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Maekawa's world tilts on its axis the second Yaitabashi singles out the culprit.
"You're lying." she spits, glaring him down. Yaitabashi shoots her a look that is some mix of pity and sorrow, before continuing his explanation with a quiet, steady voice.
"We're already aware that this murder wasn't necessarily intentional." he frowns. As if it's so easy, so obvious, and she should stop trying to delay the inevitable. "Denden was locked in a room and bled out for quite some time - and we're already aware that Shishikura was unwell for most of yesterday evening-"
"Exactly! There's no way Snowball could've killed her - he passed out yesterday!"
"Maekawa."
And now it's Hirose giving her that look - doctor Hirose, the bleeding who zipped his mouth shut during the second trial, who was so willing to let them all die so he could escape with his precious Denden. And look how that turned out - all the bleeding were dropping like flies. First Ikeda, then Kumada, now Denden was found dead, locked in the calm room.
"We've already singled out all the other possible culprits. There...isn't anybody else it could be."
And the pity's basically dripping off him, his voice surprisingly soft, his eyes still wet with tears. Looking around the trial room it's like everybody's already made up their minds.
"No!" she yells, her voice echoing around the room. "No, we - we haven't got that far! You can't just give up on Snowball like that!"
"We're not giving up, Maekawa..." Yokoi placates, downcast. "It's the only possibility. We know Ninomiya was unwell after he couldn't access his insulin and Matthias was watching over him with Hirose, me and Sou were together in the-"
"Then what about Tei, huh? He'd probably kill Denden - after what happened with Ikeda, he'd kill anyone in this place!"
Tei's moments away from shooting back an angry reply when Ninomiya interrupts for the first time in over an hour. He's pale, sweaty, and Maekawa was half-convinced the guy was zoned out completely over there, yet when Ninomiya speaks he gives the most convincing argument yet:
"But, like...if it's not him, why isn't he saying anything?"
His words hit her in the chest like an arrow, because hold up - when they all thought he killed Nishiguchi, Osamu had repeated over and over that he didn't do it, and that the paper in the bathroom sink was planted there to frame him, and he even gave them the info about flushing the toilet by using a bucket or something. But in this trial, he'd been almost completely silent, even though he'd significantly recovered from last night's sickness. And right now, he's...
Maekawa, as well as every single other person in the trial room, drags her gaze over to Shishikura Osamu. Tensed up, hands balled into fists, eyes glued to the ground, Osamu releases a shuddering sigh.
"Snowball?" she whispers, her voice barely audible, and only then does he slowly raise his head to look Maekawa in the eye, tears running down his face.
"A-Azusa." He sniffs hard, hugging his stomach. "Azusa, I didn't know-"
"Hey, deep breaths, okay?" Maekawa leaves her podium, quickly passing Matthias to get over to him. Osamu looks so small, hunched over in on himself, and she gently grabs him by both of the shoulders. "I know you didn't do it."
"Maekawa..." From behind her, it sounds like Matthias is close to tears - another person here who thinks he's guilty. She ignores the rage boiling in her veins, and continues talking in a soft voice.
"Tell me what happened." Her voice takes on an almost pleading tone. "Tell me it isn't you, Snowball."
It's a long moment until Osamu speaks. He glances quickly over at Yaitabashi, who doesn't react. They all watch as he cries - and Maekawa's hand is reaching to dry his face when he responds.
"I wasn't trying to kill her," he says at last, voice small and broken, "but I c-couldn't get to her until the morning, and by then it was too late."
Her heart shatters. Silently, she releases him, and takes a quiet step backwards. Matthias places a hand on her shoulder, and she finds she can't move to shake him off, or open her mouth cry, or scream.
"I - I didn't want her to die!" He turns to direct these words at Hirose, who's beginning to shake. "I only locked her in there so she couldn't get to Azusa - I didn't know she was going to bleed to death!"
