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Naegi and Kirigiri were in a relationship. Like, in a dating relationship. Well, Yasuhiro only thinks they’re in a relationship, but it doesn’t take a genius to come to that conclusion. And people called Yasuhiro pretty stupid.
Throughout the killing game, the two frequently worked together during investigations and led the class trials almost in a coordinated manner, as if naturally in sync. After the killing game, their bond seemed to strengthen even further. They could frequently be seen together, too — well, they were often with Togami, Hina, Fukawa, or him as well, but that’s beside the point.
Regardless, most people kind of just knew Naegi and Kirigiri were dating. They complemented each other, they had a mutual sense of trust and admiration — it was clear that the two of them were very fond of the other.
So of course it took Hiro by surprise when Hina came to talk to him one day, claiming that she’d seen Togami ‘embracing’ Naegi.
“Woah… are you sure?” Hiro had asked, secretly disbelieving.
Hina nodded almost frantically, though she didn’t look too happy about it, either. Which makes sense, since she knew, or assumed, that Naegi and Kirigiri were together as well. “It wasn’t exactly embracing — well, I walked away as soon as I saw them, so I’m not super positive on how they were positioned, but Naegi kind of just bumped his head onto his chest while talking. And Togami didn’t look like he wanted to move away any time soon.”
“I mean, you could’ve seen it wrong, or something. You only saw them for a moment.” That was what Hiro suggested, but inwardly, his gut was also sure that Naegi was definitely in love with Kirigiri, and he was also sure Naegi wouldn’t be the type of person to cheat.
Hina, not able to think of a retort partly because she didn’t want to believe it either, sighed. “Well, it was just what I thought I saw.”
Hiro thought no more of Hina’s discovery until a few days later, while he was trying to hide from a member of his division. He stopped in front of the bathroom, intending to hide in one of the stalls, until he heard a voice coming out of it. No, not a voice, there were at least two people inside.
Of course, Hiro didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t just ignore the voices that cut through the quiet bathroom. Not only that, but he was sure that the voices belonged to… Naegi and Togami.
“Still, I really think we should be honest with her about this.” the voice blurted out, unmistakably Naegi's. The other man’s voice cut in not long after.
“Oh? Why?”
“Well, she could get... you know... all quiet. Like she did when I didn’t tell her about Sakura!”
“...Right. Well, this was your idea, so you’re going to tell her.”
Was it true? Was Hina not mistaken after all? Was Naegi really having an affair with Togami?
A groan from Naegi followed Togami's words. After that, it was just a string of mumbles from him, so Hiro shifted closer towards the door to hear better, and slowly peeked through the gap of the door — just enough to not attract attention.
He could’ve slapped himself for barely holding back the gasp he let out next.
Naegi was standing in front of Togami with his head leaning against his chest, in the exact manner Hina had described! Byakuya wasn’t fully embracing him, for there was a space between them that required Naegi to lean forward to rest his head on Togami chest, but there was no doubt that the gesture was far too intimate to mean nothing.
On top of that, Togami barely made any more effort to push him away than he would with any other kind of physical affection, merely nudging Naegi with one finger while sighing. “I can’t hear you with your face shoved on my suit, Naegi.”
Okay, that was probably enough, Hiro thought, still in a bit of a daze as he dashed from the door of the bathroom as quickly and as quietly as he could.
Hiro didn’t immediately forget about the event that unfolded right in front of him. Of course he couldn’t, he’d just caught his friend cheating on his girlfriend, for god’s sake!
What was he going to do? Should he just tell Hina? Or better yet... tell Kirigiri herself? Neither Kirigiri nor Naegi had announced their relationship outright, but since it was obvious anyway, should he tell Kirigiri about what he found?
...Maybe not for now. He was still shocked by the whole thing. Being wrong about his friends, being lucky enough to secretly catch them having an affair and being able to walk off without being found... Besides, it might just stress Kirigiri and get in the way of her stuff. Maybe. Hiro had no idea what to think about her.
In any case, Hiro eventually decided to keep the information to himself, keeping it even from Hina. He felt a bit guilty about it, but he’s felt guiltier before. Though, of course, he still kept a close eye on Togami and Naegi, trying to collect evidence by observing their subtle gestures.
