Chapter Text
The next scene was Makoto walking out of the gym, a frustrated expression across his face. "How does that count as a hint? It just made me even more confused…!"
"As Miss Enoshima stated before, it wouldn't be a proper hint if it easily led to the answer…" Hifumi spoke in acknowledgement. "It would've been more surprising if the mastermind actually gave something they could easily figure out."
"Honestly? That would make it much more suspicious than anything…" Sayaka said with a small frown.
'Is that what Monokuma was going for? Did he put together a fake photo just to confuse me…?' The luckster wondered. 'But it looked so real, so full of life. How could anyone fake that…?'
"Future Makoto is on the right track. Just not completely…" Celeste observed. "He's right that it's a diversion tactic. But the genius in that tactic is that it truly is a clue; just not one they can immediately decipher without more evidence…"
"And a big leap of logic…" Leon snorted. Celeste nodded in acknowledgement.
"That too."
'Which would mean… everyone but me…' For a moment, Makoto stood silent, a look of contemplation now on his face. 'Maybe I should just ask everyone directly. That should clear all this up.'
"No… I HAVE to clear all this up!"
"A sound idea…!" Taka nodded his head fervently in clear approval. "That should be able to stop all misunderstandings!"
"Yeah! If we all share our hints, then we can see what's going on…!" Hina also spoke happily, looking hopeful for that outcome.
That brought about a sigh from Mondo. "Sorry bro, Hina, but I don't think it's gonna be as simple as all that…" The biker stated bluntly. "You saw how Hiro acted right?"
That stilled many of the more hopeful students, recalling how the fortune teller rushed out of the trophy room like a bat out of a cave. "W-Well… it's Hiro! He always makes dumb moves…!" HIna argued weakly. "I'm sure the others won't immediately run or something!"
Others, however, didn't seem as optimistic. Toko bit her lips nervously, wondering what her future self's reaction would be, while Byakuya looked on stonily.
"However, when I attempted to do just that…"
"M-Makoto?!" Hina yelped fearfully when the luckster walked up to her in the dining hall. A petrified look was plastered across her face. "S-Sorry! Gotta go!"
"What…?" Makoto looked on in bewilderment as Hina ran out of the dining hall. "Hina…"
Hina felt her stomach drop when she saw her future self run away from Makoto. "Wha-? No! Don't run away!" She shouted fruitlessly at the screen. "You're falling into Monokuma's trap!"
"It's no use, Hina…" Sakura sighed, patting her friend's back in comfort. "She's clearly too rattled to listen to anyone."
The swimmer could only groan in response, holding her head as she sank further into the couch.
'Why…?' He thought to himself in worry. 'Why won't you talk to me?'
The next person Makoto confronted was Byakuya, in the archive. "Oh! Byakuya!"
But the Togami heir merely responded with an angry scowl.
"Listen, do you think we could talk?" Makoto requested hopefully.
"..." However, Byakuya remained silent.
"Byakuya…?"
Finally, Byakuya responded. "I have nothing to talk to you about." He said coolly, before walking away. "Don't talk to me as if we're friends."
"H-Hey, Byakuya! Wait!"
But of course, the heir didn't even pause, and continued walking out of the room.
"It looks like Byakuya also got one of the pictures…" Sayaka said with a grimace.
"Seriously? Thought he would at least be smart enough to see through the trap…!" Leon groaned, throwing his hands up.
"As Makoto said, the photos are clearly authentic, and we all know that they're real." Mukuro said in a neutral response. "Just because you know you'll be ambushed, doesn't mean you'll be able to fully defend from it."
Byakuya himself couldn't help but blow a breath out of his nose. Yet again, he fell for one of the mastermind's traps. Yet again, he was playing to their tune. However, he tempered his frustration, knowing that this was unavoidable; and the trap in question was indeed a clever one.
But it's one that will be unraveled in due time.
"What the…?" The lucky student spoke with further bewilderment. "Why was he acting like that? Like he was purposely trying to avoid me…"
Then, he confronted Hiro once again, this time in the garden. "Hey, Hiro!"
The fortune teller let out a yelp in response. "M-M-Makoto!"
"What's going on with you? Every time I see you, you freak out like that." Makoto pointed in confusion and concern.
