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She had completely forgotten, to be honest. And not in the way like she really forgot, but more that she hadn't been thinking about being considerate to the serial killer living in her mind. After all, high school was behind them, her pain was behind her, and Syo didn't come out as often anymore anyways--she had mastered cutting off her sneezing into a small pew instead of her usually snotty and wet cry.
But Togami was right, just because she hadn't been active as much didn't mean that she was suddenly tranquil and tame. If anything, the sudden raging hormones might make her more dangerous than before. Fukawa glanced down at her slightly swollen stomach, the small bulge nearly fitting in the cup of her hand; she would honestly rather she find out now rather than in the midst of one of her "dates".
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The first time she had resurfaced, a few had been there to watch her; no one wanted scissors to come anywhere close to Fukawa's precious load. Komaru had been sitting beside her, considering she was the only other person besides Togami that was safe from Syo's deadly reach, but even she jumped when there was a piercing giggle that came from the former writer's skinny form; it had been some time since she saw Toko's other half.
"Oooooh man, didja all miss me that much? Is that all why you gathered like little squirrels around...the..."
Genocider Syo never really stuttered or lost her train of thought. But there was a sudden rush of...something that she recognized coming from her gloomy side rather than herself. They couldn't communicate through words or thoughts--hey what were you expecting, this isn't a shonen--but they could through emotions, emotions that Toko usually controlled. And all those gushy feelings, while most she recognized as being directed towards Togami, there were new ones now, new ones that were connected to--
She looked right down at her stomach and everyone in the room seemed to flinch.
Oh. Oh. She...had one of those? With Master? But that also meant it was...hers, right? The little bundle of goop would also be hers too. It didn't seem that far along so that must mean they had just...done it. She poked it--not with her blades--but with one finger, lightly. It was firm, throbbing slightly. Was that the heartbeat?
"Jeez, will you all relax," she huffed, fully aware of the people in the room that would jump and flinch in place with each movement she made. Naegi's sister was the first to speak, her mouse-like voice speaking to her like she normally would. Well they were friends or some shit, right?
"Look we just wanted to let you know in...well in peace...among friends." She offered that little half-smile.
"Don't sugar coat things, Dekomaru, ya' just didn't want me to find out when I'm getting really frisky, right?"
"That's correct." Byakuya stood up, speaking for the first time, cold blue eyes remaining trained sternly on the serial killer. "I also wanted the opportunity to tell you right now that any meddling will not be tolerated. You are not to touch the child, harm the child, or otherwise have any thoughts about either of those two, understand?"
Syo tilted her head, tongue waggling as she took in the order. Kill it? The hell would that do? But, she could understand his tenseness, she mutilated her own leg so what was stopping her from jabbing riiiiight above her belly button and just ending the little moocher's life right now?
Well it was simple, really, she didn't want to. And she could blame her stupid other side's feelings for muddling with her's, but it was real for her. She definitely didn't want to harm it.
"Ehh, don't get so worked up, Master, I don't even know if it's a pretty little boy yet! I'm not all that good at those 50/50 odds!" she giggled. But it sounded a little less energetic, a little less like her. And Togami noticed right away with a slight narrowing of his eyes.
"Good, then."
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As the weeks turned into months, Syo found that these new emotions and these new feelings were not right, they weren't connecting to her like they would Fukawa. It was like trying to force a plug in upside down, it just wasn't working for her. This wasn't why she had been created, this wasn't why she was here...
...so why was she still here?
The question that had never once crossed her mind was now a frequent visitor these days. Every time she had the opportunity to come out, all she did was think. No more killing, no more stalking, nothing but...thinking. And she had come to realize that Fukawa didn't...really need her anymore.
"Tch...as if I existed just to please little miss rainy day..."
But that was it, right? If not for Fukawa, she wouldn't be here. No matter how much she had disliked all those depressing emotions ruining her good time--ruining her work--they still were connected. And the writer had clearly grown from her days back in her childhood home, back in grade-school, back in junior high, back in the times she really had needed Syo. She had Master now, she had friends, she even had a little sausage on the way.
Genocider Syo suddenly did not fit together with Toko Fukawa, not anymore. She had outgrown her.
She giggled; she was alone so she was the only one that cared that it sounded so much more empty now.
"That's alright I guess, I knew she was going to grow up one day."
