Youth Center/Hotel Place

Sleeping pills? Why does that sound odd to me?

Romano thought over where he had found the knife--it was important to chase that lead for now. "She is not wrong--the knife was indeed found in the same drawer as her sewing kit. However, that is beside the point now. You say the glass from the cafeteria was found in the nurse's office? Do you think it possible the killer may have gotten that glass when they took the knife and planted it to lead us astray?"

Clair bit her lip. "I've been having trouble sleeping, but I haven't been taking pills for it. I think it might be safe to assume those pills all vanished at once."

Romano nodded slowly. "It may be a red herring," he murmured. "Still, it would not be wise to ignore this lead completely. For now, does anyone else have any other clues? Miss Ysabel is seeming rather suspicious right about now."

---

Faussin looked around, watching to see if anyone had found anything else of importance. Everyone was silent.

After a moment, Vivara let out a sigh. "I'll take that as a no. Well, let's look at what we have so far--an odd stab wound, a knife in Ysabel's room, Ysabel speaking with Lottimelia the night before the murder, missing sleeping pills, an empty glass, and the information given to us by the Monokuma file. Where shall we start?"

Finnian crossed his arms. "Let's start with the stab wound. The angle suggested Lottimelia was lying down when stabbed, which suggests she was tackled, sleeping, or something along those lines."

Graham stroked his chin. "She's pretty small, right? So it's not like we can assume based on physical stuff this time. I think any of us could tackle her and win."

"She would've fought back, though," Mercy muttered. "The killer would've been hurt, even if just a bit."

"Lottie does strike me as the type to claw and kick till her last breath," Vivara admitted. "Could that have been a reason for them to have visited the nurse's office?"

Finnian shifted. "Maybe. Unless, like Romano suggested, they were trying to create a red herring, that doesn't explain why they messed with sleeping pills, though."

Romano thought for a moment. Something still wasn't quite adding up--there was too much wrong with the situation that he couldn't even begin to put his finger on what exactly that was. "...They may have visited the nurse's office to fix wounds and decided it would be a grand opportunity to plant false clues. Under that thought process, our thoughts turn towards Miss Ysabel, correct?"

Clair bit her lip. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then apparently changed her mind and gripped the stand, observing the others. Madoka reached out to pat her shoulder.

"That said..." Romano paused. "We cannot be certain Miss Ysabel was the culprit until we have cleared up one thing: what is it you were talking with Miss Lottimelia about all those times? What would cause you to take a sudden interest in her so close to her death? And have you anything to say regarding the other claims that have been made during this trial?"

---

Faussin tucked his hands into his jacket, watching Ysabel as she took a deep breath.

"When Lottimelia revealed she had DID, I became curious," Ysabel admitted, hands trembling. "See, my sister suffers from the same condition. So I approached her and I asked her about it, and we ended up talking for a while. She was very excited to hear about someone else like her and I-I liked talking to her because she reminded me of home. Why would I kill someone who gave me something I might never be able to get back?"

Faussin shifted, having trouble watching her. Murderer or not, Ysabel was currently arguing for her life--they all were.

Everything she said made sense, but the coincidences were all they had to go on. Coincidence had led them to Xhevona, after all.

Clair stared at her stand, something odd reflected in her eyes. Romano gazed at her for a moment before turning his attention back to Ysabel.

"Did anyone notice Miss Ysabel talking with Miss Lottimelia before we met Miss Lottie?" he asked. "Currently we have no other leads pointing towards anyone else. Perhaps you would like to explain yourself instead."

"Something..." Clair trailed off, shaking her head. Romano stared at her for a moment--he could hear the hesitation in her voice.

Still...what else did they have?

---

"If I was going to murder someone, do you think I'd be so obvious about it?" Ysabel pointed out. "I wouldn't talk to the victim so much the night before I killed them."

Faussin frowned, not sure what to think. Everything they had against Ysabel so far didn't feel big enough to lock her in as the murderer. All of their lives were at stake--they couldn't afford to get this wrong. But at the same time, they didn't have anything else to go on.

"Hold on," Graham said. "Okay. Fauss, Faqir, you guys didn't find any missing sharp objects in the nurse's office, right? No bloodstains or anything either?"

Faussin nodded. "Yeah, we didn't find anything."

"Right," Graham confirmed. "And the only sharp object we did find missing was a knife of all things, hidden in Ysabel's room. This trial's weird for sure, but that feels like some pretty d*mning evidence. Because if that knife didn't kill Lottimelia, what did?"

Vivara crossed her arms. "The killer could've had something unconventional, though it feels unlikely."

"I agree, it's unlikely," Finnian added, "in fact, I'm almost certain the wound was made by a knife. I've seen stab wounds made by kitchen knives before, and the similarities were uncanny."

"You've seen other dead bodies before?" Graham blurted.

Finnian adjusted his glasses. "I see a lot of things. Also, my girlfriend's brother is a cop."

Graham nodded thoughtfully.

"So Graham, are you saying Ysabel is the killer?" Vivara asked.

