She reverted back to Toko, and began panicking, not realizing how she got there.
Makoto watched helplessly as scissors were shot from the wall, cutting and snipping her clothes away until she was naked. A Monokuma waddled up to her on a ladder with another pair of scissors and got eye level with her. The students expected that Monokuma would stab her.
However...
Monokuma cut the wrist rope holding up Toko. As he did, a panel opened in the floor, dropping Toko in a tank of water. The students watched, in horror, as Toko slowly drowned.
"She..." Makoto muttered, swallowing. "She hated water."
"GAHAHAHAHA!" Monokuma chuckled when it was all over. "Gah, what a fitting execution! She stunk to high heaven!" The robotic headmaster turned to the shocked students. "Jeez, you guys look like you just saw a ghost. I guess I should say congratulations."
"C...congratulations?" Asahina echoed, weakly.
"Aw thanks," Monokuma answered, cackling again. "You guys passed the first trial. I bet you're tired! So you're all dismissed to go back to your happy, healthy school life!" He waved, jovially. "Sweeeeeeeet dreams!"
Monokuma disappeared after bidding them goodnight, but no one else moved a muscle. The heavy tension laying over the air was thick, and no one dared leave, lest the bubble bursting brought the whole building down onto all of them.
Guilt began to claw its way up Makoto's chest. He had seen Toko trying to contain Genocide Jack last night, but was so wrapped up in what was happening to Sayaka he didn't even processed the idea. Jack and Toko had always been so obsessed with Byakuya that they had sworn off murder altogether. It had not registered that Byakuya insulting another girl might set off Jack.
He felt like he was barely breathing, and finally, defeatedly, wanted to retreat to his bed. Monokuma had promised that all traces of the murders would be removed after the trial during his initial explanation, and Makoto was hoping this was true; he needed to collapse. It had all been too much.
"Wait."
Byakuya's voice was malicious and biting, making Makoto turn.
"How did you two know that Fukawa was actually Genocide Jack?" Byakuya's vein was popping in his head. "I was determined to solve that case myself. But you," he pointed to Mukuro, "knew how to change her, and you," he pointed to Makoto, "weren't even surprised by the change."
"THAT'S your main concern with what happened?" Yasuhiro asked.
"He's not wrong," Celeste said, tenting her fingers under her chin. "It's clear you two know more than you are letting on in this situation."
"Maybe those two are the mastermind's," Hifumi pondered, adjusting his glasses while sweating nervously.
"We all have questions," Kyoko interjected. "But now's not the time to get tempers flared up."
"Indeed... we should let ourselves rest." Sakura added.
While Makoto and Mukuro were both internally grateful for the assist, it was still clear a distrust had been planted among the group. Makoto could feel the eyes of his classmates on his back, and they stayed firmly there until he stepped out of the elevator and was able to escape to his dorm room.
To his surprise, Monokuma was true to his word. All traces of blood had vanished and were thoroughly cleaned. And to his annoyance, Monokuma appeared in his room to brag about it.
"PUHUHU!" The headmaster giggled as he jumped out of a wall panel. Makoto yelled, jumped, and fell on his ass in that order. "Pretty cool, right? It's like a whole new room! I even threw out that old bed and gave you a new one."
"O-oh," Makoto replied, standing up. "Yeah... can't even tell..."
"Jeez, that's all the reaction I get out of you?" Monokuma scoffed. "Guess I shouldn't be shocked. What's to stop you from going and staying with Mukuro?"
Makoto's eyes widened a bit. By calling her sister by her name, Junko was dropping the pretenses. He figured he might as well, too. "Why are you doing this, Junko?"
"How did I know that'd be your question?" Monokuma replied, although this time it was not the modified bear voice. It was Junko's, "You're so disappointing, Makoto."
"Me?" He asked in disbelief.
"You couldn't even get your memories erased properly!" Junko laughed. "And even with your memories and figuring out it was me, you still couldn't stop me! Couldn't stop any killing!"
"You got in my way!" He retorted, angrily.
"Excuses excuses," she chuckled. "It's too late now."
"No, that's wrong!" He spat. "No more. I'm stopping you! We're all getting out of here, together."
"Oh is that right?" Junko replied in a bored tone
"YES!" He screamed, startling himself by yelling. "I'M SAVING EVERYONE FROM HERE ON OUT! I WILL STOP YOU JUNKO! I'LL STOP THE WHOLE TRAGEDY! I'LL TAKE APART EVERYTHING YOU'VE BUILT!" He grabbed and pulled at his hair in frustration. "NOW GET OUT!"
To his frustration, the Monokuma doll only giggled, raising it's little paws over its face. "Puhuhu. Sure thing. Let's see how long you can keep that determined look in your eyes."
The headmaster vanished, and Makoto collapsed on his bed.
He'd deal with it in the morning.