Chapter Text
"I think we're safe for now," Togami sighed, glancing over his shoulder in case Sakakura managed to catch up to them. He stopped running and put a hand on the wall beside him, catching his breath. "If Tengan really can fight off Munakata…" his face grimaced as if in pain, "and if Mitarai and Asahina manage to hold off the Neanderthal… there should be no one coming after us."
"Togami, are you okay?" Naegi asked as he stepped off of Gekkoghara's wheelchair. "You shouldn't have exerted yourself like that."
"Although I loathe the idea of running for any reason at all, I used to run much longer distances when I was trained at the Togami mansion." He explained, a hand on his lower back as he straightened his posture. "This was nothing."
"I didn't know you had that much endurance," Naegi scratched his cheek, smiling sheepishly. "I don't remember you running much when we were forced to during gym class back at the academy either. Well, I mean… I suppose I don't remember much from those days at all after everything that's happened to us but…"
Togami sighed. He pressed his back against the wall and turned to Naegi with a frown. "I am the heir to the Togami family. With all the skills that I have been trained in, there is no limit to what I can do."
"R-Right, sorry!" Naegi stammered, putting his hands out in front of him defensively and smiling apologetically. Then, as the conversation ended, the pair noticed Gekkoghara rigorously typing on her computer. While Togami decided not to say anything, Naegi took the initiative. "Hey, is something wrong?"
"Someone is following us," Monomi pointed in the direction they came from with a serious expression. Then she pumped her paws in the air in determination, "I'll stop them!"
"You will be the one to stop them?" Togami scoffed. "I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, but how is a paraplegic going to fight against a… most likely fully functional assailant? And more importantly, why would you do that for us?"
"Maybe I've been infected with a bit of Naegi's hope!" Monomi smiled at them, though Togami assumed that the smile was directed more towards Naegi than himself. Then, without another word, Gekkoghara turned in the opposite direction from where they came from.
Naegi stammered, "W-Wait…"
"Either way," Gekkoghara stopped with her back facing the two of them. "Naegi's forbidden action and Togami's back won't let you fight, so I have to."
"Very well," Togami nodded. "Though please have the decency to come back in one piece. I do not want to have to deal with cleaning up broken wheelchair bits if you get injured."
Monomi gave them a thumbs up, just like in the Terminator movies. "I'll be back!"
And with that, Gekkoghara rolled down the hallway until she was out of sight. Now, only Togami and Naegi were left. Remembering something Gekkoghara said, Naegi turned to his companion, "Um, Togami, what did Ms. Gekkoghara mean by… she said you can't fight because of your back?"
Togami closed his eyes, accepting the fact that Naegi pointed it out. "While we were separated, Sakakura hit me with a chair."
"What?" Naegi's eyes widened, "Why didn't you say anything?!"
"It is nothing I cannot handle." He smiled at Naegi, hoping that his countenance was reassuring, but Naegi only bit his lower lip in response. Oh well, it was definitely worth a shot. Togami switched back to his usual condescending frown and glanced away. "One hit from a murderous oaf is not enough to bring me down."
"But you were running just now… " Naegi pointed out, then averted his gaze to the floor, "that must have put a lot of strain on your back. It's not like you to do something so reckless…"
"I would rather have a minuscule amount of pain than to have you hurt." Togami glanced at his companion out of the corner of his eye to see the other trembling. "Naegi, you look as gloomy as ever. What's wrong?"
"So many people are risking their lives for me at the moment." He explained, closing his eyes as if he were in pain. "I want to help them but…"
"There's nothing you can do about it." Togami reassured him, glancing in the opposite direction. "Be grateful that people see how important you are to this world. All of them are willing to fight for you."
"Even you are fighting to protect me." Naegi closed his eyes and shook his head, as if the mere statement itself was unbelievable. "I know you've been more protective over our classmates since the killing game, but this is different somehow."
