Danganronpa: Until Proven Guilty

Chapter One - 8: Sentenced to Execution

I can't bear to watch Jin's hands tremble any longer, his eyes listless and glassy from the tears. His cheeks and nose are flushed a bright red, and every inch of him shakes as if he's freezing. Though his mouth is open, not even a breath of a word escapes his lips.
Everyone stares at the floor in a synchronised depression, any kind of life drained from them. I feel my heart slowly fall to my gut as a lump forms in my throat.
My fingers waver above the tablet screen, desperately trying to escape the 'Vote Jin' button glaring back at me with its bold red lettering.
But I have to do it.
If I don't, everyone's lives are on the line.
I have to sacrifice the love of a friend.
Before I click the button, I take one last look at Jin. His eyes meet mine, tears spilling down his puffy cheeks, almost begging me not to do it. Guilt fills me and I feel as if I could cry too. But, after hesitating for too long, I vote for Jin.

Almost immediately, Monokuma springs to attention, his eyes flashing, "That's all of em! Let's do a lil maths then, shall we?"
He turns away from us, fumbling around with his paws, as if he's calculating some incomprehensible equation.
"And, done!" He says with an eerie chirpiness to his voice, "It looks like there were 15 votes for Jin, and one vote for...hold on, Haruka?"
All eyes turn to Haruka, still sobbing at her podium. She looks up, her tears glistening as they catch the light.
"Haruka," Mitsuharu says cooly, "You voted for yourself."
"Why the fuck would you do that?" Kaso says with a grunt.
Her hands ball into fists as she grits her teeth. "Kihona, Ayana, how could you?" Voice shaking, she can barely utter anything comprehensible between cries, "You just sent a friend to his death!  You monsters!"
She collapses, sobbing again, dropping to her knees as she bangs her head against the podium.
"You assume I'm his friend?" Ayana says, cocking her head, "Does a rake and an asshole really bond people for life?"
"That's not the point!" Haruka screams, "He cared about you! He saw you as a friend, maybe more."
"Hey!" Kohi yells, "Don't bring her into this. She did-"
"Look, kiddo," Ayana says, "Love is cute, and maybe Jin is. But I'm not putting my life on the line to give him another boner."
Haruka's eyes burn with rage, I can practically feel the sparks going off, though she doesn't say another word to Ayana. Instead, her head slowly turns to me, her expression unchanged.
"You're just as bad," She says in a low voice, "Jin trusted you. We were supposed to be a trio, you just betrayed everything we ever stood for!"
"Haruka," Kuroko says, "You should calm down a little bit. Take a few deep breaths, and think of kittens. Yes, tiny little kittens. With their little bean toes and their-"
"Are you kidding me?" She snaps, slamming her fist on the podium so hard I swear I feel the ground vibrate, "Jin's about to die and you all sit there and talk about kittens! Do something!"

"You can't do anything," Jin says suddenly, and the room falls silent. His voice is choked with fearful tears, "Haruka, thank you, but screaming isn't gonna do shit."
"Huh?" Haruka whimpers.
"He's right on the dollar." Monokuma says, hopping up and down on his throne, "Ya can't do fuck all. He's a goner. Kicking the bucket. Dead as a mother-loving doornail."
"Don't say that," Charlotte says, "You're making it worse."
"Haruka," Mitsuharu says, softening his tone slightly, "Kihona and Ayana did nothing wrong.  With all due respect, you're being irrational. None of us wanted to vote."
I can't help but stare at Tory, her expression so much different from everyone else. Rather than sad, her eyes are vacant like a hollow ball. It's as if her pupils have completed disappeared, a grey tone casting over her once bright blue eyes.
So keen to seek justice, yet justice results in another death.

Aki grins slightly, watching her snails crawl up her middle finger, "How about we ask Jin his motive? Those filthy ants that crawled in his brain and whispered despicable things."
"That's easy," Daiki grins, "Yo, Jin, what the fuck did you do that for?"
"M-motive?" Jin says, stumbling over his words, "I didn't have one! I told you, it was an accident."
"Oh yeah," Amai rolls her eyes, "So accidental that you hit him with a beer bottle, dragged him into a cupboard, cleaned up the blood, threw everything in the furnace and then got anal while you were at it? Sounds like a fucking accident to me."
"That's not what I meant." Jin says, wailing, "I didn't know what I was doing, the whole damn room was spinning. Then he spoke shit about a band I liked, and my brain went all...fuzzy."
"That's your reason?" Yashira scoffs, "Totally fucking understandable."
"Jin wouldn't normally have done it, Yashira," I say, "He was drunk like the rest of us. But, I guess it doesn't excuse anything."
"He committed a crime nonetheless," Mamo says in a suddenly raspy voice. His eyebrow twitches.
"Enough of that malarkey." Monokuma roars. In front of him is a menacing red button as he retrieves a large wooden mallet from god knows where, "I wanna see some fuckers get smashed up. Monokuma style."
"No!" Jin cries, "P-please, I've got so much to live for. I still don't have a girlfriend."
"Ya think that's a good enough reason to live, kiddo?" Monokuma grins, "I ain't never had a woman, but I'm killin ya anyways."
"You're a bear," Shiro raises an eyebrow, "Do bears fall in love? How romantic."
"Don't you think Ayana is your girlfriend?" Kuroko says with a smile, as if she's completely unaware to her surroundings, "Shakespeare might write a play about this love story."
"Absolutely fucking not," Ayana says, scowling.
More tears begin to spill down Jin's cheeks, falling onto his shirt. He glances at me, "Kihona, you like me, right?"