Heir & Heiress

Traitor

With Kirigiri roaming in inaccessible areas, Byakuya had no means of confronting the irritating girl. The last person he spoke with had been Naegi, demanding that he tell Kirigiri that he expects to talk with her. Every attempt to knock on Karen's door had been useless; if she ever left her room, he never caught her in the act. In his last attempt to grab her attention, Byakuya noticed Makoto and Kyoko leaving the dormitories. Tailing from a fair distance, he followed them to the second floor, watching Makoto enter the restroom. "Have you quite finished interfering with my relationship?"

"Not now," she brushed Togami off, waving him to leaving.

"I'm not going to wait patiently for you to get back from whatever hovel you've been hiding in. Now, what did you tell Karen?" Byakuya glared down at Kyoko.

"Haven't you noticed that everything that's happened to her is because of you?" Kyoko's accusation made Byakuya tighten his fists. "The tension, the accidents, the overwhelming stress," she listed off.

"Enough. Don't offer your 'advice' to her again," he turned his back to Kyoko.

"Who are you to direct her?" The familiar question sent Byakuya back down the stairs, seething.

Peering into the hallway, I snuck out, gingerly shutting my door behind me, and shuffled my way to the dining hall. With the remaining ten minutes that the hall would be open, I stuffed granola bars, fruit, and water bottles into a bag. Taking the bag back around to the pantry, I stuffed small bags of chips in and retreated to the third floor. I spent most of the day mindlessly snipping fabric or sleeping, so I took my opportunity during nighttime to occupy myself. Hours ticked by in the art room, the itching sound of pencil on paper distracting me until the stuttering shuffle of footsteps echoed down the hall. I could barely make out the uncertain mumbling to be Toko. What is she doing up here so late? Not tempting fate, I took a hammer from the repository before leaving to investigate.

The recreation room door had been left open but I didn't see Toko. "Karen?" a stern voice snuck up behind me. I swung the hammer behind me, but the wooden mallet was easily caught. "I didn't mean to startle you, but what are you doing here?" Sakura asked, clearly concerned.

"I thought....I heard Toko. I was in the art room, so I was looking around," I said. Sakura released the hammer, letting my arm settle beside me once more. "Although, I could ask you the same question". Sakura's features basked with gloom, "Did something happen? Did someone try to attack you?"

"I invited Byakuya, Toko, and Yasuhiro here to talk, but you're the only one I've seen".

I had almost forgotten about the motive Monokuma presented days ago. "I'm not sure if...Byakuya is concerned with you right now". A light rattle inside the rec room pulled our attention away from the depressing conversation. Glancing around the room, I still saw no sight of Toko, nor the source of the noise. In our search, Sakura opened a locker door and was greeted with the frantic writer. Fukawa held tightly onto a bottle and swung it against the martial artists' head. "Sakura!" I lunged forward, examining the bleeding wound. "What the hell are you doing, Fukawa?"

"Sh-she was goi-going to kill me!"

"Find something to stop the bleeding or I'm going to kill you!" As Toko fled the room, she nearly ran Hiro over. I offered my jacket to Sakura to press against her wound, "Hiro, get the others. Please," I shot a glance back.

"Bu-but! The ogre might try to kill you!"

"I said go, you insolent fool!" I shook with anger and watched Hiro run off. Eventually, Fukawa came back with an armful of bandages, swabs, painkillers; almost everything in a first aid kit was laid out at my feet. "Thank you," I nodded, quickly cleaning the wound and picking fragments of glass from Sakura's hair and scalp.

Hina was the first to rush in, taking my place at Sakura's side. "What happened?!"

"We'll explain once everyone's here," Sakura laid a comforting hand on Hina's shoulder.

Once Hiro had returned with Makoto, Kyoko, and Byakuya trailing close behind, the four stopped in the doorway. "You," I pointed at Byakuya, "you and you," I swung my hand back and forth, pointing at Fukawa and Hiro, "You're just as ignorant as when we first arrived. This motive is the cheapest one we've faced and you're playing right into their hands," I crossed my arms.

"Who are you calling cheap?" Monokuma jumped out from the locker, rushing up to me.

I crouched down, leaning right into the bear's face. "I'm declaring this motive a failure. Now, give me back my sketchbook and leave". Monokuma was silent for a moment, motionless.

"We'll see~ I'm having fun playing our little game!" He dropped a slip of folded paper to the floor and waddled out of the room. I quickly snatched the paper up and unfolded it, immediately wishing I hadn't. Nagito and I were drawn kissing in what appeared to be a dining hall; however, standing behind Nagito was Byakuya, who was just about to dump tea or coffee over the white-haired boy's head. Though the picture was unsettling, the note in the corner turned a knot in my stomach. "Let's make a deal~"

"What is it?" Kyoko tried to look over my shoulder, but I clutched the note tight against me and slipped it into my shirt. Deliberately hiding something right in front of everyone was, perhaps, the dumbest mistake I could've made, but that was the least of my concerns.

I shook my head; I wasn't about to explain this to anyone just yet. Not when I had no idea what kind of deal Monokuma had in mind. "So, what happened is that Hiro and Toko honestly thought Sakura 'lured' them here to kill them. I see you didn't answer her request," I turned to Byakuya.

"I'm not an idiot," he held his head high, "however, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah...you haven't left your room in a while," Hina glanced at me curiously but was too distracted by Sakura's wound.

"I left my room just before nighttime was announced and went straight to the art room". I had to leave for food at some point. There was no way of skirting around that issue without asking for help from the others. "I happened to hear Toko muttering to herself and when I went to investigate, Sakura found me. Here we are," I gestured to the broken bottle and blood on the floor. "May we move on from this 'traitor' nonsense?" I asked, more so towards the specific three than generally. Hiro was quick to move on, Toko hesitated, but once Byakuya gave a curt nod, the three were in unison to not pursue the motive any longer. "Is this what you meant?" I turned to Kyoko.

She paused, staring at me and glanced back at Byakuya. "I'd say you've made progress. Don't forget this," she left as soon as the words left her mouth. Even if she was blunt and mysterious, Kirigiri had a riddlelike way with words.

"Sakura, will you be okay?" I asked.

"I'll stay with her!" Hina's worry was quickly snuffed out by her usual optimism. "We'll go on ahead. See you tomorrow!" The pair waved and left the floor. Toko and Hiro begrudgingly skulked away, leaving Makoto, Byakuya and I alone.

"So, what was all that between you and Kyoko?" Makoto stepped a bit away from Byakuya, hoping to distance the glare.

"She was worried about my ability to function independently. My judgment was so blurred because of my dependence on Byakuya," I turned my face upwards. "I'm grateful that you're here with me, but I realized how irrational I've become. I had to take some time by myself". Byakuya still didn't look pleased, continuing to glare at the thought of Kirigiri.

"That girl frustrates me to no end," he sighed, "So, are you saying that you'll no longer hide from me?"

"Mm-hm," I smiled. "Let's go back. I'm exhausted". Linking my arm through Byakuya's, the three of us walked back in comfortable silence. With a triumphant beat in my heart, falling asleep had been easier than the past few nights, especially with Byakuya's slow breathing right beside me.