Chapter LVII: Last Hurrah

XxX

Naegi

I slowly drifted awake from my second case of involuntary unconsciousness in 5 days, wincing slightly in anticipation of the stabbing headache. Shockingly, the headache never came; I suppose that's the perk of being knocked out by drugs rather than by wooden door shrapnel. I quickly sat up, checking my surroundings. It looked like I was inside another trial room. However, unlike the last few, this one looked different somehow. More...regal, more formal. It had the air of an actual courtroom. Clearly, this was the room Enoshima had always intended for the final trial. Or, on second thought, this was the room meant for Togami's execution and she had hurriedly repurposed it. I really couldn't tell.

My sister suddenly appeared behind me, tapping me on the shoulder. I turned to face her.

"So, Makoto, here we are again. Has this been happening often with you?"

"What?" I responded. "Having an instant of hope just to have it snatched away, or being knocked out by the evil mastermind behind all of this because I missed something? Either way, a few times."

She laughed.

"Well, someone's a bit down on themselves right now. Nobody can predict everything, and it's more useful to remember the positives here."

I caught the not-so-hidden message in her words and nodded. Enoshima wanted us despairing here. That was why she had let us think we were so close to victory. After all, not much better for breaking someone's morale then showing them the light at the end of the tunnel before revealing that that light was the headlights of an approaching train. As I mulled that over, a more disquieting thought came to mind: just being put in captivity and forced into one last trial wasn't enough. Hell, that had been happening almost every trial to varying degrees. No, this trial would be something special. Enoshima had mentioned a 'pre-prepared body', which left what amounted to two options. Either Enoshima would be using her own body, or she would kill Asahina. I couldn't see what point she would make with either of those, though. The murderer in either case would be patently obvious. Also, the former required suicide to be a viable option, which I wasn't even sure was the case. After all, what would that trial even look like?

As I thought, Kirigiri walked up to me. I smiled at her, but the expression failed to reach my eyes. She noticed and sat down next to me.

"Makoto, it's ok. We'll get through this."

"I know," I replied. "It's just...we were so close to being out of here. That, in some ways, is what hurts the most. On the other hand, it definitely isn't smart to dwell on what might have been. So, to change the subject, how was your time in captivity?"

She paused for a moment, then blushed slightly. My eyes widened. What on earth could make Kyouko Kirigiri blush? A second later, she responded.

"While we were in the dojo, Celeste made a move. I'm still not entirely why she did, it came out of the blue to some extent. I cannot deny that I was favorable to the idea."

"Interesting." I shrugged. "I kind of like you two together. I mean, you banter well, your personalities complement each other, if you didn't kill each other first."

"Be that as it may, I still find it odd that she picked that moment to act."

I paused for a moment.

"Honestly, I'm not that surprised. She's always been one for totally surprising people, why should her romantic advances be any different?"

"True." Kirigiri nodded.

We talked about that for a while, neither of us distracted from the truth hanging over our heads. We were running out of time.

XxX

Celeste

I sat down in the corner of the room and closed my eyes, holding myself back from any kind of strong emotions. The way events were playing out right now, I couldn't trust my filters any longer, and right before the final trial was not a good time for the others to see the person I had locked away. Taeko Yasuhiro was imprecise, unhidden, wore her heart upon her sleeve, and a broken girl. Now was not the time for someone like that to mess everything up. I-she almost had, in the vigil room, when Monokuma had offered me the money. It had taken a real effort to force her back down to the point that I could think straight. I couldn't afford to let her out I couldn't I couldn't-I heard footsteps behind me. With an almost physical effort, I calmed myself down before they reached me. As they drew close, I heard a voice.

"Y-you aren't g-going to snap, are you?" Fukawa asked.

I turned to her.

"I don't think so, Touko. I could ask you the same question, you know."

She winced.

"H-hey! I was just trying to h-help!" Her voice grew hard.

I closed my eyes and breathed out slightly.

"I'm sorry, Touko. I'm not normally this quick to snap, I'm just having a bit of difficulty with all of this. I thought we were free."

She took a step closer to me, looking me directly in the eyes.

"Y-you have one too, don't you." It was not a question.

My eyes widened slightly, as my expression automatically shifted to one of confusion disguising the anger beneath. How dare she imply that we were the same! What nerve-I forced myself back to calmness.

"One what? I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

She leaned a bit closer.

"I c-can see it in your eyes. I can see the l-little flashes of anger. That-that's how I looked in the mirror before..." She trailed off for a moment, before regaining confidence. "B-before she came out. Before the other came out. You have an other t-too."

I felt my filters shatter. How dare she how dare she how dare she- almost without realizing it, I closed the distance between us, planning to rip tear kill destroy the pathetic thing that thought she was like me. She held up a hand briefly, keeping the other hand clenched.

"I-is that all? I s-say one thing and you just explode. I e-expected more of you."

I froze. The anger within me drained, to be replaced with uncomprehending bafflement. She saw the freeze and relaxed.

