zenonaa

[zenonaa]

Ew, gross! This art/fic is disgusting! I'm literally traumatized. What kind of sick freak would actually want to see this??

*reblogs to show all their followers*

[zenonaa]

i have started the next chapter of my tofu longfic, but i've been a bit sidetracked with my debut novel coming out in a few weeks ✨✨ and then this year's tofu week prompts will be out soon when i get around to making the list and posting it sdfds

[zenonaa]

100 kudos on my longfic and i may let him get pegged

[zenonaa]

“Being a Togami, I had all sorts of people approaching me, wanting to try to get close for various reasons. One girl presented me chocolates filled with explosives in an attempt to murder me after her cousin had been cast out of the Togami family. As a result of that, the conglomerate hired staff to dispose of any gifts so-called admirers bestowed. Another time, a guy would follow me everywhere, compliment me, shower me with gifts... only to blank me after I made it clear I wouldn’t give his father a job.”

He stopped himself there, not knowing why he was telling her any of this. The only other person he had talked about his upbringing to was Makoto, who had stared at him like Byakuya came from another planet.

“I understand,” she said quietly. “People wanting to get close enough to twist a knife in you. People wanting to use you... for your name. Your talents. Your fame. For your body.”

Chapters: 7/? Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Series Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru, Shingetsu Nagisa & Togami Byakuya Summary: When a project is set up to help rehabilitate the former Warriors of Hope, Togami finds himself the guardian of Nagisa Shingetsu. He also finds himself troubled with confusing feelings toward Fukawa...

Comments: Chapter 7! :-) Togami is completely well-adjusted individual. There’s a short NSFW scene at the end.

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

***

Chapter 7: Yoü And I

Unlike the previous weekend, Komaru wasn't running any workshops for the mentees, so Nagisa and Jataro accompanied Byakuya and Touko on their outing that Saturday. The city didn't boast a huge number of attractions. Certainly not as many as it once did. During their initial phone call, Touko suggested to Byakuya that they visit the city’s science museum, which he had thought would appease all involved so agreed.

Rather than walk there, they opted to take the bus. Nagisa and Jataro sat together, while Byakuya seated himself ahead of them. When Touko dithered in the aisle for more than a few seconds, Byakuya spoke.

“Sit next to me, Fukawa.”

She twitched but needed no further prompting. Breaking into a wide smile, she plonked herself down beside him and smoothed out her skirt with both hands.

“T-Thank you,” she said, blushing.

“Why are you thanking me? We’ve sat together before.”

“Yes... we have...” Touko prodded the tips of her index fingers together, still grinning. “B-But I know, like me, you enjoy solitude sometimes.”

A silent retort bumped against the back of his teeth. ‘We are nothing alike. Your solitude is involuntary. Mine is self-imposed.’ That wasn't necessarily true about her and solitude, though. At least not anymore. She had friends now. Him too.

He swallowed. For some reason, when she had tried to relate to him, his tongue had cocked like a gun. Words had loaded into his brain, ready to be fired.

“If I wanted solitude at this moment, I wouldn't be on a bus,” he said.

Instead, he had asked her to accompany him to the city with the intention to spend time with her. What Yasuhiro had told Byakuya earlier in the week had given him much to think about. His interactions with Touko could mean whatever he wanted, or even be meaningless. Therefore, Byakuya wanted to be around Touko so he could build up a tolerance to her repulsiveness, and their having sex was purely physical. It felt good for his body. Meant nothing emotionally.

There weren't too many people on the bus when they embarked, with a dozen or so seats unoccupied. However, a group of teenagers boarded at the next stop, then two young families got on at the following one. Soon, not only were all the seats taken, but the aisle brimmed with standing passengers.

A woman's shoulder bag protruded into Touko's space, causing Touko to cringe away and press lightly into Byakuya's side. His body tingled unpleasantly all over at the contact, but he didn’t understand why. When Yasuhiro had slung an arm over Byakuya’s shoulders, his body hadn't reacted this way. Not when he shook Komaru’s hand either, and not even when he kissed Touko or had sex with her.

The bus juddered over a bump. Touko yelped as the woman lurched in her direction. To avoid getting whacked by the bag, Touko’s head swerved, dipping toward his lap. His face scorched.

“What are you doing?” he hissed as she sat up with a jolt.

“S-Sorry, I overbalanced!”

That was one way of putting it. Her head had almost landed on his crotch. He glanced around. No one seemed to have noticed. While they hadn't been doing anything sexual, it still would have looked obscene to an outsider. Certainly, if he had seen two other people in the same positions, he would have thought they were engaged in some lewd activity. This was why disgust coiled in his gut. Disgust. Yes.

Behind him, Jataro muttered, “There are so many creepy crawly eyes in here.”

“It's okay, Kemuri-kun. So long as you stay in my range, I’ll protect you,” said Nagisa. Then, louder, he added, “How many stops are left before we get there?”

“Not many,” said Byakuya, shifting closer to the window. His reflection’s face was faint and unfocused.

The aisle had almost emptied by the time the group disembarked. Due to the bus being electric, the only noise it made as it drove away was the rumble of its wheels. All that was left to do now was complete a five minute walk. Nagisa and Jataro took in their surroundings with wide, curious eyes as they plodded along. They weren’t wearing the white coats that Komaru had them don last week, this time more inconspicuous in casual attire. Must have a lot less stuffy too.

“How much of the city did you see with Komaru?” asked Byakuya.

“Not much. We mostly just hung around near you two,” said Nagisa, shrugging.

“In those giant eyesores of coats,” grumbled Touko.

“Komaru-san said it was so if we got lost, we'd be able to find each other easier,” explained Jataro.

To Komaru’s credit, that actually made some sense. The coats still worked against them, catching the attention of both Byakuya and Touko, but he could understand the thought process behind them. Regardless, the whole plan to spy on them had been ridiculous and quite frankly inappropriate, though Touko and Komaru seemed to have reconciled. They were talking civilly now, at least.

“She needs to be more careful if she takes you out of the school,” said Byakuya. “Most people don't know what you look like, but it would take just one person to recognise you as a Warrior of Hope and decide to seek vengeance.”

Jataro came to an abrupt halt and squeaked, covering his mouth with his overhanging sleeves. His eyes darted about, catching on every shadow and storefront. No one passing by gave him a second glance.

“Of all of us, you're the safest. No one knows what you look like under your mask,” said Nagisa. All of them stopped walking now. Despite the reassurance, Jataro didn't look any less uneasy.

“Don’t worry. Fukawa and I are more than capable of handling any situation that may arise,” replied Byakuya. It also helped that their mentees weren’t in unusual clothing or obviously spying on people. Touko’s lips curled into a sneer.

“Now you know how I feel,” she told the other two. “Because of her,” Genocider Syo, “I always have to be on guard. Her victims might still have family alive seeking revenge for their murders.”

“Ooh! I remember that. In that episode of your show, Togami-san told the whole class about her during the trial,” piped up Jataro, clapping his hands together.

Touko winced, her features twisting from bitterness to pain. Meanwhile, Byakuya’s jaw clenched. Even though their time in the school had been televised, to treat it as some kind of entertainment show felt like Jataro had lashed a thorned whip against his cheek. Admittedly, at the beginning, Byakuya had treated the experience as a game. A brain teaser. A sequel to the Togami heir selection contest. But now he could appreciate its true purpose: it was a way to try to break the last of the world’s morale and consume the participants in Junko’s despair.

When Monobear had revealed to them that the mutual killings were being broadcasted across the country, horror had almost strangled Byakuya at the time. Someone being able to hijack the airwaves hadn't shocked him. It was something a group of bored university students could feasibly do. No, it was because with cameras fitted in every bedroom, it had been possible that Byakuya having sex with Touko was aired on television. That business rivals had seen it. That his family had seen it. No one had ever brought up the incident with Touko to him, so it seemed the footage never surfaced. The only reason he could think why Junko never shared it was because she was saving it for some motive that never came into fruition during the killings.

“It was the ultimate betrayal,” said Nagisa. “She poured out her heart to you, and you scattered it like seeds you were feeding to some pigeons. Now, she has a target on her back for the rest of her life.”

Byakuya’s eyebrows arched slightly. This was really coming from the person who was hung up on Monaka despite what she had done. Before he could respond, Touko spoke instead.

“I’ve always had a target on me, ever since the first murder. For most of my life, I lived in fear of a police officer knocking on my door. I wasn’t u-usually careful whenever leaving her crime scenes.” She wrung her hands. “I couldn’t relax. Couldn't lower my guard, or let others get close to me. Dread followed me like my shadow. B-But after everyone found out at the trial, I no longer had to worry about hiding her existence in the school. A weight had lifted off my shoulders.”

Touko continued to fidget her hands.

“Don’t get me wrong. I was hurt. I was even mad at my Byakuya-sama at first,” she added. Byakuya remembered how she had trembled and called him cruel. How he hadn't cared. “But in the end, it turned out for the best. Had Genocider not been revealed then, she might have ended up killing someone and getting us executed. She only learned about the killings, trials and executions during Fujisaki's hearing. Forced to witness the consequences of killing before she could kill... as w-well as her becoming the first suspect for every murder thereafter... possibly, no, undoubtedly saved my life.”

“It also deterred others from choosing Fukawa as a victim. Just a sneeze or glimpse of blood would summon Genocider, a notorious murderer capable of killing men much bigger than her,” said Byakuya. “For me, I didn't know that the two didn't share memories. There was a chance that Genocider knew that I knew, and would silence me... I needed to find the best time to reveal it, and quickly. You all saw how everyone was sceptical until she was forced to emerge. She could easily have gotten away with killing me. And even if she didn't, I would still be dead.”

There had been another reason too. By manipulating the crime scene, he was able to test his opponents. Particularly Makoto, who despite coming across as a bland, average, unremarkable loser, had managed to solve Sayaka's murder. Makoto had been a pawn about to cross the board and show what he was capable of. All of them had been chess pieces, to be used and sacrificed so Byakuya, the king, survived.

Touko had been a chess piece too, but he still didn't know which one. Whenever he thought he had her sussed out, she made an unprecedented move. He betrayed her secret, and she fell in love with him. He said he wouldn't care if she died, and she made him her reason for living. What piece could that be? Could she be a queen, able to move in several directions?

Byakuya shook his head slightly. These were people, not chess pieces. He was sounding like his father. When he first met his father, after being officiated as heir to the conglomerate, they had played chess. From then on, Byakuya's father had instilled in him that the world was his to control and manipulate. Just like a game of chess.

Now, Kijou Togami was dead.

“Let's get a move on,” said Byakuya. “We're blocking the pavement.”

As they resumed walking, Byakuya observed the frown lingering on Nagisa's face. He could disapprove all he wanted, but Byakuya didn't regret his actions. Everything he did, he did to survive. To win. To have the right to exist.

Despite the museum's modest size compared to others Byakuya had visited, this establishment still offered a decent array of exhibits. It didn't seem busy either, which was a bonus. Corridors branched off from the high-ceilinged entrance hall they were standing in, with hanging signs above the entrances stating the name of the next location.

Most of the science museums that Byakuya had visited in his life didn't charge an entry fee, but this one did, minimal though it was. Byakuya and his peers had been involved in rebuilding the city, so he knew the place wasn’t any grander than the free museums he had been to throughout his life. For some, a science museum might not have seemed like a priority to build. However, during the planning stages for the city’s rebuild, Makoto had made impassioned speeches about how the museum would inspire future generations. Then, Yasuhiro had added it would be a good investment for a tourist attraction, and with that they won over the majority of the rebuilding committee. The fees were to help keep it running at the moment.

“I suppose we should stay together for safety reasons,” remarked Touko once Byakuya had paid at the ticket counter.

“I can really feel the enthusiasm radiating off you,” said Nagisa sarcastically.

“I like it,” said Jataro. “I'd rather someone tell me honestly they can't stand my company than pretend they do. Some female mantises eat their partner’s head after mating, you know. Are there any here?”

“There isn't a specific section dedicated to insects here,” said Byakuya.

Jataro seemed content enough here, though. Similar to how he had shown more interest in the library’s staircases than the library itself, he studied the ceiling, with its network of beams, then the various mezzanines held up by white pillars, and then the floor that reflected back smudged mirrored images of themselves like a pond. Byakuya, however, wasn’t keen on spending the whole time in this one room.

“Follow me,” he said.

The first gallery was dedicated to energy, both renewable and non-renewable. Different engines and models were spread throughout the hall, behind rope barriers or in transparent cases. Nagisa paused by each display, skimming through the accompanying information board or plaque before proceeding. Jataro didn't read through most of the boards, but he stayed close to Nagisa, peering at the items on show.

“They should put one of the engines into a steam train and make it drive visitors between the different exhibitions,” said Jataro.

“I'm surprised you know what a steam train is,” said Touko.

“Of course! Everyone knows about Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends,” said Jataro. “It was one of my favourite shows as a baby. The narrator explained everything really well and the expressions on the trains were clear and easy to understand. And the plots were well-written... much better actually than most adult shows that focus on boring stuff like drugs and the s word.”

For someone who had supposedly been a baby at the time, Jataro seemed to have retained a lot of information about the show.

“The s word?” repeated Byakuya blankly.

“Sex,” said Touko.

She said it quietly enough that no one nearby visibly reacted, not grimacing or glancing their way in disgust. His jaw still twitched as a quiver of nausea arose in his chest. Sex. It was bad enough that the thought of having sex with Touko frequented his mind lately. He didn't need the topic of sex to burrow into his conversations too.

“While I've never watched a television show marketed at infants, I'd think it wouldn't explore those topics,” he said.

Though, it wasn’t like all children never experienced drugs or sex. Some were born to addicts or dealers, and some were subjected to sexual violence. In some cases, they experienced both. Touko chewed on a fingernail.

“H-How would the trains do it, anyway?” she mumbled.

“Fukawa,” said Byakuya stiffly. “Remember who we're with at the moment.”

But even if they had been with adults instead of Jataro and Nagisa, it would have been inappropriate to talk about sex anyway. Sex was something to be kept private, almost like it never happened.

Jataro had already moved on. “Huh? You've never seen a kids show, Togami-san? Not even Kamen Rider or Doraemon?”

“I was too busy with other activities to waste time with that,” said Byakuya.

Instead, he had studied until he knew more about certain subjects than his teachers. He learned to play a few dozen different instruments. Managed various businesses as part of the heir selection process, then held several senior positions within the conglomerate.

“Never mind being Shingetsu-kun's mentor. Are you his long lost brother?” exclaimed Jataro. Nagisa's expression darkened.

“I'm an only child and always have been!” Nagisa snarled.

Byakuya’s brow furrowed. Touko cringed. Even Jataro, who had known Nagisa for the longest, looked surprised at the outburst. Of course, Nagisa and Byakuya weren’t related. All of Byakuya’s half-siblings were deceased at this point, most unrelated to the Tragedy. After Byakuya was chosen as heir, within the next few years, almost all of his disowned siblings died in what appeared to be freak accidents.

Nagisa was unlikely to know any of this, though. It definitely wouldn’t have been in Byakuya’s file. And yet, Nagisa seemed to have taken great offence to Jataro’s remark, regardless of if it had been a joke or not. Trembling faintly, Nagisa continued to scowl. A couple of strangers’ heads turned.

Whatever Nagisa’s reason, now and here wasn't the time and place to ask him.

“What's in the next section?” mumbled Touko, fidgeting her hands.

The following gallery provided them with a distraction, dedicated to transportation with a range of different motor vehicles on display. As they looked around, Nagisa continued to exude a gloomy cloud, but he regarded the cars with interest alongside Jataro.

“Cars used to have such stern faces in the olden days,” said Jataro, whatever that meant. “But then again, your Toyota has a stern face too, doesn't it? Togami-san?”

Most of the time, Byakuya traversed the city on foot or by public transport, but he did own an electric car. He didn't know why Jataro knew about it, though.

“Kemuri asked me what sort of car everyone owns,” explained Touko, as if she read Byakuya's mind.

“Can we drive in it later?” asked Jataro excitedly.

“Perhaps at some point we can. Let's focus on this outing first though, hm?” said Byakuya.

After the transportation gallery, they entered an area that focused on natural disasters. Nagisa went about reading the information boards, with Jataro showing more interest in the items on display like before. There was a section about volcanoes that Jataro lingered at for longest, observing heat suits and objects melted by lava.

Shrieking grabbed Byakuya's attention. The sound originated from a small, enclosed section with a sign nearby that referred to it as the ‘earthquake room’. Two teenage girls staggered out arm-in-arm, giggling.

“Earthquakes aren't supposed to be fun,” grumbled Touko.

Byakuya expected the girls to flit to another part of the museum, but to his confusion, they sauntered up to him and Touko.

“Hi,” said one of them.

They both looked to be high school age, a bit younger than Komaru. Both of them were also blushing. Most likely, they wanted to speak to Touko, as fans of her books. Sort of like the man at the bookshop, only these girls fitted Touko’s demographic better and probably didn’t just want to use her to get a foot in the industry.

“Um, excuse me, but my friend thinks you’re really cute,” said the same girl. Her companion elbowed her side.

“Koyuri-chan! Shut up!”

Okay, so Byakuya had been slightly off. This wasn’t a fan of Touko’s books. It was someone who found Touko attractive. He could understand the appeal. She was a talented writer, intelligent, and honestly not as bad-looking as she made herself out to be. Some people might have preferred an idol like Sayaka Maizono or a princess like Sonia Nevermind, but Touko’s unostentatious librarian look had its own unique charm.

“L-Leave us alone,” mumbled Touko, hugging herself. The girls glanced at each other, still smiling. Byakuya’s brow furrowed as he realised he had misunderstood them. They hadn’t been complimenting Touko. He tensed his shoulders.

“Do you think you’re funny? You wish she was interested in either of you brats. Now, get lost. Go on. Scram,” said Byakuya.

The girls’ grins vanished in an instant. Byakuya glared at them as they scampered away. Around him, several passersby stopped to stare at the spectacle. Letting out an annoyed huff, he marched over to the earthquake room to get away from their gazes. Normally, he would tell them all to mind their own business, but his teeth were gritted too tightly for him to talk. His fists were shaking.

Inside the earthquake room was an open space for visitors to stand in, though Byakuya was the only person in there at the moment. On one side, there was a roped off area resembling a living room. It contained a couch, a television, and shelves with tacky ornaments.

“B-Byakuya-sama!” Touko exclaimed as she entered after him. “Y-You...”

“They had no right to treat you that way.”

Their ignorance was infuriating. Didn’t they know who they had been talking to? Touko Fukawa had helped save the world multiple times. Touko Fukawa was one of the greatest novelists and wordsmiths of this per millenium. Touko Fukawa had more depth in her saliva than those girls had in their entire bodies. Touko Fukawa...

“Byakuya-sama, they weren’t playing a joke on me. They were flirting with you.”

He turned around to face her. She was looking down at her hands. The tension scrunching his brow unclenched slightly.

“What?” he said.

“You’re incredibly handsome, Byakuya-sama. When we worked for Future Foundation, you even had a sizable fanclub.”

“I did?”

Byakuya knew a lot of the lower ranking employees had held him in high regard, but he had assumed they liked his intelligence and work ethic. And maybe they had as well. But idolising him because of the way he looked...?

“I wasn’t a member though. Ugh, a fanclub indeed!” Touko snorted. “My feelings go deeper than being a fanatic frothing at the mouth for you. After all, we’re... we’re friends, aren’t we?”

He averted his gaze. His heart was pounding for some reason. “Right.”

“D-Did you really not realise what those girls were up to? I mean... growing up, you must have had admirers.”

Yasuhiro had said something similar to him at the pool. Byakuya grimaced.

“I wouldn’t know. Being a Togami, I had all sorts of people approaching me, wanting to try to get close for various reasons. One girl presented me chocolates filled with explosives in an attempt to murder me after her cousin had been cast out of the Togami family. As a result of that, the conglomerate hired staff to dispose of any gifts so-called admirers bestowed. Another time, a guy would follow me everywhere, compliment me, shower me with gifts... only to blank me after I made it clear I wouldn’t give his father a job.”

He stopped himself there, not knowing why he was telling her any of this. The only other person he had talked about his upbringing to was Makoto, who had stared at him like Byakuya came from another planet.

“I understand,” she said quietly. “People wanting to get close enough to twist a knife in you. People wanting to use you... for your name. Your talents. Your fame. For your body.”

Byakuya looked at her. Touko was looking at him. He swallowed, then stepped toward her, and she stepped toward him like she was his reflection in a mirror. His arms tingled. His breath tasted of bile.

The floor shuddered violently. Byakuya wobbled. Tilted. When he blinked, the room changed. There was no sofa, no television, no gaudy ornaments. No Touko. He was in a reception area. The one in Future Foundation's offshore facility. The one that collapsed on him. That submerged him in rubble. That drowned him in debris. That was drowning him in debris. He couldn't see. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.

Something warm and soft pressed against his face.

“What are you doing?” came Nagisa's shocked voice.

“I think they're doing the s word,” responded Jataro.

Byakuya slowly raised his head. He was horizontal on the floor of the earthquake room, but that wasn't what his face had landed on. Seconds ticked past as the fog in his head cleared, then he realised where his face had planted. Not onto the floor, but onto Touko's chest.

And right now he was on all fours over her body.

“Why are you doing that?” asked Nagisa.

“You're meant to be in a bed,” said Jataro.

“You're meant to be just friends,” added Nagisa, his tone turning almost accusatory.

Touko stared up at Byakuya, her face flushed and barely breathing. Byakuya tried to swallow. The air felt like it was full of needles.

“I lost my balance.” Which was true. He stood up and brushed down his shirt and trousers. “I didn't expect the room to shake.”

Or it to transform into a discontinued Future Foundation building.

“It's an earthquake simulation room,” said Nagisa.

The floor shook again. This time, Byakuya kept his balance, and he didn't hallucinate different surroundings. He didn't know why he had imagined that place. His experience there had been unpleasant, but he survived, so he had no reason to think about it again.

“Are you hurt, Fukawa?” he asked.

“I'm fine,” she said, winded. She sat up and placed a hand over her heart. “I forgot where we were for a minute.”

Byakuya's eyes widened a fraction. Touko had never been to the faculty. Had she somehow shared his vision? Then he realised that she meant she had forgotten they were in an earthquake simulator, not that she had imagined what he had.

Which was obviously what had happened. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Nagisa and Jataro still ogling him.

“There's a planetarium here. Let's go there next,” said Byakuya. That would give them an opportunity to sit down and focus on something else.

Touko scrambled to her feet, and the four set off with Byakuya leading the way. No one spoke. Byakuya had nothing to say. He had lost his balance, resulting in him falling on Touko by accident. They certainly hadn't been doing what Jataro and Nagisa claimed. Their minds were in the gutter...

When they arrived outside of the planetarium, an employee in a navy jacket advised them that a show was due to start soon. The four joined the short queue trickling into the theatre. Inside, a domed ceiling hung high above them, presently white and blank. Like the rest of the museum, this area wasn't particularly busy, and with the room still fully lit, they navigated to an empty section of seats without difficulty. Nagisa and Jataro sat down in front of Touko and Byakuya.

“This place is cool,” said Jataro, trying to lean back in his chair as much as possible. Because the rows were tiered, with each one higher up than the row ahead of it, Jataro was too low down to breach Byakuya’s or Touko's personal space.

“The show hasn’t started yet,” said Byakuya.

“I can’t see any seams in the dome at all. I wish I could see the framework behind it and learn how they did that,” said Jataro, as if Byakuya hadn’t spoken.

“I’m sure you can find the answer on the internet,” said Touko. “Or in a book. M-Maybe when we return home, you can research it.”