Togami forgot how perceptive Naegi could be sometimes. Had his actions really been that obvious? "I believe my reasoning for protecting you is different from everyone else."
Naegi slightly tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"Yes, it is true that I have been more protective of everyone." Togami admitted. "However, I have my own personal reasons for doing so. Every one of you, even Hagakure, has some personal value. I'm only concerned about my own survival."
"Aww, you mean you actually need us to survive?" Naegi cooed, resting a head on Togami's shoulder. "You really do care about us after all!"
"Hmph, I never said that," Togami huffed, turning his head away to gaze down the empty corridor.
"Not directly, but I still think it counts!" Naegi grinned. Even though Togami couldn't see his face, he could hear the smile in the other boy's voice. "If only everyone else were around to hear your back-handed praise."
"Are you done?" Togami pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Because your skull is starting to dig into my shoulder."
"Ah, sorry!" Despite how panicked he sounded, Naegi slowly lifted his head off his shoulder and took a few steps back. He scratched the back of his neck, "I'm a little surprised you waited this long to complain about it."
"You misunderstand…" Togami argued weakly, wincing at how soft his voice was.
"What am I misunderstanding?" Naegi chuckled, then he stopped after the glare Togami sent him. Sighing, he slid down and took a seat on the floor. "I hope everyone is okay. There has to be something we can do to help them."
"Our best option right now is to be vigilant and stay out of sight." Togami responded, extending a hand to the boy below him. "That means, not resting in a hallway where anyone could walk by and easily take advantage of us." He smirked at Naegi as the other took his hand. "We should find a better place to stay."
"Okay," Naegi nodded, as he was hoisted to his feet.
***
"Last time I saw them, they went in there." Kizakura pointed to the warehouse doors in front of them. Mitarai could hear the sound of something breaking and a lot of shouting. "Huh, seems like they're still here."
"So, uh, how are we going to talk to them?" Mitarai asked nervously. There must have been bad airflow in the area because it was getting harder to breathe. Or maybe that was just him. "What would I say?"
Kizakura scratched his chin, "Well, you know who really caused the incident in the gymnasium, right?"
"Y-Yeah," Mitarai nodded, remembering when the imposter sat down with him and explained what happened to their former lucky classmate. "But I don't know how he did it!"
"That's fine! The details aren't what's important anyways! You don't have to remember anything other than that." Kizakura gave him a thumbs up, "I can take care of the rest!"
"Anything I can do to help?" Asahina chimed in, bouncing in place with the excited determination of a kid trying to earn a merit badge.
"Let's see, you don't know Komaeda much, do you? Well, you can probably help somehow if you see the opportunity, right?" As Asahina nodded, Kizakura turned to Mitarai, "Follow my lead, okay? You've got this!"
The trio quietly opened the doors to the large room Ando and Kimura were fighting in. As they crouched in the shadows, it would seem the two girls had stopped physically harming each other. Now, they were having a conversation as Ando was safe behind a glass box connected to a different room. Kimura scowled up at her from one of the room's walkways down below.
"Everything makes sense, assuming your forbidden action is 'letting someone step on your shadow'. That's why you panicked when you saw the lights in this room," Ando took a piece of candy and put it in her mouth, "And why you stayed away from Yoi. And why you're standing there, listening to me. Everything!"
Kimura glanced away out of guilt. She had no intention of denying anything Ando just said, so Mitarai assumed that it was all true. He kind of felt bad for her, knowing that someone like Ando was able to figure out Kimura's forbidden action.
"Hey, do you want me to let you go?" Kimura turned her head back to Ando, who had a finger to her chin. "If you do what I say, I might." Kimura let out a sharp inhale as Ando held up one of her sweets. "Eat it. If you finally eat the sweets you've always refused, I'll help you."
"That doesn't seem like such a bad offer." Asahina whispered to her companions. "I thought Ando would pick something much worse!"
