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The courtroom spun around her as she struggled to remain on two feet. The trial to find Chihiro’s murderer had been full of dead ends as the class desperately sought the truth. But it was right there, in front of them, but she was too afraid to speak.
Toko had planned it all out perfectly…except her assumptions about what the others knew about Genocide Jack, the Ultimate Murderous Fiend. Jack had a very specific M.O., any crime scene would have multiple signs pointing to the true culprit. It wasn’t perfect, she didn’t have access to her scissors, and she was the one who committed murder this time. Jill had given her all the tips she needed to make it happen with what could be gathered around the school.
«Gloomy, if you get us both killed, I’ll do it before that bear even gets the chance, » Jill snapped. The voice in the headspace was loud, overtaking any outside sounds.
«How was I supposed to know none of your twisted ‘art’ was released to the public? »
«What, you never read any news about us? Trying to distance yourself from what our hands did? »
Arguing with her would be useless, especially if it meant she missed something crucial in the trial. They had to choose the right person to be the blackened; this wouldn’t work if everyone died. There was no guarantee that this would work but taking risks for love was how these stories went. Some grand gesture to show your devotion and—
Byakuya sighed angrily, drawing her attention. “If you all insist on going down this path, then I’m forced to confess I tampered with the crime scene.”
The room erupted, Monokuma giggled from his throne.
“Why would you even do that?” Makoto demanded. “You could have gotten us all killed!”
“That’s impossible. As long as I was able to steer you in the right direction, then there’d be no danger of that.”
“How can we trust you?” Hina asked. “What if you’re Genocide Jack?”
“Of course!” Hiro said. “Everyone knows the 1% kills poor people for fun.”
“If what you’re telling us is true,” Kyoko said calmly, “then prove to us that this was done by someone else, that you’re not Genocide Jack.”
“Is my word not good enough for you?”
“Cases are solved with evidence and confessions, not hollow words.”
“H-he’s right, he didn’t d-d—do it.”
«What the fuck do you think you’re doing?»
Byakuya glared at her. “I don’t need you coming to my rescue.”
The words struck deep, but that only further pushed her on. “I saw what books you were reading, what was in the archive. You like her, d-don’t you?”
“Her who?”
“Genocide Jack.”
A stunned silence took over the room.
«We had a plan!» Jill shrieked. «You’re going to ruin everything!»
“B-but isn’t Genocide Jack a man…?” Hina asked.
“I don’t think so,” Makoto said. “Byakuya showed me the case file, it said she was probably actually a girl.”
“So, y-you were talking about her. What if….” All eyes were on her, but so were his. “What if s-she wasn’t the only one who could k-k-kill?”
A shiver ran through Byakuya. “What are you even talking about?”
“I’ve f-figured you all out, Master. So, I-I-I—”
“Just spit it out already.”
“I killed her! For you!”
The silence of the courtroom was shattered by Monokuma. “Wow, what a twist! You didn’t even use my motivation for this.” He sighed. “And I spent so long finding everyone’s secrets, too. Why does love always have to get in the way of these things…?”
“So, you’re confessing to the murder,” Kyoko stated.
“Y-yes.”
“I still don’t understand your motivation,” Makoto said. “Did Byakuya ask you to kill Chihiro?”
Toko tried to say something, but her mind clouded over, everything was too heavy. Then, it was gone.
The sudden whiplash of being righted shook Toko awake. Her head was killing her, and she moved to put pressure on the spot…but there was nothing.
«Why did you take control! I was just about to—»
«Change of plans, I’m not letting you get me killed.»
“So, you’re really Genocide Jack…?” Hiro asked, incredulous.
“Well, duh! Who else besides little ol’ me could be the Ultimate Murderous Fiend?”
“So, you killed Chihiro?” Makoto asked again. “For Byakuya?”
The body grinned. “Sorry to get a little technical here, but Miss Morose and I are two different people! We don’t share memories or thoughts, so I can’t control what she’s doing, and she sure as hell can’t control me!” She cackled.
«Y-you’re lying to them? W-w-why?»
«Like they even understand this! And for your little scheme to truly work, we need everyone to believe this, including the mastermind. Otherwise, I’m just as culpable as you, and like I said, I am not dying for your sorry ass!»
Toko wanted to say more, but even if she could, no one else would hear her. She better not s-screw this up for me. But now that it was too late, she realized just how much their plan relied on Jill doing what she was supposed to…which she was never very good at. But her desire to stay alive was so strong she’d do this. She had to.
“See,” Jill began, “she figured out Byakuya’s type, which is totally women that can kill him in a heartbeat!”
“I don—”
“But who would believe a little mousy girl like her could kill anyone? She could pretend to be me, I could write down everything for her so she can pass any questioning, but that doesn’t change the fact that she looks like she can’t fight her way out of a wet paper bag.”
“I still can’t believe that she could kill someone!” Hiro shouted. “You have the same body, so you’re just as weak as her!”
Jill giggled. “Why else do you think I can get such gorgeous guys close to me? They’re not threatened by someone who looks like,” she did a little flourish, “this! Well, maybe not exactly like this, I have to tone things down a bit, so they don’t immediately figure out I’m a serial killer.”
