Heir & Heiress

Broken Trust

Mondo and Taka's bellowing laughter and 'bromance' attitude made me squint, wondering what switch flipped overnight. I didn't ask any questions as I sat next to Celeste and Hina. After breakfast concluded, Hina invited Celeste and me to join her and Sakura in the pool, to which Celeste quickly declined. With how long it must take to style her coil locks, I wouldn't want to waste the effort either. "I'll meet you in there!" I called, waving at the two girls before heading towards the library. I wanted to avoid Byakuya worrying over my absence, but my efforts were slowed when I spotted Makoto and Toko leaving the library. It was the first time I'd witnessed a smile on Fukawa's face; one that wasn't sarcastic in nature. She was still rambling about some connection between her and Togami when she left Makoto standing alone. "Should I even ask?" I pointed behind me at the giddy hopeless romantic.

Makoto sighed, clearly mentally exhausted from the strange events of today. "Fukawa seems interested in Togami," he ran a hand over the back of his head. "Don't you usually join him in the morning?"

"We're not joined at the hips, y'know?" I rolled my eyes. "But yeah...I just wanted to let him know what I'm doing," heat crept up my neck and traced the edges of my cheeks. Makoto nodded, grinning, and stepped around me towards the stairs. Finally alone, I poked my head through the ajar door, spotting Byakuya reading in his usual spot. "Hey, just wanted to tell you that I'm going swimming. Sorry for skipping out on breakfast".

"You're going with one of them?"

"I hope socializing doesn't infringe on our agreement," I scoffed, though smiling. He hadn't glanced up once, but his eyes seized to scan the pages. While I wanted to ask what was wrong, I couldn't bring myself too; I knew that he wouldn't explain. "I'll be careful," I pushed his book aside, forcing Byakuya to look at me. "Meet me for lunch later?"

After several seconds of contemplation, Byakuya nodded. "Fine, but don't be late," he squeezed my hand and returned to his book. His demeanor worried me; ever since we agreed to get out together, Byakuya seemed more hesitant with every move. 

*ding dong dong ding* "This is an important announcement".

Tension began to choke every muscle in my body. 'The gym? Now?'; when I rounded the corner, Byakuya was waiting outside, leaning against his door. "What do you think he wants now?"

"I'm sure the Mastermind has another trick up their sleeve". He was completely unphased. I never understood how Byakuya could stand tall in the face of any obstacle; someone was going to die, and the uncertainty alone was enough to cripple my confidence. Death didn't scare me; it was the 'who', 'when', and even 'how' that shot anxious adrenaline through my veins. I turned my gaze upwards, focusing on his stoic mask of pride and prestige. "What is it?" Byakuya stopped, his hand on the door handle.

"I...admire your strength," I felt the creeping embarrassment begin to heat the sides of my face. "Deceit, betrayal, even death, none of it seems to phase you".

"I'm accustomed to it," he turned away, focusing on his whitening knuckles. I couldn't respond to such brutal honesty. In any previous conversation, Byakuya was never one to uncover the past. He refused to speak of his siblings, his mother, even any minuscule mistake or regret; Byakuya was a closed book with a padlock and I hadn't found the key. I laced my fingers through his, catching his gaze with a reassuring smile. We entered the gym, hand-in-hand and ready to face whatever challenge Monokuma would toss our way.

"Watching you all roam aimlessly...it's so boring! So, I decided to give you another motive!" Monokuma jeered, jumping onto the stage podium.

"Do as you please, but we won't be inclined to kill!" Ishimaru bellowed. The incentive was thoughtful, but I was wary and taking a glance around the room, others were as well. Monokuma completely disregarded Taka's motivations and revealed several envelopes from behind his back. The paper barely touched the gym floor as everyone scoured for theirs.

I unraveled the string closure and dug the contents out:

Karen Billotte lost her place as heiress due to rebelling against her parents and bringing disgrace to the family name/business.

"You can't prove this," I grinned, crumbling the paper into a ball and tossing it away.

"Oh ho ho~ Check the envelope again," Monokuma continued to laugh as I pulled a stack of photographs out with trembling fingers. Every photo was focused on a girl in flashy attire, stiletto heels and gaudy amounts of jewelry; flirting with guys, drinking, entering and leaving bars, a typical party girl.

"Is this really your motive?" Naegi slouched, relaxing a bit. Monokuma's confidence began to dissipate, processing our disinterest. "Sure, I don't want others to know, but this isn't worth someone's life".

"Yeah, seriously," I scoffed. "Besides, the information for mine is half wrong". It was true that I had lost my place as heiress, and the pictures were indeed of me, but I didn't notice a connection. Had Monokuma given me two motives?

Monokuma broke out in hysterical laughter, "Looks like someone has some explaining to do~". His laughter soon seized, quickly consumed by his disappointment of the motive having failed. "Anyway, I guess in 24 hours I have to reveal your secrets," The bear sulked away, leaving us to debate what to do next.

'Someone? Someone in this room?' I hugged the secured evidence against my chest. I haven't known anyone in the room long enough...the realization made my heart sink, waves of nauseating anger knotted my muscles. My legs shook as I stepped away from Byakuya, "No..."; the discussion around me halted. "He's lying, right? You didn't really...," I was expecting, almost hoping, that Byakuya would tell me I was mistaken and be able to prove that he wasn't involved, that this was just one of Monokuma's tricks. He didn't say a word. He could barely hold my gaze. "My parents practically disowned me because of you!" The puzzle was finally coming together, "Is that why you made the arrangement? Was it only to cover this up?" I held the envelope out, shaking with anger.