"A-are you a-at least calm enough to talk about it now? T-that display makes denying it kind of pointless."

"I...I think I am. What did you want to say?"

She took a moment to calm herself down. When she began speaking, it was surprisingly calm and stutter-free.

"You aren't going to let the other go. I don't care what it takes. You are going to keep her, if it is a her, reined in. Because if you don't, you get to find out exactly how much muscle memory I keep from my other. Understand?"

Her hand opened slightly, just enough for me to see the scissors in her pocket. I raised my hands slightly.

"I understand. I will not test you. It is a her, by the way."

She relaxed.

"W-want to talk about it?"

I considered that for a moment. On the one hand, the thought of letting out who I used to be to anyone else seemed distasteful and abhorrent in the extreme. On the other, maybe that was her influence on me. Yamada had known, and it hadn't changed how he saw me... Also, if anybody would understand how it was I felt, it would be Fukawa... That settled it. Brushing aside the feelings of no-no-no-no-wrong-no-don't I replied.

"I suppose it is the best course of action. What do you want to know?"

She considered that for a moment.

"W-who was she?"

"Who I used to be," I began. "When I was younger, I was...just like everybody else. I ate the same food, watched the same shows, read the same books, wore the same clothes, everything. The only thing that made me different was that, from the first moment I tried lying, I was a natural at it. I could feign emotion well enough to fool anybody. After a while, I just...couldn't take the sameness of it all. I took to gambling and found that my natural talents were perfect for the tables. With the money from that, I remade myself as who you see now. I changed my appearance, my vernacular, my home, everything. I distanced myself far enough away from everything that I once knew that nobody could break my shell, and then, I remade my personality. I locked parts of myself away, leaving behind only what I considered most essential. Kibougamine found me like that, a streamlined, better version of what had once been myself."

She drew back slightly, surprised.

"A-and the o-other...is who you used to be?"

I paused for a moment, pushing down the emotions within me.

"The other...is everything I cut away. It is my anger, my stupidity, the part of me that leaves emotion out in the open to be played with."

"I-if you cut it away, why is it still here?" She replied.

"The locks..." I hesitated. To admit this would be to reveal all. If-no. I needed to do this, or I would never be able to tell anyone. To fail now would be a total failure.

"The locks aren't perfect. Whenever I'm under stress, or around someone who knows me as I was, they rust, bend, and buckle. She forces her way out, and when she gets out, I lose any semblance of control. Locking her out for so long has made me forget how to deal with her when she returns."

Fukawa nodded.

"W-with me, it's different...I d-didn't make her, my surroundings d-did...but I know what it's like to l-lose control of yourself."

I smiled slightly.

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

She shrugged slightly, shook her head, and turned away. I sat back down against the wall, feeling weirdly light inside. Taeko's voice, the pressure to snap, was gone. I could breathe again-

*BBBZZZZZT*

XxX

Naegi

Suddenly, all the screens above us flashed on with a buzz. A moment later, Monokuma's head appeared.

"Sorry about that horrid noise! I'm having a few technical issues due to the actions of our late friends, so I'll get this over with as soon as possible. You have all been moved to the site of the last trial. Unlike every other trial, there will be no investigation! I will provide you the murder victim, the evidence, and the suspects, all you have to do is debate! See you soon!"

My eyes widened as he vanished. What on earth was he planning? I turned back to face Kirigiri, and froze. My backpack felt strangely light. I immediately dropped it to the ground and unzipped it. The laptop containing Alter Ego was gone, replaced by a note.

"Yo, Naegi-

Sorry for stealing your stuff and all, but I kinda needed who you had in there. He's my guest of honor, after all. Hope you aren't too ma~ad? I promise, you'll love what I have planned!

-Enoshima

P.S. You really should have looked in Asahina's locker again. I mean, you would have at least noticed she was dead, even if you couldn't have saved her. "

My hand snapped open, releasing the note as I dropped to my knees. Kirigiri walked up behind me. I mutely pointed to the empty backpack and the note. She read the note quickly before kneeling next to me.

"I know this looks bad, but we can get through this-"

I raised a hand to silence her.

"No, I'm pretty sure we'll make it through this also. After all, Enoshima wouldn't have built us up this far just to kill us. No, no. This is something else. This is something special."

As I said that, a platform descended from the ceiling, its occupant hidden by smoke. As it reached the Monokuma throne in the center of the room, the smoke cleared to reveal Enoshima, cradling the Alter Ego laptop in her arms. She turned towards us, grinning brightly.

"Hello, students! It is I, your wonderful host, in person for the first time! It's time for us to get this show on the road, so without any further ado, welcome to the last class trial of Kibougamine Academy!"

A/N: Before anyone asks about Celeste-this is the most stress she's been under since the vigil room. A POV of her then would have looked similar. It's still not a perfect solution, but canon does such strange things to her character that this was the only way I could think to solve them.

The last trial comes. Can anybody guess the suspects?

Please review!