"Oh dear. Looks like someone is in a tight spot at the moment."
His lips twitched as he spoke, though his eyes were focused on the sight before him.
The man in front of him did not speak initially, too busy struggling against the ropes holding him down to his chair. Eventually though, he looked up, finally meeting his gaze. Once he did, the man's purple eyes grew wide with pain and betrayal.
"You… You are the one behind this?!'
A small chuckle escaped his throat at the pained question.
"Of course I was. Did you really think that one of those other Ultimates had the ability to do this? Now that is just insulting."
He casually walked forward to the captive before him, stopping just in front of the former Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. He looked up at the contraption around the man, his lips twitching.
"Beautiful, is it not? It is based off a design made by the Ultimate Architect, but Kazuichi was able to edit it to fit my purpose. Perhaps this is not what was originally intent for this design, but one is still able to admire the design of it."
The man only managed a small bitter laugh at his words.
"You were never one for small talk Byakuya, so why bother with it now of all times?"
He turned back to the man at the question, a full blown smirk on his lips now.
"Must I have a reason to? Not everything has to have a meaning you know."
The man before him did not reply to his words initially. Instead, he tried looking away, directing his gaze around the small room around him. After a bit of time, however, he finally turned back to Byakuya, wariness clear on his face.
"What… What do you intend to do to them?"
His lips twisted into something akin to a demon's smile.
"Oh, I do not believe I could release that information at the moment. After all, that would be unfair to those participating in the game, as I cannot tell only you and not the others and telling them would take away all of the fun of our game. And what kind of person would deny anyone the fun of a mystery game? In my opinion, only a truly evil person would. Unless… You are trying to say that I am a villain. In that case.. Well I would not say that you are wrong."
He chuckled once more at his own words as the sound of an opening door echoed through the room. He turned instinctively, his smirk growing back onto his face when he saw who stood there.
A young woman stood in the doorway, clutching a small black and white bear. While the woman was quite attractive, with short blond hair similar to his own hair and piercing green eyes, most would be more drawn to the unusual bear within her grasp.
The coloration of the bear was the first odd thing that could be noticed about the bear. It seemed to be split down the middle colorwise. The left side of the animal was white and the right side of the animal was black. However, while the left side of the bear had a single black dot serving as an eye, the right side of the bear had a red jagged curve for an eye, giving the bear an overall creepy design.
The woman still managed to bow to him though, despite the animal in her hands.
"Master Byakuya, all the preparations have been finished. Shall we conduct the execution?"
"...Execution?!"
His captive's shocked yell echoed in the room, filled with both fear and shock. Yet, he could muster up any pity for the man behind him.
"Execution. It can be defined as the death of a person by a ruling government .I am surprised the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy does not know the word."
He then turned back to the man behind him, his eyes glinting with mirth.
"Besides, did you really think I would let you live?"
He turned back to the woman in front of him as he slipped a hand into his pocket. When he pulled it back out, a small remote rested in his hands. It was a simple grey box, decorated with a large red button in the middle.
He glanced at it for a second before tossing it to the ground in front of him. It hit the ground with a clattering sound, landing directly in front of the woman.
Immediately, the woman dropped the bear in her hands and took a step back. The bear did not move for a bit, instead lying in a heap on the ground like any stuffed bear would. During this brief pause, the woman took a few steps back and took out a small smartphone and began twiddling with it.
Within moments, the bear leapt to its feet. Quickly, it waddled over to the remote that eh had tossed to the ground himself. As soon as it reached the remote, it plopped itself onto the ground, like a child sitting down for story time in kindergarden. It then raised one paw high in the air before slamming it down on the remote.
He turned back to the former headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy as the bear activated the remote. The man's purple eyes were wide in terror as the metal doors of his prison closed in front of him and shot up into the sky. Still, he himself could only smile coldly as the rocket quickly launched into the night sky.
For a moment, he stood there, his eyes trained on the hole now clear in the ceiling of the room.
He was not disappointed by what he saw next.