"I'm saying that the knife in her room doesn't feel like a coincidence" Graham replied. "And neither does her talking to Lottimelia so much the day before. Ysabel hasn't talked to anyone so far, so even if the story about her sister having DID is true, it just seems really out of character. Besides, how else would the killer know she'd be in the garden at four o'clock in the morning if not by talking to her?"

"He has a point," Vivara muttered. "We don't have evidence pointing at anyone else but her, truth be told. Ysabel. Your defense?"

"I already told you my piece," Ysabel replied softly. "I did not kill her. I beg that you reconsider, considering all of us will die if you vote me up."

Graham's point could not be ignored. Romano's mind flashed back to the first trial--the schedule Xhevona had left, her washed dress, Bonnie's note...all had been coincidences, but coincidences that pointed to pretty convincing evidence. They couldn't afford to get lost now.

"I am afraid we have nothing else to go off of," Romano relented. "Miss Ysabel, there is simply no excuse for the number of coincidences in this case."

"Or maybe it was YOU!" Oni shouted suddenly, pointing accusingly at Romano. "After all, you are the one who went to explore the kitchen and who found the knife in Ysabel's drawer! Maybe you planted the knife there! THE BUTLER ALWAYS DOES IT!"

By now, Oni accusing Romano during the trials had almost become a fun game he looked forward to. "I see you are not willing to give that up. Very well, then I offer this as a rebuttal--Master Graham was with me during the exploration of the kitchen and the trek to Miss Ysabel's room. He can tell you that I did not take anything with me from the kitchen, therefore I could not have planted the knife in Miss Ysabel's room."

Oni sighed. "One day, butler. One day I shall uncover your crimes!"

"I just want this to be over," Faqir groaned. "Yo, Monokuma, the longer this drags the more depressed we all get. We're like, forty-percent more depressed right now. That's four ten-percents! And that's terrible."

Monokumua seemed amused. "Yeah, sure, Groucho. If you bozos are ready to vote, then let the voting--"

"Wait!"

Romano glanced over at Clair, who bit her lip, her fingers tapping on the stand.

"No, we can't...something isn't right," Clair insisted. "I don't know how to explain it, but...those sleeping pills are bothering me. It feels like too much work just to create a red herring..."

Faqir cocked his head. "We already concluded no one was taking sleeping pills, right? So how else would they have disappeared except for some kind of false lead?"

"That's exactly it, though," Clair insisted. "No one else has been taking sleeping pills. And there's really no other way to use them except for a false lead or poison..."

Faqir perked up. "Wait. Poison? Did you say poison? Elaborate on that."

Poison? Why did that come across as so odd to Romano? Admittedly, taking into account the odd phrasing of the Monokuma File, poison would make sense...but then why cover the poison with a stab wound? Why not just poison the victim and leave her there? What was the stab wound accomplishing if they concluded Lottimelia had been poisoned? It didn't add up.

Clair looked around, her eyes wavering. "Well...d-don't worry about me, but I know a lot about drugs and things like that because I take a ton. Sometimes a particularly large amount on purpose. N-not this time, but..."

"Miss Clair." Romano took a long, deep breath, trying to keep himself focused. "Focus and continue, please."

Clair nodded, biting her lip. "Viv, Finn, correct me if I'm wrong, but...well, a large enough amount of sleeping pills all taken at once could cause some pretty severe symptoms. If they were dissolved somehow with hot water, maybe in tea or something, it could be bad for whoever took so many. At the base level it's just nausea and vomiting, mixed with dizziness, slurred speech, confusion, things like that. If you take way too many it could cause shock and low blood pressure, or could cause difficulty breathing and coma..."

Wait.

"Stop," Romano ordered sharply. Clair froze. "Repeat that last part."

"U-um...shock, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing, coma?"

That's it.

Romano locked eyes with Vivara-- those sounded all too familiar. "Miss Vivara, what did the Monokuma File say about the cause of death?"

---

Vivara's eyes shimmered. "Lowered blood pressure and difficulty breathing. And I do believe the symptoms Clair associated with an overdose of sleeping pills are correct. Are we to pursue the possibility that Lottimelia was poisoned?"

Finnian sighed. "If she was poisoned, the sleeping pills and the Monokuma File being weird would make sense, but she was still stabbed. Why?"

"Perhaps I was framed?" Ysabel tried.

"That is a possibility," Vivara admitted. "If they saw you talking to Lottimelia so much and knew you had a knife in your possession, it would make you quite an easy target to frame."

"Why stab and poison, though?" Finnian repeated. "Just a stab would do it. If anything, poisoning her makes it harder to frame her, because it's weird. If it'd just been a stab wound, we..."

"We would've voted up Ysabel already," Vivara finished.

Fausin shifted. "There were some pills spilled on the floor, too. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but it was weird--there were a ton on the floor. Enough that the killer would've noticed and picked them up, especially if they didn't want anyone to know Lottimelia was poisoned. And I just remembered this, but, did anyone else notice that the flowers around Lottimelia were completely fine? If there was a struggle, they would've been crushed or something, right?"

There it was--the issue with the Monokuma File that had bothered Romano. Lottimelia hadn't died from her stab wound--she had died from poison.