"N-No, I…" For a moment, Hiro attempted to act normally. Then… "No! Sorry, but I'm in a big hurry!"
Yet again, he rushed out of the room like a terrified rabbit.
"Hiro… what's wrong?" Was all Makoto could think to say.
"So… everyone is gonna just avoid each other until the trial?" Chihiro questioned with a soft whimper. "They aren't gonna even try to talk, and figure out what's going on?"
"How can they, Chihiro dear? In their eyes, everyone hid the fact that they knew each other from the recipient of each photo." Celeste pointed out with a sigh. "For all each of them know, everyone is the mastermind and has been conspiring against that single survivor."
"But… that doesn't make any sense!" Taka protested incredulously. "Knowingly kill each other just to get to that one person? That's insanity!"
"It is. From our point of view, especially." The gambler replied calmly. "But in their point of view, when they're in such an insane situation already? It's not that far of a stretch with the hint given to them."
"Because of that, it seems like only Makoto is the only one willing to talk…" Mondo sighed.
Worried looks were spread all across the room as the class looked at one another. Hopefully, the survivors will be able to quickly figure this out; and more than that, figure out that their memories were wiped with this.
"All of them avoided me." Narrator Makoto finished, as the scene changed. "So after… I decided to visit the bio lab one more time. And the first thing I saw when I got there…"
A clip of Toko, passed out in the Bio Lab, was then shown. "...was her, passed out. Again."
For a moment, several in the class were alarmed. However, when they processed the location, students quickly deduced what happened. "She opened up one of the fridges, didn't she?" Sayaka spoke out with a small grimace.
The present Toko took to covering her eyes yet again, with full knowledge on what's likely about to happen.
"Why did she even open it in the first place…?" Leon questioned with a raised eyebrow. "She didn't figure out that the lab turned into a morgue?"
"It wouldn't be a surprise…" Byakuya sighed in clear disappointment. "Half of you likely wouldn't take the time to introspect the room, much less figure out its purpose."
"Hey!"
"Watch it, Togami!"
"We could've figured out what the room is without opening the fridges!"
The Togami heir, of course, ignored the complaints of his classmates; not believing their words.
"Huh? Toko…?" Makoto spoke in confusion. That confusion quickly turned into alarm. "T-Toko! Are you okay?!"
But just as he got close to her, the writing prodigy… or rather, murderous fiend, shot up. "Kyeeeeehahahaha!"
"Uwah!"
Several joined the future Makoto in yelping in shock. "Dammit, Jill!" Leon cursed. "Can't that psycho give some sort of warning before jumping up like that?"
"Even if she could, I doubt she would care to do so…" Celeste commented.
"I don't know how my heart can take all these surprises…!" Hina moaned, a hand over her chest. "It always feels like my heart is gonna burst out of my mouth or something!"
"It's cold… it's super cold! It's so cold, I think I might catch a cold!" Jill growled in complaint.
"If you keep taking naps in places like this, I'm sure you will…" Makoto replied awkwardly, trying to get over his surprise.
"What, I was asleep?" Jill questioned in confusion, before it clicked for her. "Ahh, I musta fainted again! I bet you were standing there, staring at me, getting all excited! Weren't you?!"
"W-What does she take me for…?!" Makoto stuttered with a blush on his cheeks.
"No way he would do that…!" Sayaka exclaimed with a pout, squeezing the luckster's arm.
"Yeah, that's definitely not a Makoto thing!" Leon spoke in support of his friend. "But that's definitely a Hifumi thing!"
"I keep telling you, I'm only interested in 2D!"
"And I will continue to call bullshit on that; especially with what we've seen in this shitty future!"
"No… I wasn't…" Makoto denied a tad blankly.
"Oh, then what? Hot and bothered? Straight-up horny?!" The serial-killer pushed.
The luckster decided to ignore her words. "Um, okay, so… why did you pass out?"
"I dunno!" Was Jill's immediate answer. "Last thing I remember was me waking up just now! What'd you do to Miss Morose?!"
"Oh, that's right. Your memory stops and starts each time you switch…" Makoto recalled.