"Well, it may not seem so bad to you," Kizakura explained quietly, "but for Kimura… she can't exactly have sweets."
"Why?" Asahina asked and Kizakura simply pointed at the pharmacist.
Kimura's face started to shake into a grimace. "If I eat it, I'll die. How many times do I have to tell you?"
"Okay, it's definitely a bad offer…" Asahina admitted, sinking lower into her crouch.
"Not that again…" Ando sighed and turned her back away from the glass. "Forget it. Fine, something else." She wriggled her pointer finger in the air as she contemplated her next move… "I know. Kyosuke Munakata, the vice-chairman." She grinned at Kimura over the back of her shoulder. "If you say you'll kill him, I'll save you."
Kimura let out a gasp. Mitarai could feel his eyes widen to the size of a golf ball. How could Ando ask for such a thing? He looked to Kizakura for an explanation, but he merely chuckled and shook his head as if he were in on a private joke.
"How about it?" Ando smirked.
"What are you talking about?" Kimura asked, looking just as bewildered as Mitarai felt.
"We have nothing to do with the Remnants of Despair, okay?" Ando explained, as if the whole thing just sounded like common sense. "We just think that if he dies, this whole mess will end! These days, he's pretty much the one running the Future Foundation."
Kimura stood up straighter. "I… cannot do that! When I was expelled from Hope's Peak… and as good as dead…" With shaky hands, she grabbed some pills from her pocket and started to lift them up to her lips, "he helped me!"
"That's what we do at the Future Foundation, didn't you know?!"
Both Ando and Kimura's heads snapped to the new voice in the room. Kizakura sauntered forward with Mitarai and Asahina in tow. "Now, I know I'm just a former teacher to you guys, but let me offer you a quick lesson. If you guys want to have a private argument about killing the vice-chairman, you shouldn't make so much noise."
"W-What are you doing here?!" Kimura took a step back as the trio came closer.
"We're putting an end to your arguing!" Asahina beamed.
"Well, I never said that was what we were going to do." Kizakura frowned, rubbing his chin.
Asahina's eyes widened. "What? But you said-"
"I only want to clear up their situation. This argument will probably go on after we leave, but they have to resolve things themselves if they ever want to end it." Kizakura explained. "I just thought that they should learn the whole truth of the incident before they try to kill each other."
"Are you mad?!" Mitarai shrieked. Why didn't Kizakura clarify that earlier before they went in thinking they were going to stop them?
"Hey, what are you going on about?" Ando asked him, peering at them suspiciously through the glass pane dividing them. "This issue is between me and Seiko. Why would a good-for-nothing, middle aged drunk want to get involved?"
Kizakura tipped his fedora slightly forward. "Let's just say that a buddy of mine had to make the decision to expel three of you and suspend the fourth."
"Huh?" Kimura's eyes widened, putting the pills back in her pocket. "B-But there was only me, Ruruka and Izayoi. Why are you talking about a fourth person?"
Kizakura shrugged, "Well, this fourth person may have had something to do with that little bombing incident in the gym. Did it ever occur to you why there was a bomb in the gym in the first place?"
"That was obviously Seiko's bomb!" Ando crossing her arms, "She just wanted to kill me after humiliating me during my practical exam. The detonator was in her bag-"
"It wasn't my bag!" Kimura yelled at her. "I never knew how that thing got into-"
"You really don't have a brain if you think I'd listen to your ridiculously horrible lies!" Ando interrupted, stepping closer to the glass and narrowing her eyes, "Why would I believe the words of a traitor?"
"I'm not a traitor!" Kimura shouted. "If anyone's a traitor then it's you-"
"You were the one who betrayed me you backstabbing bitch-"
"SHUT UP!" Asahina screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking slightly. It was so loud that Mitarai and Kizakura had to cover their ears. The girls stopped arguing and glanced at the swimmer with confusion, who spoke softly. "Look, I don't know what happened between you guys, but you should really listen to what Kizakura has to say."