"In all other cases so far, the Monokuma File has listed the actual cause of death. Thus, there is reason to believe Miss Lottimelia had already died from poisoning due to an overdose in sleeping pills when she was stabbed. That would explain the odd angle of the stab wound, correct?"

Faqir seemed thoughtful. "Clair, you said 'hot' water. They wouldn't dissolve in cold water?"

Clair shook her head. "Well...not without a lot of stirring, and the clear color would make it easier to see there was something in it, whereas with hot tea the color of the dissolved pills would be far less distinguishable."

"Yo, Rom." Faqir glanced over at Romano. "As a butler, you probably serve a lot of tea. That's the stereotype, right?"

Romano raised an eyebrow. "Correct, though I do not know what this has to do with anything."

"Right, well, see..." Faqir looked at Faussin, tapping his fingers. "Hot tea couldn't be served in an ordinary dinner glass, could it?"

"It could, but only those sweet-tea-serving degenerates of the States would dare place hot tea in a glass. Sophisticates know hot tea is always to be served in a teacup, or at least some manner of mug."

"That's what I thought." Faqir nodded. "But Fauss...that's weird, right? We found an empty water glass from the kitchen in the nurse's office. There were still some water droplets in it, like it'd been recently used. If Lottimelia was poisoned, you'd think the killer would give her tea, not a glass of water."

Romano heard nails scratch against the wood of the podiums; he looked over at Clair, whose eyes had suddenly snapped to life.

"No one else poisoned Lottimelia." Clair's expression was oddly serious.

"You're the one who suggested poison!" Faqir insisted.

"I know." Clair looked across the room at Faussin, her hands curling. "No one else poisoned her."

In an instant, Romano's mind clicked.

She cannot possibly be right.

...Right?

---

Faussin stared back at Clair, chest clenching. "You don't think she...?"

He grabbed the front of his stand. Why hadn't he seen it sooner?

When Lottie came out, it was a sign. The girl even said it--Amelia was beginning to lose it, and that's why Lottie took control. Lottie, completely in charge, even when Amelia was clearly the dominant one of the two. In line with that, the sleeping pills made sense, the time of death, the--

"She died in the garden."

Faussin closed his eyes, the realization sinking in more and more.

"The Ultimate Botanist died last night, lying in a bed of beautiful flowers. Of course. Because where else would she have wanted to die?"

At once, all the puzzle pieces fell into place. They had been looking at the case all wrong from the very beginning.

"The pills were not the red herring." The gears in Romano's head wouldn't stop turning. "The stab wound was. We have been going about this all wrong. Whoever stabbed Miss Lottimelia did not kill her and plant the pills--they stabbed her to make it seem like she hadn't taken the pills. They wanted us to vote for Miss Ysabel. The question now is...who would that be?"

Clair cursed under her breath. "Th-this is all my fault. I-I made you all worry about me when we should have been worrying about Amelia! We could have stopped this and we didn't, I...I didn't, of all of us I should have seen the signs but I was so obsessed with...d*mmit!"

Madoka reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. For the first time, Romano realized he had been entirely silent throughout the whole trial.

"Your queen is confused!" Oni declared. "If...if Lottimelia killed herself which is what I think you're insinuating, then who is the blackened?!"

Monokuma just shrugged. "That's for you to find out, weeb."

"Everything lines up," Clair muttered. "She wasn't mad at any of us, she was hardly crying, she...she had internalized everything to the point that her more energetic, more confident personality was allowed to take over due to her relaxed mental state! The switch that flipped her switch was the trial, poor Amelia had completely withdrawn so Lottie had no choice but to take control of their actions and personality so she didn't become a husk, and..."

More confident?

"One more thing is bothering me," Romano murmured. "If Lottie was able to lift Amelia's spirits so much and the girl seemed to be alright so long as Lottie was allowed to have some control...what would have triggered her to commit suicide?"

---

Lottimelia had killed herself. She'd decided that this was too much for her and so she took her own life, leaving this world while surrounded by the nature she loved to study.

Thinking about it made Faussin nauseous.

"You're right," Ysabel realized. "Amelia may have wanted to end her life, but Lottie's presence seemed to fix that. It doesn't make sense that she ended it anyways."

Vivara sighed, adjusting her glasses. "And the day after Lottie took control, no less. You'd think she would've lasted some time before giving into Amelia wanting to end their life."

"Unless," Ysabel began, with an odd smile, "somoene talked her into it."

Faussin stared, suddenly very uneasy.

Graham's fists clenched. "What--what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Lottie wasn't holding on very tightly, either. It's interesting," Ysabel said, brushing her hair behind her ear. The more Faussin stared, the more twisted her smile began to look, and the more unsettling her calm demeanor became. "She put on such a strong front, but Lottie didn't really seem to care about, well, anything. The only reason she felt the need to keep their spirits high was for Amelia. Adorable, sweet little Amelia--Lottie wanted her to live on, to be happy."

"That's why you were talking to her so much," Vivara muttered, fingers wrapping around the edges of her stand.

Ysabel laughed. "All I did was convince her they'd be happier dead than stuck in this H*ll. Better she took her own life than let one of you, right?"

"The stab wound," Graham muttered. "Why?"

