Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Part #82

Part 82: Trial 3, Part 8

: Once again, the post-trial scenes have unique voices and animations so a video has been provided if you'd like to watch this portion of the trial instead of reading it.

Click here to watch this update's video.

: It's basically a formality at this point, but once again you're totally correct! The blackened this time...the true killer who devised the whole stinkin' scheme, was...

: Celestia Ludenburg! Or more precisely...Taeko Yasuhiroooo!

: I lost... Well, that sucks. I guess trying to work with someone else was a mistake, after all. Hifumi's ineptitude was beyond all my calculations.

: So you really did approach Hifumi with this plan? But how did you get him to agree? I can't imagine he would have happily agreed to commit murder.

: I'm sure she relied on her specialty--lying.

: My specialty? Don't make me laugh. I didn't have to lie to get him to agree.

: Then did you use...you know...?

: I knew you'd figure it out, Kyoko. You're absolutely right. To get Hifumi to act as my accomplice...

: ...I used "her". For everyone who's still left, I'll avoid mentioning it by name, but it was the one thing Hifumi and Taka were both super into.

: Does she mean...?

Is she talking about...Alter Ego?

: What? What what what!? What are you talking about!?

: Don't interrupt. We're in the middle of a very important conversation here.

: I'm totally out of the loop, as usual. How sad...

: Then you're the one that stole it?

: That's right.

: And you used it to drag Hifumi into the plan you'd come up with.

: Right again. Last night, after we had our meeting about how it'd disappeared, I paid Hifumi a little visit.

: Oh, um...what are you doing here?

: I was hoping I could talk to you. Alone. It is about what was stolen. I know who did it...

: What...?

: It was Taka. He stole it.

: What!?

: And I have proof. Would you like to see it?

: As it turned out, I'd found a use for the digital camera. I'd taken you-know-what to Taka's room earlier and took pictures of it there. I deleted the picture as soon as I'd shown it to Hifumi, of course.

: Grrn... So it WAS him! But how did he do it!? She was supposed to yell if either of us got close to her!

: You are correct. Which is why Taka forced me to steal it.

: Whaaaaaat!?

: Please forgive me. He...he threatened me.

: H-He did...?

: He came to my room last night unannounced, and then... It's hard for me to even say... He...abused me...

: What!?

: And he...he took pictures. He said if I did not do as he asked, he would show them to everyone... So I...I had no choice...

: Th-That's a crime! An absolute crime! He...! I mean, I knew he'd gone a little crazy, but...!

: I never imagined he would...would go that far!

: It was amazing how completely he bought it. Hmhm... I can't express how enjoyable that was.

: I'm about to say something I've never said before in my life...

: I'm going to kill him! I'm going to f...f...f-fucking kill him!

: Wait, please! If you go now, you will be playing right into his hands!

: Huh...?

: Taka is planning to use her...to escape. And he has made *you* his target...

: Escape? You don't mean...?

: Taka is going to try to kill you.

: Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?

: And all so he can keep her to himself...

: Th-That bastard!

: Bastard bastard bastard BASTARD!

: Can we allow him to continue with these barbaric acts?

: Absolutely not! How could I!? She...she...

: I have to save heeeeeerr!!!

: Then...would you like to join with me? It just so happens, I have come up with a plan...

: Huh...?

: I have devised a way to reclaim what he has stolen, and escape this dreadful school.

: Hmhm... Hehehehe...

: And with that, it is complete...

: Huh? What are you talking about?

: Oh, nothing...

: Hifumi agreed without a second thought. Hmhm. The effect that item had on him was...remarkable. The power of love... Even a love as twisted as that can still drive people mad, it would seem.

: You disgust me...

: I have another question for you. Was that strange costume Hifumi's creation?

: Yeah. It was a real pain in the butt, too. All I asked him to do was make something to hide the face and general body size. I had no idea he'd make something like...that. But it's my fault for picking him in the first place.

: So...why'd you decide to make me the suspect?

: Because you're stupid.

: That's it!?

: And in that regard, I made the right choice. I'm so glad your stupidity surpassed my every expectation.

: Life must have been tough on your parents, though.

: I feel like I could cry...

: But when you were explaining your plan to Hifumi, how did you explain the part about him playing dead?

: What she's asking is, what was Hifumi supposed to do after that, assuming you had actually let him live?

: That's simple. After he did his part and pretended to be dead, once someone showed up I told him to say he'd been seriously wounded, he was on the verge of death, but he just barely held on.

: And he really believed that?

: Well of course, that wasn't all there was to it. As I explained it to Hifumi, the plan was... while you were all questioning him about what had happened to him, I was going to murder someone else. At that point, Hifumi would have an alibi, so nobody could doubt him. I told him that, and he believed it.

: It all seems very...straightforward. Stereotypical.

: I just matched the lie to the level of the opponent. In fact, Hifumi ate it up. He believed the lie wholeheartedly, right up until the moment of his death.

: So you had planned to kill him all along!

: ...But of course. There would have been no point to my plan if the one who pretended to be dead did not end up dead himself.

: How can human life mean so little to you...?

: That's a non-issue. I simply did everything in my power to win.

: Now you sound like Byakuya!

: No, he derives his pleasure from the thrill of the hunt. In that aspect, we are nothing alike.

: Then...what made you take things this far?

: Was it really...just for money?

: Are you talking about the ten million dollars Monokuma offered us? That *is* a lot of money, it's true.

: But that's not all there is to it. From the moment our new life here began, my only thought has been escape.

: B-But...all along you've been saying how we have to accept living here!

: Obviously that was a lie!

: Hyah!

: I couldn't take it! I hated it from day one! More than anyone anyone ANYONE else in here!

: I wanted to get out! Every day was fresh torture! And do you wanna know why? HUH!?

: Because...I had a dream. And accepting a life here would have meant nothing less than giving up on my dream forever...

: And there was no way...that I could ever do that. In the underground world of gambling, I risked my life to make a metaphorical killing.

: And it was all for that dream...

: And what was this dream of yours...?

: To live in a European castle.

: A c-castle!?

: And to gather handsome men from all over the world to server as my butlers-slash-bodyguards. I was going to make them dress up like vampires and satisfy my every need. Once I obtained that, I would have created a perfectly asthetic world of decadence... Living the rest of my life there was my only dream, my only goal... That's what life is all ABOUT!

: Combined with my own winnings, Monokuma's ten million dollars would have made that dream a reality. I got right to the edge, but...

: Unfortunately, my dream has been scattered to the wind. Still, I don't have any regrets. I pursued my dream till the very end, so why would I?

: You sound so passionate, but...you were really able to kill your own friends for it?

: Are you asking me to feel guilty? That's a pointless endeavor. I think nothing of sacrificing others for my own ends. I feel nothing.

: That's all there is to me. That's what makes me...complete.

: Hmhm. Isn't it terrifying how different our values are? There's simply no room for understanding.

: Th-That's what *we* should be saying. And plus... how can you be so calm? Don't you realize you're about to die? Why aren't you scared...?

: Hmph. My ability to lie is unrivaled, and I take pride in that. It's not just other people--I can even fool my own emotions. The conscious deceives the unconscious.

: And that's why you're not scared?

: That's right. I don't fear death. Kill me however you like. But you know, if I could be reincarnated... If I had a choice, then...

: ...I think I would like to come back as Marie Antoinette.

: You'd just get executed again...

: Hmhm. Hehe...hehehe.

♪ Music fades out. ♪

Celeste smiled then... And when she did, it looked to me like a poor effort to force it. She claimed she could fool her own feelings. But that statement itself...must have been her final lie. And that weak, fake smile...is what betrayed her.