"Thanks, Asahina," Kizakura slapped a hand on her shoulder before turning back to the two girls. "Kimura never intended to blow up the gym and she never intended to give you laxatives. It was just unlucky that things ended up how they did."
"What do you mean she never intended to give me laxatives? She was the one who gave me the drugs for the practical exams! This has her written all over it!"
"I told you which shelf the drug was on! Y-You must have grabbed the wrong one!"
"I followed your instructions and picked up the drug you told me to!"
"N-Not if you ended up with the wrong drug!"
"Are you seriously going to blame me just because you can't keep your fucking medicine cabinets organized?"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" Asahina screamed. Ando was ready to scream back at Asahina but she never got the chance as the swimmer continued. "It doesn't matter who told who what, okay? What matters is that neither one of you are to blame! So stop pointing fingers at each other!"
"How do you know who is really to blame?" Ando snapped at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and bended down slightly as if she were scolding a little kid. "Sweetie, you don't even know what's happened so you have no right to butt in and-"
"Mitarai and I know!" Kizakura blurted out, elbowing Mitarai in his side, "Right Mitarai?"
"U-Uh-"
"M-Mitarai?" Kimura's eyes locked with him and it took all of the animator's strength not to look away. "What does he know?"
"He knows who that fourth person is. In fact, it was one of his former classmates. A member of the 77th class is to blame for all of this!" Kizakura reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask, uncapping it. "See, that's all there is to it! No use in hating each other when you can hate someone together! Tell them, Mitarai!"
"Who is it?" Ando and Kimura asked simultaneously, glaring at each other quickly before turning their attention back to the trio.
Kizakura nudged Mitarai forward, causing the animator to tense up. He knew the girls were waiting for an answer, but those expectant glares were enough to send a shiver down his spine. "K-Kom…" He took a deep breath. "K-Komaeda…"
"Nagito Komaeda?" Kimura finished, eyes widening.
"Wait, isn't he that white haired Remnant of Despair who was running around Towa City a few months ago?" Ando asked, looking slightly befuddled, "Why that weirdo?"
"Actually, I remember him from before The Tragedy." Kimura admitted. "Komaeda came by my lab once to get a laxative. Now that I think about, it was around the same time Ruruka came for the performance-enhancer."
"I remember him as well." Izayoi walked into Ando's glass box and stood beside her, "Never liked the guy."
"Yoi!" Ando greeted him with a sidelong smile, before turning her attention back to Kizakura. "Okay, let's say that this Komaeda guy was the one who got suspended for being the mastermind behind the bombing. Are you telling me the weirdo and Kimura worked together to screw me over and then he betrayed her and left her with the bomb?"
"Huh? I never worked with him!" Kimura insisted. "The only interactions I had with him were when he stopped by my lab and when we ran into each other on…" She froze, a small gasp leaving her lips, "no… that can't be right!"
"What is it?" Mitarai asked.
"I-I bumped into him on the morning of the exams… and our bags went flying…"
"And what? They got switched?" Ando scoffed, unimpressed, "What are the chances of that happening?"
"Well, considering Komaeda's talent as the Ultimate Lucky Student, more likely than you'd think." Kizakura told them. "Here's what I know! Komaeda was going to give the laxatives to the judges and threatened to bomb the gymnasium if they didn't comply with cancelling the exams. Somewhere along the way, he lost the bomb and the laxatives he was planning to use… and those laxatives got switched with the drug you wanted to use for the exams."
"He got my performance- enhancing drug?!" Ando screeched.
"Yeah, don't know how but, he did!" Kizakura shrugged helplessly. "Though somehow, a dog ended up licking a cup of that performance-enhancing drink and it grew to the side of a house…"
"That dog that smashed into the gymnasium," Izayoi clarified, "it was that one, right?"
"Bingo! Now you guys know the truth! Neither one of you betrayed the other. You kids just got mixed up in the misfortunate plan of a lucky student." Kizakura turned to his companions and grinned, "Looks like our work here is done!"