"Simple," Ysabel replied. Her eyes darkened considerably. "Because you all deserve to die. And to think, we were just a moment away from the vote. I should have checked the nurse's office. Ha! Bad on me, I suppose."

The pieces were all there. The puzzle was solved. Lottimelia's suicide, Ysabel's involvement...it had all been uncovered. There was nothing less to discuss.

Romano hated it.

Someone let out a choked sob. Romano turned towards the source of the sound, noticing Madoka bent over his stand, shaking violently. Next to him, Clair's eyes took on their dead, vacant look, fixed on some point far beyond reality.

Of course--this was the second trial in a row in which someone had attempted to manipulate everyone into making a wrong choice, or in fact involved manipulation at all. Romano never thought he would miss the first trial--at least Xhevona had been straightforward. No one had been brought into her mess but herself. No one had been forced to confront the reality that some of them were willing to end whatever lives they chose for selfish reasons.

"...Ysabel, you b*tch."

With each new trial, Faqir grew more and more distant from the casual, pleasant jokester Romano had once known. With each death, each new revelation about the character of the students, more and more of his good humor died. Romano could only imagine how much this was tearing everyone up.

"What the actual f*ck?! You convinced her to kill herself just because you wanted us dead?! What the h*ll did we even do?! Sure, I can understand being furious with Clair, but the rest of us have done nothing wrong, c*nt!"

Romano hadn't realized it before, but it hurt to hear his fellow students cry and lose themselves in these trials. His head spun--his composure couldn't slip now. The more everyone broke, the more they needed support.

"Everyone, remain calm," Romano insisted. "I understand that there are many negative emotions right now--"

"You, understanding emotions? That's rich, Rom." Faqir laughed, but the broken sound was obvious. "You wouldn't know grief if it slapped you in the face. You've just been pretending everything's fine, just blocking everyone out, keeping up a guard...you don't even have emotions! There's no way you could ever understand what this is like for us!"

His outburst was not unexpected. Romano took a deep breath. "I apologize that you think that. My efforts to keep my emotions in check have been entirely to provide a sense of stability. If we were all to lose our minds, I believe if it safe to say we would have failed our very first trial. Sometimes it is necessary to distance yourself from grief so that your mind may function clearly."

Faqir's fist slammed onto the table, tears in his eyes. "F*ck this, why does this keep happening?! We've been kidding ourselves! We're never getting out of here!"

Clair had sunk behind her stand by now, wailing. Madoka scratched at the wood. Oni...

Oni lifted her chin, taking a long, deep breath. She whispered under her breath as if trying to keep herself calm. Somehow, her courage was inspiring.

"So what, then?!" Faqir cried. "We don't get to kill Ysabel and she just keeps taking us all down one by one?! Why would you--why?!"

"Calm down," Romano repeated, raising his voice slightly. "Please, everyone stay calm. I know it is difficult to process, but yelling will not fix anything. I believe we should be focused, instead, on why it is Miss Ysabel is so determined to see us all die." Drawing in another deep breath to maintain his composure, Romano faced Ysabel. "If you do not mind, Miss Ysabel, I am rather curious to hear your take on this."

---

Somehow, hearing everyone's reaction only served to distance Faussin further. Closing his eyes, he clutched the edges of his stand, attempting to calm the voices that raced through his head.

She's right. You do deserve to die.

It should have been you.

The truth is out!

How painful do you think Lottimelia's death was?

"You want me to explain?" Ysabel asked, chuckling. "I thought I already did, but very well. I'll repeat myself: you all deserve to die. The world is better off without every single one of you, and that is a fact. This was true of the vermin that have already left us as well."

"And what makes you say this?" Vivara questioned, standing stiffly.

Ysabel folded her hands together. "Plenty of things. Would you like examples?"

Mercy narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, examples?"

"I'm not sure what you don't understand. 'Example' is a very straight-forward word," Ysabel replied. She scanned the students briefly, "let's see. Shall I point out our dear friend Romano, who is in servitude to the mafia? An awfully proud man, our Ultimate Butler. Or would you all rather hear about Faqir, who robs people daily through his fudged jewelry prices? I'm sure the crimes of some people here are downright obvious, of course--Graham, our resident thief, or Mercy, who kills for sport."

"You--"

"And let us not forget the fallen. Xhevona was a murderer, Bonnie was a bitter and far too proud human being, Eriko ruined lives for the sake of her silly little puzzles, and Braeden--well, I can't even begin to recite his crimes. And as for lovely Lottimelia, she was far too mentally disturbed to be allowed to live. If anything, I did her a favor."

That's probably what she thinks of you, huh?

Spare yourself the pain.

This world doesn't need you.

Die.

Faussin's grip on his stand tightened, now holding onto it for balance. The voices wouldn't stop. They never stopped. They'd keep talking, and talking, and talking...

"How do you know so much?" Mercy questioned. "You..."

Realization flickered in Mercy's eyes; she slammed her fist against her stand. "You're in on it!"

Ysabel smiled. "I suppose you could call me the 'Ultimate Traitor.'"

So that was it.

It had felt odd to Romano--if everyone incorrectly guessed Ysabel as the murderer, wouldn't it get her killed too? But if she really was in league with Monokuma, her actions made perfect sense--Monokuma wouldn't want to kill his own accomplice.

