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She wanted to ask if Maizono carried a grudge against her for proving her guilt, but her mouth wouldn’t form the words. Though it seemed the other girl understood, as she felt a gentle squeeze on her arm as response.
"I believe you’re innocent, Kirigiri-san. If- if you’d forgive me, I know we could prove it together."
A few seconds passed. Something was inside her head, scratching like a wild animal to get out.
Dying would be easy.
Quitting would be the easy way out. She could lay back down and likely be found guilty. But no. No, that would let the others down if she wasn’t the killer. It would let Maizono down. If Kirigiri was all the idol had left, she couldn’t allow that.
She held out her hand.
A genuine smile flashed on Maizono’s face as she pressed their palms together and helped Kirigiri to her feet. For the moment, they were okay. Kirigiri hated herself for still holding her at arm’s length, but trust was something she learned, and a voice in her head kept screaming it was some kind of trap.
Maizono’s mask was back in place, if only as glue to keep herself from breaking again. It remained undisturbed as they began their investigation.
No blood had pooled around Ishimaru, though his chest was coated. It had been an expert stab to the heart.
Kirigiri had a faint recollection of moving the body- no, of moving some body. She never touched Ishimaru. There was hope.
DING DONG!
"Eh… Attention, attention! Have you punks missed me? I’ve got a lil gift for you now that someone’s dead! You might recall that the cafeteria was open, but, despair! It had no food! Well, now it’s fully stocked!"
She could practically hear the glint in his eye and waited. There was always a catch.
"But… there’s no extra time for eatin’, you bastards! Either you can stuff your faces and let your classmate die for nothin’, or you can keep going and face the trial hungry! Upupu… your choice!"
His voice vanished as abruptly as it appeared.
"So he’s forcing us to choose between the investigation and food, after days of having starved us."
"Th-that’s not fair!"
"I imagine that’s what Nae-" she bit her lip as soon as the name almost slipped, "the mastermind wants. To see how pathetic humans are. To see if we will abandon our friend for food."
Now she goes, Kirigiri thought. If she doesn’t care, she’ll go for the food. Anyone would.
Maizono clenched her fists. “I’m staying with you, Kirigiri-san!”
"Then we continue," she said. "Ishimaru-kun appears to have bled extensively, but there is no blood on the floor. It’s likely this was not the scene of the murder."
"Oh. If- if he was moved, would there be a trail, or… a pool of blood somewhere else?" Maizono said. She strained to get the words out. ‘Not caring’ wasn’t an option anymore; it looked more like the idol was trying not to fall unconscious. She was trying hard, but Kirigiri didn’t know why.
"It’s certainly possible. Let’s take a look."
Kirigiri wobbled with each step. Her legs had gone numb and her aching body was reminding her that some time spent unconscious was not ‘sleep’. It was catching up with her. Every time she saw a flicker of a shadow on the wall that didn’t seem to belong, she let her eyes flutter shut and followed her instincts.
She had yet to figure out why blood was familiar. But there it was, outside the library’s doors. There was a thick scrape in the door as well, glinting with crimson.
"You must be wondering why this is so familiar," Maizono said.
"How would you know that?"
"I’m an Esper."
Kirigiri looked at her blankly.
"Kidding. I just have good intuition."
Her weak giggle came as a small bit of comfort, though not enough to ease the possibility she was investigating her own crime.
No. She took that back. Anything was possible; her doing this in a temporary lapse of sanity was probable. She remembered the death. The corpse’s relocation. The scream…
… And the knife in her hand…
"Kirigiri-san?"
Maizono placed a hand on her shoulder. She winced and brushed it off. “I’m fine.”
"If… if you say so."
She had done it. She had played into Naegi’s trap. She had played his game, whittled herself down to a monster that would kill a friend.
Yet even now, she couldn’t bring herself to fully hate him.
—-
"Kyouko Kirigiri must be the culprit."
The courtroom’s doors had opened, and the debate had began. All eyes were on her.
"We found her near Ishimaru-kun and she had the knife in her hand!"
"It’s obvious that she killed him, ‘right? I mean, there’s no one else it could be!"
"The Monobear File says the time of death is ‘between 9 and 10’. Who else would be out then?"
"I already told you simpletons. Kirigiri came at him with a knife and stabbed him. He retaliated and struck her over the head before he died."