Mitarai glanced back at the former 76th classmates, all of which seemed to be taking in the new information they just learned. Kimura turned to Ando nervously, "Do you still hate me?"
Ando closed her eyes and Izayoi turned to look at her. She remained quiet for a good 30 seconds until she sighed and opened her eyes. "Yeah, I still hate you…"
Mitarai could see the fear in Kimura's expression after that unexpected revelation. However, Ando raised a finger to the air, as if making another point. "There's no way I'm going to overlook all the crap we did to each other after that day of the exams. Even though the Komaeda guy screwed up our friendship, you chose to turn against me completely. That was your decision, not his!"
"You turned against me first-"
"I'm not done yet!" Ando cut her off, and Kimura let out a low growl. Ignoring it, Ando continued, "Yes, I betrayed you when I thought you screwed me over, but that's what one has to do when they lose someone's trust. You were my hero! You could do anything and you did anything that I wanted. Imagine how I felt when my only friend betrayed my trust! I trusted you!"
"I don't have to imagine how you felt." Kimura cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I wanted a friend. Because you said you were my friend, I trusted you and loved you." A sad smile fell on her lips. "That's why I always wanted to help you… because you were the only thing I had in this world. I didn't care that you kept using me, because I believed in you." The smile dropped and was replaced with a scowl. "But when you turned your back on me, and hated me, I couldn't stand it! I couldn't stand you because you no longer trusted me!"
"Do you blame me for not trusting you? Think about it from my perspective." Ando placed a hand on her chest. "My best friend gave me the wrong drug so I could fail my exams and get expelled from Hope's Peak Academy. What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to sit on my ass, twiddle my thumbs and say, 'oh well, maybe getting kicked out of my dream school isn't the worst that could happen?' No way was I gonna let that happen!" She pointed a finger at Kimura. "You deserved to feel just as bad… no, worse… for everything that you did to me."
"But she never did anything to you." Mitarai pointed out, and Ando turned to him as if she forgot he was still there. "Komaeda was the one who unintentionally turned the two of you against each other. If there's anyone to blame here, his luck did most of the work."
"I know that now," Ando agreed, turning to Kimura, "and even though I still don't trust you, and you still don't trust me… maybe…" Ando let out a heavy exhale, "maybe we could try to trust each other again…"
"R-Really?" Kimura blinked.
"I caused you to turn on me when what I did was wrong. There's blame for both of us, but more for the lucky guy. We have someone new to hate, and maybe doing so will get us to move past all the stuff we did to each other. But if you betray me again, I will never forgive you!" Ando added. "Is that okay?"
"If you're serious about it, then I think we can do it!" Kimura smiled, "Maybe we can go have words with Komaeda if we both get it out of here alive!"
"Yeah, sure…" Ando smiling back, though her smile looked a little strained. "But let's take it one step at a time."
"Actually, I found something that might help us get out of here." Izayoi announced. Ando's head snapped to him, and he gave her a gentle smile. Glancing down at everyone on the walkways below, he told them, "If you can find a way up here, turn left and it should lead you to an escalator on the next floor. Meet us up there if you're interested." He turned away and made his way out of the room.
Ando stared at his back for a few seconds before running after him, "Wait up, Yoi!"
Kimura gave the trio next to her a side-long glance. "Do you think they're telling the truth? Izayoi could have a few traps set up, but I want to trust them."
"Well, we won't know unless we go up there." Kizakura started walking to the other side of the room. "There should be a door over here that will take us to the Future Foundation's main lobbies. I think those were the escalators Izayoi was talking about."
"Great! Let's get out of here!" Asahina charged forward while Mitarai and Kimura followed after them.
When they reached the door, it flew open without warning. Standing in the doorway was Sakakura with a menacing glare on his face. "Where is Makoto Naegi?"