Admittedly, he wasn't concerned that the others had learned about his involvement with the mafia--or even that they realized the depths of his pride. He had already made peace with that when he'd spoken to Clair and Faussin in the nurse's office. Even so, judging by the reactions of the others, Ysabel's words had struck a deep nerve.

For a moment, the trial room was terrifyingly still.

Then, with an unexpected, bestial roar, Faqir launched off of his podium at Ysabel, reaching out to wrap his hands around her throat. Romano jumped, surprised by the sudden change. Oni screamed, stumbling back.

"You f*cking b*tch!" Faqir nearly screamed. "You knew! You let them die! You're with that f*cking bear!"

This cannot happen. We just need to stay calm...

"Master Faqir, please," Romano nearly begged. "Release her. This will solve nothing."

"Screw that!" The rage had never been more clear in Faqir's eyes--even when he had grilled Clair in the conference room, he had at least had the control to refrain from physically attacking her.

Here and now, however, as his hands tightened around Ysabel's neck, it seemed all traces of who Faqir once was had vanished in a single moment. One by one, the students had begun to shatter--and this time was Faqir's turn.

"If we can't get you executed for killing Lottie, I'll kill you myself!" Faqir roared. "I'll kill you like you killed her! I'll kill you like you let everyone else get killed! I'll f*cking kill you!"

"ENOUGH!"

Before Romano could speak out to stop her, Oni leapt off her podium and raced to Faqir, yanking at his arms.

"LET HER GO THIS INSTANT! YOUR QUEEN DEMANDS IT!" Even through her usual loudness, Romano heard the sobs in Oni's voice and saw the tears in her eyes. "M-Mercy, help me! Help me get him off!"

This cannot be allowed to happen.

Even as the trial continued to unfold, Romano could sense the danger of the coming days. Something had to be done.

---

Faussin was briefly shaken out of his insanity-induced daze when he heard at least three people scream--head snapping up, he nearly fell over when he saw Faqir's hands wrapped around Ysabel's neck. Heart hammering in his chest, he watched as Oni cried for Mercy's help, frantically trying to pull Faqir away.

The Ultimate Hunter seemed hesitant--for a moment, Faussin was afraid she was only going to stand and watch as another person died.

Thankfully, that is not what happened.

"Faqir, stop," she said finally, moving to help Oni pry him off of Ysabel, "I couldn't care less if she died, but d*mmit, I'm not letting you die at the hands of that stupid f*cking bear!"

Ysabel squirmed, hands clawing at where Faqir held her throat. With each second that passed, she grew more and more desperate, kicking at him as her face turned red.

Vivara stared, noticeably struggling to keep her composure, "Faqir, please, release her! The last thing we need right now is more death!"

For a moment, Romano was convinced he would see more deaths in the next seconds.

Then, in an instant, Faqir's composure seemed to drop completely. His grip weakened, freeing Oni and Mercy to pry him off of Ysabel, and the Jeweler nearly collapsed into the other two girls, burying his face in his hands. Oni bit her lip, holding Faqir from falling. Faqir broke into loud sobs, convulsing every once in a while with loud screams.

This cannot happen.

Romano noticed his hands had begun shaking. He took a series of deep breaths, silently counting to ten.

"We should..." Had his voice cracked? Romano wasn't sure. He cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "We should not dwell on these things for much longer. It is beneficial for us to begin the voting as soon as possible."

Madoka moved to pull Clair into a hug. She leaned against his shoulder, sniffling.

This cannot happen.

They had worked too hard to let everything fall apart now. If everyone could just stay calm...

"Monokuma." Romano locked eyes with the bear. "The vote, if you may?"

This absolutely cannot happen.

---

"About time!" Monokuma exclaimed, crossing his arms. "Alright, twerps, time to vote! You know how it's done by now!"

There was a pounding in Faussin's head. Clutching his stand for balance, he closed his eyes, trying to even out his breathing so his heart could stop beating so quickly. It only made him more anxious, the voices louder, the pain in his head worse...

"If--if Lottimelia killed herself," Vivara started warily, "then she is the 'blackened', wouldn't you say? I would like to clarify before we vote."

"I-I believe so," Finnian muttered, his eyes downcast. He took a shaky breath. "Lottimelia is the one we need to vote for, yes."

Mercy helped Oni support Faqir's weight, expression mostly if not completely blank. After pulling him further away from Ysabel, she lifted him into a hug, tightly wrapping her arms around him. Ysabel, meanwhile, fell to the floor, gasping for breath. She was coughing and spluttering, tears forming at the corners of her eyes--watching, as his headache worsened and the voices continued to taunt him, Faussin almost felt bad.

But she didn't feel bad for talking Lottimelia into suicide. She didn't feel bad for trapping them all in this horrifying game of death. No matter what any of the people there had done, Ysabel was by far the worst of them all. She was a true monster.

Attempting to steel himself, Faussin pressed the button in front of him, locking in his choice.

At least, if Lottimelia killed herself, then she was the murderer--meaning there was no one to execute. They were only going to lose one student that day, or so he prayed.