“Or I can ask one of the workers.” Jataro sat up and waved an arm. “Excuse me, how do you make the dome screen have no seams?”

Touko groaned as an employee wandered over to explain. After he told Jataro how the aluminium sheets were fixed with a high degree of accuracy to make the seams as less noticeable as possible, Jataro followed up with a question about the lighting, and the employee went through detailing that as well.

They were still conversing when the lights dimmed.

“I’ll answer any other questions after the show, okay?” said the employee.

“Okay,” said Jataro. He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the domed ceiling as the employee slipped away.

An animatic of the galaxy soon played across the overhead screen.

“Welcome to our cosmic journey exploring the vast spectrum of colour that exists in our universe,” came a calm, feminine voice over the speakers. “Sit back and relax as you learn why a sunset’s tones are so warm, why Mercury is grey and Mars is red, what colour a black hole really is and the answers to many other exciting questions.”

Byakuya already knew the answers to these, of course. The dome screen blushed into a sunset as the narrator explained the science behind scattering and refraction. He listened silently, watching colours flow across the ceiling, with the violets, yellows then oranges fading away to leave a lush red that transformed into a night sky full of stars.

“... From where we are, the sky looks black, but the average colour of space is actually almost white. This colour is called cosmic latte. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? It’s made up of all the galaxies, dust clouds, gas and stars. With all those stars up there, you would think the sky would be all white. The reason it isn’t is because light from the furthest stars hasn’t reached us yet. Outer space is massive, so even though light is incredibly fast and there are billions of trillions of stars, they can’t quite white out the whole sky.”

The narrator moved on to discuss the colours of stars, which though they seemed mostly white, weren’t necessarily so. Only the brightest stars gave enough light for the cones in human eyes to discern them as another colour. Again, Byakuya knew this, and he drummed his fingers against his armrests. He also knew why the planets were the colours that they were. Mars, red with the presence of iron oxide. Venus, yellowish white with sulfuric acid, even if pictures of it emphasised it being yellow.

“When we see images of space, the colours have been adjusted so we’re able to see them,” said the narrator. “In reality, the universe is full of colours far beyond our comprehension. That might seem a bit sad, that we can’t see the true beauty of the universe because we can only perceive a fraction of its colours. But I think the fact the universe is more vast than we can comprehend is amazing. And who knows what science will allow us to see in the future? Anyway, we don’t need to visualise the exact colour of something to know it’s beautiful. Love doesn’t have a colour, after all.”

This was supposed to be scientific and educational. Byakuya rolled his eyes and almost scoffed, but instead he stiffened as he felt something rest against one set of his knuckles.

It was Touko’s hand. On top of his.

Above them, the dome screen spanned the galaxy, yet the weight of her hand scrunched his world into just the two of them. He had shaken her hand before. She had touched his face, his hair, his chest and his most intimate areas with her hands, but this contact engulfed his core in a heat more intense than any other he had ever experienced. As hot as his insides burned, though, his body shivered. The quivering in his stomach shook hard enough that he felt physically sick. When he silently gagged at one of its vibrations and swallowed, he tasted vomit.

Byakuya thought he would rather be buried in rubble. He pulled his hand away. Kept it folded on his lap for the rest of the show. Even though Touko didn't reach for him again, his insides continued blazing.

“... A black hole is black because not even light has a high enough velocity to escape its boundary,” said the narrator. “And so, because a black hole can't reflect light nor emit it, they are devoid of any colour so to our eyes they are black.”

****

When it was time to head back home, rather than subject them all to another bus ride, Byakuya booked a taxi. While they waited for it to arrive, they popped into the gift shop where Jataro bought a robotics kit and Nagisa bought a book on anatomy. Well, they chose those items, then Touko and Byakuya paid for them. During all this, Byakuya didn't say anything to Touko, and she didn't say anything to him. Not after they left the planetarium, not in the rest of the museum or in the taxi, and not as they split off to their own apartments.

On entry, Nagisa retired to his room, and Byakuya went into his own. For the next two or so hours before dinner, Byakuya wanted to be alone. His bed creaked faintly as he sat down on it. Finally, he was away from bus passengers with too big bags and museum employees with too big smiles. He lay down, away from bratty high school girls, and most importantly, as he unbuckled his belt, away from Touko Fukawa.

Touko Fukawa, whose eyes were like the grey-violet lining the start of a sunset. Touko Fukawa, who had the audacity to lay her hand over his in the planetarium and say she understood him. Who made his insides itch and his skin burn with electricity. Who had pushed him onto his back on her couch last week, and who had gripped his length like he did now. 

His toes curled as he stroked himself. It was something he very seldom did. The first time had been years ago, an experiment grown from both curiosity and boredom as he stared up at his bedroom ceiling. He hadn't imagined anything or anyone, moving his hand mechanically until he felt a brief ripple of pleasure as he ejaculated into a tissue. Then he had cleaned himself up, turned off his lights and thought about how he could have read a chapter of a book in that time instead.

That had been before he knew Touko. Now he thought about how his face had pressed against her breasts in the earthquake room. Then about what her breasts looked like in a bra, and without. What they felt like, in his hands, in his mouth, and the grotesque moans she would let out if he fondled or sucked on them.

Byakuya raised his hand in time to smother his mouth as he groaned. His other hand continued to pump his length. He kept his palm over his lips, trembling, panting, blazing. Unobstructed, he probably wouldn’t have been loud enough to be overheard by Nagisa, but he wanted to muffle the sounds for his own ears.

Nothing sexual happened when he fell on her. Nothing sexual happened when she held his hand. Nothing sexual happened when she smiled, or talked about books, or brushed against his elbow while eating lunch. Yet all those things made him feel dirtier than kissing her had, than oral and penetrative sex had. And the only thing that seemed to counter the repulsive, crawling sensation those innocuous acts elicited was burying them under arousal.

It would be easier if she was there. If instead of rutting into his fist, he was inside Touko. Her inner muscles would have been hugging his throbbing member. Her hot mouth would have been whimpering against his. He would have been grabbing her ass, her breasts, her thighs, her face, her hand. Her hand...

“Fukawa,” he mumbled, as instinctive as a cough. His heels ground against his mattress. “Fu...kawa... Fu... Fuck!”

Byakuya gasped, twitching as he spilled into his hand and bed. His body flushed hot, then cold, then hot again. As he lay there, panting, a heavy warmth settled over him, like he was being swaddled in a thick blanket.

For the second time that day, he thought he would rather have been buried in rubble.

[zenonaa]

wip //

"togafuka can only be toxic" ok well check this out

[zenonaa]

“See, that’s how I know you’ve changed since we first met.” Yasuhiro wiped the corner of one of his eyes. “You came here with me, let me tell my story... and you didn’t laugh about it at all or make any mean comments.”

“So... this was all a test?”

“Nah. I hate tests. It was just an observation, bro. I was so torn up over my dad after that, but my mum gave me some advice. She said if I ever felt like I was missing him, I needed to describe my surroundings and then list everything I'm grateful for. ”

Chapters: 6/? Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Series Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru, Shingetsu Nagisa & Togami Byakuya Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Toko, Kirigiri Kyoko, Naegi Makoto, Naegi Komaru, Asahina Aoi (Dangan Ronpa), Hagakure Yasuhiro, more to be added, Shingetsu Nagisa, Utsugi Kotoko, Daimon Masaru (Dangan Ronpa), Kemuri Jataro Summary: When a project is set up to help rehabilitate the former Warriors of Hope, Togami finds himself the guardian of Nagisa Shingetsu. He also finds himself troubled with confusing feelings toward Fukawa...

Comments: Chapter 6! I wanted to give Hagakure some attention. :’) I think his friendship with Togami is underrated.

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

***

Chapter 6: Two Lost Souls Swimming in a Fish Bowl

Byakuya next saw Nagisa after Monday's meeting. When he and the other mentors arrived at the library, their protégés were milling about near the entrance like zombies. From what he could see, the mentees didn't seem to be in possession of any white coats, unless they had managed to compact the items into their sleepover bags.

Perhaps Komaru had rented the coats for the weekend, just to wear while they spied on him and Touko. He didn’t know. The few exchanges he had with Komaru during the meeting had all pertained to work and the mentorship. In fact, no one had mentioned what happened at the weekend at all.

“Finally!” Kotoko huffed as Byakuya's group approached. “Keeping us kids locked up in a library for most of the weekend must be breaking some kind of international law.”

“From my research, we could argue a case of false imprisonment,” said Nagisa.

Komaru put her hands onto her hips, frowning. “You were supposed to be working on your project, not preparing a criminal case against me. Anyway, this was nothing like that! We even took a break and went out on a fun but educational trip to the city, remember?”

So that was what Komaru was calling Saturday's excursion. She glanced at Touko, who pointedly didn't meet Komaru’s gaze. Neither had spoken to each other during today’s meeting, though Byakuya suspected the two had a conversation some time prior to it. Presumably, the result of that talk was why they weren’t communicating.

“What sort of project did they do?” asked Makoto.

“I'm glad you asked, dear brother of mine,” said Komaru, smiling. “First, we made sculptures out of clay that represent how we see ourselves, then by writing, drawing or both, we each created an adventure story based on different scenarios. The mentees can show them to you back home. That'll be their homework, actually.”

“A story, huh? That's right up Fukawa-san's alley,” said Makoto.

“Yes, well... I had other plans at the weekend,” said Touko, pursing her lips. “Which your sister would know about.”

The grin on Komaru's face flattened. Meanwhile, Kotoko was simpering.

“Yeah, you went on a date with Mister Big Blond Big Nips instead,” she said.

That was not Byakuya’s name, but more pressingly, he said, “It wasn't a date. We met up to discuss a book at a bookshop because you were all occupying the library. Or at least, Komaru claimed you were.”

What happened afterwards didn’t mean they had been on a date either. Following their intimate time, Byakuya stayed over while his shirt was being washed and dried. During the wait, he ate dinner with Touko. Ramen. Simple. And when she had asked if he enjoyed himself, he had paused before saying it had been a pleasurable enough experience. Then she had smiled, and he had grimaced, and that nauseating feeling had returned.

Not privy to Byakuya’s thoughts, Makoto and Kyouko just raised their eyebrows at what he did say aloud. Touko ground her teeth together but remained quiet. Komaru’s frown deepened.

“I apologised to Touko-chan already, and she knows I only had good intentions for checking up on you both during your outing.”

“Don't act like you were doing me any favours!” Touko glared at her. “You were checking up on me... b-because you thought I'd screw up and make a fool of myself and need your help.”

“I didn't think you'd screw up. It was just in case something did go wrong. Friends help each other.”

“Not like that. Y-You think I'm a socially inept clown!”

“I don’t think that about you at all!”

They were face-to-face, stances wide and mirrored. Alarm broke across Makoto’s face, while the mentees’ eyes flicked back and forth between the two, curious. After a weekend mostly spent in the library, this was probably the most action they'd seen for a while.

“I wish I had popcorn,” said Kotoko.

“That's not nice, Utsugi-san,” said Makoto. He looked at Komaru and Touko. “I don’t totally get what happened with the pair of you, but you shouldn't be fighting. You're usually so close... Surely it's not worth falling out over?”

“That's easy for you to say! People and friendships come naturally to you,” snarled Touko, balling her hands into fists. Makoto recoiled. “Not for me, though. I'm a... a crazy freak.”

Before anyone had the chance to respond, Touko stormed out. Komaru stirred, but she didn't get the chance to chase after her as Kyouko grabbed Komaru's shoulder first.

“Let's go together,” said Kyouko. “I'll mediate.”

The corners of Komaru’s eyes budded with tears. She nodded, sniffling and rubbing her nose with the heel of her hand. They left together, Kyouko keeping her hand on Komaru.

Byakuya would have been lying if he said that he wasn't even slightly stunned. While the tension between the two hadn't gone unnoticed by him, he hadn’t expected Touko to make such an outburst and run off like that. He had thought her to be more annoyed than upset.

“Wait! What about me?” Kotoko called after them, waving her arms. “I don't want to stay in the library with these rizzless males. I can feel myself becoming less adorbs and more nerdatrocius by the second!”

“Why don’t we head to the swimming pool for a bit?” suggested Makoto. “I think we could all do with a calm, relaxing swim to cool off.”

“But they’re the ones having a tantrum, not us,” Kotoko pointed out, pausing from her own tantrum.

Masaru wiped a finger across the underside of his nose. “That’s girls for ya.”

Byakuya’s eyes flitted from Masaru to Makoto.

“Is that the sort of feminist environment you’re fostering, Naegi?” Byakuya asked, quirking his brow. Makoto’s face flushed.

“I was about to respond, Togami-kun. Daimon-kun, those are three of the strongest people I know. I bet if I forbid you from using our sports faculties, you would be acting similarly.”

“Huh? Do you and your sister have a thing for auditory leadership?” asked Masaru, flinching.

“You mean authoritarian,” said Nagisa.

“You know what I meant, so what does it matter exactly what word I used?”

“It was just hypothetical,” said Makoto hastily. “We can even invite Asahina-san so you're not the only girl, Utsugi-san. Then the others can join up with us once they're done talking things out.”

Only, when Makoto phoned Aoi, she declined, saying she had some errands to run. As he hung up, he looked over at Byakuya. A silent conversation passed between them. Normally, Aoi would never turn down an excuse to go swimming. She swam in the school's main pool every morning before most people were even awake. But now they had the former Warriors of Hope with them, and Aoi didn't have her brother anymore.

Makoto then called up Yasuhiro, who accepted their invitation. After acquiring swimming costumes from one of the storage rooms, they met him outside the door to the changing room. When they had been locked up in the old school building, Junko Enoshima had installed gatling guns in the corner along with a camera. No one had ever triggered them, but supposedly, anyone who tried to enter a changing room their identity card wasn’t assigned to would be mowed down.

For the rebuild, they had opted to remove the guns. There was also one changing area, full of lockers and cubicles then went from floor to ceiling. 

Upon sighting them, Yasuhiro stiffened.

“Uh, hi, you lot,” greeted Yasuhiro, rubbing the nape of his neck. “It's, uh... been a while, ‘right? For two of you. I don't think I've met Bluey or Bingo over here.”

Bluey was obviously Nagisa, who regardless looked a little perplexed at the name.

Jataro pointed at himself. “I don't think I recognise you. Am I Bingo?”

“Why are you naming us like we're dogs? Do you not know our names?” asked Nagisa.

“Of course I do! These are just nicknames.” Yasuhiro turned to Kotoko. His jaw tightened. “I think this is the first time we've been near each other and you haven't been trying to kill me.”

“How do you know I'm not secretly plotting your demise now?” asked Kotoko.

“That's true,” he said, nodding a few times before yelping and springing backward. She giggled.

“You're funny. You’re not like Servant, but you'll do nicely,” said Kotoko sweetly.

Yasuhiro, who had been cowering, suddenly straightened, looking serious.

“Hey, now. That's not funny or clever. I get you're a kid, but you can't go around saying that. Call me an idiot, or a fool, or even a hopeless case, but don't call me your servant or anything like that again, ‘right?”

She stared at him, her smirk wiped clean off. Her companions exchanged stunned looks, while Byakuya restrained a smile. For the first time perhaps ever, he was impressed with Yasuhiro. The guy had some backbone after all, even if he had shown it to a kid.

By the time everyone stepped out onto the tiled floor surrounding the school's two pools, the mood had lifted. Yasuhiro marched forward with a big grin, his hair contained within a swim cap. More impatient, Masaru barged past, galloping over to the larger of the two pools and cannonballing in. The lifeguard blew his whistle, but Masaru paid him no mind, already speeding through one of the swim lanes. 

Hope's Peak's swimming area consisted of two indoor pools. One was small and shallow all the way through. Those who wanted to relax or weren’t strong swimmers tended to go there. Right now, a mother was there with two young children, most likely the family of one of the workers. More people were in the larger, main pool, swimming lengths, though there was a section roped off for those who didn’t feel like lane swimming.

Kotoko sighed.

“Gee, Masaru-kun has too much gas in him,” she lamented, placing a hand against her forehead.

“I can only smell bleach,” said Jataro, pinching his nose.

“No, dumb-dumb! I mean like a car,” said Kotoko. She looked around. “Are there any beach balls we can play with? Let’s play, the three of us!”

Nagisa pulled a face. “No, thank you. I think I’ll join Daimon-kun in swimming lengths.”

“But we can’t play piggy in the middle with two people.” Kotoko bumped her hip against Nagisa and clasped her hands together. “Please, Shingetsu-kun, let’s play together!”

He stuck out his bottom lip and turned his head away. The scene reminded Byakuya of when Kotoko persuaded Masaru to accompany her to the library. Undeterred, she rubbed her shoulder against Nagisa's own.

“Come on, Shingetsu-kun!” she crooned.

“Fine!” Nagisa hopped away from her reach, cringing. “I'll play. Just... Please don't touch me like that.”

Kotoko blinked. “Oh, okay. Sure.”

The mentees padded over to the main pool. Jataro and Kotoko used the ladder to get in, while Nagisa dived in with minimal splashing.

“Mister Headmaster, we require a ball!” Kotoko shouted, waving her arm as she bounced away from the edge of the pool.

Makoto sighed but smiled before glancing at Byakuya and Yasuhiro. “I better keep an eye on them.”

With Makoto leaving on a quest to find an inflatable ball, Byakuya found himself with just Yasuhiro. He started to walk away, intending to swim some lengths, only for Yasuhiro to sling an arm over his shoulders and pin Byakuya in place.

“Togami-chi! When was the last time we had some guy time, just the two of us?”

“We see each other more than enough as it is.”

Yasuhiro clapped Byakuya's shoulder, keeping his arm around him. “That's the spirit! Friendly banter between old pals. If we weren’t so close, you'd be a real jerk saying that to me. Let's go in the small pool. It's warmer than the large one.”

Had Byakuya wanted to, he could have broken free from Yasuhiro’s grasp. Deciding to humour him, Byakuya allowed Yasuhiro to escort him to the smaller pool instead. There was less chance of being hit by a ball here, at least.

The children paid them no mind, splashing and bobbing about, while their mother flashed the men a smile and batted her eyelashes.

“Heh. She likes you,” said Yasuhiro, nudging Byakuya's side as they lowered into the warm water.

“You're not funny.”

“It wasn't a joke, Togami-chi. You're a good-looking guy. You must have had a lot of admirers growing up.”

“I could have looked like a blobfish and they wouldn't have cared so long as I was rich.”

“You're not rich now though, are ya?”

Byakuya bared his teeth. He was well aware of the conglomerate's brutal demise and lost fortune. Resisting the urge to dunk Yasuhiro's head underwater, he made to leave. Yasuhiro caught his arm.

“Sorry, sorry!” Yasuhiro bleated, pulling Byakuya back down. “I didn't mean it in a bad way. You've had it rough. Your whole family... damn. If I didn't have my mum anymore, I don't know how I'd cope. Can’t say the same about my dad, though.”

Yasuhiro turned away from Byakuya with a sad smile.

“I used to think he was so cool. He moved out when I was young, but I’d write him letters all the time. Didn't have his phone number, you see. I'd spend hours carefully writing to him, never getting a reply, so one day, I snuck out and took a train to his address... only he'd moved out years ago. No biggy, I thought. The owner of the place gave me a new address, so I took another train...”

In the end, Yasuhiro claimed to have travelled across Japan for several weeks before he arrived at his father's apartment. Byakuya didn't know why Yasuhiro was telling him all of this, but he decided to listen. For all he knew, Yasuhiro’s story might actually have had a point to it for once.

“Anyway, so I got there, and I rang the doorbell and waited. This pregnant chick answered. Can’t have been much older than me. She had a baby in her arms. I apologised and started to explain my search, but get this. She’s his wife. That’s their kid. She told me to never come back. Dude, he had this whole other family, and he didn’t even invite me to their wedding!”

Yasuhiro threw his head back, laughing.

“You find all that amusing?” asked Byakuya, confused. When Yasuhiro continued laughing, Byakuya’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. What’s so entertaining about what happened to you? It sounds awful.”

“See, that’s how I know you’ve changed since we first met.” Yasuhiro wiped the corner of one of his eyes. “You came here with me, let me tell my story... and you didn’t laugh about it at all or make any mean comments.”

“So... this was all a test?”

“Nah. I hate tests. It was just an observation, bro. I was so torn up over my dad after that, but my mum gave me some advice. She said if I ever felt like I was missing him, I needed to describe my surroundings and then list everything I'm grateful for. Speaking of observations, I also observed that Kirigiri-chi, Komaru-chi and Fukawa-chi aren’t here, but their mentees are. What’s up with that?”

Byakuya shifted slightly, not wanting to go into detail about the argument. He didn’t want Yasuhiro to jump to any conclusions about them or him. And quite frankly, it wasn't Yasuhiro's business to know, especially from Byakuya.

Perhaps Byakuya had changed a bit after all, like Yasuhiro said. Years ago, he wouldn't have cared about anyone else's feelings.

“They went to discuss something,” said Byakuya.

That seemed like a suitable, truthful answer. For a few moments, he wondered if Yasuhiro would try to dig deeper, but instead Yasuhiro nodded and peered up at the ceiling.

“How did Saturday go with Fukawa-chi? You guys have a good time?”

“It was fine.” Byakuya folded his arms over his chest. “We spoke about literature.”

And watched a movie together. And made out on her couch. Then he performed oral on her before they had intercourse on her bed. That was all in the past, yet frustratingly Byakuya still found himself thinking about it. Not just now, but this morning and yesterday too. Memories wafted through his mind, of the expressions her face had contorted into, her vast vocal range as she moaned and screamed, and how her warmth had engulfed him in flames.

He pushed down the thoughts before he could ponder them too deeply. Now wasn't the right time. No time should have been the right time, really, but almost naked next to Yasuhiro in a public area was definitely not it.

“That’s awesome! It’s great to see you and Fukawa-chi getting along so well,” said Yasuhiro. “I mean, it was pretty obvious you two had something going on back at the school, but...”

“We did not have anything going on back then. She stalked me and was a general nuisance,” interrupted Byakuya.

“Not saying this excuses it, but she had a troubled home life, ‘right?” Yasuhiro scratched his cheek. “Anyway, that's not what I'm talking about... You had this dynamic where she'd do whatever you say, whether it be staying silent or going away, yet you still let her hang around you a lot. Heck, I remember you hiding in the boys locker room to get away from Genocider, and running away when she told everyone about her red lingerie at breakfast...”

“Why do you remember these inconsequential happenings?” asked Byakuya, scowling. “I don't appreciate you trying to tell me how I think or feel. If you're trying to matchmake, don't. I'm not interested.”

While the conglomerate may have been gone, the Togami legacy lived on through him. And Togamis didn't date. Didn't fall in love. The world had been dangerous before the Tragedy, and there was no reason it wouldn't be afterwards as well. Byakuya had a duty to protect and uphold the integrity of the Togami name. To fall in love with anyone would be total sacrilege to what it meant to be a Togami.

That must have been why he was feeling disgust around Touko. She was the very epitome of love and romance.

Yasuhiro held his palms out. “Whatever you say, Togami-chi. If how you're spending time with Fukawa-chi makes you both happy, then that's cool. It can mean whatever you want, or nothing at all.”

“Hagakure.” Byakuya's eyes widened a fraction. 

“Yes, Togami-chi?”

“You’ve actually said something useful to me.”

“Really?” Yasuhiro beamed. “If you feel that way, you can always tip me if you have some spare yen lying around. I accept cash and card.”

Byakuya dunked Yasuhiro’s head under the water.

