「Anime x Reader One Shots」

Together (Byakuya Togami x Reader)

Byakuya had piqued your interest from the day you first met him at Hope's Peak Academy. Despite his initial cold demeanor towards you, you didn't let that stop you from always spending your time in the library with him. Your interest in him was far from being similar to the obsession Toko seemed to have acquired for him and that alone made you far more appealing to him.

At first, you would accompany him in the library, never saying a word as the two of you would be absorbed in a book. Even without any conversation going on between you, being within his presence alone was enough to make you feel comfortable. He didn't even seem to mind your presence, which made you feel all the more welcomed. The fact that he acted as if he didn't notice you were there, to begin with, didn't deter you from sitting in the library with him. Compared to how he treated Toko, that was a warm welcoming for you.

The first few days you spent in the library with him were quiet. As much as you wanted to break the silence, you had little hope for him to actually reply to you. Unlike most of the other students, he never showed much of appeal to communicate, much less even be in the same room as anyone else. It took nearly a week for you to grow the backbone to mutter just a few measly words to him.

"You seem to be really interested in Genocide Jack," you commented, noticing he was reading the same documents as usual. At first, you thought you spoke too softly because he didn't seem to react to your words at all; his gaze didn't even seem to move from the papers he gripped in his hands.

Before you could repeat your statement in a louder voice, his stony gaze finally moved up to your face. He did little to hide his irritation from being disturbed.

"Did you say something?" he sneered. Pursing your lips tightly, you shook your head and averted your gaze back to the book you were reading. He sighed and placed the documents down on the table. "Genocide Jack, as well as many other serial killers, have always intrigued me."

You warily looked up at him, surprised to hear he was actually talking to you. Not even to the other students did you ever hear him talk so calmly without a tone full of distaste. Perhaps talking to him wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Do you think I could read the documents sometime?"

And thus started your friendship with Byakuya Togami. He wasn't the most talkative or even pleasant person to be around, but he was interesting. The things he said, did, enjoyed; they were all things that drew you into him. He was different from everyone else and that's what you liked about him. You even secretly hoped that just maybe he would reveal a new side of himself only to you and with a little time, he did.

It was an odd relationship the two of you shared. The two of you rarely ever spoke with one another, especially not in the library, but words weren't needed to express the care for one another the both of you harbored. His presence alone was comforting and all you needed to be happy.

Finding yourself growing closer to another person while being trapped within a killing game was never something you thought would happen, but it did. You knew it was unsafe to trust someone as much as you trusted Byakuya considering that he could quite easily kill you during one of the many days you spent alone with him in the library. Despite that, you couldn't see yourself fearing him now matter how much you mulled over the thought of him having a murderous intent.

That didn't stop you from fearing the killing game in general, though. You found it difficult to trust the other students. With each murder that took place, the more suspicious and paranoid you became of the other students. Not even reading sessions in the library with Byakuya were enough to quench your fear anymore.

You found yourself unable to focus on the documents you were reading. Thoughts of the most recent murder that took place flooded your brain. You couldn't help but fear of something like that happening to you or even worse - Byakuya. He was the only friend you managed to acquire since being trapped within the school and the thought of losing him made your chest seize up with panic. Your eyes kept darting back and forth from the papers in hand to his face. You thought he didn't notice your unusual behavior until he finally spoke up.

"You've been on that same page for over thirty minutes," he observed, his gaze never leaving his own documents. You swallowed nervously, your throat suddenly feeling awfully dry.

"Are you not phased at all by these murders?" you questioned, your voice full of concern. You were well aware of his ability to obscure his emotions from prying eyes, but not once have you ever seen him worried about his own well-being.

His eyes finally looked up from his reading and blue irises locked with your [eye color] ones. He sighed and pushed up his glasses. "Honestly, have you not even discovered the pattern yet?"

"Pattern?"

"Every single person who let their emotions get to them - whether it be fear, anger, greed, or guilt - have all played a part in murdering someone within this twisted game. If you let those pointless emotions control you, you'll only end up becoming another casualty."

Just like every other day, he continued to amaze you once again with his logic. As heartless as it could be perceived as, there was no denying how much truth was held in his words. The only way to survive a killing game such as this one was to cast emotions like those aside. You weren't surprised at all that Byakuya was the first one to realize that.

"Even if you don't show it... You must fear for your own safety to some extent, right? No matter how I look at it, I can't block out that sliver of me that fears what the outcome of this game will be like..."

"I have no reason to fear the outcome," he stated, a look of determination visible in his eyes. "As long as I keep a cool head and analyze the situation accordingly, there's nothing stopping me from making it through this."

You lowered your head, breaking eye contact with him. While you were practically cowering like a frightened animal, Byakuya remained so cool-headed and practical. There was no arguing that he would certainly make it through this alive, but you? You couldn't see yourself making it any further. Compared to him, you were exceedingly weak.

You felt something warm touch your hand. Looking up, you felt your face turn red when you noticed his hand on top of yours. His head was turned away from you in a poor attempt to conceal the blush that appeared on his face.

"I don't plan on surviving this game alone. We'll survive this... Together."