***
"If we stay out of the hallways like this, there's no way anyone is going to find us here, right?"
"Why did I let you pick the place?"
"Because, it's a good hiding place?"
"No, this is a terrible hiding place! I can barely see my own hand in front of my face."
"At least that makes it harder for the killer to find us too, right?"
"But a storage closet is a cramped space. We are cornered into a small space with nowhere to run if the attacker finds us."
Naegi sighed, and Togami could feel his warm breath ghost over his chest. "Well, at least I know it's not because you hate being in a cramped space with me."
He took a minute to think about the other options they had found before agreeing. "It could be worse."
"So," Naegi paused, as if he was deciding on what he wanted to say, "Since we have some time, there's something I want to ask you. It's about your forbidden action…"
"Do you really expect me to reveal such relevant information?"
"There's no harm in asking." He could hear the other boy shrug from the shuffling of his clothing. "You don't have to reveal it, by the way."
"I refuse to, thank you." Togami huffed, "Why would you ask about it in the first place?"
"I don't know, I guess I'm just trying to find some way to pass the time since we're probably going to be cooped up like this until the next time limit is over with." Another pause before Naegi continued. "You said earlier that you have your own personal reasons for protecting everyone. Could it be because it has something to do with your forbidden action?"
Togami stiffened but still managed to keep his voice even-toned. "Why on earth would you think that?"
"You keep saying that you're only looking out for yourself, but the fact that you came and rescued me would say otherwise."
"So what if I rescued you? The only reason I was there was so I could get a good look at Munakata." Togami hoped this small little lie would be enough to deter Naegi's train of thought, but that was wishful thinking… "After all, he sees to have some plans of his-"
"No, that's wrong!" As expected, Naegi could see right through it. "If you really wanted to see Munakata, you would have stayed with Chairman Tengan as Gekkoghara carried me to safety. In fact… it almost seems like you're trying to protect me more than Asahina or Hagakure."
"Did you forget that Hagakure is outside the facility somewhere?" Togami scrutinized. "No one could help that imbecile even if they were stupid enough to want to in the first place."
"You're not denying my point." Naegi stated, and Togami's mind went blank. "Do you want to know what I think your forbidden action is? I think it has something to do with my survival. What would happen if I were to die?"
"Naegi-"
"I need to know!" Naegi's voice sounded shaky, like he was on the verge of crying. Maybe he already was and Togami just couldn't see it because of the dark. "Look, you don't have to reveal what your forbidden action is. I'll respect your wishes. But if it involves me, I need to know what I can do to prevent you from triggering it. I don't want to be an dead weight for you to…"
"Naegi, quit saying-"
"Does your forbidden action have something to do with my death?"
"Makoto!" Togami no longer cared if they were supposed to be quiet in that storage closet as he grabbed the other boy and pulled him close to his heart. "What is wrong with you?!"
"I have to help someone!" Yes, those were definitely tears he felt tarnishing his shirt. "I feel so helpless when people are risking their lives to defend me. It's going to bother me if I can't do anything to help. But now that your forbidden action involves my death…"
"I never said it did." Togami countered, and he felt the other boy freeze. "I will tell you one thing about my forbidden action. Any form of 'Makoto Naegi dies' is not my forbidden action. However, if you were to die, I would not be able to continue the action that I have been doing to prevent my forbidden action from triggering. That will be the only hint I will give you."
He felt Naegi move his head as if he were trying to look at Togami's face through the darkness. "What action are you talking about? I mean, you have been acting uncharacteristically nicer..."
"I don't have time to explain it." Togami brought his bracelet up to his face, showing Naegi the final ticking of the timer. "We only have a few seconds before the next time limit starts."
Just as he predicted, both of their bracelets flashed along with the melodic ringing that was associated with the sleeping gas. It was time for the time limit to end. Both boys embraced the sleeping gas's effect, desperately hoping that it would not be the last time they would close their eyes.