***

Touko, Komaru and Kyouko didn't turn up for lunch at the cafeteria, though Kyouko sent Byakuya a selfie of the three of them together. They were inside what looked like a café, sharing a pizza at a table. Of particular notice were the various cats in the background, as well as the one on Touko's lap and the one on Kyouko's head. Komaru wasn't in possession of a cat but was wearing fake cat ears.

After they finished eating, Nagisa wanted to go back to the apartment so Byakuya went with him. While Nagisa relaxed in his room, Byakuya sat down at his desk and busied himself on his laptop. Most of his emails related to his upcoming roles heading the mathematics and sciences departments. There were timetables, lesson plans, dozens of reports... A lot to keep him busy. To occupy his mind.

Yet, for some reason, his mind kept straying. He picked up his phone and opened his messages. The three at the cat café were all smiling: Kyouko with one corner of her lips quirked higher than the other, Komaru as she pretended her fingers were whiskers, and Touko, rosy-cheeked.

A round of knocks sounded.

“Enter,” said Byakuya, turning off his phone's screen and swivelling around on his chair.

Nagisa emerged into the room, keeping by the door. Byakuya's gaze snapped onto the papers wedged between Nagisa’s arm and side, then drew toward the clay figure in his hands.

“I can come back later,” said Nagisa.

“It's fine,” said Byakuya. He pushed up his glasses. “This is the work you did over the weekend with Komaru, correct?”

“Yes. She said to show you my clay figure and read my story to you.”

“Go on, then.”

Nagisa walked over to Byakuya’s desk and set down the clay figure. Then, he held his papers in both hands and started to read aloud.

“Claygisa came into existence all of a sudden. The room was bright. It was the library. He had arms and legs and a torso and a head and everything else a clay person should have. He couldn't move or talk like a real person though, because he was made of clay. Every time he moved or seemed to speak, that was human Nagisa doing it.

“Claygisa wasn't able to want or not want anything, because he was a clay person, but he went on an adventure because human Nagisa took him on one. First, he had to get a boat. There were lots of books about boats nearby because they were in a library. If it was a real boat, human Nagisa would research how to make a real boat, but that was unnecessary for Claygisa. Human Nagisa asked the librarian for some crafting material. He had a high enough charisma stat that the librarian agreed and gave him everything he needed to create Claygisa’s boat.

“Claygisa needed to go out to sea for Komaru-san's assignment. The library doesn't have a sea, but then it flooded, and compared to Claygisa, the flood was as big as the sea. Human Nagisa swam alongside him. The water was choppy, but Human Nagisa had made a really reliable boat for Claygisa and he could swim well. Claygisa didn't feel any emotion, being clay. Human Nagisa was a bit concerned about the flood, but he had good stats so wasn't in danger.

“It was just them two in the library. The librarian probably drowned. Lots of people must have died because of the sudden flooding. There's a video game where the world has flooded so everyone lives on a raft, an island or in another manmade structure. Claygisa doesn't miss anyone but Human Nagisa misses his friends and family. Even... Even his parents.

“Claygisa can't worry but Human Nagisa has lots to worry about. He wonders if his friends are okay, how long he can keep swimming, if he can make a raft to live on, how he will get food and if he can keep Claygisa safe. Except if Claygisa falls in the water or breaks, then Human Nagisa can craft a new one. He just needs to make a hook so he can mine some clay near an island.

“It will probably be a better Claygisa too. This one has uneven arms, and he keeps falling over when you try to stand him upright. His hair is all wrong, his clothes don't have enough definition and he's covered in pock marks.”

Byakuya glanced at the clay figure. It was a lump that no longer resembled a human. He guessed that Nagisa had grown frustrated and mashed it up.

“Claygisa is incapable of caring about where his boat goes. Human Nagisa just wants to be back in his bedroom. Not the one in Togami-san’s apartment but in the house where he grew up with his parents. He wants to get out of the sea so he doesn't drown and he wants to make a new Claygisa that doesn't look like a goddamn disaster.”

Nagisa stopped there.

“Are you unhappy staying with me?” asked Byakuya.

“I'm just unhappy. I know I can't live with my parents anymore. I’m not deluded. That was Human Nagisa feeling that way, anyway.”

“You're not Human Nagisa?”

“That's just a character in my story.”

“With your name?”

Nagisa tightened his grip, crumpling his papers. “Yes. I'm not Human Nagisa.”

Byakuya cupped his chin in thought. He could deduce the purpose of the exercise that Komaru no doubt obtained off the internet. The exercise gave an insight into the mentee’s mind. How they perceived themselves. Their thought process in a dangerous situation and what they wanted in life.

“So, this story... You will share it with your therapist, and they will discuss it with you?” said Byakuya.

“I discussed it with Komaru-san and the others,” replied Nagisa.

“She's not a therapist.” When Komaru mentioned that the mentees would receive therapy, Byakuya had assumed she meant from a qualified professional. He grimaced. “You do have a therapist, don't you?”

Nagisa scratched his head. “Uh...”

“Most likely not, then.” Byakuya sighed. “I will see to it that you get one. What was the group’s consensus on your piece?”

“I'm very literal but have a good imagination. I care about my friends and family so I have a kind heart. I tend to think ahead and plan well.”

“God...” Byakuya pulled down his glasses so he could knead the top of his nose. “What is she thinking, playing therapist? She didn't even graduate junior high.”

For all of Komaru's meticulous planning, he didn't know how this could have been overlooked. She must have thought herself capable of giving therapy, but good intentions didn't substitute for official qualifications. Regardless, surely Touko would have said something to Komaru. Or Kyouko would have. He couldn’t have been the only person to realise.

“So those things she said about me aren't true?” asked Nagisa.

“That's not what I'm saying. What about you referring to yourself like you’re a video game character? Or how disposable and worthless you consider the clay representation of yourself? That screams low self-esteem.”

Nagisa winced. “Let me guess, you got bored one weekend so trained to be a therapist?”

“No. I just read a lot.” Books. Criminal case files. Intel on future business partners and rivals. The list went on.

Chewing his lip, Nagisa looked down at his creased papers.

“Can I read you the last part of my story?” he asked.

“I thought you had finished.” Byakuya crossed a leg over and steepled his hands, leaning back in his chair. His phone balanced on his lap. “Yes. Go ahead.”

Nagisa cleared his throat. Straightened his papers.

“Claygisa does not care what happens to him or where he goes. He could sit at the bottom of the sea, or in a shark’s belly, and he wouldn't even know. He knows nothing. He perceives nothing. Ideally, Human Nagisa would end up on an island, and Kotoko-chan, Daimon-kun and Kemuri-kun would be there. They make a city out of scrap and live there happily with no bothersome adults, forevermore. The end.”

This time, he had to be done. He even said ‘the end.’ However, Nagisa looked like he was hesitating, his brow troubled. Some thought still burned his tongue.

“Actually, there's a small bit I omitted, that I didn't mention to Komaru-san and the others,” said Nagisa, confirming Byakuya’s suspicion.

“Oh?”

“In my city, Monaka-chan is there too. But... But she's not like how she was.” Nagisa started talking quicker. “She doesn't lie or play tricks or do anything bad. She's kind and cares about me... us. She's like how she used to be, or who I thought her to be. I don't know.” He paused. Fidgeted his papers. When he spoke next, he was as slow as he had just been fast. “But even if she’s bad, it doesn’t feel right if she’s not there with us. Is it wrong that I still want her to be in my happy ending?”

“Shingetsu, this is a fantasy scenario. In reality, the world hasn't flooded and Monaka is in space right now.” Though that last part sounded almost as ridiculous. “It can’t happen.”

Nagisa shrugged. “I know that. But... it’s like... I don’t know.”

Byakuya's lips thinned as he noticed Nagisa begin to tremble. This was why to love another was a weakness. Should one open their heart, the other person could slide in their poison with ease. Like Monaka had done to Nagisa. Like Yasuhiro’s father had done to his son. Like...

He put his phone onto his desk.

“For now, remind yourself what is real,” Byakuya said calmly. “You are Nagisa Shingetsu. Your birthday is on the 23rd of October. You are standing in my bedroom. The curtains are cream. Monaka is gone. Then, remind yourself what you are grateful for.”

“Are you sure you’re not a therapist?” asked Nagisa, squinting suspiciously.

“I’m sure. I’ve never trained to give therapy.”

Other than his memory restoration sessions with Miaya, Byakuya hadn’t received therapy either.

“So how did you come up with that advice?” asked Nagisa. “Are you talking from experience?”

“No. I’ve never been in love.” Byakuya wasn’t capable of love. “It’s something a friend told me recently. I can’t say it will work for you, but there’s no harm in trying, is there?”

Nagisa nodded and exhaled loudly. “Okay. I’ll go do that. Um... thank you, Togami-san.”

He turned around to go, but before he did, he spoke again.

“Love is like a delicious poison, isn’t it, Togami-san?”

Byakuya didn’t reply. Nagisa glanced over his shoulder, then left the room. Alone now, Byakuya picked up his phone and unlocked it. Touko’s blushing, smiling, disgusting face gazed back at him. He swiped and tapped on his phone before holding it close to his mouth.

“Byakuya-sama?” came Touko’s voice.

“Do you have any plans this weekend?” he asked.

[zenonaa]

“You're the first p-person I've enjoyed doing this with.” Her smile didn't reach her eyes. “No one else has ever done things to me for my pleasure, or asked if I e-even wanted to do it.”

“And I will ask you again now,” he said in a low voice. “Do you want to do this?”

“With all my heart.”

Chapters: 5/? Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Series Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru, Shingetsu Nagisa & Togami Byakuya Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Toko, Kirigiri Kyoko, Naegi Makoto, Naegi Komaru, Asahina Aoi (Dangan Ronpa), Hagakure Yasuhiro, more to be added, Shingetsu Nagisa, Utsugi Kotoko, Daimon Masaru (Dangan Ronpa), Kemuri Jataro Additional Tags: Togami Byakuya is Bad at Feelings, Togami Byakuya Does Not Recognise What Love Feels Like, Traumatised Mentors Mentoring Traumatised Mentees, "Togami is an Asshole" "Togami is Not an Asshole" Togami is a secret third thing, A human being, Sexual Content, Cunnilingus, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm Summary: When a project is set up to help rehabilitate the former Warriors of Hope, Togami finds himself the guardian of Nagisa Shingetsu. He also finds himself troubled with confusing feelings toward Fukawa...

Comments: Chapter 5! Aand the rating goes up. 😏

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

***

Chapter 5: There’s Gold in Those Hills Ahead

Byakuya would have been lying if he claimed he wasn’t incredibly annoyed with Komaru, but he had more pressing matters to think about. Rather than solve the mystery of why Touko continued to nauseate him, the feeling had intensified. He barely spoke to Touko during the walk home, though it would have been difficult for him to get a word in edgewise. She spent most of the journey grumbling to herself and asking rhetorical questions that he made the occasional hum of acknowledgement at.

“They were supposed to be in the library all weekend! I nearly had a heart attack back there... W-What the hell was she thinking? And why didn’t she have them all wear camouflage? W-We’re not in the Arctic circle.”

This time, Byakuya gave a more substantial answer. “You will have to ask her to find out, once you’ve calmed down. All you’re doing is working yourself up over theories that may not hold true.”

Touko took a loud, shuddering breath. “O-Okay, Byakuya-sama. I’ll try to calm down.”

Her mutterings lessened after that. They arrived at the apartment block, ascending the stairs with Byakuya at the front. When they reached the penultimate floor, rather than continue up to his apartment, he paused and looked back at Touko.

“Instead of my apartment, why don’t we watch Kotoko at yours?”

“Kotoko?” she repeated, taking a moment to realise he didn’t mean Kyouko’s mentee. She blinked. “Um, sure! But... my place is a bit messy...”

“I don’t mind. You might relax better in your own apartment.”

Depending on how messy, Byakuya might have minded, but he had another reason for changing the location. Until he figured out what about Touko was still repulsing him, he needed to try to build a tolerance to the sensation. He couldn’t keep shivering or feeling hot whenever she did the most mundane of actions. They saw each other everyday. Worked together. Lived close together.

Piles of books and papers spotted Touko’s living room. She darted in ahead to clear away some leftover foot containers by the couch. Otherwise, the place wasn’t too bad. He breathed in the scent of roses. Must have been coming from the incense sticks on the nearby coffee table.

“Bring your laptop,” he called out.

Touko flitted from the kitchen to her bedroom, returning with her laptop. While Byakuya connected it to the television, she went back into the kitchen. Finding the video online proved simple, with a suitable link appearing on the first page of his initial internet browser search. He sat back down on the couch as Touko walked in with a tray of snacks and tea.

“These are left over from the first session with the mentees,” said Touko, setting the tray onto the coffee table in front of them.

Byakuya sucked in his cheeks when he noticed the box of rice candies present. There were other treats too, but they may as well have been a pattern etched into the tray. He needed to get a hold of himself. They were just a popular sweet. One that Touko just happened to feed him that one time before they were intimate. Now was different, though. Now they were just watching a film together. That was all.

The movie provided him with a distraction, starting with a young girl dancing by the ocean. He had begun to relax when the camera began shaking wildly, accompanied by screaming that made Touko jump. It cut to the title screen before changing to a scene in a bookshop, where a woman, Kotoko, saw two versions of a man, with one attacking her before it was revealed he wasn’t real. Only the one crouching by a young boy was. A similar scene followed with two identical men on a bicycle: one tried to run her over, while the other stopped, confused as she cowered.

“I must stay alert. Otherwise, I could die,” Kotoko murmured.

Then, she returned home, and soon was in her bathroom. In his peripheral vision, Byakuya discerned Touko squirming as Kotoko cut herself with a razor. Not to kill herself, but as she put it, to see if she should still exist. Blood dribbled down her arm as she remarked to herself how her body was determined for her to keep living. Byakuya didn’t bat an eye at the graphic scene. He had witnessed far worse in real life, but he could see why Touko hadn’t suggested it for a movie night with the others. This was definitely not their kind of film.

They sat in silence as the movie progressed. Kotoko imagined dopplegangers of strangers trying to harm her and her baby, then she hallucinated herself dropping him off a building. Unlike in the detective novels Byakuya read, there were no mysteries to solve. Instead, he was compelled to watch more to see what happened next to this troubled woman. After her son was taken away by social services, she crossed paths with a man named Tanaka, an author who had fallen in love with her after he heard her voice on the bus. From then on, he followed her. Even when she stabbed him with a fork, or screamed at him, he stayed with her. Each time she lashed out, he stayed. When she cut herself, he stayed. Whenever she cut him, or hit him, he stayed. Looked after her.

Byakuya’s fingertips pawed at his lap. His mouth felt dry. He helped himself to a rice candy. Its wheat-like outer coating dissolved in his mouth, then its chewy, citrus centre stuck to his teeth.

After visiting her son, who had been living with Kotoko’s sister, the scene changed to Kotoko’s dimly-lit apartment. She was hanging up fairy lights. With a cloying smile, she commented that she had overdone it, before the camera panned to Tanaka, his face battered and his wrists hung up with cables like he was being crucified. Like Byakuya had done with Chihiro’s body back during the mutual killings. Like Genocider Syo did with her victims.

A harmonica warbled as Kotoko knelt by Tanaka. She unwrapped the bandage around his hand before slowly pressing her lips against his knuckles. From there, she trailed kisses up his arm. To his neck. To his bloody cheek. Nausea rolled in Byakuya’s stomach, but it wasn’t from the gore.

Whatever it was, it made his heart race. He looked away. His eyes fell onto Touko. She was staring at him, her mouth slightly open. The sensation buzzing in his body strengthened. Burrowing through his skin, gnawing at his nerves. Pulling on him. As the music crescendoed, his head leaned toward Touko. 

He felt her arms wrap around him, felt her hair between his fingers as he cupped her face. Then, as Touko reclined onto her back, Byakuya on top, he felt her lips lock with his own.

Until now, Byakuya hadn’t realised just how much of this strange warmth had been pent up inside of him. It gushed out from his core with every touch, flooding to his chest, his face, his extremities. Before, it had merely sparked through his body whenever Touko smiled, laughed or brushed against him, manifesting as disgust. Was it disgust now that bubbled in him, as their wet lips kneaded together? The feeling felt so similar, yet he had no desire to pull away. Somehow, doing this, with her, was giving him an outlet. An itch finally being scratched.

Touko groaned against his mouth, her arms tightening around his middle as she ground her hips against him. Another wave rippled through his body, lighting his senses so intensely that they blinded him to all other thoughts. He shuddered at each electrifying pulse she elicited within him. Their glasses clicked together as he shifted, rubbing his lower body against hers to reciprocate her movements. Fumbling, he took a hand off her cheek to remove both their eyewears, then returned to cradling her cheek in his palm.

Due to how their bodies were writhing together, their lips clambered over the other's, slipping, shuffling, never kissing in the same way as a moment ago but still kissing all the same. Byakuya steadied himself and poked out his tongue, shivering when Touko opened her mouth to give him entrance. Their tongues grazed past the other at first, flickering like candlelight, before succumbing to the warm, inviting wet.

He could barely discern the rice candy’s citrus flavour in their shared saliva. A voice at the back of his head noted that it was Syo’s tongue too. The same tongue that hung out of her mouth whenever she fronted, long and bulbous, and now it was in his mouth, licking and contorting with his.

And he couldn't get enough of it.

As their kiss deepened, their hands roamed. His hand on her shoulder. Her hand in his hair. His hand up her blouse. Her hand on his...

She squeezed. He twitched his head back with a moan, thighs tremoring. The string of saliva bridging their mouths collapsed. Splattered onto Touko’s top.

“I can feel you, Byakuya-sama,” she murmured, chest rising and falling. Her voice was almost lost in the indistinct noise from the television.

He panted slightly. “I can feel you too.”

“I mean here.” Touko slipped her hand from his crotch to his thigh. “Can I... touch it?”

She rubbed circles with her thumb. His chest clenched. Despite how she had only just removed her hand from his crotch, he was already aching for her to return her palm. To press it against him. Caress him.

“Yes,” he said, sitting up. “Please do.”

Her hands shook as she fiddled with his belt. He reached down to assist her, unfastening the buckle then pulling down his trousers. Only his throng separated her from his crotch now. When she just stared between his legs, trembling and biting her lip, he slowly pulled down his tighter than usual underwear until he was fully exposed. Her head twitched back.

“It's...” Touko trailed off, wetting her lips. Without her glasses, she had to squint. That also may have been partly why she struggled with his belt.

“My penis.” His face seared. “You've seen it before.”

A smile relaxed onto her face. “That's right. It’s as beautiful as I remember... a-and so big...”

She heaved herself forward into a kneeling position and nudged on his shoulder with one hand. Though she asserted little force, he easily fell backward. With his top half slouching against the couch arm, he observed Touko crawl between his legs. Her lips and chin glimmered with their saliva.

“Let me... repay you for earlier,” she said, wrapping a hand around the base of his length.

Byakuya jolted slightly at her hand’s warm pressure. A shaky breath exhaled from his lips as she lowered her head. His toes curled. He could feel his length throbbing in her grasp. In a few more seconds, she would have him in her wet, hot mouth, and his thighs were already trembling in anticipation. Her eyes seemed glazed over, her cheeks rosy like a rash.

As what she said replayed in his head, he gritted his teeth and said, “Stop.”

Touko did, immediately.

“This isn't payment for earlier, or for anything.” Byakuya swept hair from his face, feeling it try to stick to his sweat. “This is...”

Words danced like floating dust in his mouth. His brow furrowed as he tried to think how to phrase his reasoning in a way she would understand. Only, he realised he didn’t have an answer, not even for himself. Part of why he invited her out was so he could figure out the disturbing feelings she was igniting in him. At no point had being intimate with her crossed his mind. Much like when he had allowed her to feed him candy that one time. He swallowed.

“This is... because I have certain feelings to get out,” he said. That wasn’t untrue.

She tilted her head, frowning in confusion. “C-Certain feelings?”

“Yes. Here, you lay down...”

Now came Byakuya’s turn to guide her onto her back. Touko offered no resistance, gazing at him the entire time. Her skirt gathered at her waist, a pool of folds that left most of her legs exposed. He settled himself between them, much like she had done to him some moments ago, and gently coaxed her legs wider with his hands. One palm over unblemished skin, the other equally over the tally marks scarred into her thigh. In total, she had thirty-seven, one for each victim of Genocider Syo. The number hadn’t risen since he became acquainted with her.

Which made sense. Touko had promised him she wouldn’t allow Syo to murder again, and for some reason, Syo didn’t seem in any hurry to try. Mostly, whenever she fronted, Syo preferred to just hang around him and be annoying.

“Byakuya-sama?” said Touko.

He drew himself out of his thoughts. “Hm?”

“I have a condom in my purse.”

That admittedly caught him off guard. “What? Why?”

“When Hagakure’s mother ordered some in a few weeks ago, she gave one each to me, Kirigiri, Komaru and Asahina. I put it in my purse and forgot about it for a while...”

“I see.”

So Touko probably hadn’t planned on them having sex today, which lined up with what she said at the café. Not that he had any reason to disbelieve her. Though she was known to delude herself into believing certain things, whether it be his feelings toward her or how other people perceived her, he didn’t know her to outright lie to him. She had even told him about Genocider Syo’s identity, for goodness sake. He reached a hand up to adjust his glasses, only to remember he had taken them off.

“Before we make use of that condom, I want to use my fingers on you,” he told her.

Touko's eyebrows shot up. She pointed at herself. “You-! You want to f-finger me?”

“I did that last time and you seemed to enjoy it. Doing so also made you provide lubrication for me to enter you with my member.”

Even when he tried to say it as cleanly as possible, he still cringed. It felt wrong coming out of his mouth, as though he was hearing himself underwater. But what he said wasn’t incorrect. Back then, Touko had initially guided his hand, directing his movements as he learned how to manoeuvre his fingers. Byakuya remembered how she had squirmed and whined as he worked his hand, her inner muscles clamping around his digits until she arched her back and screamed out a moan that ran through him like fire through a forest. He had derived pleasure from the pleasure he had given her.

She fidgeted with her braid, biting her lip.

“You don’t have to - ” she started to say, only for him to interrupt.

“I just said I want to.” He frowned. “Unless you’re the one that doesn’t want me to?”

“No, I w-would love you to!” Touko wiggled, pulling up her skirt more. “I-It would be my pleasure! Please, Byakuya-sama, b-bless me with your golden touch!”

“The closest thing to golden here is my hair,” he remarked, hooking his fingers around her panties’ waistband. Black. Last time, her underwear had been red.

“I s-suppose... if you used your mouth, your golden hair would be touching against me,” she remarked, still holding up her skirt.

Byakuya hesitated. “My mouth?

He had often overheard some of his peers mention the act of using one’s mouth to stimulate genitalia like his own. In fact, Touko had done it briefly to him that one time. However, he hadn’t heard about people using their mouths on genitalia like Touko’s.

As he swallowed, his saliva crackled loudly between his ears. If it felt pleasurable when on his intimate area, then it made sense if it felt that way on hers.

“Should I try with my mouth?” he asked, which prompted Touko to jerk her head back. With how much she had been throwing her head about, it was a wonder she hadn’t injured her neck by now.

“Y-Your mouth?” she said in a shrill voice.

Byakuya’s eyes scrunched. Perhaps he had misunderstood her before. “I misconstrued what you said. If you would rather I use my hand only, I can do that.”

“No! P-Please, I would love it if you used your w-wonderful mouth on me.” Her hands were quivering, but she managed to keep hold of her skirt. “Please feel free to do so...!”

The couch didn’t provide the most optimal of places for what they were about to do. Touko seemed to realise this as well. After a few seconds of them both looking around, she sat up and swung her legs around so she was facing the same way as the couch. To be in front of her required him to get off the couch and kneel between her feet. In any other situation, someone would have to break his knees before he did that to another person. As usual, Touko was the exception. She always was.