"Bingo bazinga! We share some basic knowledge, but our memories are very much separate!" Jill nodded her head in confirmation. "And don't say it like it's a bad thing! It's a blessing as far as I'm concerned! Cuz even if she forgets something, I totally remember! So it's like double the memory!"
'Uh, no… it's more like half.' The luckster deadpanned to himself.
One certain bit of information got a few heads perking up. "Hey, Toko…" Makoto addressed the eye-covering writing prodigy. "Does that actually work that way?"
"H-Huh?" Was Toko's slightly startled and confused reply.
"Your memories, I mean. If one forgets something, the other can still remember…"
"O-Oh, um… yeah, t-technically." Toko confirmed with a nod, still not removing her hands from her eyes. "If e-either of us forget something, it d-doesn't really affect the other p-personality. I can f-forget something, while J-J-Jack completely remembers. And v-vice versa."
"How the hell does that work?" Leon asked dubiously.
"D-Don't ask me! I don't understand a-anymore than you do!"
While the bickering between the two was happening, looks were shared between Makoto, Kyoko, and Byakuya. If what Toko and Genocide Jill were saying accurate… does that mean Jill has memories of the Tragedy? Of the last two years spent in Hope's Peak?
"But all I wanna know right now is, where's my little darling?!" Jill questioned/demanded. "Tell me now, or I slit your throat!"
The threat to his life immediately zapped Makoto out of his musing, with the luckster letting out a fearful yelp. Sayaka tightened her grip around Makoto, a protective glare across her face, while Mukuro immediately looked ready to shank a serial killer. Celeste, Hina, and Kyoko also didn't look happy to the threat on the luckster's life, the latter's hand gripping tightly on Makoto's.
Toko couldn't help but shiver, not seeing any of the glaring eyes, but feeling the killing intent from several of her fellow females.
Makoto stepped back a little at the threat. "I-I don't know. I'm sure Byakuya's around somewhere, doing his own investigating."
"By himself?!"
"I assume so…" Makoto nodded.
"I knew it! I totally knew it! I'm a total pro when it comes to all things Master!" The serial killer giggled, wrapping her arms around herself. "Anyway, I gotta hurry! I can't even imagine how lonely he must be right now!" With that, she shot out of the room, her insane laugh echoing in her wake.
That earned a few snorts. "Yeeaaah, I'm sure the douche can manage by himself…" Leon remarked dryly. "Especially with the whole photo trick the mastermind's pulling…"
"Even without it, I doubt the bastard ever feels lonely…" Mondo snorted. "Not enough to want the psycho's company, at least…"
Byakuya himself scoffed at the idea. He would sooner consider the dimwit, the fool, or the monkey's company before he ever even think about Genocide Jack's.
"Ah, I totally forgot to ask her about the picture…" Makoto suddenly remembered. 'Well, there's no point asking Genocide Jack anyway.'
"Do you think Toko got her photo before entering into the Bio Lab? Or did she enter there before going to the gym?" Taka inquired curiously.
"We'll find out once the trial actually begins…" Celeste said with a small shrug. "Regardless, I doubt Toko would contribute much either way."
"H-Hey!" Toko briefly removed her hands to give a bitter glare towards the gambler, before quickly covering them again.
'Besides, I have more important things to do right now.' A pondering look then entered his face. 'Why did Toko faint? There's gotta be some reason for it…'
It didn't take him long to find that reason. With the turn of his head, his sights immediately went to an opened fridge. 'The fridge - it's open!' The luckster exclaimed to himself. "But I'm sure they were all shut tight last time I was here…"
"That must be why she passed out." Makoto quickly turned to the source of that statement, to see none other than Kyoko. "She faints so easily…"
"Kyoko…!" Several of the students cried out.
"Looks like she's back in the investigation…!" Hiro said happily.
"Is she… okay though?" Hina asked with slight worry. She turned to the present girl in question. "Do you think future you is okay?"
The detective nodded. "If my counterpart is continuing the investigation, then there's no need for concern, Hina. My emotions should be back in order."
"Okay… if you say so…" Was all Hina could say, partly relieved and partly still worried.
