NO, THAT'S WRONG! ~~Naegami~~

Chapter 13: In the Name of my Family

Makoto had known something was up for a few weeks now. Togami had been avoiding him, and- for the life of him- Makoto couldn't figure out why. It was possible Togami just didn't like him but, knowing him, he would have just come out and told him if that was the case. So there had to be a different reason, one that Togami wanted to keep from him and, if there was one thing Makoto hated, it was being kept in the dark. So he knew he had to figure this thing out, but he had no clue how.
That was when he ran into Togami outside school on Friday. He had acted much calmer than he had felt, but he still worried he had come across as rude. He then felt a rush of anger, because if anyone should be worried about being rude, it shouldn't be him: it should be Togami.
The Affluent Progeny has managed to weasel out of explaining, but had promised to tell him tomorrow, not that Makoto really believed him. After getting to know him, he had realised that Togami wasn't really all that great at lying. Still, Makoto wasn't about to let it slide that easily: he was getting the truth out of Togami one way or another. However, he was running rather short on ideas as to how to do that. He could just pester Togami, but that didn't ensure that whatever the blonde told him would be the truth. He could spy on him, maybe find out why he was being avoided through some covert observation, but that felt underhanded, and Makoto wanted to hear the truth firsthand from Togami. Which left him with very few options, if any at all. Still, he was determined to find a surefire way to find out what was going on, so he stayed up all night, his mind running too quickly to allow sleep any hold whatsoever. That was when he heard the door close.
As the whole class had been told on their first days, their rooms had been soundproofed completely, so nobody outside could hear anything happening inside the rooms. An odd decision to make, to be sure, but it was pointless to question it too much. However, the soundproofing didn't stop sound from outside the rooms being audible from inside, meaning that Makoto could hear the door close with perfect clarity. And based on the direction from which it had arrived, the sound most likely originated from... Togami's room? That made no sense, but it provided a unique opportunity that Makoto wasn't about to let slip past. He determined that he would follow Togami and confront him.
Attempting to make as little noise as possible, the brunette slipped through his door and softly closed it. He just about managed to catch sight of Togami's tall figure round a corner. Assuming a ridiculous position that he vaguely remembered from movies, Makoto snuck after him.

***

Byakuya couldn't sleep, so he needed to calm his nerves somehow. He'd be useless in the morning if he didn't get any sleep. What he really wanted to do was knock on Naegi's door and talk to the boy, and maybe- just maybe- tell him the secret he'd been keeping. Yet, even as he thought that, he knew it would be impossible. And so, his mind wandered to the only other thing that was sure to calm him down: swimming.
It had been a long time since he'd been in a pool, as he'd deemed it a waste of time, but he very much enjoyed swimming and water sports in general. And he had spotted that pool on the second floor.
But would it even be open at this hour? He hadn't heard any indication that it wouldn't be.
Was he even allowed to go out at night? The rules clearly stated "With minimal restrictions, students are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at their discretion.", so it was likely permitted.
What if someone saw him? Don't be ridiculous, Byakuya, it's the middle of the night. Only idiots would be awake at this hour. Idiots, and him.
Very well, it was decided. The illustrious Byakuya Togami would get up in the middle of the night and go for a swim to calm himself down. It was almost ridiculous enough to make him laugh.
The school was very different at night, it almost felt like a different building. Most of the lights had been switched off, and the few that remained cast small circles of illumination on the walls in red, green, and blue, bathing everything around in a faint but unmistakably alien glow. Byakuya shuddered slightly, he wasn't a huge fan of the dark. An irrational fear, to be sure, but it did no harm to indulge in a bit of irrationality every now and again, especially if nobody was watching.
His footsteps echoed loudly around the unnaturally still corridors, making him feel like an intruder in the buildings. Each step he took made him feel less sure of himself, an alien and unwelcome feeling to him. Was he absolutely, completely, without a doubt positive he was allowed to do this? Perhaps not, but he was Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny: he cared not what he was 'allowed' to do. If anything, he made the rules, and everyone else just had to deal with it.
Thump. Byakuya jumped at the sudden noise behind him and whirled around in an attempt to spot the instigator of the sound, but there was nothing there. His mind must be playing tricks on him; uncommon as that was, it was more believable than an invisible person following him. There wasn't anywhere to hide in this corridor, anyway, unless one was incredibly skilled at hiding themselves. Perhaps Mukuro Ikusaba? But that was- again- ridiculous. What would the Ultimate Soldier want to follow him (in the dead of night, no less) for? Byakuya shook his head: there wasn't any point thinking about irrelevant things like that.
He finally came to the steps to the second floor. Ominously lit in a deep purple, they loomed over him as if judging him for what he was doing. Maybe that was just how he saw everything, though. He sighed, and began climbing the steps.
The second floor was awash in sky blue lighting, which shone harshly onto the pool door. It was closed, but slightly ajar, confirming Byakuya's thinking that the pool was, in fact, open at night. Looking around one last time to check nobody was watching him, he stepped through.