This much was good enough--they had lost one student, but this trial they would not lose another. That in mind, Romano pressed down on his choice. Oni slowly drew away from Faqir and Mercy to press the button for Faqir's podium and her own. Slowly, everyone locked in their votes.

...

...

...

"And the votes are in! This trial's blackened...the Ultimate Botanist, Amelia Temmer!"

Romano breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe--no one else would die here.

"But, well, hmm..." Monokuma smiled a demented grin, and instantly Romano's world stopped turning. "It's no fun not to punish anyone. What can ya do? She killed herself, so I didn't get the honors! How about this?"

The voting buttons folded back into the students' podiums. From Monokuma's large seat, a bigger panel popped out of the woodwork with buttons representing each student.

"I'm in a good mood, so I'll let you choose." Monokuma's one red eye gleamed. In the lighting, Romano swore it was the color of blood. "You guys can vote on who you want to have executed for this trial! But bear in mind, no one leaves until you choose! So pick wisely, scrubs!"

This cannot happen. This cannot happen.

It took all of Romano's willpower not to completely lose his wit.

Why must this happen?

---

Faussin felt his legs about to buckle. Hands shaking, he held to his stand even more tightly, willing himself not to lose it completely. As hopeless thoughts began to swim through his head, egged on by the voices and amplified by the horror of those around him, he repeated the phrase can't give up over and over in his mind.

"This..." Vivara shook her head, hands trembling. "This is cruel beyond reckoning."

"Ysabel," Graham muttered. "She should be the one to die. Lottimelia's death was her fault in the first place, wasn't it? Everyone's deaths are her fault."

Ysabel, who had slowly taken her place back behind her stand, rubbed her neck. She regarded the students with what looked like condescension, her lilac eyes seeming unburdened as ever. Whether she was silent because she had no words to say or she was wary of being strangled again, it was hard to tell.

Romano tried to focus on keeping his breathing steady. It should have been simple enough, right? Throw Ysabel under the bus and leave it at that.

Even so, would Monokuma let his accomplice actually get killed?

It was then that Romano took time to examine the larger voting panel at Monokuma's seat. He picked out the issue immediately.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but Miss Ysabel is not an option."

Faqir managed to glance up at the voting panel, springing back to his podium in horror. "Are you f*cking KIDDING me?!"

Monokuma was clever, if nothing else. He was clever, he was brutal, and he was despicable beyond belief.

Oni stared at the voting panel, her eyes taking on an odd look. Romano glanced over at Madoka and Clair, who were tangled in each other's arms.

Faqir's fury quickly bubbled back to the surface. He pointed accusingly at Clair. "D*mmit, then let's get Clair! She avoided dying last trial, we can sack her for this one!"

"No!" Madoka spoke out for the first time during the trial, shaking. "P-please, don't kill her! C-Clair has been doing so well, sh-she can't die now, I-I promised her..."

"Good luck charm." Clair swallowed, forcing a smile to her face. "I-it's okay. I deserve it. L-let's just get me killed and get it over with."

"I am not losing you!" Madoka sobbed, grabbing the girl's shoulders. "I almost lost you twice now, I won't do this again!"

"Then what the h*ll else are we supposed to do, huh?!" Faqir demanded. "Should we vote in Romano just because he's involved with the mafia, assuming what that b*tch said is true?! Do we vote for Graham just for being a thief?! Do we throw Mercy under the bus because she's a hunter?! What the h*ll else should we do?!"

Romano clenched his fists to try and regain some control over himself. He counted silently, maintaining steady breathing. "We should try to discuss this logically. Perhaps there is some way--"

"Some way what, Rom?! This is different from any other trial! The only one of us who did anything wrong is Clair, so let's just punish her for getting Eriko and Braeden murdered and move on! At least she deserves it!"

Madoka clung tightly to Clair, trembling. "If you're going to try to kill her, I-I'd rather you killed me instead!"

They were getting nowhere by arguing, but somehow, Romano couldn't muster the strength to speak up again. He stared at the voting panel, empty of Ysabel's face, taunting the group from where it sat.

True hopelessness was found in that moment.

---

"We..." Faussin suddenly felt suffocated. "Please don't kill Clair. She doesn't deserve it."

"If not Clair, then who?" Vivara replied, chuckling bitterly. "No one here is what we'd call an 'ideal' choice, but better the person who we know can kill and has the potential to kill again, wouldn't you say?"

"Viv and Faqir have a point," Graham muttered, eyes downcast. "She--"

"I don't care!" Faussin cried, surprising even himself. "Kill me instead. It's not like I'm any better! I just--please don't kill her, she shouldn't have to die at the hands of a murderous little teddy bear! Don't do that to her, and don't do that to Madoka!"

"For the last time, I am not a teddy bear!" Monokuma said, brandishing his claws.

"It doesn't matter what you are!" Faussin shouted, all of the frustration and sadness he'd been trying to suppress during their entire time there suddenly bubbling to the surface. "You're evil! You're soulless! I hate you, and I hate this, and I hate myself, so just vote me up!"

Finnian took a shaky breath. "Fauss, we're not going to kill you."

