Heir & Heiress

Head Over Heels

Within seconds of returning to the dining hall, Monokuma graced us with his presence. "Do you feel an urge to ruin every enjoyable moment?" Kirigiri stared down at the bear.

"Eh!?" He turned away from us, "I come here to tell you about my present and you greet me with that? How awful...," he mumbled, turning towards the wall to kick an imaginary rock. We fell silent, aware of the familiar tactic to lure us into another motive. "Well, it seems I've caught your attention~ Meet me in the gym to find out more!"

To my surprise, we weren't the first arrivals; Fukawa and Togami were already inside the gym, waiting. After my emotional departure last night, Togami and I hadn't seen each other once; when we caught each other's gazes, I stumbled over my own feet and into Naegi and Hina. "I guess the steam went to your head, huh?" Hina joked; the pair helped me regain my composure. The wholesome moment was cut short, however, by Togami's obvious displeasure with the scene. Byakuya had refocused onto Makoto and his hands wrapped under my arm; if looks could kill, I couldn't begin to imagine how Byakuya's glare would claim Naegi's life. Makoto quickly apologized, releasing me, and continued to walk ahead. He had merely prevented me from smashing my face into the hardwood floor, yet Byakuya was acting as if we had entered holding hands. 'Jealous, much?' A devious grin crossed my lips; the moderate triumph was a glorious feeling, no matter how petty it seemed.

"Hello, hello!" An irreplaceable voice cheered; Monokuma stood behind the podium. Similar to our earlier conversation, none of us looked particularly interested in what scheme Monokuma had prepared. Without wasting any time, Monokuma waved his paws upwards and presented us with ten billion yen. I pressed the back of my hand to my lips, trying to hide my snickering. "And just what is so funny?" Monokuma snapped, jumping to the front of the stage.

"You're running out of genuine motives, that's what. I mean, it's only ten billion," I shrugged, still grinning. "I could easily pay someone double that to not murder anyone".

"I agree," Togami nodded; we exchanged smirking glances, which prompted me to laugh more.

Monokuma felt silent briefly, then began to laugh himself. "Is that right? And when did you regain access to daddy's money?" His low-blow comment instantly deflated my bout of confidence.

"I can't wait to mount your scrap metal corpse once I get out of here," I scowled, folding my arms.

"A-anyway," Naegi took control of the reeling conversation. "There's no way anyone would kill someone for money. You can't put a price on someone's life!" Monokuma simply laughed and disappeared.

When I turned to leave, I caught Byakuya staring at me; an overwhelming sadness washed over me as I stared into his eyes. A few of the others had already left, but Fukawa, Kirigiri, and Naegi stayed behind and curiously watched. For a minute, I forgot why I was angry at him, or rather that I no longer wanted to be angry, but I wouldn't admit defeat. "Is there something you want?" I asked. He glanced at our audience and shook his head, heading straight for the doors. 

'What was that all about?' I had fallen asleep and woke up with the thought of Togami's strange behavior. Celeste's suggestion echoed louder; I had to talk with Byakuya if I wanted to move past all this crap. With a sigh, I drained the remainder of my coffee and strode for the exit, but a metal gleam made me halt. Rational thought said 'no', but the scarlet red string of thought was too tempting to ignore. I grabbed the smallest of the knives and tucked it in my waistband, concealing the handle under my shirt. 'Just in case'

I slid the library door open, peeking in to make sure Togami was in his usual spot. When he looked up, his posture stiffened, "Bold of you to make your move first thing in the morning".

I worried that he noticed the knife but made no attempt to point it out, "I only came to talk". I sat in front of him, intertwining my hands in my lap. He watched me with caution, clearly doubting my motive. "Please, Byakuya, tell me why you told my parents," I begged.

All traces of caution and doubt left him; his jaw and eyes hardened with anger. "It should be self-explanatory".

I blinked in disbelief, "Wh-what!? How is your mistake self-explanatory?!" What kind of answer is that?

"Mistake? I saved you from a life of frivolous obscenity!"

"You cost me my right as heiress and then went back to clean up your mess! You were only saving your own ass," I stood up, stammering over my attempt to understand his logic. "Was it you who took the photos? Or did you send Shinobu? And why did you take photos of all things? If you were worried, you should have approached me!"

"How are struggling to understand?" Togami sighed, removing his glasses to run his fingers over his eyes.

"Did you ever wonder why I acted out?" I watched his gaze harden yet avert from mine. "Do you know how lonely moving from country to country is?" I clenched my fists, feeling the stitches in my arm tug painfully. Already frustrated, and now with tears blurring my vision, I laid my arm on the table and pulled the knife out. With a single swipe, I snipped and dug the thread out, "I did everything by myself. I needed something, anything, besides working twenty-four seven". I didn't bother to wipe the gushing tears away that blurred Byakuya's uneasy face. I had expected a civil discussion, only to be disappointed and reignited with anger. "If you're used to being betrayed, then how do you I think I feel?!" With white knuckles, the table splintered as I sheathed the knife through it. Afraid I would do more harm, I turned on my heel and bolted from the library. Through the haze of red, my foot caught on the other, sending me falling forward. I tried to catch myself on the stair railing, but my arm hadn't healed enough to support my full weight with momentum. My shoulder smacked into the wall, making me lose my grip, and I continued to topple down the stairs. Ribs caught the edges as my knees and elbows cracked against the flat tops. When I reached the landing, my head smacked against the floor and my body knocked into the wall. The last thing I saw was Byakuya standing at the top, frozen with a hand covering his horrified expression.