"Couldn't get to Maekawa?" Yokoi, as well as everyone else, is confused. "But - I don't understand, why did you stab her?"
Osamu looks at Maekawa, who still can't bring herself to move. Then back at the floor.
"...I'll explain everything."
Shishikura Osamu paints a picture of the situation: him, still feeling unwell from losing access to his medication again, stumbling upon Denden alone in the calm room, not quite herself after the lack of sleep and food. Maekawa tries not to feel a wave of regret wash over her when he describes how unwell Denden was - the several punishments she had taken from the Decision Game because of her guilt had impacted her badly. Maekawa had hated Denden, enraged at how she cried her way out of receiving any kind of consequences after she was revealed as a bleeding. And she'd snapped at Denden more than once, argued with Denden when she caught her trying to talk to Osamu, yelled at her when she tried to apologise-
"S-She was afraid Azusa would try and do something to her to end the motive." Osamu says shakily. "And I tried to convince her that Azusa would never hurt her, that I wouldn't die without my medication, but she was scared. Denden said...she wanted to make sure Azusa wouldn't bother her again."
"...Wouldn't bother her again? How?" Matthias asks, when Osamu pauses.
"I don't know! S-She wouldn't explain how, just that I shouldn't try and stop her. I didn't know if Denden was going to just talk to her, or..."
The implication of his words is not missed. And Osamu tells them he refused to let Denden leave - that clearly, she wasn't in her right mind, and she must stay here until she's calmer, or until Hirose was free and could look after her. Then, she'd rushed towards him to try and push him out of the way so she could leave - and he'd panicked, thinking Denden was going to attack him, bringing out the knife in his pocket and-
"How did you get a knife?" Yaitabashi interrogates, cutting him off. "Is that - did you use Kumada's knife to stab her?!"
Yokoi frowns. "Didn't we give that to Maekawa? How did he...oh."
Maekawa feels herself flush bright red.
She remembers pressing the knife into Osamu's hands, telling him to keep himself safe when she wasn't around. Osamu didn't even want it - he'd tried to reject the knife over and over, he'd told Maekawa he didn't trust himself with it, that anyone attacking him could just steal the knife and use it against him, but Maekawa didn't listen. No - she didn't pay attention, she never did. Not when she'd been so furious with Denden, attacking her at any opportunity, and she didn't pay attention to Osamu when he'd told Maekawa to lay off Denden a little - to give her a chance. This same stubbornness had killed Mion when they'd been so annoyed with Hirose they didn't talk to him, even for medical help, yet even after they died from their stab wounds Maekawa still didn't learn.
Now look what's happened. Now look at what she's done- Denden had broken down, afraid of what Maekawa might do to her, and Osamu had...he had...
"I didn't get a good look at her before I locked the door...and then I p-passed out before I could find Hirose. By the time I'd woken up...s-she was already dead." Osamu says. Finishing his explanation.
And it was all because of her. Maekawa stumbles backwards, Matthias's hand falling off her shoulder.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Yaitabashi questions, not quite sympathetic. "Why hide the truth from us if you really killed her by accident?"
"I didn't even know it was me - I barely even remember where I stabbed her! If I'd known it was all my fault...I-I would have told you all to vote for me earlier."
"...Even if it resulted in your execution?" Yaitabashi asks.
The word execution buries itself into Maekawa's chest, images of the bloody mess that was left of Ouno, the explosion that had destroyed Ogura completely, and Kumada's gunshot-riddled corpse flashing in her mind. Execution - drawn out torture for Osamu, when he hadn't even wanted Denden dead. Osamu, who Maekawa had promised she would protect - she'd told him over and over nothing would ever happen to him, that he would escape alive, and Maekawa believed it with her entire heart, even if it meant she would die so he wouldn't - so what was this nightmare she had walked into? This horrific nightmare, where instead of her dying to protect him, Osamu would die because of her mistakes?
"None of you deserve to be executed in my place, so...yes, Sou."