"You… you’re wrong!" Maizono slammed her hands on the podium. "The Monobear file says Ishimaru-kun died instantly! There has to be someone besides Kirigiri-san that hit her!”
"D-does that mean it isn’t her after all?"
"I don’t know if we can trust her w-"
"Shut up," growled Togami, "Then we simply misunderstand the order of events. The culprit attacked and Ishimaru retaliated before he was stabbed."
"But we don’t know what he hit her with," Asahina said. "We never found anything like that."
“None of you looked at all! You all wouldn’t even be accusing Kirigiri-san if you didn’t stuff your faces in the cafeteria!” Maizono leaned forward, as if the presence of others was the only thing keeping her from jumping Asahina.
"This class trial has no room for screeching would-be murderers," Togami said, as if Maizono was an afterthought. "There is little reason to search when we already know who killed him."
"Y-yeah! And we went without food for almost three whole days!" Asahina leaned forward, eyes trained on the ‘would-be murderer’.
Kirigiri caught Monobear delighting in the situation.
"Were I hypothetically coming toward Ishimaru-kun with a weapon and he were to retaliate, wouldn’t he strike me on the front of my head rather than the back?" Kirigiri interjected, still feeling a tinge of pain at the base of her skull. "Assuming he died instantly, he couldn’t have waited for me to have turned around."
"This depends on the weapon the victim defended himself with."
"Ishimaru-kun was watching Maizono-san’s room after she admitted to her attempted murder…"
She caught Maizono’s wince as well; it was a relief knowing that therewas at least some guilt there. The others kept talking.
"… so did he have a weapon on him in case she left to kill someone?"
"I don’t believe he did…"

"But if he was supposed to be watching over her room, what was he doing upstairs?"
"Maybe Kirigiri-san led him away to help Maizono-san?"
Maizono growled. “She didn’t-!”
"She has no alibi," Togami said. "Why else would Ishimaru be near the changing rooms at such a time? He was led there by the culprit."
"You’re wrong,” Kirigiri said. “There was a pool of blood outside the library doors, but none around the changing rooms. It’s likely the victim was moved after his death."
"But… why?"
"We don’t need to know why!" Maizono said. "If Ishimaru-kun was moved after his death, Kirigiri-san couldn’t have moved him! She was unconscious!"
"And if she wasn’t unconscious by that point, after his death… Someone else had to knock her out. This explains the wound on the back of her head.”
"So there-"
"Yes! There was a third party involved!"
"H-hold on!" Fukawa raised a trembling finger at Maizono. "Th-this tubster has no alibi either if her room wasn’t guarded! Who’s to say she’s not the ‘third party’?!"
"You likely don’t have an alibi either, Fukawa-san, considering how late it was," Maizono said.
But it is possible, Kirigiri thought. She hoped it wasn’t. If she had placed her trust in the wrong place this time, could she ever trust someone else?
"Essentially, any of us could be this ‘third person’," someone else said.
"Feh. If I wanted to off Kirigiri, it wouldn’t have been done in such a poor manner." Togami scowled. "Incidentally, the presence of a third person on the scene doesn’t clear her of all suspicion. For all we know, they tried to stop Kirigiri from committing the crime and failed."
"Aren’t we all forgetting the most important thing about a third person?" asked Celes.
"What?"
"If Kirigiri-san and the third person both saw Ishimaru-kun’s corpse, the body discovery announcement would have gone off, correct?"
"The Monobear File does say that Ishimaru-kun died the night before, but we discovered him this morning…"
"Then it’s possible that the culprit moved the corpse from the library doorsbefore rendering me unconscious there," Kirigiri said, her fingers on her chin. "Unfortunately, I’ve mostly lost my memory of the incident because of head trauma."
"A likely story! Maybe nobody hit her but she just fell and hit her head or somethin’, ‘right?!"
"You’ve got that wrong!"
Togami’s frown deepened even further. "What now, Maizono?"
She countered with her own frown and then relaxed. “A big cut was in the door that wasn’t there before the incident happened. Plus, there was a slight trace of blood in it.”
"Your point?"
"I think I understand," Kirigiri said after a minute. "The blood signifies that the damage occurred after the victim’s death. Maizono-san is raising the possibility that the culprit intended to kill me as well."
"Hold it. You could have left that yourself. And if someone wanted you dead, why were you only knocked unconscious?"