It was a worry Makoto shared, knowing how deep-seated Kyoko's issue with her father is. However, he knew not to press her on it, and decided to trust that her counterpart gave herself enough time to… calm down. So he merely squeezed Kyoko's hand, silently letting her know that he's there for her.
"K-Kyoko!" The luckster exclaimed in surprise and relief.
"It's getting late, isn't it?" Kyoko noted, walking over to the fridges.
"Are you… okay?" Makoto inquired hesitantly.
"I'm sorry if I made you worry." The detective apologized.
However, Makoto shook his head. "N-No, you don't have to apologize."
"She's also talking to him normally…!" Hifumi pointed out in pleasant surprise. "Not walking away, or avoiding Mr. Naegi!"
"Which would mean either she has yet to receive the hint, or is not letting the photo get to her head…" Sakura concluded.
'Likely abstained from obtaining that hint…' Kyoko concluded. Assuming that she got out of the 2nd floor in time to hear Monokuma's offer, she's confident that her future self decided not to take such a bait. There was no need for it, after all; and it's rather obvious that it was a trap to confuse them all.
Makes it rather disappointing that the others took such a bait.
"Well, that's definitely good news…!" Hina spoke happily, pumping her fists. "That means she and Makoto can work together to knock some sense into everyone else!"
"Including yourself, Hina dear…?" Celeste asked innocently, raising an eyebrow.
"Especially myself!" Hina exclaimed, not missing a beat.
"But listen, about this room…" Kyoko continued, switching the subject.
"Oh yeah, it's…"
"It's a morgue." Kyoko finished for the luckster.
"Y-Yeah…"
"I suspected as much." The detective hummed, looking down in thought. "And Toko must have looked inside the fridge, seen what was in there, and… well, there you have it."
"You knew she'd fainted?" Makoto asked curiously.
"I was on my way here, when Genocide Jack came running past me." Kyoko explained. "I assumed she must have sneezed, but once I got inside, the real reason became clear. I imagine she came here to investigate, and when she opened the slot there…"
"That's when she saw the body inside and dropped like a bag of rocks…" Makoto finished with a small sigh. 'Why's everything gotta be so difficult with her?'
"W-What's that s-supposed to mean?!" Toko cried out in outrage, glaring bitterly at Makoto between her fingers.
"Er…" The luckster could only look away, unsure of what to say.
"He means you're more deadweight than an actual help when it comes to investigations…" Byakuya spoke dryly, ruthless as always with his words.
And of course… "I-I'm sorry Master!" Toko flinched at the heir's words. "I'll d-do better! I p-p-promise! I'll stop b-being deadweight!"
"Double standards, thy name is Toko…" Leon muttered dully, rolling his eyes. A sentiment some students couldn't help but share.
"Anyway, we should close it up. Don't want to leave it hanging open like that…" Kyoko advised.
"Yeah, good idea."
The detective then moved to push the corpse back inside. "Give me a hand with this." However, just as she reached her hand over to the body… she stopped.
The detective's pause caught the attention of the others. "Um, why did she stop all of a sudden?" Hiro asked in confusion.
"Is something wrong…?" Hina asked in concern.
Something that Makoto noticed. "What's wrong?"
"Maybe we should wait a second before closing it." Kyoko suddenly suggested.
"Huh?" That got the luckster looking at her in confusion. "How come…?"
"Because Mukuro's body is in here."
And THAT got several students tensing up, eyes widening. "Mukuro's body…?!" Hina gasped.
"Out of all the fridges she could've opened, Miss Fukuwa managed to pick the one they might need to look over…?" Hifumi stated, a tad flabbergasted. "Did she accidentally gain Mr. Naegi's luck stats for a moment?"
"Or maybe it was Makoto's luck making it that Toko opened that fridge, while he was looking for everyone…" Hiro suggested. Hifumi let out a hum at that.
"It could be, Mr. Hagakure."
That had Makoto's eyes widening. "Mukuro's corpse…?" His eyes turned back towards the opened fridge. "Mukuro's body is inside the fridge?!"
"Just like every other time, the mastermind probably brought it up here while we were in the class trial." The detective surmised.
"The mastermind did it…?" Makoto remarked in slight musing. "Because they assumed we wouldn't be doing the class trial over again, I guess…"
Kyoko nodded in agreement. "You may be right…" She stated. "Either way, now I can finally get a good look at the body."