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Toko hadn't noticed the change right away, but Togami certainly had. Suddenly, he was seeing less and less of that dangerous red gaze, less and less of those custom, sharpened scissors, and less and less of that shrill cackling that sent a shiver down his spine. Genocider Syo wasn't around that much anymore. And while he never really felt concern for the demented sociopath, he felt concern for Fukawa and he knew that whether he liked it or not, that sociopath was a part of her. He also knew that he had to do something about this.
He watched for a whole week, watched her mannerisms carefully. He watched as every sneeze was followed by a rapid one seconds later, he watched as Fukawa would always wake up as herself in the morning, he watched as the girl he had grown to care for would be wandering aimlessly through-out the apartment, looking frustrated but not knowing exactly why.
This ended now.
It had been harder than he expected but he immediately jumped at attention when he heard the tiny sniffle and the sneeze that followed after. He was quick, grabbing the girl's thin wrists before she could reach for the end of her hair, stopping her from switching again. In a way, it was amusing, because he hadn't seen Syo look so surprised before. But the sheer effort was beginning to annoy him, apparent in his glare.
"What is going on. And don't lie to me."
The serial killer giggled immediately. "Awww, c'mon Master, can't a girl have the chance to die in peace?"
...Die?
"Excuse me?"
"Well I mean, it's no secret that you all don't want a riveting artist like me around Master jr. when they pop out and I have no desire to get in my gloomy side's way anymore!" She smiled like it was nothing. "Plus, I kind of lost my desire to kill all the pretty boys I see, mostly cause she's so in love with you, sooooo that means I kinda lost the will to live too!"
Togami just starred at her for a moment. "So you're just going to fade into the background?"
"Pretty much, yep yep yep!"
"That's cowardly."
She pulled her wrists free from his grasp, grinning evilly at him as she gripped his now, the tables turned. "Just forget about me, Master. She has."
He wanted to protest but before he could, there was another sneeze, and Fukawa's big purple eyes starred at him in confusion, not understanding the sudden anger and frustration on his face.
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By the time she was ready to pop, Toko had caught on to what her other half was doing. Sure, Byakuya telling her what was happening had helped her realize, but she had remained skeptical. After all, Genocider Syo wasn't the type to just lay down like some dormant being to allow her to live her own life...
...at least that's what she thought.
It had really hit her when she saw that the scissors remained untouched in the thigh holster for months, still sitting in her closet, hanging there ominously. She really wasn't coming back, she really was going to just let her consciousness fade away until it was only Toko Fukawa that remained.
That suddenly realization sent an ice cold shiver through the writer, one she had never felt before regarding Syo, like a loss was occurring. The loss of a friend.
She glared down at her hands, dry and cracked. "C'mon Toko, don't be ridiculous. It's fine, this...actually fixes everything quite nicely. I don't have to worry about being arrested anymore. Yeah... and I don't need to worry about her stealing Byakuya's attention! This is better this way!" This was going to make her life far less complicated, safer and all around better for her child.
But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, the words just sounded hollow. She sighed.
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It had been a long 18 hours of labor. A very long 18 hours. She had never felt so much anger and aggression towards Togami before but at some point, he was shoved out of the delivery room so that Fukawa didn't blow a blood vessel in her head screaming at him so loud. But other than the immense pain in her pelvic region and three sets of torn sheets from where she tore into the white cloth when the contractions had become near unbearable, everything had gone smoothly, and she was rewarded from her suffering with a little baby girl nestled in pink sheets against her chest. God, she was so beautiful.
As soon as the group was texted, everyone from the former 78th class came flooding in, all of them wishing her well and a speedy recovery. Because oh god, she hadn't felt this exhausted in a long time.
It was quiet once all her classmates left--the room hadn't been big enough for 16 people and Togami could easily tell Fukawa was getting anxious from all the attention. The two parents remained in the room lit by a single bed lamp, looking over the tiny little pink thing. Toko stroked the small head with very light fingertips, smiling a little at all the love and affection that was suddenly pouring into her, every emotion just focusing on the little girl in her arms and how much she absolutely adored her.
....Wait.
She looked at Togami once, their eyes meeting. "I-I know you said it wasn't a good idea but..."
"..." He knew what she was talking about. "We've already had this discussion."