When he grabbed the hem of her skirt, Touko lifted her hips up for a moment to make it easier for him to tug it down. This way, she didn’t have to hold it up the entire time. Once her garment was gathered around her heels, Byakuya placed one hand onto her thigh, bringing his other to her panties. At some point, he would have to remove them, or at least push them aside. He pressed his index and middle fingers against the fabric, drawing out a gasp. She was already wet.

As he started rubbing her, she hiked up her legs, resting them across his shoulders. Each twitch of his hand echoed through her. Made her heels stutter against his back, like she was trying to pull him closer.

“How badly do you want this, Fukawa?” he asked casually as he continued to stroke her.

“V-Very much so!”

He brushed his nose along her thigh, exhaling against her skin. His crotch twinged as she squirmed, and he had to force himself not to touch himself. Not yet, at least.

“Oh?” Byakuya grazed his teeth against her thigh, a ghost of a kiss, and pressed his fingers harder against her panties.

Her head rolled back. “Y-Yes...” A gasp. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“You're not dreaming, if that's what you're implying. Nor is this a fantasy. I'll prove it...”

Byakuya latched his mouth onto her thigh and sucked hard. Touko almost kicked him as she convulsed, shrieking, but after her initial reaction, she allowed him to continue. Gripping her thigh more firmly, he kept up the suction with his lips until he released her with a plop. He smirked.

“There. When you wake up tomorrow, you will see a mark on your thigh and know this happened,” he told her.

She nodded, drooling, her face thoroughly flushed. Her thighs quivered as he eased down her panties, then her legs shook harder as he reached in and twitched a finger between her warm folds. A translucent film coated his digit, which he examined for a few seconds, rubbing it between thumb and finger, before smearing it onto his tongue, tasting.

It had a slight bitter tang, but not unpleasantly so. Byakuya shifted, getting more comfortable on his knees, and dipped down his head. Touko's pubic hair tickled his face as he settled his head against the pinkest part of her. He repositioned his hands from her inner to outer thighs, and when he dragged his tongue through her wet, she gasped and clamped her thighs around his neck.

With her legs wound so tightly around him, he could barely move his head. His tongue wasn't immobilised, though, free to lap at her folds and her juices. And there was just enough give that he could grind his nose against a spot that had Touko twitching and grasping his hair. The first tug almost gave him pause, as a short, sharp not-quite pain shot down him. Then, when he flattened his tongue against her, wanting to taste as much of her at once as possible, she pulled again, and the sensation reached as far as his crotch this time.

Instead of a moan, an undignifying snort escaped him, and he had to grip her thighs tighter to restrain himself from reaching between his legs.

Fortunately, Byakuya had plenty else to focus on, all involving Touko. Hungrily, he licked figures of eight against her slickness, nudging his nose up against her bundle of nerves as he minutely bobbed his head. Trying to gather as much of her taste as he could. Even as she excreted more fluid, her flavour was diluted in his saliva. A shudder washed through Touko, and she rewarded him with another tug on his hair.

His crotch felt impossibly full, twitching as she whimpered, moaned and squirmed. Despite his length not being contained in his trousers or even underwear, an invisible pressure clenched it. He swallowed. Swirled his tongue around his teeth before sliding it into Touko's opening.

She yelped. Her legs slackened enough to allow him to rock his head to and fro, thrusting his tongue in and out with every lurch. The act created an obscene slurping sound, but Touko sighed as if she was audience to a choir of angels. Not that he could even hold a conversation with her right now. His mouth was preoccupied, and he barely had the capacity to think.

This was very different to just fingering. With his face practically against her, her aroma engulfed him. He drowned in her flavour. Every shake of her body, every moan from her lips, made his head spin. Made his crotch pulsate.

She pulled on his hair, this time guiding his mouth to her sensitive bud. When he had rubbed his nose on it, she had moaned and trembled, but when he sucked on that part of her now, she bucked her hips and screamed. 

Byakuya looked up sharply. Through his damp fringe and imperfect vision, he could make out her bright eyes. Could see her hand under her blouse, positioned over her breast. If only he had another arm so he could touch it too.

He didn't need to be able to see her clearly to feel her pin his head in place, though.

“R-Right there, Byakuya-sama!” she groaned, humping his face.

Normally, he despised being given orders. From birth, Byakuya had been destined to be a leader. The head of the Togami dynasty. He should have been commanding Touko. Commanding the school. Commanding his dead conglomerate. But between her legs, feeling the vibrations of her pleasure coursing through her slender frame, if just for right now, none of that mattered. All he had to do or think about was her. 

More than readily, he obliged, alternating between sucking with his lips and swatting at her bud with his tongue. Her shaking intensified. She drummed her heels against him. Scratched at his scalp. He didn’t relent, continuing to knead her clit with his mouth until she arched her back and cried out long and hard.

Something wet spurted against his chin. Touko almost smothered him as she pushed him harder against herself, riding him, her hips thrashing wildly, before gradually slowing into feeble twitching. When the grip from her legs had all but receded, she flopped backward. He carefully extracted himself from her tangle of limbs and wiped at his face with a confused frown.

“Fukawa... Did you just urinate on me?” he asked.

The blissful smile on her face splintered. She sat up with a jolt.

“N-No! That was ejaculate!”

“You didn’t do that last time.”

“I’ve never done it before.” Touko hunched her shoulders and hugged herself. “I a-always thought it was something they faked during my dad’s pornos...”

Whatever it was, it was clear, and when Byakuya licked his fingers, it didn’t taste of anything. Touko gave an embarrassed bleat and covered her eyes.

“T-That was incredible, Byakuya-sama! I don’t think I’ll be able to walk for weeks after that. M-My legs have turned to jelly.”

“Well, you’ll need to get to your bed somehow,” said Byakuya as he rose, less steady than he would have preferred. His head pounded, his jaw ached and his crotch was stiff, throbbing and soaked at the tip with his own pre-ejacuate. “Whether it be for sex or sleep.”

“Ah!” With a sudden burst of energy, Touko scrambled to her feet. She wobbled, patting around the couch.

Now that she was standing, Byakuya could see a wet patch where she had been sitting. He made a mental note to offer to pay for it to be cleaned.

As well as the couch, his shirt was soaked in her fluids, so he took it off and tossed it aside.

“Where's my bag? Or my glasses?” she mumbled, feeling around.

Byakuya grabbed both in one hand, then took her hand in his other. “I've got them. Follow me.”

Touko drooled. “Of course, Byakuya-sama!”

She swayed, so he slunk his arm around her waist so she could lean on him for support. His heart thundered as he led her to her bedroom. At any moment, he could have terminated what was happening. He could peel her off himself. Grab his underwear and trousers, put them on, then leave the apartment. Neither of them were drunk. Both of them were fully cognizant. Fully aware of what they were about to do.

Fully willing.

Stacks of books surrounded her bed like petals. Byakuya lay Touko down and opened her handbag. From her purse, he retrieved a foil packet.

“I'm feeling a sense of deja vu,” she said as he rolled the condom onto himself.

“That's because we've done this before,” he said. He crawled over, positioning himself on all fours above her.

“You're the first p-person I've enjoyed doing this with.” Her smile didn't reach her eyes. “No one else has ever done things to me for my pleasure, or asked if I e-even wanted to do it.”

“And I will ask you again now,” he said in a low voice. “Do you want to do this?”

“With all my heart.”

He held his length with one hand while Touko opened her legs and used her fingers to part her lower lips. His jaw clenched in concentration as he rubbed himself against her slick, searching for her entrance. After a few seconds, she gently took his length from him and aligned the head with herself.

Then, slowly, Byakuya nudged forward. Touko's breath hitched as her inner muscles clamped around his tip. He groaned. Paused. Examined her face. Dark hair like evening sky surrounded her head, freed from the remaining remnants of her braid. Her eyes were wide and staring, ringed by the colour of an overcast morning, the calm before a storm. She placed her hands onto his sides, holding him, and he edged in more.

Again, her muscles tensed around him. Byakuya stilled his hips. It wasn’t that Touko’s grip on his length was strong enough to impede his movements. Touko had produced more than enough lubricant for him to slide through, and had he wished to, he could easily have proceeded, thrusting into her like a piston. The brief interludes allowed Touko to adjust to the sensation of his length inside her. To increase her pleasure, because he would be damned if he did a shoddy job of anything. Even this. That wasn’t the Togami way.

Besides, if he rushed, he wouldn’t have been able to savour how her eyelashes fluttered, or each little gasp, or how every clench on his length kindled the flames burning at his core.

Byakuya retracted his hips a fraction. Not enough to pull out, but so he could rock his hips forward more in one go. Her muscles fluttered, and she scrunched her face and moaned. She reached a hand toward her clothed breast, but he intercepted her before she could touch herself. Setting down her hand, he then pulled her blouse off, leaving her top half clad in a black bra. As he jutted his hips forward, he cupped her breast, his hand slipping under the cup. Palming her bare skin.

He squeezed. Her hard nipple pressed into him as she arched her back. A guttural cry burst out of her, the sound reverberating in him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, panting, and when she pulled on him, the last strands of his self-restraint frayed.

With a few more twitches of his hips, he found himself fully sheathed in her. Byakuya’s head hovered close enough to Touko’s face that their breaths intermingled, hot and heavy.

“You’re beautiful, Byakuya-sama,” she murmured.

His heart palpitated. For the first time since their lips locked into a kiss in this apartment, the nausea he had been feeling around her re-emerged. It rose out of the warmth that had blanketed him like soil, strangling vines that coiled around his body. Should he open his mouth, he didn’t know what would come out. Leaves. Vomit. Silence.

So he closed the gap between them and kissed her. Their lips mashed clumsily as he pumped his hips, moving faster. Touko gasped, lifting her legs so she could hug him with them. A rhythmic squelching corresponded with each thrust, with the creaking of the bed not loud enough to mask it. He had expected her to have more to say. What, exactly, he wasn’t sure. She could have showered him in compliments, ogling his perfect face, pawing at his toned body. On the other hand, she could have murmured dirty somethings in his ear, about how he was soaked in her pleasure, or what the other would think if they knew what they were doing.

Just thinking about that sent a ripple through him, that went straight to his length. With Touko, he could never quite predict what she would spew at him. Whenever he thought he had her sussed out, she blindsided him.

Perhaps, she didn’t say more because grunts and moans tumbled around her mouth, leaving room for nothing else. And they weren’t just in hers: the noises bounced around his one as well. Touko’s fingers clawed at his back as he rammed into her, again and again and again. She jerked her hips, trying to match his movements. The heat in his groin gnawed at him with every lurch, biting in deeper. He released his grasp of her breast so he could have both hands planted on the mattress for balance. 

“B-Byakuya-sama,” Touko wrung out, shimmying her hips until he drove in at an angle that made her shudder and shriek. Her inner muscles seized up so intensely that she nearly knocked the air out of him.

Keeping at that angle, Byakuya persisted. Touko’s breathing grew more ragged. He felt her legs tighten around him. Then, with a scream, her body convulsed, contracting wildly against his length. Ears ringing, body tingling, he fought to maintain his pace. Tension burned in his groin, hotter and hotter, before finally exploding. 

“Fukawa! Fuck!”

His hips seemed to operate on their own accord, slamming into her warm, wet chamber. When the haze clouding his mind subsided, he flopped down on top of Touko. She snaked a hand through his hair. Another time, he would have been repulsed by her doing that, but right now, he couldn’t really feel much of anything.

“That felt really good,” she said quietly. The apartment was silent. As if reading his mind, she added, “Ah, but we missed the end of the movie.”

And they never got around to discussing that book either.

“Don’t misunderstand, Fukawa,” he said. “What just happened... What we did together... was because of some pent up feelings within me that were causing me stress and I needed to get out of my system. Do you understand? We’re not a couple. I don’t want you telling anyone about this.”

Dating and relationships weren’t for people like him. Regular people like Kyouko and Makoto might have been susceptible, but not him. He wasn’t weak. He couldn’t be tricked or manipulated into developing a dependency on another human being.

Touko didn’t answer immediately, but then she said, “I understand, Byakuya-sama. Like I said... just being near you is enough for me.”

As she stroked his hair, he didn’t mention to her that those feelings of disgust were still there.

[zenonaa]

[zenonaa]

I need to preface this wip with that they are watching an irl movie and those are the characters' names, it is not referring to the kotoko and gundam in the DR universe 😅😭

Upcoming chapter from my TogaFuka fic!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64937485/chapters/166925962

[zenonaa]

‘Throughout his childhood, he never had someone he could consider a friend. Anyone could have been a spy, or an opponent, waiting for him to lower his guard so they could either destroy the conglomerate or take it from him. Even Aloysius, as close as he was to Byakuya, had initially been employed by the conglomerate to look after him. He had been paid to care about Byakuya. Not until Hope’s Peak did Byakuya find people he could consider friends. And yet... none of them stirred such revolting feelings in him as Touko Fukawa did.’

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru, Shingetsu Nagisa & Togami Byakuya Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Toko, Kirigiri Kyoko, Naegi Makoto, Naegi Komaru, Asahina Aoi (Dangan Ronpa), Hagakure Yasuhiro, more to be added, Shingetsu Nagisa, Utsugi Kotoko, Daimon Masaru (Dangan Ronpa), Kemuri Jataro Summary: When a project is set up to help rehabilitate the former Warriors of Hope, Togami finds himself the guardian of Nagisa Shingetsu. He also finds himself troubled with confusing feelings toward Fukawa...

Comments: I’ve actually almost written the next chapter. It was going to be part of this chapter, but it got kind of long so I decided to cut it into two bits. Also, the rating of this fic will go up in the next chapter.

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

***

Chapter 4: As Dirty as My Car

The office door opened at ten thirty ante meridiem, when a slightly out of breath Yasuhiro entered the room. He swatted at the door in a half-hearted attempt to close it behind himself, leaving it ajar.

“You’re finally here,” stated Touko as he shambled over to the centre table, where everyone had been waiting for more than half an hour.

“This is ridiculous,” said Byakuya, his arms folded over his chest. “How self-important have you deluded yourself into thinking you are that our time is yours to expend at your leisure?”

“It’s not my fault. My car had more scuff marks on the paintwork again,” said Yasuhiro.

Byakuya had to stop himself from pinching the bridge of his nose too hard. It was a wonder that he didn’t have permanent pink marks there from working with this man. “You’re kidding me. Tell me this is some kind of joke.”

“Do you hear me laughing?”

Komaru’s eyes flickered. “... No?”

“It was in a different spot this time, but it was just like the last two, ‘right? I swear on my life that I was about to set off early for today’s meeting when I discovered them. As soon as I buffed out the marks, I came straight here. Honest.”

“Why couldn’t you do that later? Like... after we had the meeting?” asked Aoi. 

“Because, Asahina-chi, if I came to work with my car like that, people would say, ‘Check out that guy. He can’t even take care of his car. Then again, ain’t that typical? Ain’t he that kind of man?’ I don’t want people to think that about me. You know what I mean, don’t you?”

Aoi gave a quiet hum and nodded. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair, cupping the back of his head in both hands. Yasuhiro was acting like he was the one who had been inconvenienced, rather than everyone else. Byakuya didn't understand how Yasuhiro's mind worked, nor did he think he wanted to. The guy had the neatest handwriting that Byakuya had ever seen and he was apparently self-conscious about how his car was perceived, yet he also showed up to work in sandals, believed in the most inane conspiracies and had gone on the run from the mafia for several years.

A scuffed car was the least of his problems. 

“You could have just walked here,” Byakuya pointed out.

Yasuhiro sat up a little, but before he could respond, Kyouko cleared her throat. She was the only one on her feet, standing at the head of the table.

“If you must continue this discussion, please do so after the meeting. We would be a fair way through it by now if you hadn’t decided to bicker.”

Byakuya's tongue burned, but he let his words turn to ash. To argue back, no matter how valid his points were, would only reinforce what she said. Yasuhiro perked up.

“Too true. That's why you’re assistant headmaster, Kirigiri-chi. Anyway, let’s all relax. It’s Saturday morning. Who has plans that aren’t watching old cartoons at home?”

For one, Byakuya did. After the meeting, he intended to stop by his apartment to get some work done on his laptop, then meet with Touko for lunch before taking her back to his apartment. Komaru also had her alleged all-weekend workshop, which he assumed would start after they finished here. If it was actually happening, and wasn’t something she had made up on the spot.

“I will keep today's meeting brief, as our mentees are waiting for Komaru in the library,” said Kyouko. “The opening ceremony for the new Hope's Peak is a confirmed start at seven P.M., two weeks on Wednesday. We're still finalising the evening's schedule in regards to timings, but everyone must arrive at least an hour early. Rehearsal dates will be posted early next week. Any changes to the speeches already submitted must be re-approved...”

Byakuya unfolded his arms and lightly drummed his fingers against the table. He would be giving a speech, having finished preparing his some time ago. Not everyone present was giving one. Other than him, he knew Makoto and Kyouko were, and that Touko wouldn’t be attending the ceremony of her own volition. Too many people. Too loud.

His eyes slid over to Touko, who was as per usual scribbling down notes. When he had asked to meet up with her to discuss the book she recommended, he had done so with an ulterior motive. He genuinely wanted to talk about the novel with her. That part wasn’t untrue. The other reason was that by being in close proximity, he could investigate the strange sensations that had been stirring inside him that seemed to be caused by Touko. Then, once he found the source, he could fix whatever was wrong so he no longer experienced them.

It was a nuisance, feeling unwell around her when he had no reason to. If she was drooling or simpering or being perverted, the sensation would make sense. Not when she was talking about books, or smiling normally, or just sitting close to him.

“Togami-kun?”

He raised his head a fraction and turned to Kyouko, who had said his name. At the edges of his vision, he could discern the others peering at him. “What is it?”

“Am I boring you?” she asked, hands on her hips.

If he told them that he had been thinking about Touko, they would all get the wrong idea, even if the train of thought that led to him thinking about her had been logical.

“No,” he said. “My mind just wandered for a moment. I apologise.”

“I’ll accept your apology,” she replied, tucking some hair behind her ear. “With everything going on, it’s understandable to lose concentration for a moment. I was saying that Utsugi-san asked me to install a lock on her bedroom door last night. What are your thoughts?”

Byakuya shrugged. “I’ve already installed one on Shingetsu’s door. He asked me to do so on his first visit to my apartment.”

“Is that wise though?” Aoi fidgeted with her jacket sleeves, pulling them closer toward her hands. “What if they hurt themselves, and you can’t get in to help them?”

“Do you mean if they’re clumsy and bang their head on something?” asked Yasuhiro, scratching his head.

Aoi looked down at her lap. “Um...”

“She means if they’re self-harming,” said Touko bluntly, making almost everyone else wince. Only Byakuya and Kyouko didn’t. “By declining to give them privacy via a lock, you’re telling them that you don’t trust them. They’re already going to be feeling like they’re constantly being watched and will resort to less obvious methods of self-harm, or sneak to a different place to do it. If you really want to help them not self-harm, you’ve got to be open with them and let them feel like they have control.”

She averted her eyes for a few moments, chewing her lip, before returning her gaze to the others. Realising everyone was staring at her, she cringed.

“W-What is it?” she asked. “Is there something stuck between my teeth?”

“No. You made valid points,” said Kyouko, giving half a smile.

“Did your therapist teach you all that?” asked Komaru. Touko snorted.

“Therapist... ha. A-As if I ever had one of those growing up. It's just common sense.”

Future Foundation had employed a therapist, a mute woman named Miaya Gekkogahara. Before she was murdered, she helped develop the Neo World Program that rehabilitated the Remnants of Despair. Byakuya and his former classmates had also engaged in sessions with her, though those had focused on helping restore their suppressed memories. In that regard, Future Foundation had mostly been successful. Overall, Byakuya could just about remember the two years that Junko Enoshima had blocked from his mind. For him, however, there were still some small gaps, and he couldn't associate any feelings with the memories he did have. Almost as though they didn't belong to him, and he was reading about them in someone else's biography.

It didn't bother him much. The past was unchangeable, after all.

When the meeting finished, Byakuya stopped by his apartment to run through his emails. There wasn't anything that required his immediate attention, so he was soon out again. He descended a floor, knocked on Touko's door and waited.

The door opened a crack, revealing half of Touko's face. Her visible eye widened, then the door opened more. For Saturday meetings, they tended to dress down as they didn't usually have work afterwards. Touko was wearing the same clothes she had on earlier: a loose fitting pale blue blouse and a long skirt.

“Byakuya-sama?”

“I'm aware I'm early,” he said. He adjusted his collar. Even when not at work, he preferred to dress at least semi-formally. So though he was wearing a shirt and jacket, he lacked a tie. "I didn't have too much work to do this morning, so I thought I would see if you wanted to meet earlier instead. We can have lunch together.”

Touko twitched. “Oh! Of course! T-That’s perfectly fine with me. I’ll just grab my bag...”

She flitted back into her apartment. He could hear her hurried footsteps as she scrambled, returning with her shoulder bag.

They headed to the stairwell together. When she started to climb them, he said, “We'll go to my apartment later. I thought we could visit the city centre, have lunch there, then come back to my place to discuss the novel.”

Originally, he had decided on them staying at his place to avoid Komaru’s meddling, but with her in the library, they should have been safe. By going out of the school grounds, he could explore the possibility of his current revulsion toward Touko being because he was associating her with the version of herself from the old Hope’s Peak. Where they had been trapped, and where she had frequently tailed him, mumbling and watching and salivating. Only leaving when he told her to. Only staying when he didn't.

He shivered.

“I'll need to grab a jacket if we’re going out,” Touko said. “I'll only be a moment, Byakuya-sama!”

She dashed back into her apartment as if he risked changing his mind about the whole outing if she took too long. When she returned, they left together, footfalls echoing.

Hope’s Peak was located in the very centre of the city. During the Tragedy, the school had been the only building left intact, everything else reduced to rubble. Since then, extensive reconstruction work had taken place, resulting in the maze of streets that the pair walked through now. Though the city was nowhere near as big as it once was, it was a feat that it was even this size at all. The level of destruction that wrecked this city would usually take decades to reverse.

They slowed as they arrived by a cinema front. Various movie posters plastered the walls. Most of them were romances or war dramas, neither of which interested Byakuya. There was a poster of an American movie from the early millennium that Byakuya had never heard of, science fiction and starring Eddie Murphy. According to some obnoxiously bright text in the corner, this was a rerelease for a special event.

Touko paused by a different poster. Her fists clenched.

“S-Seriously?” hissed Touko.

When he saw the poster that she was so affronted by, he stiffened. It depicted a man and a woman walking together in the corner, but what caught his attention was their conjoined shadow that resembled a pair of scissors.

“Ah,” he said.

“Have you seen this?”

“I have, once. It wasn’t a particularly good movie, but it often came up during online discussions regarding Genocider Syo. The public didn't know about the victims being crucified, but the murder weapon was common knowledge. Many people thought that the movie inspired her murders.”

Touko groaned, clutching her head and shaking it. “I’ve never seen it, b-but the murderer supposedly had a homicidal alter who k-killed schoolgirls with specially-altered scissors. W-Why is this being played here? The movie came out near the beginning of the century.”

Presumably, like the science fiction movie, this was being rerun for some kind of event. Byakuya glanced away. Across the street, a group of teenage-sized people dawdled, standing still. The hoods of their oversized puffer jackets hid their heads from view, so Byakuya couldn't ascertain if they were looking over or listening in.

Just in case...

“There's a bookshop a couple of blocks away. It also has a coffee shop built into it. Let's go there,” he said.