“And that’s what you did to Chihiro…?” All the color was drained from Makoto’s face.
“I did not kill anyone,” Jill said. “I was just an accomplice.”
“You can’t be an accomplice to yourself!” Hina interjected.
“Did you trade in your brain cells for tits? Didn’t you hear me? We’re two different people! All I did was give her information on how to kill someone when she asked. It’s an entire conversation and it’s all written down, too! Too bad you never thought to investigate my room.”
“Monokuma,” Byakuya said. “Is this true?” He was staring at the body, them, her.
“Our little murderer is indeed correct! I took the liberty of collecting this since you all overlooked this crucial clue in your investigation.” The bear hucked the notebook over, which Makoto clumsily caught. Byakuya didn’t move an inch.
“Another question.” It was Kyoko. “Say that we come to the conclusion that Toko is the blackened. What will happen next?”
“It’d be no fun if I ruined the surprise.”
“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Jill offered. “Toko would get ‘punished!’ “
“But that would mean you would die as well,” Sakura said. “And something tells me you wouldn’t be the kind of person who’d let that happen.”
“And that’s what I told her! But her way with words finally came to use! Did you check the rules at all?”
Several students pulled out their handbooks and tapped through them.
“…and they alone will be executed,” Kyoko read.
“Exactly! And killing this body would mean killing me, too, which is a violation of the rules!”
“You-you’re lawyering your way out of execution?” Byakuya asked, incredulous.
“Ahhhhh, be still my girlish heart! Master is finally speaking to me!” The body leaned closer to him. “So, did our little scheme work? Did you notice her?”
“Th-that’s not relevant to the case.”
“Of course, it is! If you actually gave my worse half the time of day, then she wouldn’t have needed to go this far! But she’s a hopeless romantic, she loves these grand gestures. The fact that you meddled with the crime scene to make it more me just proves it: you love a girl that can kill. And lucky you, you get two lovers for the price of one!”
There was little left to the trial as Makoto went over everything from the beginning. Toko wanted to shake and hide, to truly not be here, not be aware, but Jill wasn’t letting her fade into unconsciousness.
«If this gets us both killed, then you have to be for it too.»
“Congratulations, everyone!” Monokuma said, hopping down from his throne. “You’ve once again found the blackened!”
“So, what happens next?” Makoto asked.
“What he said,” Jill said. “You’re not going to kill me too, are ya?”
“Hrmmmmmm.” Monokuma paused in thought. “Decisions, decisions. I have my own rules, but would breaking them for this special case be more despair-inducing…?”
Hiro laughed nervously. “Hey, you might get out of this one alive, Byakuya.”
“I’m not the one who—”
“Bro this chick murdered someone to impress you. She’s not going to let you turn her down.”
“And I have no problem killing Master, too, if he breaks my heart.” A deep, burning rage was threatening to swallow Toko up.
«W-what the hell is this?»
«You already know.» All the pain and hurt, the original broken heart that set them on this path, into the Ultimate Writer and Ultimate Murderous Fiend. One event that led to the great divergence between the two.
«H-he’d never do that.» Saying it was for her own comfort, but now Toko was unsure. She prayed it was just the anxiety of the impending execution and not an oversight in her grand plan. Byakuya turning her down had never been considered.
“All right, I’ve come to a decision!” Monokuma giggled. “Toko will be executed…as soon as she is available."
"What does that even mean...?" Makoto asked.
"Our blackened is, shall we say, ‘unavailable’ at the moment. There’d be no point in executing her if she wasn’t awake and experiencing the despair of her situation. So, once she comes back, we will proceed immediately to the execution.”
“But what about me?” Jill spat. “That would still kill me!”
“But you would be unaware, so it’d be like dying in your sleep. Which is a pretty nice way to go, especially in the midst of a killing game.”
“S-so Toko gets away with murder?” Hina said, trembling.
“Consider it a stay of execution. Besides,” Monokuma giggled, “she still gets to be ‘punished’ either way.”
“Explain,” said Kyoko.
“She went through all this effort for a boy, and she can never be with him or else she’ll immediately be executed! It’s like Romeo and Juliet or something.”
«This is okay,» Toko said. «We can make this work. Just…»
«You better get good at pretending to be me and quick!»
«I know.» But then she wouldn’t even truly be herself, Byakuya would still be falling in love with Jill…even if they both survived this and she revealed to him the truth, would he still love her regardless?
«You know we’re really lucky that no one figured out what forces us to switch.»
«I know….» The situation was hopeless, regardless of what happened, it would just be easier if she were dead. She glanced over at Monokuma; their eyes met, and the bear smirked.
“Don’t think that just because we have the same hobbies that I’m going easy on you,” he told her. “It’s only a matter of time before you slip up, and I will find it.”
“So, hypothetically…,” Hiro began, “if there was a way to make Toko showed up, what would happen if someone did that?”
“Why the hell are you even asking that!” Jill growled.
Monokuma said “While the action may be the one that hastens the death of your fellow student, you aren’t the one doing the killing so…consider this one a freebie!” He then turned to Jill. “And consider this a very special motive just for you, since you’ve made yourself into quite the pain in the butt.”
“Thank you for the clarifications,” Byakuya said with a smirk. “You’ve given me quite a lot to think about.”