"Why not?" He questioned, fists clenching. "I don't know anyone here. I haven't talked to anyone, I haven't made any friends--heck, you guys know next to nothing about me, so what's there to mourn?"

"Why are you so intent on defending her?" Vivara asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Faussin bit his lip. "Because I don't want to see her die."

"You barely know her," Vivara said. "It's as you said--we barely know you and you barely know any of us. Why do you care so much?"

"I-I..." Faussin rubbed his eyes, resentful of the tears that formed. "I-I can't explain it, I just do. You're in as much danger with her alive as you are with me alive, so killing either one of us would get rid of some of the threat either way. No one is attached to me, and that's fine, but it's no secret how much Madoka cares about Clair. So do him a favor and just kill me instead, okay?"

If anything, it'd get the voices to finally shut up, he thought, bitterly.

In an instant, the team they had finally reformed had fallen to pieces. Romano couldn't tell what he hated more about the situation--the fact that everyone around him was shattering, or the fact that he wasn't.

Clair let out a cry, trying to get free of Madoka's grasp. "Don't kill him!" she cried, clawing at Madoka's arms held fast around her body. "P-please, don't kill him! F-Fauss, i-it's okay, I already want to die, j-just...j-just please, you have to live through this, don't...don't kill him!"

Romano glanced over at Oni, worried at how the little exorcist was handling the situation. Her eyes were locked on the voting panel, her posture oddly steady and her expression somehow confident. Somehow, it worried Romano far more than Clair and Faussin's pleas for death.

Faqir let out a hoarse laugh, laced with the same insanity that had tinged Clair's in the last trial. "H*ll! Why not just kill me, then?! We're all going to rot in here anyways, might as well get it over with!"

"E-everyone stop, please!" Madoka yelled. "I-if we just calm down, maybe--"

"No," Romano interrupted. He licked his lips briefly, trying to alleviate the dryness of his mouth. "...There is no way out of the situation this time around. We have reached a dead end, and there is now nothing we can do but make a sacrifice in order to move forward."

At the word "sacrifice", Romano saw Oni move out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to face her more fully, however, it appeared the girl hadn't budged an inch from her previous position.

"Then just sacrifice me already!" Clair insisted. "What do I even get if we all scape this place?! I-I'd rather die in here than out there, just...you better not let Fauss do this! Fauss, don't you dare do this!"

The longer the trial dragged on, the worse Romano's headache got. He reached up to rub his temples, determined not to let the situation drag him down any further.

Things would work out somehow...wouldn't they?

---

"There's nothing for me to go back to," Faussin insisted, attempting to sound reasonable in his desperate attempt to be chosen for execution. "I have no family, I have no friends--I only have a way to distance myself from the world so that I hate myself a little less. No one will miss me, and neither will any of you. I wouldn't even miss me. Someone has to be executed, and I'm saying I'll be that person. What are we waiting for?"

"Do not throw away your life so willingly," Vivara hissed, hands trembling.

"The sooner we get this over with, the sooner everyone can find a way out of here," Faussin pointed out. "It's just like Romano said--there's no way out of it. P-please, just kill me already, okay? I would rather be able to die for you guys than in a world where I'm miserable. At least this way, I can feel like I'm worth something, even if just for a second."

"We--we can't just stand here forever," Mercy sighed, rubbing her forehead. "We have to make a decision."

"That's what I'm saying!" Faussin exclaimed, the tears coming faster all of the sudden. "Please! I need to believe everyone else can live through this! Kill me!"

"You've done nothing wrong! None of us have!" Finnian cried, nails digging into his stand. "How can any of us willingly sentence anyone here to death?!"

Faussin wiped the tears from his face, eyes suddenly zeroing in on the voting machine. Moving out from his stand, he started toward it, but Graham caught his arm, holding him back.

"Just let me," Faussin nearly begged.

"I-I can't," Graham replied, biting his lip.

Faussin sobbed, desperately trying to free himself from Graham's grip. "Why?!"

"Because you don't deserve it!" Graham yelled.

Faussin actually laughed out loud, tears now mixing with bitter chuckles, "you don't know that! I absolutely do deserve it, more than anyone here! D*mmit, why won't you just... just let me! Let me die!"

Just stop them. It will all be fine. Just stop them. Say something.

Romano squeezed his eyes shut, trying to drown out everyone's shouting. Clair let out a sob, struggling against Madoka.

"Fauss!" she shouted. "Fauss! L-let them kill me, please! Th-there's still so much, I-I deserve it!"

Romano hardly registered anything that was happening...until he noticed Oni step out from behind her podium, gently remove her necklace from Faqir, and begin heading towards him.

"O-Oni," Faqir gasped out, nearly breathless, "where are you going?"

Oni was remarkably calm as she stepped up to Romano's podium, gently passing him her necklace. Willing his hands to stop shaking, Romano reached out to take it, meeting Oni's eyes. They shimmered in the dull lighting, a strained smile poking at her lips.

"Oni...?" Faqir began to move towards her as Oni reached out to grab Romano's hand. "...Oni, come back. L-listen, we'll just send one of those two, okay? They want to die anyway!"

Romano allowed Oni to hold his hand for a moment, trying not to focus on the resolve in her gaze.