That had a few knitting their eyebrows in confusion. "Didn't Kyoko investigate the body beforehand…?" Taka inquired in slight befuddlement.
"She merely investigated the crime scene. She never said she had a look at the body itself." Celeste corrected the moral compass. "I doubt she had a chance to do her usual examination of the body."
"So now she has a chance to do a full examination then…" Sayaka spoke in realization.
Kyoko herself nodded to this. "Indeed. And with it, she can find things the others may have overlooked." She declared a sharp glint in her purple eyes.
'Oh, that's right. Kyoko didn't get a chance to check the body during the investigation.' Makoto recalled.
"I need to do my own examination of the corpse as soon as possible." The detective declared, her eyes aimed at the body. "I'm going to find a clue this time, and I'm going to grab the mastermind by the tail…"
A few couldn't help but gulp at her words, and the sharp glint they saw in her eyes, similar to their present Kyoko. "Like a shark out for blood…" Mondo muttered, mostly to himself.
"Why do I get the feeling she took that trial personally…?" Leon asked rhetorically.
"Why wouldn't she?" Byakuya asked in retort. "It was a trial meant for her, one she was forced to come in with mere scraps of information, resulting in having to abandon Makoto to survive. I would be surprised if that didn't hurt her pride to some extent."
Kyoko chose to remain silent at that; unable to deny that she indeed took that trial personally.
Junko, meanwhile, had to hide her smugness and laughter at the detective's vindictiveness. 'You can try. But once you reach the truth, how long will you keep up the act~?' She cooed tauntingly in her head.
"Okay, so… what should I do?" The lucky student asked awkwardly, pointing to himself.
"Why don't you just… wait over there?" Kyoko suggested, sounding a tad awkward herself. "I'll let you know as soon as I'm finished."
'Just… wait over there? That's it?' Makoto thought flatly to himself.
And now, some couldn't help but snicker at this. "Yeah, I agree. Like, that's all you want him doing?" Leon remarked, though snickering himself.
"It's like a mother telling her kid to stay put while she's doing her errands…" Junko giggled, using this opportunity to let out her hidden laughter in the open.
Makoto couldn't say anything, a mixture of exasperation and embarrassment showing across his face. Kyoko, as usual, was nonplussed about the teasing from her classmates.
"As other me said, it'll be finished in short order. No need to send Makoto off anywhere." The detective defended her future self's decision. "Plus, they'll likely have other things to talk about."
"And so I did. While Kyoko was analyzing the body, I took note of the lights on the fridges, along with tarps that had the Bio Lab logos once again." Narrator Makoto spoke, as clips of Kyoko examining Mukuro's corpse and Makoto looking around the lab were shown. "I also asked her about the hint, to which she responded…"
"I didn't take him up on the offer." Kyoko revealed casually, her eyes not leaving Mukuro's charred corpse.
"Huh?" Was Makoto's confused response. "Why not?"
"The only reason he'd give us a 'hint' at this point would be to confuse us, to cloud our judgement." The detective pointed out. "I can solve this mystery on my own, without whatever hints he may have to offer."
"...Yeah, that's a good point." Makoto spoke in admittance, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "And future me knew it was some sort of trap, yet…"
He wasn't the only one feeling embarrassed. Hina buried her face in her hands in greater embarrassment, Hiro hung his head down in shame, and Byakuya pointedly refused to look at anybody.
"Like I said, most of us would've taken those fucking hints." Mondo huffed, attempting to reassure the present counterparts of the survivors. "Kyoko's just one of those exceptions."
"That's… a good point." The luckster couldn't help but admit. 'I wish I could go back and do the same thing, but what's done is done, I guess…'
"It can also still work in our favour…" Kyoko spoke up in support. "With the other pieces of evidence in regards to our missing memories, they can more easily figure out that their memories have been erased. Once the initial confusion is passed, they have a greater chance in solving the mystery."
"True…" Byakuya nodded his head in agreement, though his eyebrows were creased together. "Which, again, makes me wonder why the mastermind would give such a hint? Do they truly count on the confusion of it to completely derail the trial? Or do they have something else in mind?"