"I don’t understand the culprit’s reasoning, myself. Even the selection of victims seems like it was at random."
"Maizono-san’s theory is just that: a theory." Celes put on her best smile before adding: "Nothing suggests Kirigiri-san didn’t simply make that mark in the door herself…"
Kirigiri cast a glance at Monobear. He’s unusually silent, especiallyduring a discussion about defacing school property.
"I don’t see why we don’t bring this trial to a close. Neither of those two have more than circumstantial evidence."
"W-wait! You can’t end this n-"
"Maizono-chi, you can’t let your emotions cloud the truth in front of you! She killed Ishimaru-chi and wiped the handle of the knife clean!"
Wait.
"That’s incorrect. You may not have paid notice, but I wear gloves," Kirigiri said. "There would be no need to wipe away fingerprints."
"No fingerprints were found because of your gloves. End of story."
"But…" Maizono was grasping for straws at this point. "The real culprit would have to clean off their fingerprints because of her gloves!"
"None of us are professionals. We can’t run fingerprint tests."
"Th-then what if something else got wiped off the knife?"
Wait.
"Maizono-san is right," Kirigiri said. Her heart was pounding faster than she thought possible; Maizono’s ideas were nice, and she humored them because they were nice, but she still could have done it and this all could be a farce. "Maybe… maybe blood was wiped off the knife’s handle, considering my head injury drew blood. The culprit could have knocked me out using it after… failing to kill me, perhaps. A last minute decision to frame me."
Silence. Her heartbeat reverberated through her body. The seed of doubt was still blooming; if she had murdered him, blaming another would get them all killed. Her fear bubbled up, about to spill.
Then, finally, Togami shook his head. “That’s nothing but speculation. The slight amnesia is too convenient and there’s nowhere close to any proof that this ‘other culprit’ exists. At least outside the imaginations of a murderer and an attempted murderer.”
"W-wait, please…"
All eyes turned to Chihiro- the brunette- speaking up for the first time since the trial began. It must have been a dozen stares too many but she continued, “We still don’t know what Kirigiri-san remembers…”
"You’d believe her word?"
"I-if we vote wrong, we all die…"
"We have to listen to Kirigiri-san! We have to so we can prove she’s innocent!"
"Thank you Maizono-san, but…"
It was funny. Here she was, thinking she had control over her emotions. She thought herself stoic. Calm. But now she had her jaw clenched and her fists balled in some last-ditch effort to hold back tears.
Emotions are what make us all human…
"That latter part won’t be necessary. This whole time… this whole time, I’ve struggled with the idea that perhaps I am the culprit, due to the fogginess of my memories."
"K-KIRIGIRI-SAN!"
It was the one reaction she hadn’t seen yet out of Maizono—betrayal. Now there it was, etched into her face, draining whatever color she had left.
“It… it can’t be you. Believing in you was all I had left! I…”
“I’m sorry, Maizono-san, but I-“
”I can’t give that up! I’m going to believe in you until the end, Kiri- no… Kyouko.” Maizono choked on the words. “You were there for me when I was afraid, and- even if that was feigned, I still felt like nothing could hurt me when I was with you. You were kind to me! You… you can’t be the culprit!”
Kirigiri felt her resistance buckle, followed by hot tears on her face. She had betrayed Maizono. She was leaving her alone.
She betrayed your trust by trying to have you framed for Kuwata’s murder.
You betrayed her trust by killing and lying when she chose to believe in you.
A good minute passed. Togami eventually spoke, as if it were a chore. “All this has been very touching, but we still haven’t heard whatever incriminating memories Kirigiri supposedly has, at the other plankton’s insistence. Following that, I motion we get to the vote already.”
Kirigiri straightened her back. Now all eyes had shifted to her.
"I recall… last night, though I can’t remember the exact time. I found myself in the hallways on the second floor."
"Why were you there?"
"Let her finish!"
Kirigiri cleared her throat. “I recall the sensations, largely. I do remember something hitting me on the back of the head, but I also remember the feeling of dragging a body. That’s why I feared it must have been me.”
"Kyouko…"
"It seems as if we have the story now. Should we vote?"
"I figure we should."
"Yeah…"
"Upupupupu!"
She refused to turn her head at that unmistakable giggle.
"Are ya punks givin’ up already? Good, ‘cause I was starting to get bored with all your talk!"