Another few days later, Hiro couldn’t even tell how many days specifically, Togami was called by Kirigiri out of the command center. To discuss work is what other people would’ve assumed, since Kirigiri was the head of the division he and Togami was in, but Hiro’s mind raced with possibilities related to his own discovery. Did she find out about Naegi's affair as well, and wanted to confront Byakuya about it?
Not long after Togami left, Hiro slipped out as well, and just walked towards wherever he thought they would be. It took him a while, but he eventually heard noises coming from the end of a hallway. He stopped just behind a water dispenser near the wall, which would be a stupid hiding spot if it wasn’t for the fact that that spot was conveniently the darkest corner.
The voices that slowly sounded more audible to him confirmed his suspicions — it was Kirigiri and Togami near him. But what were they discussing?
“I didn’t think you’d stoop so low,” Kirigiri's clear voice called out. So she did find out!
Togami sighed exasperatedly, “Don’t be dramatic. Surely this isn’t the reason why you’ve been avoiding us for days.” Hiro glanced over the dispenser to see if he should interfere — wait. He narrowed his eyes to get a better look at Kyoko. Was she… smiling? It wasn’t a cheerful smile per se, Hiro wasn’t even sure if she could do that, but it resembled more of a knowing smile.
“Well, considering both you and Naegi hiding a file from me, your division leader, for almost a week, I’d say it’s considered pretty serious.”
“You’re making it sound like we purposefully hid them from you! We were planning on sharing them, but we couldn’t risk losing any information if we got caught holding the file and let them take it away when he hadn’t read it yet, so we read them on the spot!”
“I’ll believe it once you hand it over to me.” The last thing Hiro saw before he went back to hiding behind the dispenser was Kyoko holding her hand out.
Togami scoffed, and Hiro could hear the rustling of paper mingling with his voice, “Don’t be ridiculous. I haven’t even finished it yet.”
“Neither has Naegi. And I, for one, haven’t even started reading at all. So hand it over – ”
“Kirigiri, stop that! Kirigiri! Can’t you wait until I’m finished – ”
There was a startled sound from Togami, cutting his own sentence off, and when Hiro quietly peeked over the dispenser yet again, he could see that Kirigiri had grabbed his tie and tugged it down to kiss him, the shock causing the file loosening from Togami's hand and onto Kirigiri's.
“Kirigiri!” Togami hissed almost breathlessly immediately after she let go. “What are you – stop being irresponsible!”
“You were the one who kept the file from me. Anyway, I’ve a good mind to go talk to Naegi about it right now.”
Just as he did when he discovered Togami and Naegi together, Hiro scurried away from the scene, hoping he wasn’t making much noise.
Okay… maybe Hiro needed to stop discovering things so much, because it made everything more and more confusing. Sure, he was grateful that Naegi and Togami weren't talking about cheating like he'd initially thought, but all the same, he couldn’t help but notice certain details because of the experiences he shouldn't have even went through in the first place.
He was, for some reason, still feeling sure that Makoto and Kyoko are a thing. Especially due to the affectionate gestures they shared often, like Kirigiri letting Naegi fiddle with her gloves while they held hands or knowing what kind of coffee the other enjoys.
But with all the new information he had now, he started to notice... everything else.
The glances Kirigiri shared with Togami, whether knowing or surprised, the small grin she has on her face after he whispers to her, him smoothing a strand of hair from her ponytail, and a lot more gestures — according to Hina. Yes, Hiro finally told her, but that was just because he couldn’t find too much of the subtle gestures.
And there was Naegi and Togami, who were just as subtle as the other two. Hiro hadn’t even noticed until Hina pointed it out, but Togami often placed his hand on Naegi's shoulder while passing by or before walking away. Not only that, he seemed to feel way more than tolerant while listening to him than he did during the killing game.
All of this was Hina’s observation. Which was meant to help, but it left Hiro all the more confused. But they finally arrived at one conclusion.
So Naegi and Kirigiri were together, everyone knew that. But so are Naegi and Togami. And Kirigiri and Togami.
The conclusion seemed simple enough, but the ride certainly wasn’t. Which was why the both of them slowly and carefully decided to not say jack shit about it.
They had more to think of other than some love gossip, Hina said. And apparently, so did the other three, for they never made their relationship catch unwanted attention. It never seemed to get in the way of their work or anything, either, so it wasn't something desperately in need of attention...
All the same, it’s still hard for Hina — and to some extent, Hiro — to not pick up the small gestures made whenever any of them interact. But, oh well.