Yaitabashi doesn't ask any more questions - from the pained look on his face, he can't bring himself to. Not when none of this was his fault - it was Maekawa, it was all her fault-
An ugly sob escapes her throat before she can help herself. And she bursts into tears, burying her face into her hands.
"A-Azusa, come here." He opens his arms out. "B-Big hug."
Stepping over to him, Maekawa leans down to hug Osamu, squeezing him tight.
"Biiiiiig hug." he says soothingly, in the same intonation she'd used days and days ago, and she'd laugh at his imitation of her if she wasn't choked up with tears. Maekawa cries, and Osamu rubs small circles into her back.
"It's not your fault." he reassures quietly.
"It is." Choking back tears, her voice is high-pitched and wobbly. "I m-made her afraid, I was the reason s-she even-"
"I stabbed her." The hand on her back freezes for a moment. "I...w-was the one who left her to die. I never should have left Denden alone."
And Maekawa's moments away from telling him he couldn't have even if he tried - that she was the whole reason he was put in that situation, when a voice interrupts them.
"When you're ready, we'll begin the voting process."
"No." Maekawa holds him tighter. "W-We're not voting for him. We can't."
"You'll be prompted to select the student you believe is guilty of murdering Denden Misao. After all the votes have been cast, the execution will commence."
"I said we're not voting for him, Rabbit." she repeats. "C-Can't you just cancel the vote?! This isn't fair, he couldn't even help her! He was unconscious!"
"I am unable to-"
"I'll give you anything." Maekawa begs. "A-Anything you want, just - don't take him from me. Please."
The pause this time is longer, Monomoko considering her words. But then....
"...I am unable to grant this request. There have been other students in previous sessions guilty of murder that were subject to far more unfair circumstances. Making an exception in this instance would be unfair to those executed students."
"A-And what if I just don't vote?" she challenges. "I-If I don't vote, there'll be no execution-"
"Azusa." he whispers, trying to let go, but Maekawa can't let him - not when she might not ever have him in her arms again. "...Vote for me. Please."
"What if I don't?!"
"Students that refuse to vote will be punished. I would highly recommend selecting the student you believe is guilty."
Quietly, Matthias reaches over to Osamu's podium, voting for him. He turns to Maekawa's podium and halts, looking at her anxiously. And everyone else has already voted for him - she's outnumbered. Maekawa can't even convince them all to vote for her instead.
Eyes flooded with tears, Maekawa lets go of Osamu, storms over to her podium, and votes for herself.
"Your votes are currently being tallied, and will be shared with the class shortly."
. . .
"The majority of the class have voted for Shishikura Osamu. This conclusion was correct. As a result, Shishikura Osamu will be punished with death."
His fate is sealed. And only now does it look like it's sinking in - his upcoming death, and new tears begin to appear in his eyes. Quickly, she rushes over to pull him into her arms once more, for what might be the last time they're ever together.
"Don't let go, a-alright? I won't let them take you." she promises, voice breaking.
"I'm sorry, Azusa, I'm so sorry-"
"There's nothing to be sorry for, stop apologising, you're going to be fine. I'll - I'll protect you, I won't let them touch a hair on your head." Maekawa whispers.
She ignores Hirose's sad look, and the tears rolling down Matthias's face - she's focused on Osamu - Snowball, sobbing in her arms, who won't die because she won't let him die.
"Osamu, you're safe. Y-You can't even imagine the shapes I'll twist that rabbit into when I'm done with it-"
"Without further ado, if there are no further interruptions to speak of..."
Osamu was in her arms, holding onto her tightly, yet like all the other murderers, he's pulled away by an overpowering force so strong Maekawa can't fight against it. Even so, she struggles in vain, delaying Osamu's disappearance by only a few seconds until she can't anymore-
And he's disappeared - his scarf and his long white hair and his brace face, gone in the blink of an eye. Gone forever, and the chill that comes with his absence is more than she can bear.
"It's punishment time."