"We believe we’ve a conclusion."
"Alright! It’s voting time!"
This was it. This was how it would end. They’d vote on the panels in front of them. Sentence her. Strap her in. Watch her die.
For a moment, she closed her eyes, and heard her father beckon.
"YOU’VE GOT THAT WRONG!"
Kirigiri’s eyes snapped open. That wasn’t her father’s voice. First, it was too feminine. Second, Fujisaki held her frail arm pointed an inch from Monobear’s face.
"Fujisaki, what is it?!”
"Yeah! We know it was her, ‘right?"
"Nyohoho! Looks like Fujisaki-san’s finally got some guts!"
"What d’you mean, guts-"
"ALL OF YOU BE QUIET!" Maizono slammed her hands down again. "We have to listen to what she has to say!"
"Uu… I… I, um…" Chihiro clasped her hands. "I’m sorry for the disturbance, but… I never told you what I saw because of a… a threatening letter I received."
"A threatening letter?"

The programmer drew a wrinkled sheet of paper from her pocket.
"It reads, ‘Don’t tell anyone about the ghost you saw tonight, or you’ll be the next victim.’"
"Huh?" Asahina blinked. "A ghost?"
"S-so you see…" Chihiro said, voice so tiny that it was barely audible, "I… I’m not afraid anymore! I know that Kirigiri-san isn’t the culprit, and if we vote incorrectly, we will all pay the price!"
"Therefore!" That smile crossed Maizono’s face again- the sincere one. "We can’t vote now under these circumstances! We’ve found new evidence!"
"Upupu… Upupupupu! Fujisaki-san’s hope was great enough to shine through at just the right moment… Ah! I’m so overwhelmed, I think I might cry. Such trust in a friend… such hope."
"Be quiet," Togami growled. "What’s this ‘ghost’? Who wrote you this letter?"
"I, um… it was… unsigned…"
"Nonsense! Anyone could’ve written this!"
"What about yourself, Togami-kun?" Asahina said.
"What?!"
"You seem awfully anxious to get to the vote! Why won’t you listen to Fujisaki-san?!"
"Fine. You tell me, Fujisaki. What ‘ghost’ did you see?"
"Well, um… it was last night.. I saw Enoshima-san walking in the halls toward the stairs."
"B-but Enoshima-chi was executed!"
"Th-that’s the first reason I didn’t tell anyone…" Chihiro looked at her feet in shame. "But then the letter was slipped under my door an hour later. I… could’ve been next."
"So the first culprit’s alive." The sarcasm was thick in Mondo’s tone. "And she fuckin’ killed again?!"
"I- I’m sorry!"
Kirigiri’s pulse had slowed. There was a chance, new evidence to consider. So long as she had that, she had to try to reach the truth. She wiped the tears away and crossed her arms. She had work to do.
"Fujisaki-san," she began, "did you see her clearly?"
"I only saw her from the back, but… her hair and outfit seemed unmistakable."
"It is possible that this ‘ghost’ is the culprit-" and not me, not me, ”- and she, aware of Fujisaki-san’s sighting of her, slipped her a note in order to scare her into silence.”
"Upupupu! Are you bastards forgetting that little punk is dead? Gone? Kaput? We smashed her into bits and smashed those bits into more bits! She’s nothing now!"
"Don’t you dare speak of Junko-chan that way.”
The tone was frigid enough to send a shiver down Kirigiri’s spine. It had come from Mukuro, her first words during the class trial. Her eyes burned with a type of barely controlled hatred that Kirigiri had never seen.
Monobear laughed.
"Are you forgettin’ that it was you all that led to her death! You voted!"
"YOU EXECUTED HER!" Mukuro’s fingernails dug into the wooden podium like a caged animal tearing at its restraint- like it was the only thing holding her back. "SHE’S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"Aw, you’re the shitty sister that couldn’t keep her on her medicine! You let her kill Kuwata-kun! I think it’s your f-"
The restraint broke and Mukuro moved in a flash, making a desperate grab for Monobear’s head. It was like a play; he saw the attack coming, raised his arms, sprang into the air over her head, and landed on the floor in one swift motion. “No-no! Violence against the headmaster is off-limits!”
"I’LL KILL YOU!" Mukuro screamed. It was a guttural sound, reverberating as if she were hollow. She repositioned herself immediately and grabbed for Monobear again, again, again. Each attempt met with failure.