She straightened, no longer hunching, and smiled, no longer glowering. His stomach rolled. He adjusted his glasses. The sooner he got to the bottom of why Touko’s innocuous mannerisms unsettled him so much, the better. 

“I'd love to go there with you,” she said, squeezing her hands together tightly. “Please, lead the way!”

To travel there by foot would take approximately twenty minutes. Though the city did possess a decent bus service, by the time the bus arrived then drove them to the nearest stop, they could have feasibly already made the journey. Therefore, they walked together. It was a pleasant enough day. Not too warm. Not too cold. No rain. No falling ash like there used to be. Just a clear blue sky that had once been red and full of smoke.

“Are there any films that you're interested in seeing?” asked Byakuya, looking forward.

“N-Nothing that's recent. I have been meaning to watch something called Kotoko - it won an award at the Venice International Film Festival some years back. I haven't been able to find a good time, though, and it's too dark for the taste of the others to watch as a group during one of our movie nights.”

“What is it about?”

“It's about a single mother who suffers from mental illness and experiences hallucinations, which involve her seeing doppelgangers of other people that try to harm her or her son. The only way she can stop them temporarily is by singing. I've heard it's very graphic in parts. Had you not helped me overcome my fear of blood, I wouldn't be able to watch it.”

After they escaped Hope's Peak, one day at Future Foundation, he had accidentally cut himself in her presence and she hadn't fainted. From that, he had trained her to tolerate the sight of blood. Meeting after work, he cut his arm, deliberately this time, and her determination to protect him meant that instead of being triggered to switch to her other alter, she had remained in control. Touko had pinned him down, grabbed his arm, bloody mess and all, and told him to never do that again. She promised she would be strong, that she would protect him.

His arms tingled under his jacket. He tugged up his collar.

“It shouldn't be too difficult to locate it online. We can watch it when we're back at the apartments,” he said.

“R-Really?” She sounded astonished. 

“Sure. We have a surprisingly similar taste in movies.”

“Yes. I was surprised when you said you were a fan of Seijun Suzuki's works. When I spoke to Naegi about movies once, he had never heard of him.”

Byakuya clicked his tongue. “That's Naegi for you. If it isn't trending, he'll have never heard of it before.”

“You're right as always, Byakuya-sama,” she said with a giggle.

The sound drew his gaze to her. A wide grin stretched out her lips, the corners of which poked up against her rosy cheeks. He swallowed, his saliva tasting like fire, licking at his insides, and coughed into his fist.

“Yes. Quite,” he said, for lack of anything better to respond with.

When they arrived at the bookshop, there weren't many other customers. The establishment comprised of a single level, slotted between two retail outlets. He had visited a few times before on his own, so already knew what lay where beyond its painted purple storefront. Bookcases lined the walls of the main room, with various genres contained within their own sections, labelled with a handwritten placard at the top of their shelving units. There wasn't much in the way of selections, but Byakuya and Touko had a quick, quiet browse, drifting apart for a few minutes before gravitating back together near the counter in the café area.

This section took up most of the space. A few tables were spread across the centre of the room, with one being occupied by a young man in a suit. His constant tapping on his laptop was by far the loudest noise in the building. If the sound grated on the woman manning the café counter, she didn’t show it, smiling as she waited for her next customer.

“Tell me what you want for lunch,” Byakuya said. On the wall behind the counter was a chalkboard listing the different foods and drinks available for purchase. “I’ll pay.”

“I-I have money with me,” Touko blurted, fiddling with the latch on her bag. Byakuya gave a small wave.

“I don’t doubt it. But this is my treat for us today. You can pay for our lunch another time.”

Touko tensed. Her eyes widened as she mouthed his last few words to herself. Leaving her to process what he said, he strode over to the counter, pushing up his glasses as he skimmed the menu on the chalkboard.

“Black tea and Hayashi rice for me. Fukawa, what would you like?”

She didn’t answer. He shot a glare at her over his shoulder.

“Fukawa.”

“S-Sorry!” Touko’s head jerked back. Byakuya pursed his lips impatiently as she shuffled over, fidgeting her hands. “For me... rosehip tea and Hayashi rice as well, please.”

“Sure,” chirped the woman. “It’ll be ready in about ten minutes. Is that okay?”

That didn’t seem like a long time to prepare the food. Most likely, it was store bought or ready made. Growing up, Byakuya’s meals had been made from scratch by professional chefs. They were probably all dead now. Junko Enoshima had done a thorough job ensuring the annihilation of everyone in the Togami family and those connected to it. Other than Byakuya, only Aloysius had been spared, and that was so he could potentially be used as a motive in the killing game. 

“That’ll be fine,” said Byakuya quietly. 

After he paid, he sat down at a table. Touko claimed the chair opposite him, her eyes darting about.

“They have one of your books in stock. So Lingers the Ocean,” he said.

She twitched, locking her gaze firmly on him now. Her fingers mashed together, squirming, restless.

“Y-You checked?”

“We’re in a bookstore. You’re a famous author. Why not? It’s your most well-known work.”

Touko shook her head, grimacing. “I w-wrote it so long ago... I wouldn’t be able to stomach reading it now. Since then, my prose has evolved... I have changed as a person... I wouldn’t be able to read more than a few sentences before wanting to grab a pen and rework everything. What once was music is now riddled with discordant notes. Argh! If only I could obtain every copy and alter people’s minds so I could fix it.”

“After Mitarai’s stunt, I think we can agree that we’ve had more than enough brainwashing to last us a lifetime,” he replied dryly. “Besides, it doesn’t change the fact that in its current state, many people still enjoy it. You are seeing your work from the perspective of the person who made it. Of course you will be extra critical. I suppose... if you were to compare your writing to a crochet wall hanging... you are paying too much attention to the back of it. Its consumers will only care about the front.”

For a few seconds, Touko’s expression didn’t change as she drank in what he said. Then, her lips curved into a faint smile, as soft as the light in her eyes. At some point, he had started bouncing a finger against the table. Upon noticing, he curled it into his fist. 

Byakuya felt like his heart was being wrung tight. This was getting ridiculous now. Her behaviour was totally normal at the moment. He had no reason to be disgusted.

“Have you ever considered writing a novel, Byakuya-sama?” she asked. “What you said just now was very eloquent.”

He had never given the idea more than a passing thought. If he sat down and committed, he was sure he could write a great book, much like if he picked up painting or any other hobby. However, he never felt any compulsion to do so, and he doubted that even he could write something on the same level as Touko. Though he didn’t care for the romance novels she was known for, he had seen its effects. How fishermen had become popular with women after one of Touko’s books. How for a time his butler had been flanked with admirers after she published a book with one as a love interest. Potentially, she could make her readers fall in love with anyone she wanted.

It was an almost fearsome ability.

“Excuse me, did you say you were an author?” came a voice. Byakuya and Touko turned their heads. The man who had been typing at another table was now standing by theirs.

Touko ducked her head and mumbled, “I am, yes.”

“That’s amazing. I happen to be something of a writer myself,” he said. “I’ve been working on my manuscript for the past few years. When the world almost ended, there wasn’t much else to do but write. Do you have any tips for getting noticed?”

She didn’t look at him. Being noticed seemed like the total opposite of what she wanted to happen.

“We’re here to eat, not network with strangers,” said Byakuya bluntly. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your date.” The man raised his hands, showing his palms toward them. “I just...”

“We’re not on a date. We’re just meeting for lunch. How would you feel if I assumed you were an involuntary celibate that no woman wants to be around because you’re at a table by yourself?”

A furrow carved into the man’s brow. “Hey, what’s with the attitude? I was just making conversation.”

“Well, don’t!” Touko snapped, finally looking up and glaring at the man. She rose from her chair, one hand pressed against the table, her other tucked against her chest. “There are plenty of articles online by people who want to talk about this subject. Go read them instead of bothering me while I’m with my friend! I don’t have anything useful to share with you, even if I wanted to. My books came out before the Tragedy. It was a totally different landscape then!. W-What worked for me won’t work for you!”

The man grumbled as he slunk back to his table. Breathing heavily, Touko sat down. Neither she nor Byakuya said another word by the time the employee brought over their tea. She must have heard the heated exchange, but she wisely chose not to acknowledge it, especially now that it had concluded.

And yet, Byakuya’s mind kept replaying Touko’s outburst. During it, she had referred to him as her ‘friend’. They certainly weren’t dating, but for some reason, something about her calling him that word notched under his skin. It was different to what he was used to. He couldn’t make sense of it when she still seemed head over heels for him.

A few minutes later, the employee returned with their food, and the two began to eat.

“Did I upset you with what I said?” he finally asked.

“Huh?”

“When I said this wasn’t a date.”

“O-Of course not!” Touko blurted. “I was frustrated with that guy interrupting us like that and putting me on the spot. If Komaru was here, she would have told me I was too harsh, but I felt like I was melting under a spotlight.”

By this point, the man at the other table had left.

“And if her brother was here, he would have said the same to me. About being too harsh.” He swirled his spoon through his rice, frowning. “You’ve never referred to me as a friend before.”

“Don’t get me wrong. The flames in my heart burn ever eternally for you, Byakuya-sama. But... after spending so much time with Komaru, I’ve learned that friendship can be just as fulfilling as romantic love. So even... if you don’t return my feelings, being with you... like this... is more than fine with me.”

He stared at her, face flushing hot, like the metaphorical fire inside of her body had reached across the table to him. It was as though the four elements had overcome him. The demi-glace sauce in his mouth hardened as his insides turned to stone. His palms felt sweaty, and his skin tingled like a breeze was constantly rushing over it. All the while, Touko had the audacity to sit there, grinning shamelessly.

Throughout his childhood, he never had someone he could consider a friend. Anyone could have been a spy, or an opponent, waiting for him to lower his guard so they could either destroy the conglomerate or take it from him. Even Aloysius, as close as he was to Byakuya, had initially been employed by the conglomerate to look after him. He had been paid to care about Byakuya. Not until Hope’s Peak did Byakuya find people he could consider friends. And yet... none of them stirred such revolting feelings in him as Touko Fukawa did.

Byakuya tore his gaze from Touko, looking toward the windows in the storefront, and froze. A hooded head swerved out of sight. Not just any, though. While he hadn’t been able to see their face, he recognised their white clothing.

“Fukawa, you recall the teenagers we saw near the cinema earlier?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yes?”

“I just saw one of them outside.”

Touko gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth.

“W-What do they want?” she said, shaking. “D-Did they recognise me?”

“Not so loud.”

“They... They might be vigilantes. Relatives... of her victims... s-seeking j-justice...”

“I said not so loud.” Byakuya gritted his teeth and turned toward Touko. His eyebrows twitched as he saw the tears pricking the corners of her eyes. She rarely cried in his presence. He smoothed his features and grabbed one of her hands. When she didn’t react, or even look at him, he guided her to her feet. “We’re going home now. Stay close to me. Don’t let go of my hand.”

Touko offered no resistance as Byakuya led her to the door, leaving their half-eaten lunch on the table. The woman manning the counter took a few tentative steps toward them.

“Are you okay?” she asked before the door shut behind Byakuya and Touko.

Outside, he couldn’t see any signs of the hooded figure amongst the strangers streaming past. Tightening his lips, he continued scanning the area, until he glimpsed a smudge of colour that matched the puffer jacket. Five of them were in an alley across the street, lurking behind a large commercial waste bin. One had their head hovering over the top and stooped down, but not before Byakuya spotted their yellow scarf poking out.

Byakuya almost sighed.

“Fukawa, they’re not vigilantes. It’s Komaru and our mentees.”

He felt Touko’s hand tense. “What? W-Why?”

The anger bleeding into her voice didn’t go unnoticed.

“We’ll ask them later,” he said in a level tone. “For now, let’s go home.”

[zenonaa]

‘He couldn't stay a ten year old boy being scolded by his mother for asking where his birthday cake was. He couldn't stay thirteen, splattered in the blood of a girl who had tried to give him explosives hidden in a box of chocolates. He couldn't stay a young teenager competing against his older siblings to be heir apparent, surviving their sabotages, assassination attempts and manipulation so he could be Byakuya Togami and not a nameless disowned outcast like the rest of them. He had to move past being the teenager who watched his family be murdered by a Remnant of Despair dressed up as him on live television, past the person who agreed to barricade themselves in their school when the world was ending, and past the person forced to take part in a killing game with their classmates.

Had he not followed time's arrow, he wouldn't be him, but a ghost of one of his former selves. Byakuya swallowed. He realised his hands were trembling so locked them into fists.‘

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru, Shingetsu Nagisa & Togami Byakuya Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Toko, Kirigiri Kyoko, Naegi Makoto, Naegi Komaru, Asahina Aoi (Dangan Ronpa), Hagakure Yasuhiro, more to be added, Shingetsu Nagisa, Utsugi Kotoko, Daimon Masaru (Dangan Ronpa), Kemuri Jataro Summary: When a project is set up to help rehabilitate the former Warriors of Hope, Togami finds himself the guardian of Nagisa Shingetsu. He also finds himself troubled with confusing feelings toward Fukawa...

Comments: Chapter 3! I’m probably going to bump up the age rating at some point, because I have cunning plans... >:-)

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

***

Chapter 3: Bright Blue Eyes

The apartment building consisted of four levels, with the residents' private living quarters being on the second and third floors. Byakuya dwelled in the topmost of these alongside Makoto, Komaru and Yasuhiro. However, while Komaru lived with Makoto, she was known to regularly stay over at Touko's place on the floor below.

Using his key card, Byakuya unlocked his apartment door and entered with Nagisa in tow. While imprisoned at Hope's Peak, his bedroom had been gaudy, with bubblegum pink walls and blue carpet. Here, earthy tones surrounded him, wood that was brown like coffee, walls the colour of cream. His apartment was slightly bigger too. Still miniscule compared to his childhood homes, where this whole place could have comfortably fitted inside his bedroom. But his apartment had a kitchen, two bedrooms, and no metal plates on the windows. Most importantly, unlike his room at Hope’s Peak, he didn't have to anticipate random visits from Monobear here.

And unlike his childhood homes, his apartment wasn't derelict ruins.

“This will be your bedroom,” said Byakuya, stopping by its door and gesturing to it with one hand.

Nagisa eyed their surroundings with a crinkled brow. All of his worldly possessions were in the duffel bag clutched tightly in his hand. He stayed where he was, across the room from Byakuya.

“Why are there two bedrooms when you live alone?” asked Nagisa.

“In case of overnight visitors. My former butler occasionally stays over, but most of the time I was using it as an office.”

“What about your friends?”

“We live right next to each other. Why would we need to spend the night at another's home? The only exception is Naegi’s sister, who lives with her brother but also stops over regularly with Fukawa.”

But now that Touko and Makoto had mentees living with them, Komaru had opted to move in with Aoi for the time being. Regardless, Byakuya suspected that Komaru would still be over at Touko's a fair amount of the time. When they were in Towa City, they were inseparable. Living together, sharing a bed. Fighting homicidal Monobear units. Saving civilians’ lives. Saving each other. Saving him.

Nagisa plodded over to the door and slowly opened it. The bedroom possessed minimal furnishings: a single bed, a floor lamp, a set of drawers and a desk. Byakuya had transferred his computer to his own bedroom. At the moment, this room was a blank slate, but with time, it would become personalised to Nagisa. At Hope's Peak, while everyone had been given near identical rooms, they had customised theirs as best they could with what luggage they had brought and the limited resources available within the school.

Except Makoto. He had left his room mostly as it was. In a way, that was very ‘Makoto’ in of itself. 

“If you require anything else, let me know and I'll see what I can do,” said Byakuya.

“Does this lock?” asked Nagisa, shaking the door.

“No. Do you need a lock installed?”

“Yes.” Nagisa's response was immediate.

“I'm not going to be barging into your room uninvited. Unless you're obviously in immediate danger, I will knock and wait for a response first. But I will see about having one added...”

If Byakuya could invent a hacking device that transmitted codes to manipulate nearby devices’ programming, installing a basic lock would be elementary. However, despite Byakuya agreeing to Nagisa’s request, Nagisa gritted his teeth in a displeased glower. Whatever. He could sulk all he liked, it wouldn't conjure a lock out of thin air.

Without a word, Nagisa marched over to the bed and dumped his bag onto it before sitting down. The mattress creaked.

“I'll leave you to unpack,” said Byakuya.

Nagisa didn’t reply, looking down at his fidgeting hands. Byakuya cocked his head to one side. Perhaps his sour mood wasn’t due to just the lack of lock on the door.

“Don’t tell me... you’re brooding over that icebreaker game,” said Byakuya, making Nagisa visibly tense up.

“No,” retorted Nagisa, his voice almost sharp enough to cut apart his lips. His hands shifted to hold his knees. He hunched his shoulders. “This is just a lot to take in. This time yesterday, we were in Towa City.”

“And now you’re here.”

“When we left, that place wasn’t so bad anymore. No more robots. No more killing. Children went to school, and adults went to work. Order had been pretty much restored thanks to you guys. But... not even Future Foundation can bring back the people that used to live there.” Nagisa released one of his knees so he could turn his palm upward. The tension scrunching his face remained firm as he studied his open hand. “Everything that happened there... still happened.”

“And you can't change any of that,” said Byakuya quietly. “Time's arrow only flies forward.”

“Except if it's on an analog clock. Then it circles around to where it started,” replied Nagisa.

“I'm not referring to that sort of arrow. What I'm saying is you shouldn't dwell on the past. You should focus on yourself now, so you may influence a better future.”

It was as Byakuya had once told Touko while training her to withstand the sight of blood: you gain meaning in life through personal growth. This mantra had been instilled into him from a young age. He couldn't stay a ten year old boy being scolded by his mother for asking where his birthday cake was. He couldn't stay thirteen, splattered in the blood of a girl who had tried to give him explosives hidden in a box of chocolates. He couldn't stay a young teenager competing against his older siblings to be heir apparent, surviving their sabotages, assassination attempts and manipulation so he could be Byakuya Togami and not a nameless disowned outcast like the rest of them. He had to move past being the teenager who watched his family be murdered by a Remnant of Despair dressed up as him on live television, past the person who agreed to barricade themselves in their school when the world was ending, and past the person forced to take part in a killing game with their classmates.

Had he not followed time's arrow, he wouldn't be him, but a ghost of one of his former selves. Byakuya swallowed. He realised his hands were trembling so locked them into fists.

“I'll leave you to unpack now,” he said. “If you need me, I'll be in the living room, reading. Feel free to join me. We'll head to the cafeteria at half twelve.”

Nagisa’s head bobbed in acknowledgement. Byakuya left, closing the door behind himself.

Before Byakuya was made heir apparent, his home had boasted a library spanning several floors, connected by spiral staircases. As avid a reader as he was, he had not managed to read everything in it by the time he moved out. The mansion he lived in once he had won the heir selection competition had been even bigger, but with his new responsibilities, he had little free time available to visit it in. Though his father headed the conglomerate, there were business meetings that required Byakuya’s attendance. He had also acquired many senior roles throughout the conglomerate’s branches that needed to be kept up with, and this was all alongside his schooling.

Still, it had been easy for someone like Byakuya Togami.

In his apartment was a single bookcase. Byakuya had already finished most of the books in it, with the rest being gifts that he hadn’t felt like reading. Of his friends, the only ones who gave him books he always read in full were Kyouko and Touko. Kyouko, like him, was a fan of detective novels, and she tended to choose ones she thought would challenge him or frustrate him with an outlandish twist. As for Touko, despite her favoured genre being romance, the catalogue of books that she had read was diverse, and she was more than happy to discuss them in depth with him afterwards from both a narrative and technical standpoint.

At lunch, he ought to ask Touko for another recommendation. For now, he selected a book that Makoto had given him on his last birthday. The premise had immediately turned him off. Something to do with an alien invasion and the main character being conscripted to a special academy for one hundred days to protect an important weapon. Byakuya's skepticism must have been obvious on his face at the time, because Makoto had hastily assured him that it was a great book. Full of twists and action.

He would judge that for himself.

By the time they were due to leave for lunch, Byakuya had forced himself a decent way through the book. In a couple more sessions, he could easily finish it, though he had little incentive to do so. Byakuya preferred his plots more realistic and the narrative voice more formal.

After he slotted the book back onto the shelf, he rapped his knuckles against Nagisa's door.

“Shingetsu. It's time to go.”

Nagisa yelped. “Give me a minute!”

Byakuya stepped back and waited. There was some rustling, then Nagisa opened the door, his face slightly flushed.

“You woke me up,” mumbled Nagisa.

“Okay,” acknowledged Byakuya. That seemed an appropriate response.

On arriving at the cafeteria, Byakuya quickly spotted Makoto, Kyouko, their mentees and Komaru already at a table. Kotoko and Masaru sat at one end with two empty chairs by them, presumably so Nagisa and Jataro could join them. Masaru’s red hair was darker than before, and limper. It seemed Makoto had taken him to the swimming pool after all. Going by how Makoto’s hair also slightly drooped, he had gone in with him.

Byakuya and Nagisa retrieved their lunches from the counter then brought their meals over to the others. While Nagisa seated himself with the mentees, Byakuya placed himself opposite Kyouko, Makoto and Komaru.

“Everything okay with you guys?” asked Komaru between mouthfuls of curry.

“Neither of us tried to kill the other,” said Byakuya as he started his mixed salad. He glanced up. The three of them were staring at him across the table. “Shingetsu slept and I read. That's all.”

“We don't disbelieve you,” said Kyouko.

“You just sound so serious whenever you tell jokes, as rarely as that is,” explained Makoto, scratching his chin.

“Shingetsu-kun, naps are for babies and grandpas,” teased Kotoko. Nagisa pouted.

Komaru, sitting between her and Makoto, frowned. “Nuh uh! Naps are great.”

“That’s because you’re a grandma!”

Byakuya rolled his eyes. As well as chicken curry and mixed vegetables, his meal included white rice and an orange. Some foods were produced on the school grounds, from dedicated gardens, but most were acquired externally. When they had first returned to the school, they had taken turns preparing each other meals with varying degrees of success. He could never look at burgers the same way after Yasuhiro had served them home-made ones with ‘secret’ ingredients, which was basically whatever he could find in the cupboards. Now, they had trained chefs who could cook for them, and who were less likely to give them food poisoning.

It wasn’t long before Touko and Jataro arrived. Once the pair had acquired their food, they joined the others at the table. Jataro sat on the end with the mentees, while Komaru leaned forward and patted the bit of table beside Byakuya’s tray.

“You took your time getting here,” remarked Komaru as Touko sat down next to Byakuya.

“It’s not like this was a dentist’s appointment. Besides, we’re not that late. None of you have finished your lunches,” Touko pointed out.

“We knocked for you before coming here, but you didn’t answer.”

“That’s because after Kemuri dropped off his luggage, we went to the library and came here straight from there.”

In terms of area, Hope’s Peak’s library surpassed those that Byakuya had grown up with, but it didn’t house as many books. Not yet. Much of the previous stock had been destroyed during the Tragedy, but they were still working toward procuring more to add to their collection.

When the school reopened, Touko would be head librarian. Everyone had their own designated role. Makoto would be headmaster. Kyouko would be assistant headmaster. Komaru would be attending as a ‘mature student’, as she phrased it, and Aoi, Yasuhiro and Byakuya would be heads of various departments as well as teachers.

On paper, it sounded like a nice, happy ending to follow up the hardships that had come before, rather than what it really was: a new beginning. Byakuya idly rolled his chopsticks between his fingers. Teaching wasn’t a profession that he had ever considered for himself. Even now, with him due to adopt the role in the coming weeks, it still felt strange. Like it was a beginning, but not his.

“The library, huh? Was that your idea?” asked Komaru.

Touko bristled. “S-So what if it was?”

