Trial 1 - Part 14
Geh-hehe... it looks like your argument has come to a close.
Oops! I lost control of my wild side for a second. Was that a side effect of the meat I just ate?
...Well, putting that aside, let's move along to the nerve-wracking voting time! Please pull the lever in front of you and cast your vote.
Ughhhh...! Wh-Why does this have to happen...!?
Who will be chosen as the blackened!? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one!?
Puhuhu! Such heart-pounding excitement!
Correct!
That's right! This time, the blackened responsible for killing Byakuya Togami is Teruteru Hanamura!
N-no...nononononono...!
A-Are you serious...!? Out of all these people... Are you saying a ponce like him is the one who killed Byakuya?
B-But...
WHYYYYYYYY!?!? WHY DID YOU KILL HIM!?!?
I-It was a mistake... I'm telling you it was just a mistake...
I... was only trying to save you guys... I was only trying to stop Nagito from murdering one of you!
Eh?
T-Teruteru, what do you mean by that?
...
I spent all morning in the old building preparing the dishes for the party... a-and then...
I heard a weird laughter near the dining hall... and when I peeked over...
...I saw him. I saw Nagito, in the middle of cleaning duty, putting the knife under the table...!
A-And I saw him place the irons he brought in the storage room... and mess with the air conditioner timers...
Plus, he was grinning... Just grinning by himself the whole time...
S-So... I questioned him... a-and when that happened...!
...Oh, I've been caught?
B-Been caught...? What are you doing?
...I'm planning to kill someone, of course.
Huh?
Just to let you know, it's pointless to stop me. If you stop me now, it doesn't matter.
I will never give up. Whether it's tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or the days beyond that... I'll definitely start the killing.
Wh-What? No matter how much you want to leave this island, that's just...!
...I see. So that's what you think...
But, that's not it at all. This isn't about my survival.
I just... want the killing to start.
Wh-What are you saying...?
I love everyone here. That's why I want to be of good use to them.
In the name of hope, I love everyone's talents from the bottom of my heart. That's why... I don't want them to lose against something like killing.
I want them to prove that hope will never lose, no matter how daunting the despair they face may seem!
Wh-What are you saying...? I don't understand at all!
Well... isn’t it typical that if you face a stronger enemy, you will become even stronger yourself?
Which means... the stronger the despair you face, the stronger everyone's hope will become, right?
I yearn for a powerful hope that can overcome any kind of despair... and to see it, I'm going to become everybody's stepping stone!
A-Are you kidding...? Don't tell me...you're actually serious...?
Y-You... There's something wrong with you!
Really? Do you really think so? Do you really think... there's something wrong with me?
But... isn't that what love is?
Nagito... Did... did you really say that?
...
A-Answer me! Did you really say that behind our backs!?
...You see, if you have a favorite boxer, don't you want him to fight against a strong opponent and win?
You better not compare us to that.
Huh? It's a given that trials are necessary to become strong, and the harsher the trial, the stronger you become, no?
For mere humans, killings are simply a tragedy, but... for worthy humans, a trial such as this can elevate their status to an even higher level.
There's no point in someone like me surviving... so it's far more significant to die as everyone's trial!
That’s right, there's no greater honor than becoming your stepping stone!
S... Stop it! Stop saying you want to die!
Byakuya already hurt so much... Why are you acting like it doesn’t hurt!?
T-That’s enough... I’m seriously... starting to get pissed off...
Nagito... is this a game to you? Are you just doing this for fun?
It's not the same as someone killing for fun, but... I guess it'd look the same to you guys.
Regardless, I have no intention of surviving and leaving you all to die.
Aah...!
Is that why... you didn't mind when Teruteru discovered your plan?
Or perhaps that was intentional too?
...Huh?
Nagito wanted to involve us in the killing... Plus, it'd be better for him if the mystery was more complex...
Is that why you revealed your plan to Teruteru? You expected to pique his curiosity... and you looked forward to the mystery becoming more complex.
Well, it's true I was looking forward to that... That's why I told him about the secret passage I found while cleaning...
That was your doing as well?
I just told him: "Oh, it's dangerous if you fall, so don't get too close to it."
U-Ughhhhhh...
This dude... He's seriously batshit crazy! He's insane!
Th-That's right! That's why I tried to stop him, you know!
But why... Why did you kill Byakuya instead?
I-I don't know!
Because... Nagito was the one who was supposed to take that knife... Th-That's why... I aimed and thrusted the iron skewer there...
But why is Byakuya the one who died!? It was supposed to be Nagito, not him!
It... must be because Byakuya grabbed the knife, right?
He grabbed the knife... s-so he took Nagito’s place...
...Can it really be chalked up to a coincidence?
...
Maybe... Byakuya was actually trying to protect Nagito.
Wh-What did you say!?
Cuz... Byakuya said so, didn't he?
Don't worry, as long as I'm the leader, I won't let anyone become a victim.
I will guide you all! That much, I promise.
C-Could it be...? In order to keep that promise...?
As long as he was wearing the night-vision goggles... I'm sure he saw someone moving under the floorboards.
And that someone... was aiming for Nagito.
So Byakuya... gave his life to protect Nagito?
Even though Nagito was reaching for a knife, Byakuya wanted Nagito to live...
He wasn’t just acting like a leader... he was acting like a friend...