The school rules were clear. Violence against the headmaster was punishable by death.
Sakura grabbed Mukuro by the waist as soon as she approached. “Are you mad?! You cannot launch into an attack on Monobear in the middle of a class trial!”
Mukuro clawed at Monobear, stilljust a claw out of her reach. “W-why?! Why won’t you let me die?!”
Kirigiri realized Mukuro knew it was a suicide mission; whether she succeeded or failed, her suffering ended.
"Upupu… is this what sets you human beings apart from animals, like us bears? You’ve gotta learn to cope with loss, pain, betrayal… No. You’ve gotta learn to have Hope. I know your hope will grow ever stronger, Ikusaba-san!"
The fight in her died; Sakura’s grip loosened, but Mukuro didn’t budge. Monobear walked back to his seat with a spring in his step.
"Ahem! Despite our outburst, we got shocking new evidence from Fujisaki-san! A ghost might be the culprit?!" He paused to chuckle, covering his mouth with his paws. "What a surprise!"
"No, it can only be someone in disguise, right?"
Sakura shook her head. “Enoshima-san is no longer-” and she glanced down at the soldier in her arms, then revised her statement. “There would be nothing to gain from disguising oneself as Enoshima-san in regard to the possibility of being spotted before the murder.”
"Wh-what if it was lavender-hair here the whole time?" Fukawa said. "She could’ve dressed up as her!"
"I have nothing that resembles Enoshima-san’s outfits or hair color. You’re free to search my room for some kind of disguise."
"So who would be able to get to Enoshima-chi’s stuff, huh?"
It happened gradually—a small wave over the ocean before washing foot by foot over land. A few first turned to Mukuro, then the rest, then finally the last who were on the shore. The soldier’s limp posture didn’t change in Sakura’s arms.
"Ikusaba-san would’ve had access to her outfits and makeup at the least."
"Yeah, and maybe her hair dye or a wig or something like that…"
"Hold it. Why disguise herself as her sister?"
Mukuro shifted. Her figure tensed and Sakura’s grip strengthened, but she didn’t move to escape, only to loosen one arm enough to flash a peace sign. An odd smile appeared.
"Yoohoo! Junko Enoshima-san here!"
"E-excuse me?"
She cocked her head. “It’s been so much work being at this stupid trial. Don’t we know it’s Kirigiri? Being here is so… despairingly boring. Ahaha!”
"Ikusaba-san! What’s the meaning of this?!" another person from the group asked.
"Don’t call me by my sister’s name!" she spat back. "It’s me! Super High School Level Fashion Girl— Junko Enoshima!"
"It appears as if she’s assumed the role of her own sister," Togami said. The sympathy in his sigh was more appropriate for someone who had lost a dollar. "It must be a coping mechanism for her loss."
"Which would give someone a reason to go out dressed as her instead of pretending to be someone else during a murder."
"I think we understand now."
"Pardon?"
A wave of relief hit Kirigiri. “Fujisaki-san saw Ikusaba-san, as her sister, heading upstairs to where the murder took place. This was likely the third party. She wrote the note afterward.”
"Hold on!" Mukuro shouted. "I didn’t write any threatening note! That’s the type of fuckin’ stuff Mukuro does!"
"Do we need to compare handwriting?"
Junko’s familiar pout looked strange on Mukuro’s face.
"Yeah, and also, didn’t we see Ikusaba-san around then?" said Asahina. "Not Enoshima-san?"
"Ah, yes…"
"Excuse me?" Togami asked. "Do you think you have something of importance to say?"
Asahina clenched her fists. “As a matter of fact, we do! I remember that Sakura-chan and I were in the cafeteria right before Night Time and Ikusaba-san came by!”
"… Interesting. Does anyone else have any information regarding ‘Enoshima’s’ whereabouts last night?"
"I, um…" Maizono said, "I heard a knock on my door right after the Night Time announcement… Ishimaru-kun did that to say he was going to sleep and wouldn’t be watching over my door any longer."
Kirigiri thought on this. “Did you hear his voice?”
"The problem is… yes, I did."
"Bah. That’s impossible. He was already dead at that time."
"Who says we can trust her anyway?!" Mukuro said. "She’s just as big a liar as the Mastermind!"
"It’s not impossible."
Togami cast a glance at Kirigiri. “What now?”