“Well, I suppose there are some light novels and comics for him to read there.”

“He did read a bit, but mostly, he wanted to study the library’s architecture. As he was being quiet, I allowed him, as unorthodox as it may be. No one else was there, so he wasn’t disturbing anyone.”

Byakuya had turned slightly toward Touko as she spoke. He watched her pick at her mixed vegetables, then his gaze followed her chopsticks to her mouth. Their eyes met. She smiled, and he stiffened. Something fluttered in his chest, like a moth bashing itself against a window.

There was nothing objectively wrong with her smile now. Sometimes, they were too big, or on a face too sweaty or streaked with drool, and the sight nauseated him. The sensation gnawing on his insides now felt similar to that, despite her grin being different to those ones. Perhaps it was the way her eyes seemed to drill into him, or how close she was sitting next to him, or her faint perfume that blended natural musk with an earthy floral scent. Byakuya looked away. He needed to focus on something else.

“Speaking of novels. Naegi, I started that book you gave me for my last birthday, and I must ask... why on earth did you think it would appeal to me?”

Makoto blinked. “Huh? Oh, that one. Well, I...”

“It’s so good,” Komaru butted in. “There’s never been a plot like it. You never know what’s going to happen next, because anything could happen, and the zany narration is so fun to read. The cast is amazing too. Who’s your favourite character, Togami-san?”

No one had even said the name of the book, yet Komaru seemed to already know what they were talking about.

“I don’t have ‘favourite characters’ when I read,” said Byakuya.

“Really?” Komaru tilted her head to one side and placed a finger to her chin. “Do you like... at least have any favourite ships, or...?”

“I’ve not reached any parts with spaceships yet, so I can’t say.”

Komaru groaned. “Not that kind of ship! When you’ve finished, let me know so we can discuss the book further, then I can lend you some different versions to read next.”

“Different versions?” he said, brow furrowing.

“The author has published many variations of this story, each diverging from the base plot at certain beats,” explained Touko. “I can’t remember exactly how many iterations there are supposed to be... It’s at least one hundred, apparently, all in separate publications. Komaru forced me to read a few, but I can’t get into them. They’re not my genre at all, and their gimmick of having multiple versions leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Why not make it in a different format like a video game, rather than muddy literature’s good name with such shameless capitalist cash grabbing?”

A growl gurgled in Touko’s throat. She balled her hands tightly into fists. Concern flashed across Makoto’s face, while Kyouko raised an eyebrow. Further along the table, the mentees had paused their conversation to stare over at her in alarm. Even beyond their table, several heads turned. Meanwhile, Byakuya sipped his tea. He had heard Touko emit noises that sounded more like she was choking on spit than this one. Typically, they were directed at something he said, though literature was something else he had witnessed impassion her.

During their long distance communications while she was in Towa City, after they had finished giving their compulsory reports, they had more than once slid into a conversation about books. When she wasn’t stammering and gargling about him, she could actually make for interesting conversation.

“I like the books,” said Makoto. “They’ve received lots of positive reviews too. When I was searching online for a copy to get you, Togami-kun, some websites had all the books on backorder. It’s really become a craze.”

Of course Makoto enjoyed them. Whether it be movies, manga, music and now apparently books, his favourites were always whatever was popular. Byakuya remembered the group organising a movie night, and when he had put forth his suggestions, only Touko and Kyouko had recognised any of them. And Komaru, though that was only because Touko had shown them to her.

“Eating laundry detergent pods was also a craze,” grumbled Touko.

“Please, Togami-san, at least finish the copy you’ve got,” said Komaru, squeezing her hands together and shaking them pleadingly in his direction. Byakuya’s face remained like stone.

“Your puppy eyes may work on your brother and Fukawa, but they have no effect on me. I will make no promises.” He looked at Touko. “Fukawa, I will require some more recommendations from you.”

Touko perked up, beaming. “O-Of course! If you want to read more of Seishi Yokomizo’s series of books, I can recommend some to you... and I can think of a few other novels you might not have read yet that you would enjoy.”

“Perfect. After we’ve finished eating, we can go to the library together with the mentees.”

Her eyes almost widened enough to pop out.

“T-Together? Us?” she said.

“With the mentees,” Byakuya reminded her, before peering down the table. “If that is agreeable with Shingetsu and Kemuri.”

“I want to look at the spiral staircases again,” muttered Jataro, playing with his food.

“Sure,” said Nagisa indifferently. “There are non-fiction books there as well, right?”

“Why don’t we all go?” suggested Makoto. Masaru pulled a face.

“I’d rather be castellated,” he said. “You know, like a horse.”

Though Masaru spoke with confidence, Byakuya thought that Masaru was the one who didn’t know what he was talking about.

“Ooh, I like horses,” said Kotoko. “They’re so cute until their legs break, then they get taken out back and shot and killed. With blood and guts everywhere, then they’re made into glue. Just like adults do with child actors.”

Makoto grimaced at his half-eaten food as if Kotoko had dumped a horse’s corpse on top of it.

“I’ll come to the library too,” Kotoko carried on. “Nerds aren’t adorbs, but I need some inspo for my new room. Right now, it’s totally yuck! The colour of pigeon shit. I wanna make an inspo collage! Masaru-kun, let’s all go together, okay?”

She cupped her cheeks in both hands, smiling sweetly in Masaru’s direction. As hard as he fought to keep his expression neutral, a quiver passed over his face. His shoulders hunched.

“Well... I guess I can come too,” he mumbled.

Kyouko smiled. “It appears we’ve reached a consensus.”

Komaru did not smile. “But my...”

She trailed off, then sighed.

“Fine, my lesson plan can wait,” she said, before slapping on a grin and flexing one of her arms. “I’m totally adaptable.”

Once everyone had eaten what they wanted, they headed to the library as a collective. Makoto and Kyouko fronted the group, with the mentees waddling behind like ducklings. Komaru drifted amongst them, while Touko and Byakuya brought up the rear. He faced forward and observed Makoto say something that made Kyouko smile, which in turn prompted Makoto to chuckle and continue talking.

“Did you know that Kirigiri and Naegi are dating?” he asked quietly, not taking his eyes off them.

“What?” said Touko. “You mean... officially?”

Byakuya didn’t know how exactly relationships became official, but he said, “Yes. They told me this morning.”

“I didn’t know... but it doesn’t surprise me. Ever since I arrived here, the air around them has smelled like burned rubber, with all the sparks constantly flying between them. In fact, even when we were trapped in Hope’s Peak, I suspected something was going on with those two.”

He nodded. Back then, he had more than once quipped that Makoto was in love with Kyouko. It made sense then, and it made sense now. The two of them got along well.

“D-Do you think they’ve had...?”

She didn’t finish her question.

“Had what?” he asked.

Touko lowered her voice. “Y-You know, Byakuya-sama... s-sex?”

Byakuya’s stomach jolted. Up ahead, none of the others reacted, but that didn’t confirm anything. His jaw clenched.

“Kirigiri can probably hear you,” he hissed. Touko squeaked.

“S-Sorry. But... do you think they have?”

“I’d rather not think about that at all.” Hearing her inhale, he said, “Enough, Fukawa. Drop the subject. There are children nearby.”

She squeaked again, slightly muffled as though she had covered her mouth with her hands. He didn’t so much as glance to confirm, refusing to look at her or anyone. Not only did he not know the answer to her question, he didn’t want to know. Just the idea made his skin prickle, his saliva turn sickly. He didn’t want to think of them, him or anyone having sex. How she could talk about it so shamelessly astounded him.

Neither of them spoke again until they reached the library, where the group fractured off. Kyouko showed Kotoko to the computer area, while the maze of bookcase units drank in the rest of them, until Byakuya and Touko were alone in the mystery fiction section on the bottom floor.

“Have you read The Decagon House Murders?” asked Touko.

“I have,” he replied. “I'm assuming you have as well?”

“Yes.”

“What did you think of it?”

“It had a delicious premise. Members of a university mystery club who go by pseudonyms based on famous authors, visiting a remote island where they are killed one by one. At the same time, two characters work to solve a set of murders that took place on the island a year before. The story was engaging. The revelation was spine-tingling.” Touko hesitated. “But...”

“But what?”

“I didn’t care for the portrayal of the female characters. I'm not expecting the cast to be little more than stock characters - the focus is on solving the mystery, after all, but it had such a shallow, dated, stereotypical representation of my gender. Fragile, emotional, serving their male equals...”

“You've told me you want to be a housewife and birth nineteen of my children.”

“And I still do!” Touko clasped her hands together and wiggled her hips. A large smile flashed across her face that sobered into a frown as she stilled her body. “But it would be like me, Kirigiri and Asahina being yours, Naegi’s and Hagakure's maids solely because of our gender. A-And besides, I'm not a nonautonomous female character in a fictional story created by a male author who deliberately crafted my personality and role to be as it is.”

“... Right,” said Byakuya. He adjusted his glasses. “Anyway, I can't say you're wrong about that. I don't suppose you have any recommendations by female authors?”

Touko's eyes flickered, like the pages of a book being flipped through. She chewed her lip.

“There's Revenge... but it's quite short, and slightly supernatural. So I instead recommend either Confessions or The Aosawa Murders. The former is told in an unconventional way and is a tale of revenge by a bereaved mother, while the latter is also told in an unconventional way but about a mass poisoning.”

“Either will do. Whichever you think I will appreciate most.”

Ultimately, the library only stocked one of them, so Byakuya took a copy of Confessions while Touko said she would order The Aosawa Murders. From their nook, he could hear the rest of the library mumbling, too indistinct to understand. When the school reopened, this place would be busier, full of students bumbling about. Touko would be busy maintaining the library, and he would be busy in the classroom, teaching. Unlike the old Hope's Peak, this establishment didn't aim to recruit students with world-class talent. It opened its doors to all, with the objective of nurturing whatever talent the students wished to develop alongside a general education.

Byakuya would be aiding them in reaching their full potential, rather than bringing the Togami Conglomerate to new heights. He would be their stepping stones.

“I should finish this book in a few days,” he said, waving it. “We can meet up this weekend to discuss it.”

“I’d love to!” Touko beamed. “Here as usual?”

“Yes. We can bring Kemuri and Shingetsu with - ”

“No!”

It was not Touko who interrupted Byakuya,  but Komaru, who staggered out from behind a bookcase toward them.

“How long were you there?” asked Byakuya as she straightened up.

“You can't use the library this weekend, because... because I have a top secret workshop going on here with the mentees! All weekend,” Komaru babbled.

Byakuya squinted. “The whole weekend?”

“Yeah! It involves, um, sleeping over too. So you will have to go somewhere else. Maybe to a restaurant, or a movie theatre...”

“Those places are entirely inappropriate to hold a conversation about literature,” scoffed Byakuya. Touko’s brow scrunched. She chewed on a thumb nail.

“What are you doing?” mumbled Touko. Komaru winked at her.

It was painfully obvious to Byakuya what Komaru was trying to do. She intended to twist their meeting to discuss literature into something perverse... a date. Honestly, that girl read way too many shojo manga.

“I will host our rendezvous at my apartment,” he said. That was one of the few places Komaru couldn’t barge into. Not without his keycard. “Now, unless you wish to join our discussion on The Decagon House Murders, I suggest you skedaddle and make yourself useful somewhere else.”

“Of course. Whatever you say, Togami-san,” said Komaru before spinning on her heel and marching away, humming happily.

Once she was gone, Byakuya turned his attention to Touko, who stared at where Komaru had just been as if in a trance.

“Fukawa,” he said. He snapped his fingers between her eyes.

“Huh?” she went, twitching.

“In The Decagon House Murders, before the reveal of the present-day murderer, who did you think was behind the killings? While my suspicions turned out to be correct, the reveal of his other identity took me by surprise...”

She relaxed slightly. “Ah... Yes, I was surprised as well. It was a twist that would be difficult to pull off in visual media because you would see that the two characters were the same person, though I believe the manga adaptation succeeded. N-Not that I read it! I heard about its existence, and was curious how they would handle it so looked it up...”

He cupped his chin as she carried on, waving her arms around, eyes shining, cheeks flushed pink. Yes, she could be very interesting to talk to.

***

They were spared from more ice breaker games, at least for the rest of the day. After the library, the mentors took their mentees on a tour of the school with Komaru, had dinner in the cafeteria together, then retired to their apartments for the evening. Nagisa almost immediately disappeared into his room, while Byakuya settled himself in his own. Having spent the day with his mentee, Byakuya hadn't had a chance to do his usual day's work, so used this time now to catch up.

Checking emails. Responding to emails. Reading and writing reports. He looked at the corner of his laptop for the time. All this had taken him a mere hour. That was fine. That was expected. The school would be reopening soon. Teaching and mentoring would take up his time instead.

Byakuya picked up the copy of Confessions he had taken out from the library and started to read. As Touko said, the story was told in an unconventional way: the murderers and their method were revealed at the beginning in a one-sided speech by the victim’s mother. The focus of the novel was not on a mystery as such, but on the revenge conducted by the victim's mother, a middle school teacher, and a deeper look into the home lives of the killers, who were two of her students.

At the end of the first chapter, the victim's mother disclosed to the class she had added blood contaminated with HIV to the murderers’ milk. Despite her ramblings, despite him already knowing about the murder in significant detail, Byakuya was intrigued to find out more. More about the murderers. More about the revenge plot.

There was a knock on his door.

“Enter,” said Byakuya.

The door opened. Nagisa peered in.

“Do you require anything?” asked Byakuya. “I will be installing the lock on your door tomorrow. I’ve ordered one online, and it should be delivered here some time in the morning.”

“That's not why I wanted to talk to you,” said Nagisa from the doorway. Byakuya waited, book in hand. “I heard that Fukawa-san is coming over this weekend.”

“You heard correctly,” said Byakuya. He hadn't personally informed Nagisa of this, but he could think of a number of ways that Nagisa could have found out. They had all been in the library, and Komaru hadn't exactly been quiet. “We're meeting to discuss a book. When she was trapped in Towa, there were times we would talk about literature over video call.”

Nagisa stared silently at him. His eyes were as blue as the sky, though while the sky might have had clouds to hint what weather one could expect, all Byakuya had to go off was the unreadable frown on Nagisa's face.

“What about this do you wish to discuss?” asked Byakuya.

“I was just wondering, that's all.”

Then Nagisa closed the door, and Byakuya was alone again.

[zenonaa]

‘Meet me by the public bath lockers at midnight. Tell no one, bring no one and make no noise. Be inconspicuous or do not come at all. Togami Byakuya.’

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dangan Ronpa Series, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Toko Additional Tags: Kissing Summary: Togami invites Fukawa to the public bath. She doesn't quite know what to expect.

Comments: a fun fact about this: this is actually the first tofu fic i ever wrote, back when I was still a teen. :') for some reason i never posted it on ao3, so i thought i'd give it a quick edit and post it there (and repost it here). ah, if only past livi knew what she was getting into when she wrote this...

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

Fic under the cut!

***

Touko would have squealed the whole way to the public baths had she not known better. Keeping her lips clamped shut, she peeled open the folded piece of paper in her hands, rereading it to remind herself that it really did exist. That it really had been slipped through the crack beneath her door earlier that day. When she first discovered the note, she had thrown open her door and scanned the outside corridor only to find it vacant. Ah, so swift. So shy. She expected no less from her beloved Byakuya.

‘Meet me by the public bath lockers at midnight. Tell no one, bring no one and make no noise. Be inconspicuous or do not come at all. Togami Byakuya.’

Her skip slowed to a shuffle. She placed the note against her chest with a sigh. From the many hours she had spent admiring his handiwork, she assumed he wanted to be alone with her. Why else would it be so secret? Unless... she grimaced... he invited others as well. Maybe he suspected one of the lowlifes and wanted to discuss his assessments with everyone else. Or perhaps he had some intel to share with them about their situation.

Still. Whatever the reason, he had invited her. Heart racing, Touko entered the locker room and looked around. She had made sure to arrive half an hour early on the off-chance that she could catch him by himself, should any pests stop by later. For a few moments, she considered calling out, but then she remembered he had said to make no noise and be inconspicuous. To not heed his instructions would be a show of major disrespect.

And why would he even be here now? Touko had arrived way before schedule. Rather than hang around waiting, he could be doing something productive in his room, or in the library, or -

“You’re early.”

Touko jumped. A wail wobbled in her throat as she flailed her arms.

Byakuya, leaning against the bit of wall by the door leading to the bathing area, glared up from his book. He held it in one hand, while his other pointed a flashlight at her. “I told you to be silent in my note.”

She cleared her throat and bowed. “Ah... y-yes, you did. I apologise... You caught me off-guard. It was a foolish mistake that I will atone for however you please, Byakuya-sama. P-Punish me as you see fit...”

Her brain was already flooding with mental images. Of her draped over his lap, ready to be spanked. Of her in a maid outfit, licking his shoes. Of her wearing nothing but a sign around her neck that said, ‘Byakuya’s Property’, her naked body trembling with desire as he stacked book after book on top of her head...

“What did I just say?” he hissed. “Are there ears under that rat nest of hair? I said be silent. Kirigiri or one of the others might be lurking nearby. They can claim to abide by their night-time limitations to their heart's content, just like they can choose to disobey them.”

Touko straightened up and nodded, wringing her hands together tightly. He wasn’t wrong. All of them were taking part in a killing game, and some of their classmates had even died so far. Closing his book, Byakuya walked over to stand in front of her. His gaze flickered towards his book, which he tucked under his armpit. Then, he glared down at Touko. Her knees shook.

“Does anyone know you’re here?” he asked.

She shook her head, remembering he had told her to be quiet.

He turned away. “Do you know why you’re here?” Not hearing an answer, he glowered over his shoulder. “You can speak now, so long as you are quiet and don’t waste my time.”

“I don’t know,” she muttered.

Satisfied, he opened the door to the bathing area and entered. Touko dodged through the closing gap, tucking her invitation into her bra. It seemed he had only asked her to come, after all. But why? Did he intend to bathe with her? A grin stretched out her lips. She bumped her fists excitedly against her chin. What an unexpected turn of events! Under his stoic exterior bubbled raging hormones, finally freed from his heart’s suppression.

“It looks like I will have to explain to you why we’re here,” Byakuya said, several paces into the room. He was standing still now, frowning at her. “Even though it’s painfully obvious. This area doesn’t contain any surveillance cameras. That means Monobear cannot see nor listen to anything that takes place here.”

“O-Oh...!” Touko covered her mouth with her hands, though her smile must have been wide enough for him to still see it. “D-Does Byakuya-sama have a deep dark secret he wishes to share with his closest companion? Has Fukawa-chan been selected as his sole confederate? W-What affairs will transpire in the dead of night between two lonesome souls in an otherwise empty bathhouse?”

Byakuya pulled a face.

“... I retract my earlier statement. Don’t talk at all.” He surveyed the room. “Follow me before I send you away.”

Touko clasped her hands together and shuffled after him. What a perfect start to this meeting: he hadn’t objected to her suggestions. He had told her to be quiet, but he hadn’t corrected her.

She came to a stop beside him on the other side of the room. His expression hardened.

“Stand with your back to the wall.” He tossed his book to the floor before aiming the glow of his flashlight at her chin.

Touko obeyed.

“Raise your chin. Keep your eyes closed.”

She placed her hands over her eyes.

“I never told you to cover them, idiot. Just to close them. Remove your glasses before you do so.”

Whipping off her glasses and shoving them down the front of her top, she dropped her hands to her sides and scrunched up her face. Orange fuzz from the flashlight bled into the bottom of her blacked vision. She trembled. What plan did Byakuya have up his sleeve? Breathing shallowly, she flattened her back against the cool tiles behind her. Did... he want to show her something? Was he taking it out now? Did he finally purchase a gift for her? Even Makoto Naegi had given her presents, and he was leagues below anything remotely near Byakuya.

No. Touko would have heard his clothes rustle more if he had something to give her. It must have been something else. Was he thinking what to say? Was this his love confession? She almost broke his rules and opened her eyes to investigate.

Almost. Touko distracted herself by imagining his possible expressions and the angles his face could be at. Byakuya could have been sneering, or he could have been smiling. He could do whatever he desired with Touko. Her insides tingled at the thought.

She licked at her dry lips, self-conscious of the gentle slurps she made while doing so. Had he... snuck away? The idea tore her heart. Did he do this due to a dare set by one of the delinquents or a pretty girl? Surely her Byakuya-sama would never agree to such a childish, petty thing. He hated them as much as she did. And unlike everyone else, he had class. Still... her breaths caught in her throat as - she would like to have said ‘as time passed’, but she didn’t know if it did. Wouldn’t he have done something by now? Unless he was simply watching Touko.

Her face warmed.

“Shh,” he murmured, his breath breezing across her lips. “So you know, if you don’t want to do this, just say and we’ll stop. I’ll permit you to say that much.”

Stop? Stop what? The orange fuzz in her vision vanished with a click, and something tapped against the floor. Two things. She shivered but continued waiting. He had decided to remain instead of abandoning her... unless he ran away after dropping the flashlight? Oh, the suspense tortured her, and she didn’t know if her stomach was rolling in a good or bad way.

Just as she considered relenting to the itch in her lower lip and asking him what was happening, something soft yet firm pushed against her mouth. Wiggling in surprise, her shoulders brushed up against two objects planted either side of her. They hadn’t been there when her eyes were open. She racked her brain, trying to think what they could be, only to conclude that they had to have been a pair of arms. His arms. So did that mean the sensation on her lips...?

Was... k-kissing?

Byakuya’s mouth twisted against hers, his tongue teasing the dip between her lips. In his next movement, their noses bumped together, and she shivered as those long eyelashes of his tickled her skin. Wait. If she could feel his eyelashes, did that mean he took his glasses off as well? The thought of his naked face against her naked face melted her under his touch.

He nibbled her lower lip. A soft moan escaped her as his tongue slipped into her mouth. She yearned to be louder, to accurately express the power he had over her, but he had told her to be quiet. Doing something that could make him stop sounded stupidly risky. All she wanted to do was keep breathing in his woody cologne. Feel his wet, warm tongue inside of her.

Too soon, contact broke between their mouths as he pulled back. If only she could see his face. Even if she opened her eyes, the lack of eyewear and light would have obscured an otherwise mesmerizing view. Regardless, she had to restrain herself, no matter how agonising.

Touko felt his hands clench. Did she displease him? Was it over now? No. Byakuya’s lips returned to hers, albeit briefly before trailing downward. She trembled as his mouth made its way to her chin, to her throat. Unable to stay quiet, she groaned, panting as his hands shifted to hold her shoulders.

For once, he didn’t scold her for making a sound. As his lips reached the top of her breastbone, one of his legs tucked between hers. His hands glided down to her hips, and she felt him press himself closer to her body. Her knees clenched around his bent leg. He stiffened, then inhaled through his nose.

“That’s enough,” he whispered, his tongue skimming up her neck before leaving her body entirely. She opened her eyes. Could just make out him straightening up. “I should be able to cleanse my mouth without too much difficulty.” He turned his head and spat on the floor.

Touko didn’t respond. Her hands shook as she fixed on her glasses. She was still trying to process what had happened. Part of her expected to wake up.

“You behaved for once. I’m nearly impressed, Fukawa. Usually, you can’t keep your disgusting words in your disgusting mouth. It’s put me in a merciful mood. I didn’t know I had the capacity for one until now.” He chuckled. “As a reward, I reinstate your right to speak.”

With all her vocabulary, Touko could not find any words to say. For all the times she had fantasised about them kissing, now that it had actually happened, her mind was blank.

“That temporary ban did you good,” he commented, obtaining his glasses from one of his pockets. He picked up the flashlight from the floor. “I’ll have to remember that for future usage.”