"Perhaps they are unconcerned with the survivors figuring out that they lost their memories…?" Sakura suggested. "After all, that's merely a smaller piece of a greater whole in regards to the mystery of the school, alongside what's happening outside…"
That earned a hum of contemplation from the Togami heir. "Could be…"
"Thankfully, as Kyoko stated before, it really didn't take long…"
"Okay, Makoto. I'm done." The detective announced, moving away from the body.
"Already?" Makoto spoke in surprise. "Jeez, that was fast!"
"Anyone can do good work if they go slow." Kyoko said in response. "In that spirit, I'll make my report brief. I paid careful attention to the wounds and the traces of blood. And it seems highly likely that… the stomach wound and blow to the back of the head were inflicted after death."
"Really…?"
"The burnt tissue made things a little difficult, but I'm completely confident in my findings." The detective spoke confidently.
'So that means neither of those were the fatal injury, right?' The luckster deduced, knitting his eyebrows together. "Then what was the fatal injury…? The only other option is those 'other wounds', but the file said they were old."
"Where does it say they're old?" Was Kyoko's response/question.
"...Huh?"
"I second that. Huh?" Leon spoke in confusion, scratching the side of his head. "Cause… didn't it say that it is several days old? Right there, in the file?"
"It did…" Makoto confirmed with a nod, looking as confused as his future self.
"My future self will likely explain. But there's a difference between several days old, and 'old'." Kyoko stated. "An immense one that will help in solving the murder."
"All the Monokuma File says is that they were inflicted at least several days ago." Kyoko pointed out.
"I… guess I don't see the difference." Makoto said in admittance.
"Well the difference is immense, considering the impression they give." The detective declared. "You seem to equate 'several days old' with simply 'old'. But that doesn't quite follow logically. 'Old wounds', it makes it sound like they've been there forever, like they're not related to the murder."
"...Hmm. Quite the clever word-play on the mastermind's part, then." Celeste hummed, holding her chin in thought. "The files clearly stated that they were at least several days old, so it wasn't lying. But it was framed as though they were much older, making them seemingly irrelevant."
"They really did put much thought into the fifth trial…" Byakuya mused himself. "I wonder what would've happened if they gave themselves more time to fully set up their scheme…?"
"I… rather not think about it…" Sayaka replied to the heir, looking rather uneasy at that.
It was definitely a good thing that the mastermind was basically doing a rush job, a thought shared by several students.
"Are you saying… they are?" Makoto asked unsurely. "But we all got the Monokuma File right after she was killed, right? So if the wounds were at least a few days old, there's no way they could've had anything to do with it."
"But what if Mukuro herself wasn't killed within the last few days?" Kyoko then proposed.
Makoto's eyes widened at that. "What?!"
"...Did she seriously shoot past all the clues and figured it out?!" Hina exclaimed, gobsmacked.
"No, Hina. My counterpart is simply thinking of one of many possibilities." Kyoko told the swimmer, though a small smirk was across her face. "Though it's clear as to why I would make that connection. The knife wasn't the killing blow, nor was the blow to the head, according to the examination made. What else is there to look at other than the wounds that were inflicted several days ago?"
"And if it was those wounds… then it would make sense that crime happened several days before." Makoto spoke up, seeing Kyoko's point. "Probably the only thing that makes sense. How can those body wounds be the cause, when they only showed up several days ago? By the victim being killed at that time."
"It's quite similar to the third trial, really…" Byakuya mused, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Both with Hifumi's body supposedly being moved, as well as Taka supposedly being killed around the same time as Hifumi. When we considered other possibilities, Taka's death being much earlier and Hifumi playing dead, everything began clicking into place."
"Huh... and I thought it would be too difficult to figure out that the murder happened days ago..." Leon remarked, looking a tad dumbfounded himself. "But as usual, Kyoko is making it look too damn easy."
"Which makes me think that if Kyoko had the time needed to investigate... she likely would've found enough to point at the mastermind..." Sayaka surmised with a small frown. "That whole trial could've ended up very differently..."
Within their interlocked arms, Makoto squeezed Sayaka's hand in comfort. "It's fine, Sayaka..." He said softly to the idol. "They have another chance to corner the mastermind. And they even gain a better chance to solve all the mysteries, figure everything that's been going on. It... all worked out in the end."