"Thus, our culprit set up the crime scene, became Enoshima-san again, and wrote the note to Fujisaki-san. If her mannerisms, speech, even appearance alter in her ‘Enoshima’ persona, I have no doubt that her handwriting could alter too."
"B-but the time difference…?"
"Doesn’t apply if we do not take the Monobear File as absolute. If our Mastermind participated in the involuntary fasting as well, it would be easy for a mistake to be made. After all, Monobear said ‘don’t worry about the time’ in his special announcement." Kirigiri concluded. "Isn’t that correct?"
Monobear looked at his feet. “Aw, you weren’t supposed to guess that…”
“Ikusaba-san. If I am wrong, we should find no fresh wounds on your person after a quick look.”
The Junko within her had come to harm anyway. It was if she were struck—all at once, the bravado squeezed out of her like air trickling from a balloon. The confident smirk faded, and her aggressive stance fell back into the soldier’s usual rigid posture. A broken Mukuro Ikusaba was all that remained.
"That won’t be necessary."
Her voice had changed back to ‘Mukuro’, or rather a mockery of her. It was as if she wasn’t used to herself. Her voice was eerily calm despite the fact she had begun to cry.
"I… I killed him. He was a random victim. I couldn’t think of Junko-chan as…I couldn’t see her in the past tense. I loved her—I love her—in the present tense. I wanted her approval by making someone succumb to death’s despair. The… transformations into my sister weren’t voluntary. I just found myself there, dressed as my sister, with a corpse at my feet. She wasn’t there, wasn’t saying ‘Great job, Mukuro-nee!’ or anything similar. I…”
Mukuro’s sentence trailed off; it sounded like her throat had closed up. It took a few minutes for her to resume.
"I realized she wasn’t coming back. She was gone… and I… I carved her name into me," she finished, and smiled bitterly. It was the first time Kirigiri had seen her smile. It would have been nice on her, under different circumstances.
"Surely, as a soldier, you are accustomed to death."
"I never experienced it on a… personal level. Allied soldiers fell, but I never knew them, so they were more like objects, or assets. I’ve done a lot of…questionable things, and it was all for Junko. Sometimes when I did a good job, she would act like she loved me. Then she would retract it if I didn’t perform to her tastes. And besides that, I… felt so guilty after putting her on that medication, and…"
"You had to make it up to her."
Kirigiri understood. Mukuro was trying to impress someone who no longer existed. Junko had been everything, and when Junko had died, Mukuro had died. She was hearing the voice of a living corpse.
And there she was, in the remains of her facade, sobbing her sister’s name.
"I- I’m sorry, Junko-chan… sorry sorry sorry sorry I’m so fucking sorry. J-just-” She managed to look up. “Pl-please… start the vote.”
There was no instruction this time. The remaining students voted. Mukuro voted for herself for the second time.
A moment passed.
"Looks like… you bastards were right! Mukuro Ikusaba is the killer!"
Another silent moment.
"You were very open in your final moments," Kirigiri began.
"If you are looking for an apology-"
"No, no. I… believe your sister did love you in her own way. You showed her how much you cared for her by acquiring the medication and treating her, devoting so much timeand energy to her care. While she said she didn’t like the medicine, she took it anyway. I would like to believe it was for you," Kirigiri said, then paused. "But some would say that’s just a theory."
"Thank you."
It only lasted a split second and wasn’t much more joyful, but Kirigiri was correct. Mukuro’s smile was beautiful.
The next thing she knew, Maizono had walked to her side, taken her hand.
She felt trust in her again. They exchanged grateful looks, partially just for being there.
"And thank you, Sayaka Maizono," Kirigiri found herself saying quietly. "Thank you."
"Ah… her hope never grew…" Monobear said, pantomiming tears with his paws. "Isn’t that just the saddest thing you’ve ever heard?"
Nobody answered.
"I’m gonna take that as a yes~” he said, eyes locked on Kirigiri. “Now we have no time to waste! It’s punishment time!”
Monobear raised his gavel and swung it down, beginning the end of Mukuro Ikusaba’s life.
—-
There was one thing she saw— her sister. The corpses around her were just that, corpses. Dead people in a world of their own. They weren’t Junko Enoshima.
"Junko-chan?" she offered.
No reply came. Relief still washed over Mukuro.
"Junko-chan!"