I see... Byakuya is amazing...
To keep his promise to protect everyone, he actually threw his own life away... And yet...
I never expected an ending like this... Such despair!
But... we shouldn't let Byakuya die in vain. I'm sure everyone will become even stronger by overcoming this despair...
Could it be...? You knew Byakuya would protect you, so you set him up to fail?
...Of course not. I'm not that good at calculating. I just took some precautionary measures.
The results of that were going to be my fun for later... Just kidding.
But, I never thought I'd be the one to survive. Since it was my life that had been saved, I didn't want to just waste it.
That's why I decided to help Teruteru.
Why... why...?
Well... Teruteru decided to commit his crime because he had strong hope, right?
If he was willing to go that far, I thought he might truly be the person whose existence I was waiting for.
I wanted to see if he was the hope that could defeat any type of despair!
Plus... I could empathize with him.
He wanted to kill me but he ended up killing Byakuya instead. If I left him in that confused state, this trial might have been ruined, you know?
That's why I decided to help him. I told him, "I don't care if I die, so you should just focus on escaping this island..."
Those were my exact words to him before the investigation.
“Escaping this island”...? So you wanted to sacrifice the rest of us!?
Not necessarily. It’s just what *he* needed to hear.
In the end, my help wasn't enough... but you should still be proud of yourself, Teruteru.
With your sacrifice, everyone’s hope will shine even brighter!
S-Sacrifice...!?
S-Seriously, stop it already! I'm gonna go crazy just listening to you!
Hey, is it really okay for us to just leave this crazy bastard alone like this? Isn't it better if we just fucking kill him off!?
Kyaaaah! "Kill," he said! High school students are sooooo violent these days!
But the person who's gonna get killed now isn't Nagito. It's Teruteru.
...Eek!?
Puhuhu, you didn't forget, right? Cuz I told you already at the beginning, right? If the blackened killer loses...a fun punishment awaits them.
H-Hold on...
Th-That was... how should I put it... an accident... Um... an act of self-defense...
So... I feel it's possible it's not my fault...
It doesn't matter if it's an accident, self-defense, or intentional. A murder is still a murder! If you kill someone, that's murder!
B-But... Isn't there anything like sympathy judgments, extenuating circumstances... or maybe even probation...?
I don't accept any of those claims!
Th-That's not...
H-Hey! Help me you guys! I was only trying to stop Nagito...!
Be honest... After learning about Nagito's plan, you saw an opportunity.
You probably thought nobody would find out if you killed him after messing up his plan... right?
There's no way a person who has no malice... would kill someone like that.
...Ugh!
In truth, you were just desperate to kill Nagito... and willing to sacrifice everybody else to survive.
Just admit it already... at least in the time you still have.
I... I...
...
I just... wanted to go home.
I wanted to go home... because... she's waiting for me.
W...Who is?
Momma... is waiting for me at home.
She's waiting all by herself... for the day I graduate from Hope's Peak Academy and come home.
Here we goooo.
Okay, I'm going now! When I come back, I think we should talk again about opening an Aoyama and Azabu location!
Oh my, you're still talking about that...
I'm serious. The academy guarantees success for its graduates, right?
Yes, you're right... I'll just have to do my best to keep the Hanamura Diner from going out of business until then...
Mom, you don't have to work so hard! What if you collapse again while I'm gone!?
...I'll be fine. Moms are strong. I won't lose to some illness...
Haha...I know that already...
I know that... already...
I... promised her ... I promised to become a full-fledged cook.
I’d get into the academy... and when I graduated, I’d save the Hanumara Diner.
Momma is waiting for me to keep that promise...
Even though she's sick... and alone... she's still waiting for me.
B-But... if our memories were stolen... and several years have passed since our first day...
Then what happened to the Hanamura Diner...? What happened to my mom who's still waiting for me!?
So you did believe what Monokuma said...
I-I don't believe it!
There's no way I can believe it... It... it has to be a lie...
That's why I wanted to go home!
I wanted to... go home and confirm it... I wanted to make sure... it was all just a lie...
I wanted to make sure that I still have a place to call home!
...
Despite everything that’s happened... I understood where he was coming from.
How can I blame someone for wanting to see their family...?
That's when I heard Nagito's plan... I-I found out he was going to kill someone if I left him alone...
So that's why... That's... why...
Soooooo you wanted the first kill?
...
I'm sorry you guys... It doesn't mean I wanted to sacrifice any of you.
But... it was the only thing I could do...
And then I killed Byakuya... instead of Nagito...
...Ah. I see.
I think I'm the one...who went crazy.
Teruteru...!
As far as motives to kill are concerned, wanting to see your mom is boooooooooooooring.
H-How can you say that!?
Soo... if there's no point in basking in the afterglow, let's hurry up and begin the punishment!
N-No! You can't!
Jeez! Get outta my way!
Gyaaaaaah!
There... Now let's get down to business...
H-Hold on a sec...
I'm not asking... for forgiveness anymore... b-but... at least...
I've prepared a special punishment for Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Cook!
Call me "Chef"! No, wait, that's not what I--!
P-Please... Tell me at least... What happened to the Hanamura Diner... to Mama?
Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIIIME!
No...! No, you can’t!
I won't believe this... I won’t believe...
I... won't... believe... it...
...MAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAA!