Sayaka looked up at the lucky student for a moment before snuggling back into his shoulder; squeezing his arm in silent acknowledgement of his words.
"Certainly you can allow it as one of the many possibilities, can't you?" Kyoko asked rhetorically.
"One of… many?" The luckster repeated, completely perplexed.
"A detective doesn't have supernatural powers. There's no way to predict the answer from the beginning." Kyoko explained. "Instead, the ideal detective begins by imagining as many possible scenarios as they can. They envision these possibilities without prejudice, without bias, using only their logic and common sense."
"Then, as they investigate, they test what they find against each of these possibilities. Of course, me telling you this doesn't mean you'll be any good at detective work" The detective started concluding, with a small smirk. "But beyond using that to solve this particular mystery, you should keep it in mind for the future."
Slowly, the class absorbed Kyoko's little lesson for Makoto. "You make it all sound so simple." Sayaka remarked, her eyes towards Kyoko. "But I don't know if I could have that level of clarity, or imagination."
"For real. I mean, a lot of what we've seen has been so hard to imagine…" Hina spoke in agreement with Sayaka; looking a tad overwhelmed by the idea of thinking of various different scenarios.
"I understand. Like my future self, detective work isn't for everyone." Kyoko assured her classmates. "Even ignoring the more grisly side of the career, it requires much thought and imagination. The ability to see things without bias clouding you. I know not everyone is able to get to that level."
"So, if there's anything you'd like to know about the condition of the body, now's the time."
That seemed to jolt a memory into Makoto. "Come to think of it, there was one thing…" He began. "Earlier, when I was looking at Mukuro's profile, it listed her height and weight…"
"5 foot 7 inches, 97 pounds. Vitals were… 31-22-32." Kyoko summarized. "Did I get all that right?"
"You remembered all that…?" Makoto asked with slight bafflement.
The detective ignored the question, focusing on the main subject. "They are indeed consistent with the corpse." She confirmed. "And don't forget about the Fenrir tattoo. There's absolutely no mistake… our victim in this case is, without a doubt, Mukuro Ikusaba…!"
"Well, at least they have that all cleared up…" Was all Junko could think to say, getting a tad bored once again. "No wasting time on figuring out whether it's my sister or not…"
"That would've been kinda annoying…" Leon nodded his head in agreement. "Not the 'Kyoko ghost' shit level annoying, but still…"
"You guys aren't gonna let me live that down, are you…?" Hiro moaned, slumping his head.
"Don't worry, Hiro dear. I'm sure you'll provide plenty of other material to ridicule you for." Celeste 'reassured' the fortune teller with a serene smile. Said fortune teller could only slump further in response.
"Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"Y-Yeah, I think so…" Makoto stuttered out a tad awkwardly.
"Then it looks like we have no further business with Mukuro's body." Kyoko concluded, stepping away from the fridges. "Let's get going. It's kind of chilly here…"
"W-Wait…" Chihiro spoke up, looking a tad alarmed. "Are they… going to leave Mukuro's body like that…?"
The programmer's question got the attention of the others. "It's not surprising. As far as they are aware, Mukuro is an enemy and nothing more…" Byakuya huffed, narrowing his eyes at the soldier yet again. "They don't have the memories we do to bring about complicated feelings…"
"M-Maybe, but still… it doesn't feel right…" Chihiro protested, wringing his hands together. "She's much a victim as many of us are…"
"I agree with Chihiro…" Makoto spoke in support, also looking rather empathetic for the soldier. Others, such as Hina and Taka, had looks that said they were also in agreement. "I don't think… they should leave her like that, with or without the memories we share with her…"
Mukuro herself was quiet, uncertain as to how to feel. A part of her was of course touched that a few of her classmates, one of them her crush, felt that strongly about giving her corpse respect. But could she blame Makoto, the future Makoto, if he left her there?
"Obviously, that's your bias talking…" Byakuya remarked with an eye-roll. "However… knowing you…"
"Oh, wait, are we not gonna put the body back?" Makoto inquired, looking back at Mukuro's corpse. "Don't you think it's kinda… sad, leaving it out like this?"