She found herself sprinting to Junko, tired bones crunching like dust under her feet. Her speed made her shirt flutter open just enough to show the name of her sister carved deeply into her not once, but twice, for each side of her. These things were inconsequential.
Just as her fingertips grazed Junko’s clothing, she turned to face Mukuro. Her face was so obviously a bastardization, a mix of Junko’s facial structure and Monobear’s facial features. It still wasn’t enough to steal her attention from the spear.
If it were anyone else wielding the weapon, she would have dodged. She wouldn’t have heard the delicious sound of the spear piercing straight through her back.
"Why did you let me die, Nee-chan?"
But the words hurt more.
"It was the mastermind," she tried to say, but only a stream of blood came from her opened mouth.
Then another Junko approached from behind. She was identical to the first, from her perfect mockery of her movements to the way her fingers twisted the spear in her.
"Why are you such an awful sister, Nee-chan?"
"Why do you think you deserve to live, Nee-chan?"
They weren’t unfamiliar words. Mukuro looked down and saw the point of a second spear pierce her chest. She didn’t scream but heard the words, “Why did you drug your only sister, Nee-chan?”
"No no no. I wanted to help you," she tried. "Kirigiri said— she said you went along with it-"
"Why are you such a failure, Nee-chan?"
"Why couldn’t you even kill yourself properly, Nee-chan?"
Two more spears went through her either way, masterfully avoiding any vital organs. Now that she looked, Mukuro saw the corpses rising up were all Junko lookalikes— all of them, lifting up from the faceless people she killed in battle into the only person she truly loved.
"How can you live with yourself, Nee-chan?"
"Why did I ever call someone as horribly pathetic as you my sister, Nee-chan?"
"Why did you think I ever cared about you, Nee-chan?"
"Please please forgive me I’m so sorry I’m sorry I’m so fucking sorry-"
They had her surrounded until she couldn’t see anything but them. Mukuro’s eyes had filled with the vision of herself impaled from a million angles at once. The worst part was that she was right. Whoever was in charge of this was right. Junko never would have forgiven her. Junko never would have cared about her.
"I love you, Junko-chan."
The spears all ripped out of her at once. She collapsed onto her back onto the ground, nearby other unidentifiable dead.
Mukuro Ikusaba closed her eyes one last time and died in despair.
—-

Kirigiri awoke again like before: suddenly born into a world of multiple lights and pain. Her throat felt like a collection of brittle, cracked stones from her lack of food and water.
"Welcome back, Kyouko-chan."
Kirigiri opened her eyes and saw Naegi’s face, glowing in front of the Data Processing Room’s screens.
"I suppose you’re wondering what happened to Sayaka Maizono," he said.
Kirigiri glared in response.
"How do I know? Well, I just have good intuition."
"… Naegi."
"Upupupu… Looks like I’ve been found out! I know you figured me out last time. Isn’t it a shame you got no time to look into that?"
Something fell by her with a soft thump. It hurt to turn and look at it.
"It’s bread and water. You must be starving," he said, smiling widely. "Go ahead. Act like you don’t want it. It’s been three days. Or has it been longer? You don’t know anymore, do you?"
As soon as she lifted her head, his foot slammed down on top of it and ground her nose into the floor. It stifled her scream. Her head was exploding from the inside, the outside, everywhere, and each word he said tore through her ears like daggers.
"Did that hurt, Kyouko? How about this?" he mock-whispered, "Maizono is dead too. I just killed her for ‘violence against the Headmaster’. Doesn’t that break your heart?"
Dead. She was dead she was dead she was dead dead Maizono was dead. It hit her again and again, Maizono wasn’t with her anymore, Maizono’s life was taken from her. She knew fully well it could be a trap, but she found herself squeezing back tears, not only for herself, but for the entire situation.
"You were starting to really like her, weren’t you? You wanted to kiss her or some sappy shit like that after she stood up for you in the class trial, huh? It was like she was a new person!"
"Pl-please… stop…"
It sickened her. She had been reduced to nothing- less than nothing, less than something he could step on. Her entire body ached.
"What’s wrong, Kyouko? Did I take away everything you had too? Without sleep or food or anyone to trust, without your title as a Super High School Level Detective… are you nothing now?"
Detective?
"I see what truly makes people human. It’s selfishness and greed and misplaced hope. Hope doesn’t build anyone up, Kirigiri-san, it tears them down."
