Chapter Text
Togami stared at the computer monitor before him. The screen displayed a larger individual with shoulder-length black hair as they wandered a small room. It resembled that of a hotel or dormitory: a twin-sized bed, a chair, a desk, and an en suite, without much else of note. The window, however, was welded shut at the hinge, and the door only accessible from the outside. The person didn't do much - usually repeating the same cycle of staring out of the window for twenty or so minutes, then making their way to the desk to write, before getting back up and turning to the window.
This wasn't the first time Togami had had to watch his fellow ex-students on a monitor like this. However, last time, they were in a simulation, and generally had free roam of an entire island - now, they were stuck in the same dorm rooms that the loved ones of Togami's classmates had been held captive in a few years prior. They would be let out only occasionally, allowed to help the Future Foundation with their work, so long as they were supervised by veteran members like himself.
Others would call it cruel; to Togami, it was basic safety protocol. It had only been six months since their awakening and if he couldn't trust Fukawa, how could he trust these people who, not too long ago, had been literal war criminals? It was far too risky - they had to be contained and carefully monitored when they weren't.
Sure, their lives were boring. But so was his. He wanted to be watching them as much as they wanted to be stuck in that room - which is to say, not at all. It was a fair exchange, in his opinion, and was part of their punishment. To Togami, they were lucky to be here in the first place. A dorm room is much more comfortable than a prison cell, after all, and it's not like the outside world had much to offer anyway.
As this thought crossed his mind, his gaze wandered from the monitor to the window. His office was high above the ground - he could see the whole city from up there. Even after all these years, the sky was tinted orange and black from pollution, and construction sites were common. Demolished buildings yet to be repaired sat on the dark horizon. With a sigh, he rose to his feet and approached the window, before forcefully tugging the curtains shut. Out of sight, out of mind, he figured.
He turned to the clock. 4:56 - almost time to check out for the day. He walked back to his desk and pressed down on his keyboard to activate his microphone, before speaking: "As much as I've enjoyed seeing what my very own impersonator gets up to in their free time for eight hours, I have a home to return to. I'll be passing you onto one of my colleagues for the evening. Goodnight."
With that, Togami scooped up the papers containing his notes for the day and read over them as he walked towards the door. Swinging it open, he came face-to-face with someone unexpected: a mature woman with long, lavender hair and piercing eyes to match. A gentle smirk adorned her thin lips - a smirk unmistakably belonging to that of Kyoko Kirigiri, an old classmate of his, and fellow survivor of the Killing Game.
"What do you want?" Togami groaned, folding up the top half of his papers so that she'd be unable to read their contents.
"If you have nothing planned," she began. "Myself and Makoto are hosting a little get-together at the bar down the road for the six of us. I know you wouldn't be caught dead there alone, but you won't want to miss this."
Her tone was slightly playful, as if enticing him to join her at the bar. Clearly she had something planned, and Togami couldn't resist such an invitation - if it was from Kirigiri, it had to be good. She was antisocial at the best of times, and would rarely interact with others unless it was of utmost importance or something truly worth experiencing. He wouldn't admit this out loud, though, and responded with only a sigh.
"I know you're busy. That's why I think you should use this as an opportunity to take a break from it all," she attempted to convince him further.
"You finished work four minutes early," he responded coldly, and shoved past her without another word.
As he walked through the halls of the Future Foundation building, he mulled the suggestion over in his mind. Despite his reaction, he really did want to attend. His life had been the same boring monotony for three years - a little excitement couldn't hurt, right?
And at least if it was boring, he'd have easy access to alcohol.