Heir & Heiress

Robo...Justice?

I clung to the sketchbook as we entered the dining hall, finding Yasuhiro standing alone in the center of the room. I raised an eyebrow, glancing across the hall, "So...is everyone in the bath?"

"Yeah! Just waiting for you two," Hiro nodded, leisurely walking past us. 'Moment of truth', I held Byakuya's hand and led the confused heir to our secret.

The initial arrival was a bit overwhelming with Taka's new personality and Yamada's clear obsession with our secret tool. After quickly catching Toko and Byakuya up to what exactly was going on, Kirigiri suddenly stopped talking. "Did he not find anything?" I asked.

"I wouldn't know since it's missing". Her words weighed heavily in the air. "I was in the laundry room all day and heard nothing out of the ordinary". If the Mastermind hadn't discovered Alter Ego, then...we collectively shifted our suspicions onto Taka and Yamada. "No, I instructed Alter Ego to yell in case either of them tried anything".

"Then that leaves Naegi, Asahina, Ogami, Celeste, Fukawa, and Yasuhiro," Byakuya compiled the culprit list.

"What about either of you?" Celeste narrowed her eyes.

"Not possible," I said. "We've stayed in the same room together since yesterday".

"Wait-so you actually stayed together last night?" Hina blinked in surprise, face glowing with pink.

Byakuya sighed, "That leaves one conclusion. We have a traitor amongst us who are working for the Mastermind". No one wanted to accept that option; the matter was practically swept under the rug with Yamada and Ishimaru's pleading to see Alter Ego again. With nighttime already in effect, Kirigiri and Makoto agreed the investigation should be left until morning. 

'A traitor...' I starred at my drawings, trying to piece together the missing context. I could easily point out Byakuya, our classmates, and Nagito. "If Nagito was a classmate, wouldn't he be stuck here with us?" I asked, watching Byakuya finish buttoning up his sleep shirt.

"I would assume so, but it's possible he didn't attend Hope's Peak". From what I'd seen so far, I couldn't rule out the possibility, but that still didn't answer how Nagito was connected to me.

'If that's even Nagito' I reminded myself. I closed the sketchbook, tossing it on the floor, and laid against the headboard. If those events weren't only dreams, then when would they have happened? "I'm still missing too much..." I muttered. "Something happened in the months I can't remember. I can't...". I sighed; mind restless with aggravation. No one else knew about my lacking memory, so they most likely would dismiss my out-of-context recollections. Throughout the night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep peacefully. 

As soon as the monitor illuminated the room with Monokuma's face, I pushed the covers back and finished my morning routine before Byakuya had fully stirred awake. "Where are you going?" his voice was still raspy with exhaustion.

"Dining hall. I have to ask the others what these could mean," I waved the sketchbook in the air.

"And explain that you don't recall your acceptance to Hope's Peak?" Byakuya asked, supporting his upper half with his arm. He was right; I would be marked with suspicion under Kirigiri's eye. "Besides, they're too preoccupied with the disappearance of that computer simulation".

"Which we're supposed to meet in the dining hall to start looking for, so dèpêchez-vous, s'il vous plaît". Byakuya rolled his eyes but smirked, stopping briefly to gingerly graze his hand along my jawline before shutting himself in the bathroom. He had barely finished getting dressed when a knock came at the door; Ogami waited on the other side. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Several people were missing at the morning meeting. I'm glad to see nothing has happened to either of you," Sakura sighed in relief.

A block of lead settled in my gut, "Who's missing?"; a piercing scream echoed through the corridor. Hina?! Sakura took off running. I dropped everything and followed, though at a much slower pace. My legs trembled from climbing up the stairs, and when I thought I couldn't run anymore, Byakuya wrapped a hand around my waist to keep me going. By the time we reached the third floor, I had to press a hand against the building pressure in my head. "Celeste, what happened?!" I rushed to the struggling lolita's side.

"We don't have time to explain. Have either of you seen Kirigiri, Yamada, Hiro, or Taka?" Naegi looked between Byakuya and me.

"No, we rushed here after hearing Hina scream. What the hell-". Sakura held her hand out, silencing me. "What is it?"

"I heard...something from the library!" Sakura and Hina were the first to rush towards the stairs, not leaving me much time to fully catch my breath and ease my aching head. 

Blood matted Yamada's hair and dripped onto the floor. "Robo Justice....hit me," he pointed to the bloodied mallet laying on the floor.

"This individual, perhaps?" Celeste presented a picture of a strange multi-colored robot with its' arms wrapped around Yamada.

"What the hell am I looking at?" Byakuya stared bewildered at the odd sight. Besides Alter Ego missing, three people were now nowhere to be found with a strange robot running around. Once we secured Hifumi's safety, we split up to find the mysterious figure.

Within minutes, Celeste screamed, followed by Yamada, leaving us backed into a corner. "We have to go back!" Makoto slowly paced back towards the stairs.

"And leave the culprit to roam?" Byakuya challenged.

"You three," I pointed to Makoto, Celeste, and Hina, "check on Hifumi. The rest of us will pursue the assailant". Though exhausted, I turned on my heel and delved deeper through the third floor. Byakuya and I stayed together as Sakura and Toko split off in different directions; however, within minutes of searching, a scream echoed through the floor and led us to the farthest point: the physics lab. In the center of the storage room, Toko and Ishimaru lay face down; blood soaked the floor beneath the moral compass. I held my breath and knelt beside Taka, pressing two fingers against his wrist, already aware of the circumstances. "Is she...?" I curled my lips.

Byakuya reluctantly checked for Fukawa's pulse, "She's fine". He quickly retracted his hand, quickly turning back to the door. I glanced back to see Sakura in the doorway, staring distantly as the body discovery bell played.

"We should...get the others," the words struggled to escape my throat, knees trembling as I straightened my legs. I blinked rapidly, hoping to deter the dots spotting my vision.

"You should take a minute to rest," Sakura gripped my shoulder, steading my stance. "I'll go find the others," she nodded at Byakuya and left the room at a jog.

I groaned, pressing my hands against my knees, "Just watching her jog makes my headache worse". I shuffled towards the wall and sunk to the floor, staring up at the camera in the corner. "I bet they're having a grand time," I said, shaking my head, "watching us suffer, struggling to survive". Byakuya spared a glance at the camera before sitting next to me. I chuckled, "You? Sitting on the floor?"

"Don't make this a habit," he said; a smirk slowly grew.

"What, sitting on the floor or nearly dying?" I smirked back.

Byakuya turned his piercing blue gaze on me with no trace of a smile. His hand slipped into mine, squeezing as if our lives depended on it. "Both," he said. Just before the reverberating footsteps drew closer, Byakuya gently placed a kiss on my head and stood up.