Her consciousness was slipping. It had to be for the last time; she couldn’t lose it that often in such a short time frame and expect to return every instance.
"You’ve got that wrong."
There was pounding at the door. The weight on her head lifted. She heard the panicked breaths. He shouted in Monobear’s voice, “Th-this place is off limits to you bastards! Breaking in is against the school rules!”
Piece of metal went flying. Sakura was in the doorframe, fist outstretched where the door once was. And there was Naegi, frozen. Smiling.
He moved as quickly as Mukuro had and grabbed the broken Kirigiri with one hand, the other holding a knife.“One move and she dies. Understand?”
There was just enough hesitation to satiate him.
"That’s right. I’m your Mastermind," Naegi said in a voice cracking between elation and terror. "Upupupu! I- I starved with you as a student in this game! Now here we are, on the verge between life and death, as human beings! Isn’t it fucking wonderful!?"
Kirigiri was faintly aware of a loud clang against the floor. There was a partially-dismantled Monobear unit by Sakura’s feet.
"Why…?" Sakura said, slowly at first. "WHY WOULD YOU DO ALL THIS?!"
"P-put her down!" Asahina screamed from behind her. "Put Kirigiri-san down! What did she do to you?!"
"Oh, just treat me like-"
"What, like dirt? Who’s holding the knife to someone’s throat?" Togami sneered.
Kirigiri’s eyes scanned frantically to see if Maizono was among the group. She wasn’t.
"I took your memories. All of them since you entered the school," Naegi panted. "That’s why you all woke up in classrooms. All of you… were awful people. The world went on fine for a long time without cocky Super High School students!"
They began to back away, step by step, behind the towering Sakura.
"Were?"
He flashed a grin. “There might not be much left to escape to. Nothing, maybe. Isn’t that disgusting?”
Kirigiri found her voice amidst the abyss. That was the hardest thing. The second was managing to get her words out with the metal of the knife to her throat.
"I had… odd feelings about you," she managed. "How did you feel about me?"
"I love you, Kyouko-chan. But you never-"
"I might have felt something like that in the past, but… now all I feel for you is pure, unbridled hatred. You’re a monster."
The energy welled up in her and her foot shot back. It connected hard with his shin, enough of a distraction for her to rip the knife from his hand by the blade. Naegi stumbled into his own surveillance screens.
Her grip trembled, but she stood firmly in the blizzard of her emotions. Anger, loss, betrayal, fear, hatred, despair, hope. Naegi shrunk under her broken expression.
“It isn’t healthy to live for one person. Mukuro for Junko. Sayaka for me. Or you for me.”
The students stayed at a distance.
"We aren’t human because of hate or greed or unhappiness. That’s…"
The knife clattered on the ground.
"That’s why I won’t kill you."
"I need you to kill me, Kyouko. I need to die by your hand." Naegi broke out laughing. "Kill me, Kyouko-chan, kill me!"
It would be tempting for Maizono, to take his life as revenge for hers. But then what would she prove? Would she be a living and breathing person or just a bitter animal like he wanted?
"We’re going to restrain you as the Mastermind until you tell us all the details of what you’ve done. You’re going to give us an escape switch. You will live.” Kirigiri barely realized she was shouting, she was so separated from herself. “Do you understand?”
Whatever energy possessed her to finish the argument left. Kyouko Kirigiri collapsed. Her exhausted mind processed everything separately: Sakura’s booming footsteps, Naegi’s whines as she held him in restraint, other feet approaching, someone taking the knife and holding it away from the Mastermind, other arms taking her tattered form into their grip.
For an isolated moment, Kirigiri had the feeling it would be okay. Maizono flashed in her mind; she had truly had nothing to live for, having abandoned her dream along with her hope, and it hadn’t been an act. Maizono still had smiled at her and supported her when she had nothing to support herself.
She felt that Maizono wouldn’t truly die if she kept this knowledge with her. In her worst moment, Kirigiri found her widest smile. Yes, it would be okay now. She felt that it truly would before the world powered down around her.

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Gomen if this is slightly tag-spammy, but I’m in the mood to write some fluff and any prompts would be appreciated; especially for Komanami, Nintendogs, Smallcry, Nanamioda, Kirizono, Hinabuki, Leobuki, or Hinazumi.