Yes they had, but the guilt was eating Toko alive. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair to Syo to just disappear for no reason. And maybe this was the one chance to really pull her back out from the depths of her consciousness. Why she cared, she still wasn't sure. The serial killer was the whole reason she had become a debbie downer through-out her life anyways. But there was a lingering space that she felt inside her knowing her alter ego was drifting away.
And so she sneezed, wiggling the coarse ends of her frazzled hair in front of her nose.
'God just please, just try to understand what I'm doing...'
As soon as they changed, the serial killer blinked curiously a few times. It hadn't felt like much time passed in that inky darkness but by the pain she was feeling in certain areas, it could easily have been five or six months since she last came out; time got a little fuzzy near the end.
But now here she was, able to feel again. It was like being ripped out of a dream suddenly and roughly. And without her consent too Jeez, couldn't she just have nap time without being disturbed? Just once.
And then she felt it.
Red eyes shifted down to the small bundle in her arms, sleeping but quietly cooing. And that's all she did for a few seconds was stare. A rush of love and fondness and affection was suddenly focused in on this child, making it seem like the one thing keeping her grounded now, as if it had replaced killing all together. She almost cursed her gloomy side but she was too enthralled with this sudden life in her arms. It didn't matter if she was being forced to love it, she had no complaints at this point.
"..."
Oh right, Master was here.
She grinned her toothy smile, nails lightly playing with the edge of the pink blanket, trying ever so hard to be gentle. That was going to take some getting used to.
"Jeeeeeez Master, it's not like I'm gonna eat her or anything!" she giggled, and Togami was surprised (relieved?) to hear that familiar tone; Syo sounded much more like her old self in that moment than in the past nine months before hand. Well, as normal as she could be without the stabby stab part.
"Just remember what I said before." Even saying it, he realized it was unneeded. From what he knew about their emotions plus how Fukawa's other self was looking down at the small baby, he doubted he had anything to worry about.
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It was quite clear that the daughter of two elites would no doubt have a massive amount of talent herself. Whether or not she would go to Hope's Peak was an entirely different story, but Togami found it best to test her abilities while she was young to see which talents she latched onto. And he only hired the best of the best, nothing else would be worth a Togami's time.
The little girl, whom had been named Kemeko after literally weeks and weeks of debate, had taken well and rather quickly to each of her teachers, leaving everyone but Byakuya impressed (she was a Togami, he expected nothing less). Even at just six years old she was already learning intermediate martial art's moves from Oogami, pitching techniques from Kuwata, proper singing tone from Maizono and so on. It seemed like their old class was constantly at the manor.
It was late in the day and Kemeko was finishing up her swimming lesson with Asahina, the former SHSL elite padding alongside her while giving constant encouragement and praise. Fukawa watched as well, excitement and cheer in her eyes. Having a child had certainly improved her disposition, seeing a part of her succeeding and living an already full and happy life. That wasn't the only reason, though. There was a certain protectiveness that she felt from time to time during the day, a protectiveness that differed from her own, and that only meant one thing. She was just happy that the former serial killer hadn't taught her anything about blades and crucifixion. And that she never would, otherwise Byakuya would pitch a fit.
Speaking of.
Hina grinned as tiny hands gripped the edge of the pool and a tiny little blonde head popped up, looking at her expectantly. "Heh, you're doing awesome, better than last week! I think we can probably start learning the butterfly tomorrow."
"Oooh, really?" Kemeko paddled beside her.
"Yep! Heh, you're quite the little natural!" She poked the little one's nose, beaming as her small giggling. She was so caught up that the sudden giggling coming from Fukawa's direction actually startled her a little bit. Really? This was the third time again.
"Hey swim hussy, ya' taking care of the munchkin over there? Caaaause if she drowned, that would be a definite no-no! Kyehehehe..."
"Swim hussy?!" Asahina huffed loudly. Jeez, not in front of the kid.
"I okay, Auntie Syo! Look! Swim swim swim..." She kicked tiny legs, wadded small arms, moving slowly but surely across a small area of the pool, her teacher right beside her.
Was that fondness she felt? Damn, Gloomy really was making her extra soft. The tiny little sausage had already wormed her way into her heart, or whatever the hell was left of it.
She guessed that was okay. Serial killer turned protector, it wasn't that bad a title shift. Arts and crafts time was going to be excellent.