Heir & Heiress

Blood Drawn

Hearing the morning announcement startled me less than the first time, but my pulse still quickened at the sound of Monokuma's voice. Groggily, I blinked the sleep from my eyes and propped myself on my elbows. I turned to Byakuya, watching him sit up and reach for his glasses. Judging from his barely open eyelids, I could tell that neither of us were exactly morning people. However, I giggled at his 'less than presentable' appearance, "Good morning". He nodded, pulling back the covers, and proceeded to gather his clothes for the day. I stared at yesterday's outfit sitting on his desk and glanced down at the borrowed pajamas. I bit my tongue, knowing that if I left Byakuya's room in his clothes, there might be consequences. 'Eh, how bad could it be?' I shrugged the thought off and gathered my clothes.

Before leaving the room, Byakuya stopped in front of me, seemingly more awake than a few minutes ago. I waited for him to protest me leaving in his clothes, but the words never came. Instead, Byakuya leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see you at breakfast," were his last words before shutting himself in his bathroom. Had he realized what he just did? Byakuya wasn't the type to act unintentionally. Right? The gasp I received shortly after leaving Byakuya's room yanked me from my stunned state. Toko stood in her doorway, one hand clenching a braid and the other covering her mouth. 'Fuck', I immediately ate my assumption of no consequence. Although caught red-handed, I chose to ignore the writer and nearly sprinted to my room. I frantically showered and grabbed the first thing I saw from the wardrobe. I glimpsed at the discarded sleep attire before locking my door.

Byakuya and I, with Toko trailing behind, were the last to arrive. "Have either of you seen Maizono?" Naegi's question made me stop in the doorway. Sayaka was always one of the few early birds among the sixteen of us.

Togami continued walking, "Do we look like her keepers?" With that, he disappeared into the kitchen. Ignoring the cold remark, I shook my head at Makoto. His complexion drained of color, his mouth moved, but I couldn't understand the mumbling coming out. When I approached, resting a hand on his shoulder, Naegi bolted out of the dining hall. Within moments, Makoto's screams pierced through the dreadful silence.

When we gathered in the dorm corridor, Kyoko knelt beside an unconscious Naegi, pressing two fingers against his wrist. "He must have fainted," she was focused on something in front of them.

"Why do you say-," My hands covered my strangled gasps. Sayaka Maizono was slumped against the bathroom wall and blood was splattered against the walls and floor. A knife jutted out from her torso where more blood had pooled, staining her clothes. A bell resonated through the hostile air, bringing our attention to the screen above us.

"Ahem, please join me in the gymnasium for an important announcement!" Monokuma unfathomably chipper voice cut out quickly. Sakura offered to carry Makoto, following the others as they filed out of Sayaka's room. I couldn't force my feet to move. It was hard to understand, but something had felt familiar about Maizono's bubbly personality. I found familiarity in everyone; Hina's upbeat attitude, Celeste's sharp tongue, Makoto's open friendliness, even Mondo's temper. Now, staring at the dead girl, my heart wrenched as if I had lost a dear friend.

"Come on," Byakuya took my hand and led me away from Sayaka's body. 

When Makoto finally came to, he badgered us with questions about Maizono and tried to rush back to the scene. "She's dead, Naegi," Togami repeated the mortal fact once more. I knew he wasn't a stranger to the death of someone he knew, but Byakuya wasn't one to be emotionally affected by loss. The more Naegi questioned and demanded, the colder the response he received from Byakuya.

"Now that Naegi is awake, we can begin!" Monokuma jumped to the center of the gym, waving a black folder in the air. What now? "I present to you the Monokuma File!" Kirigiri accepted the folder, examining its' contents. With it open, I noticed Monokuma's face plastered on the front.

"How narcissistic can you be?" I mocked.

"That sounds like a question for your boyfriend!" Monokuma jeered. Toko shot a glare in my direction as I tried to deny the accusation through pitiful stammering.

"What about the blackened? They would graduate now, correct?" Togami's point was met with more maniacal laughter.

'Unless discovered' circled my mind. "Kirigiri, what's in the file?"

"It contains details of Maizono's death". She turned to Monokuma, "You know who the blackened is, yet you want us to investigate what happened?"

"I'm not investigating anything!" Junko rushed towards an outraged Monokuma. "I'm out of your game!" Her choice of wording struck me as strange. When had Monokuma ever referred to this horrific situation as a 'game'?

"You dare defy the principal?" Long razor claws extended from Monokuma's paws as he charged after Enoshima. For a model, she was unphased; no fear crossed her face as she squashed Monokuma under her boot.

"Junko, no!" I lunged forward, grabbing one of her arms. Attempting to pull her away was useless; spears erupted from the floor and pierced through Enoshima's body. Hands gripped my shoulders and yanked me away, letting Enoshima collapse once the spears retracted. Junko laid motionless on the ground, blood pooling around her. Sudden pressure was applied to my arm followed my searing pain. Monokuma growled something at me before disappearing once more, but the grief in my chest blocked it out. I tried to pull away from whoever was holding my arm.

"Don't," a rough voice ordered, tightening their grip. Byakuya had taken off his blazer and wrapped it around my arm. I could barely notice the blood soaking through the black fabric. Hina and Sakura rushed over; Byakuya was hesitant to accept their help but was quick to yield. When he gently peeled the fabric away, a few of the others gasped at the damage. One of the spears had torn through the muscle of my outer forearm, leaving a vertical gash. Even twitching my fingers caused enough pain to make me choke on air.

Sakura quickly recovered the wound, remaining calm. "Is there any room that might have bandages and gauze?"

"The infirmary, most likely. However, it was taped off and locked, correct?" Celeste glanced at the disturbed and worried faces.

There wasn't time to find a way into the infirmary, not when we had to figure out who killed Sayaka. I bit my lip, staring at the covered wound. "Go investigate. I'll make a sling with the fabric in my room," I looked back at Kirigiri. Hina helped my shaking legs to stand while Byakuya kept pressure applied. Mondo and Sakura left to stand guard over the crime scene, Kirigiri following behind.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Naegi glanced between Enoshima's body and my arm, clearly worried. "You were close to Enoshima, right?"

I nodded, "For the time we've been trapped, that is. But don't worry about me," I forced a smile.

"Say that after we've stopped the bleeding," Byakuya rushed out towards the exit. I smiled again, apologetically, at Makoto before the door shut behind us.