"...If I were going to kill anyone...it would be a demon." All of Oni's loudness and grandiose nature had vanished--in that moment, she became just as vulnerable as the rest of them. Romano squeezed her hand subconsciously. "...Hey, Romano. Your queen's last order is to guard that necklace."

Last.

Romano struggled to find words to say that wouldn't betray his growing feelings of dread. He settled on nodding.

Oni was quiet for a moment. Slowly, she took a couple of steps closer, stood on her toes, and planted a light kiss on Romano's lips. He blinked, admittedly taken by surprise.

Her voice came in a soft whisper. "Thank you. I'm sorry."

Oni. Romano placed a hand on her shoulder, willing himself not to lose everything now of all times. He continued counting internally, clutching Oni's necklace in his hand. Oni took a step back, taking a deep breath.

"See..." Oni smiled--Romano realized it was the most pure, innocent smile he had ever seen. "The problem is simple. Everyone is sad, and terrible things are happening...because there is a demon among you. As an exorcist, it is my responsibility to get rid of that demon."

Faqir stiffened. "Oni, what--what are you saying? Get--get back to your stand!"

Oni turned to look at him, grinning. "If I did that, the demon would still be here. You all see? You are held in despair under the powerful rule of the Great Demon Queen. So then...I relinquish that rule."

"Oni!" By now, Faqir had begun to chase the girl down. Oni calmly turned towards the voting panel and began to head for it. Faqir caught her arm, yanking her back a step. "Come on, you haven't done anything wrong, okay?! W-we can just use this to get back at Clair or something! Fauss clearly wants to die, let one of them do it!"

With a surprising strength, Oni tore her arm loose--or perhaps Faqir was just too drained to hold on to her properly.

"Don't worry. I want to die too, so it's fine to send me." Oni took another step towards the voting panel. Romano's fingers dug into the cross she had passed him.

Come back. He willed his voice to work. Oni, come back.

"You don't deserve this, Oni!" Faqir demanded. "Y-you've done nothing wrong! Just...just come back, okay?"

For a moment, Oni didn't respond. When she spoke again, her voice sounded more natural than it ever had.

"...Yuno."

"W-what...?"

Oni took another step. Romano gripped his stand, aching to chase after her. "My real name. It's Tachibana Yuno. So, you see? I have done something wrong. I lied to all of you and I lied to myself." The girl paused, reaching out to touch Amelia's stand as she passed it. "And, you know, I've failed at being an exorcist if I did all that work and everyone is still sad, and people still died, and this still happened. But it's okay, because I think I know what the problem is now. It's me!"

Clair hiccupped, writhing. "You're not the problem! On--Yuno, c-come back here and let me die instead!"

"But that wouldn't fix anything." Oni--or Yuno, Romano supposed--had reached Bonnie's stand; she paused, drawing her hand along the surface of it. "It has to be me, or the demons will keep coming after you. It's okay--I hate Tachibana Yuno anyways, so if I kill her, it'll be a good thing. And maybe when you all escape, you can thank my daddy for teaching me how to be an exorcist, and you can tell my mommy and my sister what I did, and maybe they'll think I'm a good girl now. And you can all grow up and be happy, and start families, and the demons won't bother you anymore."

Come back. Yuno, come back.

"Just let me die!" Clair pleaded. "Please, just let me die!"

Yuno stretched, her posture oddly relaxed. "You haven't had a chance to be happy yet, though. And, well...a life where you were never happy even once is a terrible life! You still need to live yours, then, so you can discover happiness. I already..."

She trailed off. Romano heard her sniffle for the first time.

"I already found happiness," Yuno continued. "I found it with you guys. I found it in the way I've loved being with all of you. I found it in spending time with everyone, in the friends I've made. So my life has been pretty fulfilled."

She was close enough now to reach out and touch the panel. For once, Romano wanted to let himself release his composure.

Just as her fingers brushed the button with her own face, Romano found the will to speak.

"Miss Yuno."

Yuno paused, releasing a soft chuckle. "...Just call me Yuno, Rom. I want you to. I'm not your queen anymore."

Romano swallowed, hating the dryness of his throat. "...Yuno."

Even saying her name felt bittersweet--Romano had made it a lifestyle not to address anyone around him by only their first name. In that moment, he felt Yuno deserved more respect than he had ever given another person, but calling her by name felt...right, somehow. "...There is still time to discuss this. You do not have to throw your life away. We..."

Come back. Please.

Yuno had paused, her hand hovering over the button.

"I..." Romano took a deep breath. "I will miss you."

He could almost see Yuno's gentle smile. She sniffled.

"...I'll miss you too, Romano."

Before he could call out and stop her, Yuno pushed against the button, and her face lit up in a flash. A small chime sounded. Faqir let out a loud scream, charging forwards to gather Yuno into a hug. Clair yelled in anguish, elbowing her way out of Madoka's grasp to stumble into the middle of the ring of students, where she collapsed to her knees. Madoka leaned over his podium, pounding his fist on the wood.

And for the first time since arriving in the hotel, Romano felt a tear leave his eye. He wiped it away, gripping Yuno's necklace.

Goodbye, my queen.