Eternal Friends (Discontinued)

Hope

Byakuya Togami's POV

"NO!!!" Chihiro sprinted in front of me, in an attempt to stop the Monokuma. But I knew it was pointless. This was the end... I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable... But it never came.

I opened my eyes in confusion, staring in front of me. There laid a Monokuma, mirroring my current position on the floor. My head darted around the room for Chihiro, but all I saw was Mondo's bewildered expression. What just happened..? Where's Chi-

"Byakuya...?" The Monokuma lying in front of me spoke, it's voice completely different from the one we used to know. I stared at it, but I couldn't ponder the absurdity of the situation much longer. The other bears had regained their balance and sprinted towards me. I took this as an opportunity granted by fate to run to the elevator.

I turned back briefly, but stopped in shock. It seemed the Monokuma who had spoken to me earlier was... Fighting its copies..? Soon enough, all the other Monokuma's that I'd yet to kill were... Dead. This strange Monokuma turned to me, seemingly shocked as well. "Byakuya... It's me....
.
.
.
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Chihiro..."

"How... How did you..." Mondo was just as baffled as I was, if not more. Despite being a ghost and presumably sharing the same ability, he had no idea what was going on.

"I don't know... I just... I just wanted to protect you. It sounds stupid but I just... Strongly hoped that I could stop it and it... It worked." He tried to find the words to describe the events that transpired, but couldn't explain what just happened.

While I was still recovering from my bewilderment, I decided we shouldn't waste any more time. "We can save the questions for later, it's obvious none of us know. Let's ask one of the others later. Come on."

I left it at that and walked ahead, carefully stepping over the Monokumas' bodies. Chihiro waddled after me, still inhabiting the bear. My eyes quickly scanned the halls in search for any living person, but my search was useless. All I could find were the dead bodies of Future Foundation agents...

"Byakuya, you should take a break for now... This whole thing was.... Rough." Chihiro suggested, stopping in his tracks. I turned around to face him, realizing he was right. I sighed in defeat, deciding to head to one of the apartments. This weird Monokuma... Chihiro... The ghost realm... Towa City and the captives... My brain was about to explode. I collapsed onto one of the couches and let my face fall in my hands.

"So what's our plan...?" Mondo finally regained his composure and plopped down next to me. He still couldn't help but glance at the Monokuma, as if it'd turn any second.

"First, I should get spare ammo off the other members.... Then... Then I guess we head out and look for the other captives." I leaned back onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. My hands fell to my sides as I tried to process everything going on. I knew now wasn't the time, but my thoughts wouldn't stop running until I sorted them out.

Suddenly, I felt something brush up against my leg. I jumped, quickly pearing down at the floor in front of me. Mondo and Chihiro followed my gaze after seeing my sudden surprise.

"A... Cat..?" Mondo questioned, taking a closer look at the creature. Upon being noticed, it hopped up onto the couch and started sniffing my arm.

"Uhm... Hello..?" I wasn't too good with animals, let alone random cats in the middle of the apocalypse. The sudden gesture caught me off guard. This cat obviously couldn't tell that, though, as it just stared at me.

"Aww, he's so cute..!" Chihiro chuckled at the creature. I assume that if he could smile, he'd be doing so. However Monokuma's mouth was fixed in the same position. That thing... Seriously disturbed me. But knowing it was being controlled by an innocent boy was a bit reassuring.

I turned my attention back to the creature, taking note of the strange collar around it's neck. The frills reminded me of our recently departed friend, and I soon remembered she had mentioned owning a cat. "Do you think it belongs to Celestia?"

"You think this cat was in her motive video?" Mondo turned to me, a bit baffled at the thought of a mere cat being of so much importance. If I recall correctly, Mondo was a dog person and made that point very apparent.

"I wouldn't put it past her." I thought for a moment, before letting a hand glide against the cat's soft fur. It seemed to welcome my touch, leaning it's tiny head into my palm.

Chihiro let out a soft chuckle, a hand... Or- paw moving over his mouth. The animal was definitely a stress reliever, considering everything going on... Everything going on...

I sighed, pushing myself off the dusty, dull couch. The cat turned up to me, a pleading look in its tiny eyes. However, I simply ignored it. "We don't have much time to stick around, we should get moving. I suppose we can take the cat along with us, however it won't be my top priority."

"I... I guess that's fair.." Chihiro was a bit upset by that last part, however that wouldn't change my opinion. We had a mission, there was no time to worry about a cat who's owner was six feet under. My feet fell against the soft carpet in an orderly fashion, as I made my way out of the hotel room.

The cat followed after, its tiny paws pattering against the floor. I looked down at the creature, sighing to myself as I opened the door. I should hurry, before the rest of the captives meet a terrible fate.

((This is short but I honestly haven't had motivation to write this fic so-