Touko didn’t wake up. She stayed standing in the bathing area with him. With Byakuya.

“Hm? Don’t tell me you lost your voice. Or did I bore you?” he asked.

“No, B-Byakuya-s-sama. It was... what you did was...” She shuddered. “I’m still collecting my thoughts. It’ll take days. P-Possibly w-weeks, for this can only be a miracle sent by an angel of love.”

Byakuya smirked. “You don’t have time to revel in such matters when we are in a game of life and death. It’ll just make you an easier target.”

He stepped away and bent down to pick up his book.

“Though, it isn’t like I care about how you focus your attention. It just means one less threat. Not that you ever were one. Her, however...” His tone soured as he moved to pick up his book. He could only be talking about her alter, Genocider Syo. “Perhaps... this will happen again, granted that knowledge of it remains strictly between us.”

“O-Of course, Byakuya-sama! As... As if I would consider sharing such tender, intimate things with any of the others, who will never experience Byakuya-sama’s saliva on their bodies.” 

How jealous they would be if they were to realise... but Byakuya’s offer to potentially do this again mattered more.

“Your words mean nothing to me," he sneered, "though I doubt you have anything better to give.”

She twitched. “I- I would never tell! Ever! I swear on my life!”

“That means even less.” Byakuya regarded her. “Don’t assume I did this for your sake. It was simple curiosity. I will make another proposition if I feel the need to. Bye.”

He started to walk off.

“But... did you enjoy it, Byakuya-sama?” she called after him.

He stopped. Adjusted his glasses. “It was interesting.”

With that, he left.

[zenonaa]

i'm still working on my multichapter, but i am tempted to edit the first togafuka fic i ever wrote and post it to ao3 because for some reason i never did

[zenonaa]

‘“I am fluent in twenty-eight different languages. I am able to proficiently play all instruments in a standard orchestra. I have prepared cuisines from over one hundred countries.”

“Whoa... seriously?” said Nagisa, agape.

“Two of those statements are correct. One is a fabrication. It’s up to you to decipher which are which.”’

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru, Shingetsu Nagisa & Togami Byakuya Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Toko, Kirigiri Kyoko, Naegi Makoto, Naegi Komaru, Asahina Aoi (Dangan Ronpa), Hagakure Yasuhiro, more to be added, Shingetsu Nagisa, Utsugi Kotoko, Daimon Masaru (Dangan Ronpa), Kemuri Jataro Summary: When a project is set up to help rehabilitate the former Warriors of Hope, Togami finds himself the guardian of Nagisa Shingetsu. He also finds himself troubled with confusing feelings toward Fukawa...

Comments: Chapter 2! :-) The mentors meet their mentees.

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

Fic under the cut!

***

Chapter 2: Like a Little Boy Lost at the Mall

More needed to be done to commence the project than a slideshow and some mentorship matchmaking. The following week, while Byakuya was having lunch with his colleagues in the cafeteria, Komaru marched over with a tall stack of papers. Ripples skipped across the surface of his tea as she thumped them down onto a clear bit of table.

“How do you have so much homework when we haven't even re-opened the school yet?” Yasuhiro asked, scratching his head.

“It’s not homework. It's some paperwork the mentors have to fill in before we can finalise everything,” explained Komaru.

Yasuhiro wiped his hand against his forehead and slouched back in his seat. “Phew. Looks like I dodged a bullet. My hand’s cramping up just looking at it.”

Byakuya set down his chopsticks, pushed aside his bento box and plucked off the top few sheets from the stack.

“It looks like a lot, but it really isn't,” promised Komaru. “It's some application forms, a couple of background checks... Admin junk.”

“Shouldn't we have filled some of these in before being signed up for your project?” Byakuya asked. While this would be his first time mentoring, he was no stranger to the corporate world. He had screened his fair share of prospective employees and potential business partners.

“Well, m-maybe, but this should still be fine, right?” Komaru forced out a splatter of laughter and cupped the back of her neck. “I know you guys can be trusted. It’s not like any of you are a serial killer.”

Yasuhiro glanced at Touko. “Um... What about... her?”

He, of course, was referring to Genocider Syo.

“S-Shut up...” Touko gritted out, millimetres away from biting on her thumb.

“That’s Syo-chan, not Touko-chan. And she was never caught, so it wouldn’t come up in a background check anyway,” Komaru said.

“They still share a body,” Byakuya pointed out. He doubted a court of law would make the distinction. “But it is irrelevant. Genocider Syo hasn’t murdered anyone for years, and I trust both she and Fukawa will keep their promise to me that this will continue.”

Touko nodded, clasping her hands together tightly. Her scowl vanished in an instant, burned away by a radiant smile. “Y-Yes! Our promise!”

Originally, Touko’s promise had been that so long as they were in Hope’s Peak, she wouldn’t allow Syo to kill anyone again if he helped her learn to control Syo. Then, after Future Foundation rescued them and made her an intern, she promised him that she wouldn’t allow Syo to kill anyone so she could become a full-fledged member.

Now, Future Foundation had largely disbanded, but as far as he was aware, Syo still hadn’t murdered anyone else. He supposed because they were at Hope’s Peak again, the original promise reapplied.

“If you could fill these in and return them by the end of tomorrow, that would be great,” said Komaru. “Then we can move onto the next stage.”

Everyone at the table looked at each other.

“Next stage?” Makoto repeated.

As well as paperwork, over the next few weeks, Byakuya, Touko, Makoto and Kyouko undertook several screenings. This involved submitting reference checks from people who knew them and an interview with Komaru where she asked Byakuya about his hobbies and favourite books. Most of these should have been done before recruiting them as mentors, but Byakuya suspected Komaru’s eagerness to have her friends onboard had caused her to get ahead of herself. And it wasn't as though her pool of mentors to choose from was particularly big. Rehabilitating the former Warriors of Hope was a gruelling commitment few would volunteer for.

Komaru had also compiled profiles of their to-be mentees, which Byakuya perused over a cup of coffee. The reports he had read previously had been written by Future Foundation, and they had focused on how dangerous the children were rather than their favourite colours and snacks. Byakuya couldn't say he held any fond memories relating to the former Warriors of Hope. Shortly after arriving in Towa City, the rest of his squad had been torn apart by Monobear units while he was imprisoned in a small, dingy cell. He didn't interact with his captors beyond an initial meeting, which included, but was not limited to, taunting him about how he looked (like a nerd), smelled (troll manure that had sat out in the sun for two weeks) and his character (reject shojo love interest with the charisma of a dead fish). After he evacuated from the city, all communications between them and him were relayed by Touko and Komaru, sparse though they were.

Now, he would be assigned to one of them to look after. Nagisa Shingetsu. After Aoi and Yasuhiro bowed out, Komaru had needed to rejig the mentorships. Touko didn’t have Aoi’s fitness levels to keep up with Masaru, while apparently Byakuya would overwhelm Jataro. In the end, Touko was paired with Jataro, Makoto with Masaru, Kyouko with Kotoko and finally Byakuya with Nagisa.

Komaru had said that he and Nagisa had a lot in common. When Byakuya had replied that didn’t mean one should add fire to fire, Yasuhiro asked if Byakuya was saying they were both hot. Then Touko told him to shut up, Yasuhiro apologised from under his arms and Komaru had said to trust her.

He loosened a sigh before pushing open the door to his apartment building's common area. It was more spacious than his living room, boasting a pool table, table tennis and an assortment of other recreational activities. In the old Hope's Peak building, they had a similar room that shared the same purpose. Though, this place had wooden flooring rather than chequered tiles like a chessboard, and it had cream walls instead of blue and black diamonds. While designing the apartment building, none of them had wanted this location to resemble where they had been locked up. Where many of their classmates had died.

For those who didn't want to do any activities, or anything, there were sofa benches and armchairs to relax on.

“Good morning, Togami-kun,” greeted Makoto from one of the sofa benches.

“Fukawa-san and Komaru will be here soon with the new arrivals,” said Kyouko, sat next to him.

Byakuya took a few steps forward, folding his arms over his chest. The other two were positioned almost flush, knees close enough to brush up together. Had it not been for Kyouko's astute hearing, Byakuya shuddered to think what he could have walked in on them doing together. Holding hands. Kissing. Nauseating.

“I hope I'm not interrupting you both,” he said coolly.

“It's fine,” said Makoto, which didn't confirm nor deny Byakuya's remark. He did, however, shift slightly away from Kyouko. “Take a seat, Togami-kun. There are drinks and snacks.”

Makoto gestured to the tray on a nearby coffee table, in case Byakuya hadn't noticed it. As Byakuya had finished his breakfast recently, he wasn't hungry, and he couldn't say any of the snacks appealed to him anyway. There were cup-shaped containers containing biscuit sticks and flavoured dips, bars of chocolate, chewy fruit-flavoured sweets, and...

He hesitated.

Boxes of rice candy. The same brand that had been in the storage room at the old Hope's Peak. The same brand that Touko had once brought to his dorm room, offering to feed him.

The same brand that he had said, ‘Yes,’ to. He had been hungry. She had been there. She had been wearing red lingerie.

“I think most of this is geared more toward the mentees than us,” remarked Makoto.

“Hm,” went Byakuya, heart pounding. Perhaps Komaru had chosen them because she thought the mentees would enjoy them. Perhaps Touko had mentioned that he liked them. Perhaps she even told Komaru that once, after the mutual killings’ second trial, she had fed him them on his bed before they had intercourse.

A wave of heat flushed through him, pooling uncomfortably in his stomach, like it had when he shook Touko’s hand some weeks ago. Byakuya had told Touko not to tell anyone about what happened between them, back then. Regardless of her close friendship with Komaru, Touko surely wouldn't have divulged private details of their intimate encounter.

Heart pounding, he looked away from the rice candy boxes and sighted two teapots. They were identical, plain ceramic white, except one had a sticky note attached to it. The note had his name written on it.

“Ah, Fukawa-san prepared that for you,” said Makoto.

“She also said that anyone who touched it would have their hands wedged into a blender,” added Kyouko.

Rather than be flattered, Byakuya almost decided not to check what was in the teapot. There was a potted pachira aquatica in the corner, its twisted trunk like Touko's braid, which he could pour his beverage into. He held the pot level with his eyes, as if could see through its walls and into the liquid inside. Tea? Coffee? Touko’s drool?

“Togami-kun?” said Makoto.

Byakuya tensed. He would be damned if he revealed to anyone what he was thinking about, so he poured himself a drink. Dark liquid trickled into his cup. An earthy, almost chocolatey aroma swept up his nostrils as he took a sip. It was civet coffee. Slightly nutty, thick, no acidic aftertaste despite the strong 

He returned the teapot to the tray and sat on a nearby armchair. Of course it was civet coffee. Touko had brewed this for him before, plenty of times now. Not so much recently as it had become a lot harder to acquire the beans, though she had still been regularly brewing him other drinks. 

And she had never served him her drool. As far as he knew, anyway. No, he would have realised if she ever had. Though it wasn't like he hadn't ever tasted her drool. He had that one time on his bed...

“Is there something wrong with your drink?” Makoto asked.

“It's fine,” replied Byakuya, unclenching his face.

“I remember when you asked me to make you some,” said Makoto, though Byakuya had told him to, not asked. He raised an index finger. “Drip brew only, right?”

“Actually, I have it brewed in a saucepan now. It’s more flavourful that way,” he replied. It had been Touko who first did it that way for him, not realising his preferred method at the time.

”Oh.”

Makoto shuffled his hands. Then, he helped himself to a rice candy, unwrapping it before popping it into his mouth. Byakuya looked away, skin crawling. The bitter notes of his civet coffee sank into the sweet, sickly taste in his mouth.

“We really appreciate you helping out with Komaru and Fukawa-san’s project,” said Makoto, once he had finished with the sweet. “It means a lot to Komaru, and us.”

“By ‘us’, you're referring to yourself and Kirigiri. Correct?”

“That's right.” Noticing Byakuya’s smirk, Makoto asked, “What's so amusing about that?”

Byakuya sipped from his cup. “You remind me of a puppy when you're around her.”

“Huh? What?” said Makoto, with a confused smile. He scratched his cheek. “Is that a compliment?”

“An observation. But I wonder if when push comes to shove, you will be able to protect your Kirigiri.”

“I... my, huh?”

“Togami-kun, please be direct instead of insinuating,” said Kyouko. “If this is about our relationship, then yes, I am dating Makoto, and I congratulate you on your basic observation skills as it seems you are desperate for that validation.”

She unwrapped a rice candy.

“I'm also more than capable of taking care of myself,” she added. Next to her, Makoto’s face had pinkened, a smile tweaking his lips.

“I... Yes, well.” Byakuya adjusted his glasses. As blunt as he knew Kyouko to be, he hadn’t expected her to reveal their relationship status so readily. “Congratulations to you both. I must have not been there when you announced it.”

“That's because we haven't announced it yet, but thank you. We had wanted to give this change in dynamic a trial run before putting a label on it. Now, what does Makoto need to protect me from?”

Byakuya's brow furrowed.

“You have read the case files for this project, I assume?” Byakuya asked.

“I have.”

He steepled his fingers. “So you will know Kotoko Utsugi, who you are assigned to, will require particular monitoring. She is uncomfortable around men, and she has a history of a certain kind of violence toward those of her gender. This includes Komaru Naegi and Kanon Nakajima.”

“Are you concerned for my safety?” Kyouko set a hand over her heart. “I'm flattered, Togami-kun.”

While they had their differences, she said it as though he had never risked his life venturing into a booby-trapped building to save her and the others. As if he didn’t go along with Makoto’s plan to save the Remnants of Despair. The smile curving her lips was slightly lopsided - it had been since she was poisoned during the final killing game. While the discolouration to that side of her face had faded, it seemed the muscles there hadn't entirely healed.

“This may be a fun little project for Komaru, but I'm being serious,” Byakuya told her. “This is serious.”

“So is Komaru-san,” said Kyouko. “We're not the only ones who have been screened. So have our mentees. When you met them, they were in the throes of despair. They were still under Enoshima's influence. They've since had time to think, breathe, be. Most importantly, they want to do this, and I want to do this. If you are having second thoughts, say so now rather than project your concerns onto me.”

“I’m fine. I was just making sure you were.”

Kyouko presented a rice candy to Makoto’s lips. “All right then.”

Makoto accepted the sweet into his mouth. Byakuya wasn’t the one being fed, but he swore he could taste the rice candy. How its cellophane-like outer coating dissolved, faintly bitter before the gooey, sweeter candy inside oozed before melting away as well. Just the thought made Byakuya’s saliva taste like bile when he swallowed. How he had managed to eat as many as he did with Touko back then was a mystery.

Fortunately, before Kyouko could offer Makoto another candy, or vice versa, the door opened. Komaru breezed in, shortly followed by who Byakuya immediately recognised as the former Warriors of Hope. They had grown since he last saw them. If they hadn’t already, they must have been on the verge of entering their teenage years. All of them had been given new clothes - casual wear, though each retained an item that Byakuya remembered them owning before. Nagisa wore a tatty yellow scarf, one of the horns on Kotoko’s pink headband was chipped, Masaru’s white headphones had a few scuff marks and Byakuya knew the fourth person to be Jataro by his apron and backpack. He no longer had his signature leather mask on. In fact, this was the first time Byakuya had seen his actual face.

Behind them, Touko brought up the rear, shutting the door behind herself before padding further into the room. She looked around and opted to stand near where Byakuya was sitting.

“This is the common area,” said Komaru.

“Is that Othello?” asked Nagisa, peering across the room.

“Who cares about that?” Masaru’s eyes darted about. “Is it just board games in here, or do you have anything that’s actually fun like a climbing wall?”

“There’s one on the main campus. The gymnasium’s fully refurbished, so we can go check it out some time if you want,” said Makoto.

“Hey, you’re Komaru’s brother, ain’t cha? Makoto Naegi... yeah, I see the resemblance.” Masaru nodded a couple of times, then broke into a grin and put his hands onto his hips. “I get the headmaster as my mentor because I’m the leader? Awesome!”

He laughed loudly.  His companions grimaced.

“There are no leaders here, Masaru-kun,” said Komaru. “We’re all part of a team.”

“All teams have a leader, though. Kakashi, Erwin, Leonardo...”

“Leonardo’s team has four members, and four is the number of death,” said Kotoko, fidgeting with her dress sleeve. “The superstition comes from China... I had a friend from China. She had braces.”

“Shouldn’t the leader be Komaru-san?” interrupted Nagisa. “She’s the one who is organising this all.”

Komaru waved her hands. “I don’t like to think of myself as any sort of leader! Now that you’re here, you don’t need to worry about any roles or responsibilities that you had before. Your responsibility is yourself and your... partner’s. Yes, you’re partners!”

Judging by how Masaru pouted, her response hadn’t pleased him. Komaru took a binder out of her satchel and flipped forward a few pages to the one she wanted.

“I have a few games for you all to play to help break the ice. The mentors and mentees will first play two truths and a lie with one another. You each write down three facts about yourself, with two being true and one being false, and the other person has to - ”

“We understand the game,” said Nagisa impatiently. “Let’s just get on with it.”

“Afterwards, I can check out the gymnasium and swimming pool, right?” added Masaru.

Makoto’s head jerked back, his eyebrows twitching up for a moment. He plastered on a smile. “Uh, sure, but let’s not tire ourselves out too early in the day...”

Byakuya almost snorted. He could see why Aoi had been Komaru’s original choice for Masaru’s mentor. The most exercise that Makoto did was moving his fingers during a video game. Just the mere suggestion of a workout with Masaru seemed to have cut Makoto’s energy levels in half. Nearby, Kotoko grasped her hands together and turned to Kyouko.

“This will be so much fun, Kirigiri-san!” she said with a saccharine smile.

Kyouko blinked, then gave a faint grin. “Let’s see how you fare against me, Utsugi-san.”

“I’m going to traumatise you by the end of this!”

The corners of Kyouko’s lips dipped slightly.

Komaru ushered the mentees to their mentors, then handed each pair two notebooks and glitter pens. The sofa bench wasn’t large enough to comfortably accommodate four, so Makoto moved to sit on the floor with Masaru while Kotoko grabbed a handful of candy and sat next to Kyouko. Touko seated herself on another sofa bench with Jataro, and Byakuya remained on the armchair, setting his coffee onto a nearby drawer unit.

“Do you want me to pull over a chair for you?” Komaru asked Nagisa.

“No, thank you,” said Nagisa, standing opposite his mentor. Though he was speaking to Komaru, he stared at Byakuya the whole time. “I’d prefer to stand.”

“All right! After seven minutes and twenty-three seconds, we’ll take a breather and see how everyone’s getting on,” said Komaru.

That sounded like an oddly specific time frame. Byakuya gazed down at his notebook, pen poised between his slender fingers. The voices of the others mumbled around him. Usually, his morning would consist of their daily meeting, performing inventory checks, ordering in items as required and overseeing the various projects taking place throughout the school. With Hope Peak’s reopening fast approaching, there wasn’t as much work left to be done as there once was, but Byakuya could keep himself busy.

Back when he was heir apparent to the Togami Conglomerate, he had taken on multiple senior positions. Instead of organising construction workers or deciding what colour to paint a classroom’s walls, he had managed the operations of enterprises worth billions.

All of those were defunct, now.

“I’m ready,” said Nagisa.

“Give me a few moments.”

Being as well-cultured as he was, there were a number of facts and accomplishments Byakuya could have put down about himself. He quickly wrote three statements, then read them aloud to Nagisa.

“I am fluent in twenty-eight different languages. I am able to proficiently play all instruments in a standard orchestra. I have prepared cuisines from over one hundred countries.”

“Whoa... seriously?” said Nagisa, agape.

“Two of those statements are correct. One is a fabrication. It’s up to you to decipher which are which.”

“E-Even one of them being true is outstanding.” Nagisa glanced down at his notebook. “Um... I think... the second one is a lie?”

“You think I can’t play all the instruments in a standard orchestra?”

“Maybe?” said Nagisa, cringing. “I’m just thinking... you were heir to the Togami Conglomerate. It’d be helpful for you to speak so many languages when networking... but then couldn’t you afford a translator instead? Though, preparing cuisines from so many countries... wouldn’t you just have a chef?”

Byakuya quirked his brow but said nothing. Nagisa fiddled with his pen as he looked down at his notebook. The right answer wouldn’t be in there, though. All that was in Nagisa’s notebook were two truths and a lie about himself.

“I’m going to go with the instruments fact being a lie,” said Nagisa. “The other two are useful skills, especially if you were to find yourself kidnapped to another country. That’s the sort of thing someone important like you would have had to worry about. Learning to play so many instruments to such a high standard feels like a waste of time.”

“Unfortunately for you, you are incorrect. I have not prepared cuisines from over one hundred countries, though I have certainly eaten that many.” Byakuya frowned. “Why do you consider learning instruments to be a waste of time?”

Nagisa pulled a face. “Well... I guess if you want to earn a high grade in music class, you’d need to play one or two instruments decently. But an orchestra? That has to be at least a dozen different instruments. You could have spent that time studying something more useful.”

“Life isn’t all about grades, even though mine were always top of my class. There have been multiple studies suggesting that those who regularly play instruments have better spatial-temporal skills and improved cognitive performance than those that don’t. It also teaches discipline, instills perseverance and focus...”

“But you didn’t need to learn to play so many of them! That’s total overkill.”

“But I wanted to,” said Byakuya smoothly. “I like to learn. I like to know things. Now, Shingetsu, what facts did you write down?”

Byakuya lazily pointed a finger toward Nagisa’s notebook. The movement had been slow, yet Nagisa flinched. He fumbled with his notebook and wetted his lips before reading aloud.

“My facts are... My birthday is in October. I’ve read the dictionary ninety-seven times and I’ve only been late to class once.”

Without missing a beat, Byakuya said, “The last one is false.”

“H-How’d you know so fast?” asked Nagisa, recoiling.

If Byakuya had been his former classmate, Sayaka, he may have said that he was a mindreader. Which would have still been incorrect, but it was something he had overheard her say to Makoto more than once. Of course, Byakuya didn’t believe in that sort of nonsense. He had just thought about her because her hair had been a darker blue than Nagisa’s.

“I know your birthday is in October,” he said instead. “It was in your file. I also know about your childhood from the same file and speaking with Naegi’s sister and Fukawa. Therefore, I know your father would not have allowed you to be late to class even one time. That is how I know.”

Nagisa tilted his head far enough forward that his blue bangs hid his eyes from view. He clenched his notebook tighter, and then, in a small, strained voice, he said, “That’s... not fair...”

Byakuya hesitated. “What?”

“Your file didn’t mention all the languages you could speak, or that you could play a whole orchestra if you used the multiple shadow clone technique...”

“Yours didn’t mention that you had read the dictionary ninety-seven times.”

But the mention of Byakuya’s file had made Byakuya curious. If someone had asked him if he thought the mentees had received files on their mentors, he would have said, ‘it’s entirely possible.’ Despite that, he had not thought about it until now. He wondered what information about himself was in there. He had never spoken much about his own childhood, with the most he had shared with Makoto being about how the heir apparent was chosen. Even then, he hadn’t gone into detail about it. The only living people who knew the specifics were himself and his butler, Aloysius.

“Let me have another go!” Nagisa blurted, snapping his head upright. Byakuya could see both of his eyes now, light and blue. Yet, as much as they resembled the colour of a clear morning sky, they were not as tranquil as one. There was a storm flickering in them, and a determined furrow had struck down between his brows like a lightning bolt.

“That’s not necessary,” said Byakuya.

“Here are three more facts about me,” said Nagisa, as if Byakuya hadn’t spoken. “I... um... ah, did my file mention how long I can hold my breath underwater? Or the first time I drank alcohol?”