"...Of course he would care enough to give Mukuro's body respect." Sayaka finished for Byakuya, flashing a smile that was part-smug and part-fond. "Memories or not."
"Indeed…" The heir sighed, his head turned away from the smug idol.
Yet again, Mukuro felt her heart beat strongly, in ways that almost hurt. 'You… You don't have any memories of me. To you, I'm merely a member of the Ultimate Despair…'
"Sad…?" Kyoko repeated, clearly perplexed. "Did you forget? She was our enemy once. A part of the Ultimate Despair."
'I helped in creating this killing game. As far as you know, I was just a willing partner for your torment…'
"B-But she still got killed. She's still a victim…" Makoto argued, looking conflicted.
'Many would argue that I deserved what I got. That it was karmic justice, and that I should receive no pity. Especially if they knew all that I have done… could've done…'
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'you reap what you sow'?" Was Kyoko's rhetorical question/response.
'Yet despite that… despite having no memories of me… despite only being able to know me as your enemy…'
"W-Well, yeah, but still…" The lucky student insisted weakly, looking down.
'...You would give me that kind of respect? See me as another victim of my sister's hunger for despair?'
"..." For a moment, Kyoko was quiet. Then… "You really are naive, you know that? It's really quite appalling…"
"An insufferably naive fool…" Byakuya sighed, shaking his head.
"Indeed…" Celeste nodded in agreement, closing her eyes in exasperation.
"His naivety is definitely made clear here…" Kyoko remarked with her own sigh.
Yet, the three couldn't help but think, as much of a insufferably naive fool he can be… he was their insufferably naive fool. And they wouldn't change that for anything, even if they could.
Despite her words, the detective went over and helped Makoto push the body back into the fridge. 'Yet you decided to help me… when you could've just left…' The luckster noted himself. 'So for someone like that, what does it mean to be "naive"?'
"I have to agree with Makoto here…" Sayaka remarked, looking at Kyoko with a raised eyebrow and growing smirk. "This seems like another part of hypocrisy for you here, Kyoko…"
"...His earnest nature is just infectious, is all." Was the detective's response. Words that Sayaka didn't buy one bit, considering Kyoko wasn't looking her in the eyes.
"Try blinding…" Toko muttered, very much aware of how blazing Makoto's sincerity can be.
Meanwhile, Chihiro turned towards Makoto with a relieved smile. "I'm glad that future you didn't leave Mukuro's body like that. I… know that she's part of the Ultimate Despair, but…"
"Yeah. I get it, Chihiro." Makoto assured his programmer friend. His attention then turned to Mukuro, planning to ask how she felt about all this. But the moment he got a look at her, the question died on his lips.
The soldier herself was completely still, her head bowed and her hands gripping the edges of her skirt. She was as still as a statue, with no obvious indication of what she may be feeling.
It was something that slowly caught the attention of everyone else. And it caused concern for some of them. "Mukuro… are you… okay?" Hina asked tentatively.
Mukuro didn't respond to the question. Refused to lift her head up. Cause if she did… everyone would see the tears rolling down her cheeks. A thin line trailing down from her eyes that absolutely refused to stop.
'Why…?' She couldn't help but think. Why did the way Makoto treated her corpse affected her this much? She shouldn't feel this strongly about it. After all, her corpse meant little to her. Meant as much as all the other bodies she has seen. Yet… seeing the amnesiac Makoto show compassion for her, compassion for an enemy, compassion that was unearned…
She felt a hand placed over one of her knees, causing her to instinctively look up. And in front of her was the very boy who made her this way, his face showing clear concern yet sympathy; and his eyes gleaming with that very same compassion he showed on screen.
She couldn't help it. With a small lurch, she launched herself at Makoto and wrapped him in a tight hug. The luckster quickly returned that hug, pushing back any embarrassment he may have felt.
'I love you…' Was the thought that ran through Mukuro Ikusaba. 'I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you so much.'
If she hadn't declared her loyalty towards the lucky student beforehand, she would've done so at this very moment. It's clearer and clearer to her that Makoto Naegi was her light. Her hope. And she will not let anyone extinguish her hope.
Not even her sister.