Heir & Heiress

Division

The glorious days of sleeping in were no longer in my future as I returned to Hope's Peak. I was never a morning person, especially before ten o'clock, so having to drag myself out of bed before eight was tortuous. I was, for once, thankful that we had uniforms; I pulled my hair into a ponytail and slipped into my Coach loafers, locking my door behind me. The clouds are pretty dark today, I thought, glancing out of the hallway windows. "What the...," I pressed against the glass. Reserve Course students were huddled in small groups in front of the main gate, giving security a hard time. After the murder of Natsumi Kuzuryuu, tension between the Reserve and Main courses had grown to mildly threatening levels. From how Nanami explained it, her homeroom teacher was teaching in the Reserve Course building on probation. I couldn't believe my ears when she explained Komaeda's suspension or about the three upperclassmen who were expelled. No one knew exactly what had happened, but my intuition said that it involved an unintentional twist of luck. A hand waving in front of my face broke my train of repetitive thought, "Huh?" Byakuya was staring directly at me, along with Kyoko and Makoto.

"Did you not hear a single word I said?" Byakuya sighed. "How are you this distracted?"

A double murder case, Komaeda being suspended, Yukizome on probation; the events kept circling my mind. I tried to find a way to explain without seeming obsessive; Kyoko's hand rested over mine. "Whatever is occupying your mind, please don't endanger yourself over it," her lips tensed, trying to conceal her concern.

I smiled, slightly shaking my head, "Please don't worry about me. I'm not planning to interfere". Their expressions said they weren't convinced. "It's merely curiosity!" I hoped my laughter passed as genuine. I pretended to listen, nodding and smiling along, as my thoughts began to wander once more. The 77th class seemed to be functioning properly without a homeroom teacher and a few of their students. Missing students... I scanned the room and made another connection. Enoshima and Ikusaba had been absent most of the time since the recent events began; the realization made my stomach churn.

The Reserve Course protests escalated enough that no student could leave without being escorted by security. Byakuya would comment on 'how irrational commoners can be' each time we left the campus. I almost hated to admit that he was right, but there had to be a reason for the uprising. "Doesn't it look like...there's less security?" Byakuya and I focused on the still-expanding crowds against the decreasing guards. To live in the middle of chaos without answers made me more annoyed than afraid, but to see such anger targeted towards us put a dent in my posture. "Byakuya?"

"Hm?" He gave me a side-glance, keeping his head propped in his hand.

"What do you think about Enoshima?" The question piqued his curiosity, even if it mixed with confusion. Nagito's obvious distrust and hatred for Enoshima became a catalyst for my doubt, but I knew better than to start trouble with the sister of the Ultimate Soldier.

"Could you provide the context I'm clearly missing?"

I curled my lips; I wanted to avoid mentioning Komaeda's name or the doubt he had reflected onto me. "I guess I'm asking about your opinion of her personality. Do you think she could...be involved in what's going on?"

Byakuya's confusion fine-tuned with judgement, but his eyes travelled aimlessly in thought. "She's manipulative, but obnoxious. No, I don't believe she would have any involvement in this feud of impaired judgement". His fingers slid between the spaces of mine, barely intertwining our hands. "What are you not telling me?"

I leaned to the side, ensuring the door was fully closed. "I noticed that Enoshima and Ikusaba have been fairly absent since the protests started". The more I processed my assumption, the less I understood the connection. I chuckled, "You must think I'm losing my mind. Nagito's filled my head with nonsense".

"Leave the investigating to Kirigiri. Focus on me instead," his grip tightened around my hand. His smirk sent flutters throughout my chest; Since when is Byakuya Togami...caring?