“Wow, it sounds like you guys are really getting into this game,” Komaru remarked, appearing at Nagisa’s side.

Byakuya glanced around and noticed that everyone else in the room was peering over at them. Realising this as well, Nagisa stiffened and tugged up his scarf. He couldn’t bring it high enough to cover his entire face, but he managed to hide up to his nose. His other hand clutched his notebook to his chest.

“Of course Shingetsu-kun the suck up would be having fun,” said Kotoko, rolling her eyes. Personally, Byakuya wouldn’t have described Nagisa as ‘having fun’. While Nagisa had fallen quiet now, a dull mist seemed to have settled in his eyes.

“I don’t like this game. It feels like I’m in a sting operation,” said Jataro. He hugged himself, rubbing his upper arms. “I f-feel like I’m being stung all over...”

“I can’t take it anymore!” Masaru announced before leaping to his feet, almost kicking Makoto in the face by accident in his haste. “We’ve all done this dumb game, so now can we go to the swimming pool? We spent hours cooped up in that small-dicked helicopter, only to come here and do the exact same thing.”

Komaru bit her lip, looking at her binder. “Today was meant to be all about bonding. We still have a few more games left, then there’s lunch, and after that some more icebreakers...”

The former Warriors of Hope’s tensed as if she had dropped ice-cold water on them. Byakuya’s lips pursed. He couldn’t say he was exactly thrilled to spend most of the day playing ice breaker games either.

“Perhaps the new arrivals should retire to their new lodgings, and we can reconvene for lunch in a few hours?” suggested Kyouko. “I suspect they’re feeling overwhelmed at the moment.”

“B-But...” Komaru looked around. When her eyes fell upon Touko, Komaru averted her gaze and sighed. “All right. We can meet up again for lunch.”

The former Warriors of Hope perked up.

“Headmaster Naegi, let’s go to the swimming pool!” said Masaru, raising a fist in excitement.

“R-Right now?” asked Makoto.

Kyouko cocked her head. “Do you have swimming trunks to change into, Daimon-kun?”

“The school’s not open, so I can go in my underwear, right?” said Masaru, undeterred.

“Not right!” Makoto yelped. “I’ll take you to the storage room. We’ll have some in there that you can borrow.”

Makoto reluctantly led Masaru out of the common area. When the door shut behind them, the others stayed where they were, with Komaru staring at the door, frowning.

“Don’t stand there with such a mopey face, Komaru.” Touko walked over to her. “Your lesson plan is fine. It’s just in this situation, with these sorts of kids... you have to anticipate that plans might change and you’ll need to adapt. And you have to be okay with that. It’s as a famous American once said: we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”

Komaru sighed, her head slumping to one side. “I guess. It’s just... I spent hours researching different ice breaker games.”

“And it has not gone to waste,” Kyouko chimed in. “We still learned about each other, as well as discovered what does and does not resonate with our mentees.”

“Speak for yourself,” grumbled Kotoko. She folded her arms over her chest and huffed. “Kirigiri-san’s a hard nut to crack... or more like a hard chestnut to peel.”

“We don’t have to go to the pool, do we?” piped up Jataro.

“Absolutely not,” said Touko, shuddering. “I would rather we go back to our apartment until lunch.”

Jataro relaxed. “Good.”

“Me too,” said Kotoko. “I need to see what my room looks like and start brainstorming interior design... It needs to be totes adorbs for me to live comfortably!”

Kyouko and Touko headed out with their mentees soon after. Kotoko helped herself to some more candies on the way out, while Jataro picked up a single chocolate bar. When Byakuya looked away from them, he noticed Nagisa gazing over at the sweets. 

“Take as many as you want, Shingetsu-kun,” said Komaru, who had also noticed.

Nagisa tensed before sharply turning his head to one side. “No thanks. I don’t want such babyish sweets.”

Komaru blinked. “Oh... um, okay. That’s fine.”

Byakuya looked at Nagisa. Nagisa did not look at him.

“Do you want to go anywhere?” he asked.

“Your apartment will do,” said Nagisa. “I’m tired.”

“Very well,” said Byakuya, giving a curt nod. “Let’s go, then.”

[zenonaa]

It really is crazy how if you mention you write fanfiction with people outside fandom, they're always like "you should change the names and try to sell it." It misses the point (fun), but more importantly to me, I get slightly (and I know irrationally) insulted on a craft level. Excuse me, my fanfic is entwined with the canon, thank you very much. I wish sometimes less entwined. You wouldn't believe the stupid bullshit some of my fics have to include because of canon.

[zenonaa]

“Even though the Tragedy is over and these kids no longer want to kill all adults, they still need help. Our help. Right now, they are safe in Towa City, but our plan is to bring them here so we can give them therapy and supervise them. They don’t have families anymore, or structure, so what better place for them to recuperate than here, at a school, with us?”

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Series Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Fukawa Toko/Togami Byakuya, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Toko & Naegi Komaru Characters: Togami Byakuya, Fukawa Toko, Kirigiri Kyoko, Naegi Makoto, Naegi Komaru, Asahina Aoi (Dangan Ronpa), Hagakure Yasuhiro, more to be added Summary: When a project is set up to help rehabilitate the former Warriors of Hope, Togami finds himself the guardian of Nagisa Shingetsu. He also finds himself troubled with confusing feelings toward Fukawa...

Comments:  a rare multichapter from me! i haven't written any more chapters, but i have planned out the overall plot. not sure how often this will update... whenever i'm motivated, i guess?

💖 Please like, reblog, leave kudos and/or comment on tumblr and AO3 💖

Fic under the cut!

***

Chapter 1: Find Molasses Candy

“As soon as Hagakure-kun arrives, we can start today’s meeting,” said Makoto.

Nobody acknowledged him, or barely even stirred. The beverages in the cups sprinkled across the table had passed their prime, though Byakuya had anticipated the late start and drunk most of his coffee already. He drummed an index finger against himself, his arms folded over his chest.

Their daily meetings always occurred at ten ante meridiem each day, and they always took place in the same office room. A short walk separated their apartments from Hope’s Peak. Despite this, Yasuhiro continuously failed to arrive on time. His apologies never sounded genuine either, usually accompanied by a laugh and a wave of his hand.

To be honest, Byakuya couldn’t say he was exactly on tenterhooks to start the meeting due to anything that would be shared during it. The content rarely deviated from the standard spiel. Makoto and or Kyouko would summarise what they would be talking about, with the topics nearly always relating to Hope’s Peak's imminent reopening. These points would be discussed, then everyone would give a status report before the meeting concluded and they could finally leave.

That was what Byakuya looked forward to most. Leaving, so he could go and be productive with the rest of his day. Which he couldn’t do until the meeting started, which wouldn’t happen until Yasuhiro decided to show up.

“What’s his excuse going to be this time?” Touko asked aloud, hunched forward and scowling. “D-Don’t tell me a squirrel stole his front door key as well today...”

“Or his sandals got possessed by the ghost of a member of the mafia again,” added Aoi. She blew out her cheeks, which were cradled in her hands, which had been held up by her elbows that had parked on the table for the past ten minutes.

“Must we wait for him?” said Byakuya, looking over at Makoto.

Unlike the others, Makoto was on his feet, standing by the interactive whiteboard hanging on one wall. He frowned, but before he could answer, someone else cut in.

“Everyone needs to be in attendance,” said Kyouko.

Makoto flashed her a smile, which she returned. Byakuya’s lips pursed.

“Kirigiri-san’s right. Hagakure-kun might have some vital information to share,” said Makoto.

When Byakuya just continued staring at him, Makoto winced and rubbed the back of his neck.

“... But also, we have something really important to discuss today.” He regained his composure. “Everyone needs to be here, because it’s going to affect all of us.”

That peeled Aoi’s face from her palms. She straightened up. “What is it? Is it something bad?”

“Nope,” said Komaru with a grin. Aoi, who was sitting next to Komaru, snapped her head in her direction.

“You know what it is?”

Komaru perked up her chin and tapped the side of her nose. Her smug expression didn’t waver even when Aoi grabbed her shoulders and started rocking her from side-to-side. On the other side of Komaru, Touko watched them sidelong, gritting her teeth as some of Aoi’s shakes bumped Komaru up against Touko’s arm.

“C-Can you stop acting like children?” hissed Touko.

“Hey, Komaru-chan’s still just a highschooler,” Aoi pointed out, though she stopped wobbling Komaru’s body.

“That doesn’t mean either of you should behave like you’re five years old.”

“I guess you're right. I’m practically an adult now,” said Komaru. 

Touko shook her head. “When you’re a real adult, you’ll realise how foolish you sound at this moment. A-Anyway, you will always be Kidmaru to me.”

“Argh... It’s better than Omaru, I suppose,” said Komaru with a sigh. Nearby, Makoto gave a soft smile at their bickering. No matter how much the two argued, their bond never seemed to fray. Such friendship was remarkable to behold.

In the past, Byakuya would have scorned such a thing, but he couldn’t deny the pair made a formidable team. It was them who had saved Towa City. Had saved him.

The door swung open. Byakuya averted his gaze from Touko and adjusted his glasses.

“Ah, the court jester has graced us with his presence,” he deadpanned.

Yasuhiro strode in, dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail rather than donning a cap and bells. Nor did he wear a gaudish tunic and puffed trousers, but his usual shirt, work trousers and jacket over his shoulders. As he walked over to an empty chair, no jingling accompanied each step. Just the dull slap of his sandals.

Most of them, like Yasuhiro, typically wore what they did while employed at Future Foundation. The two exceptions were Komaru and Touko, the former in a prototype of the school's new uniform and the latter in a work-appropriate uniform.

As a group, they had all collaborated on Komaru's attire: a navy jacket, white shirt and matching navy plaid skirt and tie. Touko's outfit, meanwhile, had been designed solely by Byakuya. Instead of a tatty old high school uniform, Touko sported a white shirt and matching purple jacket, skirt and tie. Previously, she had worn her hair in twin braids, then wild and loose, but now it was typically styled in a single braid that hung down her back.

Her round glasses had stayed.

“Sorry about the wait, dudes. My car had some scuff marks.” Yasuhiro palmed the back of his head with both hands and leaned backward in his chair. “Fortunately, it was nothing a bit of buffing couldn’t remedy.”

“Oh, come on, Hagakure-san. You used that excuse two weeks ago,” Komaru moaned.

“That doesn’t mean the same thing can’t happen again, ‘right? In fact, the scratches were very similar to last time. Just in a slightly different place. You know what that means?”

Komaru raised a finger and opened her mouth.

“Don’t,” Touko warned her.

“What does it mean?” asked Komaru. Touko rolled her head back and whined.

“It means I might be stuck in a time loop!” Yasuhiro declared, pointing at Komaru.

Byakuya pulled down his glasses so he could more easily pinch the bridge of his nose. “You dolt. It means you probably just drove too close to the same hedge again.”

“Or you have a jilted lover,” Komaru piped up.

Yasuhiro gasped, flinging a hand to his mouth to cover it. “Kira?”

Kyouko cleared her throat. The others turned to her, after which she lowered her fist from her lips. Her brow was furrowed.

“Now that Hagakure-kun has arrived, we can proceed with today’s meeting. We’re still on track for the projected reopening date for the new Hope’s Peak. Hagakure-kun’s mother has reported that the trainee nurses are progressing well, and Alter Ego is hard at work ironing out the bugs in our lockdown system...”

Makoto sat down with the others at the table. Of everyone, only Touko scribbled down notes as Kyouko directed the first part of the meeting. Her minute-taking wouldn’t only be useful for those present - particularly a yawning Yasuhiro with his feet on the table and a vacant-gazed Komaru. It would also be beneficial for Touko’s alter, Genocider Syo, though Byakuya doubted Syo read the notes in any great detail. If she read them at all.

“... I will now let Komaru and Fukawa-san take the floor,” said Kyouko.

She sat next to Makoto, both exchanging smiles at each other, while Komaru jumped up and rushed over to the laptop connected to the white board. Belatedly, Touko shuffled after her and stood slightly off to the side, fidgeting.

As Komaru loaded up their presentation, Byakuya eyed Makoto and Kyouko. Neither had confirmed anything to the others, but it was obvious to him that something was going on between them. Something beyond their roles as headmaster and deputy-headmaster. If they didn’t want to tell anyone, that was their business, but they could have had the decency to be more lowkey about their relationship. They were at work, for goodness sake.

“Okay!” Komaru opened up a powerpoint presentation, which was projected on the whiteboard. Initially, the first slide displayed a blank screen, but with a few clicks, lines of text appeared with various different entrance animations.

Komaru Naegi and Touko Fukawa

A Joint Project

For Your Consideration

Rehabilitation of the Warriors of Hope

Presentation

Komaru pressed her hands into her hips. “So! Most of you have heard of the Warriors of Hope, or even met them. They are a faction of children who once ruled over Towa City, eliminating adults to create a paradise for kids in the name of Junko Enoshima. Next slide, Touko-chan.”

A few seconds passed before Touko twitched her head. “Huh?”

“They did have computers when you were at school, right, Touko-chan?”

“I’m not thirty years older than you!” Touko snapped. Regardless, she dragged herself over to Komaru’s side and clicked on the laptop.

The slide on the whiteboard turned blank, but a few clicks phased in pictures of four of the former Warriors of Hope. Rather than use photographs, Komaru seemed to have drawn stylised versions of them, so they had overly large eyes and almost non-existent noses.

“Nice chibis! Did you draw them, Komaru-chi?” asked Yasuhiro.

“Yep!” Komaru beamed before slimming down her smile a bit. Under each picture, short bullet point lists appeared, which she read aloud in a serious tone. “Kotoko Utsugi, former fighter, current drama lover. Nagisa Shingetsu, former sage, current social studies lover. Masaru Daimon, former hero, current athlete. And Jataro Kemuri, former priest, current artist.”

Yasuhiro scratched his head. “Sage? Priest?”

“Those are just titles they gave themselves based on RPG classes,” said Byakuya. His gaze slid from Komaru to Touko. He twitched a hand. “We know who they are already. Tell us what this project of yours entails.”

Touko breathed in, blushing, but Komaru’s voice belted out instead.

“We’re just getting to that! Next slide, please,” said Komaru, waiting for Touko to bring up the following slide before speaking again.

The drawings of the former Warriors of Hope faded back in on the left side of the screen, then several clicks brought up a column of new drawings on the right. These depicted four of Byakuya’s colleagues: Makoto, Kyouko, Aoi and Yasuhiro. Lines appeared connecting a single drawing from each column together.

“Even though the Tragedy is over and these kids no longer want to kill all adults, they still need help. Our help. Right now, they are safe in Towa City, but our plan is to bring them here so we can give them therapy and supervise them. They don’t have families anymore, or structure, so what better place for them to recuperate than here, at a school, with us?”

Komaru paused. Makoto and Kyouko regarded her with focused expressions, listening intently. Aoi bit her lip, eyes downcast, while Yasuhiro cocked his head to one side. None of them said anything. Equally quiet, Byakuya cupped his chin.

This was his first time hearing about this plan, but he couldn’t say he was too surprised that Komaru had come up with it. Makoto had been the one determined to rehabilitate the Remnants of Despair. Like brother, like sister. Though the siblings were different, they both tried to see the best in people. Both were willing to give people second chances where most others wouldn’t.

Admittedly, Byakuya was surprised that Touko hadn’t run this project by him first. Though she didn’t spend quite as much time with him as she once had, they still interacted with each other a decent amount. All of them did. Byakuya supposed she felt she didn’t need his approval on everything anymore. Touko had come out from his shadow.

The silence made Komaru wither slightly. She coughed.

“So... um, me and Touko-chan discussed who would be better suited with who, based on a whole bunch of factors, and this is what we ultimately decided on. Kirigiri-san will be paired with Kotoko-chan, Asahina-san will be with Masaru-kun, Makoto with Nagisa-kun and Hagakure-san with Jataro-kun. They already know me and Touko-chan, so we thought it’d be nice if they could get to know you all better by doing this. Basically, they’ll live with you guys, and you’ll be responsible for taking care of them. The therapy and schooling won’t be down to you but you’ll provide them with support, care, attention...”

Komaru trailed off as Aoi raised her hand.

“Ah! Do you have a question, Asahina-san?” asked Komaru. Aoi winced.

“Um... it’s, uh, not really a question. I don’t... want to do this, sorry.”

“Huh?” Komaru stared at her. “Why not? I thought you loved kids.”

“I do!” Aoi said. She hugged herself and shuddered. “But... my brother was a kid when his bracelet exploded in Towa City, killing him. The bracelet that those children kept active.”

Aoi rubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes. Yasuhiro, Kyouko and Makoto shot her sympathetic looks. Excluding Komaru, everybody here had the person or creature dearest to them captured by the Remnants of Despair. Byakuya hadn’t been close to his siblings, or anyone in his family, so they had kidnapped his butler. Most of the captives had eventually been freed, but Aoi’s brother died prior to this happening.

“I told you she wouldn’t agree,” said Touko quietly, wringing her braid.

Komaru’s attention remained on Aoi. Her brow crumpled. “I’m sorry, Asahina-san. I didn’t realise...”

“That’s because I did my best so you wouldn’t.” Aoi scrunched up her shoulders. “Ever since you and Touko-chan told me what happened to him... it’s been eating me up inside. But I’ve had to stay strong. Strong when he died, strong when we were working for Future Foundation, strong for the final killing game and strong now... The pain never goes away. You just... find different ways to fit it inside you better, for the sake of yourself and everyone around you.”

“Asahina-san, that doesn’t sound healthy,” said Makoto, concerned. Aoi shook her head.

“I know those kids were manipulated. I know they wouldn’t have done any of that if it wasn’t for Enoshima. But that won’t stop me from being reminded of what happened to Yuta whenever I see them. So... I can’t help you with your plan. I’m sorry, Komaru-chan.”

A furrow carved into Komaru’s brow, darkening her face like a storm cloud.

“So what should we do with them?” asked Komaru, her voice trembling like her fists. “Abandon them? Imprison them? Execute them?”

“That’s enough, Komaru!” said Makoto, turning to her sharply. 

Aoi rose to her feet, while Komaru ignored him and walked over to her. Byakuya couldn’t help arching his eyebrows at Makoto’s vocalisation. He was no stranger to Makoto becoming heated or raising his voice. It had happened plenty of times during the murder trials in the mutual killing game, and Makoto could be very passionate during his speeches. This was the first time, however, that Byakuya had heard Makoto use this tone on his own sibling.

Touko stiffened, releasing her braid. Though she stayed where she was, her eyes flicked between them, and she looked ready to dart between them. Glancing away, Byakuya noticed that Yasuhiro had hidden under the table and rolled his eyes. Despite their hostile body language, neither attempted to throw a punch or lay even a single finger on the other. Instead, Komaru heaved a sigh, her anger melting away as quickly as it had flared up.

“I’m sorry, Asahina-san. That was uncalled for. I do understand how you feel, kind of. My parents...” Komaru didn’t bother trying to wipe away her tears. “... we never found their bodies, after all that time. Even now, part of me expects them to come through the door and pull me into a hug. Stroke my hair, tell me they’re going to bake my favourite cookies...”

The harsh line between Makoto’s eyebrows dissolved. Kyouko reached for his hand and squeezed it, her eyes trained on Komaru.

“Even so, I want to help these children,” said Komaru. “I understand if you’re angry, or even hate me now, and I totally get it, but I...”

Aoi drew Komaru into an embrace. The two of them stood still, until Aoi brought a hand to Komaru’s head and gently stroked her hair.

“You can still carry out your plan, Komaru-chan. I fully support your idea. I just can’t offer the sort of support any of them need right now.” She stepped back, smiling sadly. “Please understand. I’m not ready yet.”

Komaru sniffled and nodded, also smiling now. A relieved sigh escaped Touko as she placed a hand over her heart. Nearby, the tension seeped out of Makoto and Kyouko like air from a balloon. Byakuya felt the table shake as Yasuhiro crawled out from under the table. Yasuhiro's eyes flickered between Komaru and Aoi, as though he expected one or both of them to suddenly explode.

“Hey... Is this a bad time to say that I’m going to have to pull out too?” He quickly showed them his palms. “I’m totally cool with your plan! Even though two of those kids tried to murder me and Nakajima-chi! It’s just, uh, that I’m not good with kids, and my place isn’t kid-proof, and I...”

“Stop,” said Byakuya, raising a hand for silence. All eyes turned to him. He looked at Komaru, then Touko. “Why on earth did you choose Hagakure to pair with one of the children?”

“Hey! I’m great with kids!” said Yasuhiro angrily. Byakuya’s gaze didn’t stray from Touko.

“W-We weren’t sure you would appreciate being volunteered to take part,” admitted Touko, squirming her hands together. “Those brats - I mean, children, did lock you up... a-and you’re usually so busy...”

“... and you're not very hospitable,” added Komaru. Touko glared at her.

“That is all true. However, given that Hagakure and Asahina have bowed out, I will have to save the day and offer my services,” Byakuya told them.

Several seconds elapsed before Komaru and Touko understood what he said. The blank expression on Komaru’s face shattered as she broke into a wide grin. 

“Really, Togami-san? You’ll do it?”

“I just said I would,” Byakuya replied.

“Kirigiri-san and I will also help,” said Makoto. Kyouko nodded.

“And me as well,” said Touko. “I know we planned for the others to do it, but I will participate in the project so we have the numbers.”

Touko had barely finished speaking when Komaru sprung onto her and caged her in a tight hug. “Thank you, Touko-chan!”

When Komaru let go, Touko staggered back a bit, winded, as if the intense hug had been hard enough to crack a few of her ribs. Komaru gave both Kyouko and Makoto hugs next before turning to Byakuya. He tensed, expecting her to throw herself at him.

Instead, Komaru held out her hand.

“Thank you, Togami-san,” she said seriously.

Byakuya blinked, but accepted her handshake.

“W-What? Byakuya-sama... and Komaru?” mumbled Touko, grasping her cheeks. “This is the ultimate betrayal...”

“It’s just a handshake,” Komaru told her. “Here, you should both shake hands, as this is Touko-chan’s project as well.”

Before Byakuya could think about what she had said, Komaru grabbed Touko’s wrist and pulled her closer, then she grabbed Byakuya’s wrist with her other hand and brought their hands together. When neither grasped the other’s hand immediately, Komaru mashed them together until Touko curled her fingers and Byakuya relaxed his around hers.

Whilst shaking Komaru’s hand, he had thought little of it. Nothing beyond the fleeting pressure of her hold. Yet when his palm pressed against Touko’s, warmth engulfed where they touched. It trickled up his arm, to his shoulder, to his throat, to his gut. Then the warmth became heat. Boiling. Burning. His palm felt damp, sticky, melting, and he had to jerk his hand back to free it.

“Ah ha... I may never wash this hand again,” said Touko, admiring the hand that he had shaken.

Byakuya stared at his own. It looked fine. Unmarked. Untouched. This was far from his first handshake; he had grown up in a corporate setting, and though most of the time greetings were exchanged with bows, he had dealt with Westerners and their handshakes. None of them had ever had this effect on him.

So why...?

Or did the sensation have nothing to do with the handshake?

But then...?“We’ll have to swap around who's assigned to who,” said Komaru, having returned to the laptop without him noticing. She closed out of the powerpoint presentation. “I don’t have any drawings of Togami-san or Touko-chan on me, so Togami-san, pretend your picture is Hagakure-san’s, and Touko-chan, you’ll have to be Asahina-san...”

While Komaru continued speaking, Byakuya frowned and closed his hand into a fist.

[zenonaa]

i may or may not be working on a multichapter fic... c: