Chapter 2: She who Sups with the Devil, Part VII (Class Trial)
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Once the votes were cast, the screen behind Monokuma again flared to life. Like last time, it showed a simple animation of a roulette wheel, the pointer spinning quickly around our pixelated likenesses. It landed upon Yura's face now, and with that same jingle and confetti that heralded Ren's death, we knew everything.
Yura Ouka, the Ultimate Airsofter, was the murderer of Haruhi Hanazawa, the Ultimate Florist.
The only mercy she would be given was a opportunity for any last words. And then she was going to die.
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Yura: (sobbing) No... no, no, nononononono...
Hirou: I understand. It's hard to make peace with impending death.
Masao: But the most honourable men and women face death with dignity. They stand up unafraid and accept their fate. And sometimes, they defy their fate and go out how they wish.
Yukiharu: Huh. Neat.
Souta: Hmm?
Masao: I know an example: when faced with the prospect of dying by the hands of his own general, the esteemed warlord Nobunaga Oda chose death on his own terms. He and his trusted page set the temple they were in ablaze, then took their own lives to deny their treasonous enemy the satisfaction of killing them. Brave men, they were.
Souta: And what does that historical event have to do with her?
Masao: Not Ouka-san. She will most likely face grave repercussions in the afterlife for her acts of cowardice.
Yukiharu: Geez, Masao! We saved your hide and this is how you repay us?
Kozue: C'mon, be a bit more understanding! It's not like she had a choice!
Masao: Ouka-san had a choice? She murdered over golden circles. And she deliberately went after the most sickly one of us.
Yura: Why... why... why did you vote for me...
Luka: You killed someone, remember?
Masao: Over worthless gold-
Yura: IT'S NOT WORTHLESS! Don't you understand what those medals meant to me?!
I understood. They were her most prized possessions that the bear could think of, and he basically held them for ransom. Of course, she held much significance for them.
Souta: Huh? What are you blathering on about?
Yura: Those medals were proof that I was a somebody! If Monokuma destroyed them, then... I'd be a nobody all over again! I had to get out, to tell the world that I was fine, and alive, and ready to... ahh...
Daigo: So, you killed... because you didn't want to be forgotten?
Yura: That's basically it! Look, I'll even give up and go down for it if you tell me what will happen to them, sir! Please... please!
Monokuma: You wanna know what's going to happen to your treasured medals? Don't worry. I'm not gonna burn them. In fact, nothing else is getting burned today, mark my words. In fact, I'll be busy sending them all back to your family and friends!
Umiko: But you're the one who put us... um... put us all here! Why are you doing this?
Monokuma: Even bears can show mercy once in a while, understood?
Kaiji: (sigh) Thank you.
Monokuma: (hushed tone) Obviously, I won't admit just who delivered them, so I won't blow my cover and get that damned Foundation on my trail.
Souta: Yura...?
Kozue: I know, it's going to be tough on ya, but lift your head up! Maybe then he'll go easy on you, perhaps?
Yura: ...Ahh...
Monokuma: Mmm-hmm, enough is enough when it comes to prodding. Yura Ouka, remember that you must die for what you have done against your fellow students. Do you know what they say: the punishment fits the crime?
Kaiji: So, if she was a competitive eater, then you'd probably be forcing her to eat anything you could think of until her stomach burst?
Monokuma: Yes. But enough talk - I have a troubleshooting appointment due right now and I cannot afford to be late! By that I mean, I take trouble and I shoot it. Now then, let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!
Monokuma then took out his gavel and slammed down on the button that had appeared before him, activating the screen once again. We saw a similar pixel animation of Monokuma walking up towards Yura, then dragging her off to her death. The colour drained instantly out of her face once she saw herself.
Yura: You can't be doing this! Please... PLEASE! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE!
She was still screaming and begging as the chain appeared from the courtroom's doors, clasped itself around her neck, and pulled her away out of our sight.
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GAME OVER: YURA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY, TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!
Clay Yura Shooting: Ultimate Airsofter, Yura Ouka: Executed
Yura was tied to a plain post in what appeared to be an open field by her wrists and ankles, with neither a blindfold nor a gag. She thrashed and wailed at her restraints, to no avail. Facing her was Monokuma, holding a shotgun in his right paw, and her treasured medals, the medals she killed Haruhi over, in his left. He held them up high as if to mock her accomplishments, then gently placed them down on the grass right in front of him until only one of the golden medals were still in his grip.
He then threw it forward as if it was a clay pigeon, pumped the shotgun, and took aim at it flying through the sky. Right as it was above Yura's head, he made his mark. Her face tensed up as she heard the loud bang, expected a bullet to the brain, and opened her eyes to see that for the moment, she had been spared. All that remained of the medals were fragments of gold. Then Monokuma picked up the next medal off the ground, and again threw it forward and shot it out of the air, destroying it in the process.
Now that he was on the third and final medal, Yura was flailing, trying desperately to free herself from the post and prevent the execution from going on any further. It was no use however; again Monokuma tossed the medal and reduced it to smithereens with a blast from his shotgun. All of her medals had been destroyed now, and there was only one possible target left. He pumped the shotgun, pointed it towards her head, and pulled the trigger... with a click confirming that it was now empty. He discarded it afterwards.
But just as it appeared that she was safe, Monokuma must have lost his patience, as out of nowhere he took out a minigun, aimed it towards Yura, and opened fire. Dozens of bullets shot out within seconds, reducing her body to a fine paste. By the time Monokuma was done, with the minigun revving down now that it had ran out of ammunition, the ground was covered with not only the casing of bullets and the fragments of the post, but also her outright liquefied remains. There was no way she could still be alive.
Yura Ouka, the Ultimate Airsofter, was dead.
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Monokuma: Phew! That went well, for all things considered! Ah, the sensation of bullets ripping and tearing through a person's flesh... kinda reminds me of all of those cheesy war movies that came out some long time ago or whatever.
Yukiharu: What the fuck?! She's dead! She's dead and you know it!
Monokuma: Does it look like I care? No. No it doesn't. Now curl up and grovel like the little piece of stone I would shake out of my shoe! If I could wear one, anyway.
Yukiharu: To hell with that! Me, Daigo, the rest of us...
Daigo: We'll beat you sooner or later! Avenge all of our fallen friends!
Monokuma: Ahh, such hopeful words. A pity they're all hollow lies meant to obscure the fact that inevitably, you're all going to fall to despair! Upupupu~
Of course, he wanted to get under our collective skin. That was what drove them both to kill. It had happened before, it had happened right now, and if we didn't do anything about it, it was going to happen again.
Monokuma: Hmm? Looks like nobody's responding.
Kaori: I know what you're going to say next.
Monokuma: Yes. Thanks for your totally irrelevant comment, firefly. Anyways, as I was going to say: maybe I am in the right after all!
Kaori: Curse you...
Monokuma: Well, gotta get going! Made such a big mess of that airsofter I need to spend the rest of the day cleaning up! And then I've got to pack up and send all of your stuff back! If anybody doesn't get on my bad side, then I'll speak to you again this nighttime announcement! Later!
Monokuma went away afterwards, leaving the 12 of us still alive behind in the courtroom to pick up the pieces. We knew why Haruhi was becoming increasingly unwell and oh so vulnerable to being killed. We knew why Yura had committed murder and got executed for it. But there was one last question to be answered, and the prosecutor asked me it.
Ayane: Kaori, she said that you knew and we need to know. Explain how you won Madoka over.
Now it all came down to this. I would now have to explain, in detail, the reason why I got Madoka on our side.
Kaori: Madoka and I... made a deal a few days ago. About Mugen.
Ayane: Mugen, you say?
Kaori: Yes. More specifically, about a note he wrote before he died. Daigo found it in his room-
Kaiji: His own or in Mugen's?
Kaori: He found it in Mugen's room, and gave it to me for safekeeping.
Ayane: What was that note about?
Daigo: It contained some sort of code neither me nor Kaori could figure out. Madoka said that she probably knew, but... I sensed she didn't have the best intentions.
Kaiji: Why didn't you give it me, then?
Kaori: Because she didn't trust you. She felt as though you knew already and would do anything to get it. And then what would you have done with it?
Kaiji: I, uh... um...
Madoka: Exactly. I read you like a book.
Kaori: So we came up with the idea. If another murder happened, then Madoka would help me solve it, and in return she would have the note as a token of goodwill.
Madoka: And that's what I've done. Helped you catch Yura.
She outstretched her right hand forward, almost as if she was expecting it.
Madoka: Deal's a deal. Hand me over the note. Now.
Kaori: Terms accepted.
I took out the little slip of paper from my pocket and handed it over to Madoka. She spent a moment looking over it and the garbled code written down, reaching her left hand into her own pocket as well.
Madoka: I understand it...
Our hopes were quickly evaporated once Madoka took out the item she was rummaging through her pocket for. A lighter.
Madoka: Shame you'll never find out.
We watched in horror as Madoka set Mugen's note ablaze. The note that Daigo and I had kept safe until now. The note that held the code that would be vital for us to figure out the truth behind this Mutual Killing Game. The note that was now nothing but a pile of still burning ash on the floor.
Yukiharu: The... the hell?!
Umiko: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Hirou: What have you done, Madoka?
Daigo: (looking towards Kaori) See, Kaori? We shouldn't have trusted her! And we never made a backup of it either - so we're well and truly lost now!
As she stomped upon the smouldering embers of Mugen's note to extinguish both it and the possibility of finding out what it meant, Madoka glared up towards us with a malevolent twinkle in her eye and a twisted smirk on her lips.
Madoka: You know, there's a sucker born every minute. Popular phrase, learned it during my career.
Daigo: Your career?! How do you know what you do?! Didn't you...
Madoka: Forget about my talent? Hah! What nonsense.
Daigo: You've got to be kidding me...
Madoka: Truth be told, I knew my talent from the start.
Ayane: You... you knew?!
Madoka: (laughing) Yes, and I pulled the wool over your eyes really good, don't you think?
Kozue: How could you...
Umiko: No way...
Madoka: Just pretended I didn't so that you could trust me more, heh! Might as well end this little charade.
Kaori: Who are you, truly?
Madoka: Let me reintroduce myself: Madoka Uryu, Ultimate Con Artist.
Kaori: ...
Madoka: You're welcome.
As we watched Madoka turn around and nonchalantly walk away from us, in shell-shocked silence, I understood everything now.
I made a deal with the devil... and paid the price.
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Chapter 2: She who Sups with the Devil, Part VII, End
12 Remain