Within minutes, the rocket barrelled back into the room it had just escaped. With a loud boom, it hit the ground, causing a flurry of dust to fill the room. As soon as the dust settled though, the doors of the rocket opened, causing several bones and a human skull to tumble into the room.
The skeletal remains of his former headmaster.
Silence filled the air for a moment as he stared at the skeleton before. Eventually though, he became aware of laughter filling the room. It was cold and unfeeling, more animalistic than it was human in nature.
It took him another moment to realize that it came from him.
He covered his mouth in vain to stifle the noise, but he only continued.
Was it joy he was feeling? Was it sadness?
Or was it something much worse?
"Master Byakuya?"
The tiny squeak of his secretary/half-sister brought him back to reality. He forced himself to silence his laughter before turning to meet her gaze.
"Yes?"
"Well.. Since Phase One has been completed successfully sir… I was wondering if you now wanted to check on the process of Phase Two."
Phase Two…
He felt the beginning of a frown form on his lips, but he forced it down.
"Of course I would. I am sure they have already been sedated?"
She nodded in confirmation of this.
"Of course Master Byakuya. All the participants of the game have been sedated by now. The memory altering process has also begun for some of the participants. The ones who have gone through it are.."
She quickly looked at her phone and twiddled with it once again.
"Kyoko Kirigiri, Aoi Asahina, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, and Sakura Oogami have all finished their own memory tempering. Leon Kuwata, Mondo Oowada, and Toko Fukawa are undergoing the procedure at the moment. The rest of the participants are currently being prepared for the procedure." she read off quickly.
He hummed in response to her words and merely strolled past her. He swore that somewhere, he felt an odd feeling, but he pushed it away, instead focusing on his task to get to his destination. After a moment, he heard the sound of clacking heels behind him, signaling that his secretary was now following him.
"Are the participants that have not gone through the procedure still held in the medical room?" he questioned.
"They are being held currently in their dormitories under strict lockdown sir. There are guards set up by each door in case any of them attempt to break free and mess with the procedure. Is there one in particular that you would like to see?"
He found himself freezing mid step, the question bringing up a memory he would rather forget.
"Byakuya! Wait up!"
He sighed as he heard the scream echoing slightly behind him. He stopped himself at the entrance of the building in front of him and turned to face the figure running toward him.
"Hurry up you! I am not going to be late because you wanted to sleep in!"
The figure soon reached him, leaning over and panting as soon as he came to a stop next to him. Exhaustion was clear even in his green eyes as he looked back up at him.
"S-sorry Byakuya! But, you walk too fast!" he whined.
He rolled his eyes at his companions complaints.
"You walk too slow. Honestly, how late did you get up to only NOW be arriving? Also, stop calling me by my first name. We are not friends."
The boy grew sheepish at his question and could not meet his eyes.
"Heh sorry Togami and um... An hour ago? Komaru forgot to set the alarm in our room so I overslept."
".. Why were you home in the first place? We were supposed to have returned to the dorms yesterday morning. Did you miss that information when it was given to us before we left?"
Somehow, the boy managed to grow even more sheepish at the reminder.
"I know that, but my family drove me back here and Komaru insisted I spend the night with her at the hotel they were staying at. So I had to stay with them. Luckily though, the hotel is quite close to here, so I was able to make it on time."
He sighed at the excuse but nonetheless, he grabbed his hand and began guiding him into the school building.
"Huh?! Byakuya, what are you doing?!"
He felt his lips twitch with the beginning of a smile at the boy's surprised reaction, but he forced it down.
"What do you think I am doing? I am making sure neither of us are late for class."
"..Us?"
He silently cursed the boy's catch of his slip up. However, he did not let his shame show. Instead, he simply glanced back at her with a stern look.
"I know what I said Naegi, do not bother me by echoing my words."
He turned back then, signaling that the conversation was over.
In response, he felt his companion squeeze his hand, but nothing more was spoken between them in that moment.
"Master Byakuya?"
His secretary's confused voice brought him out of his flashback. He quickly glanced behind him, noticing that she had come to a stop just behind of him. He also noticed that she was staring at him with a worried look on her face.
In response, he just raised an eyebrow at the worry on her face.
"Do not dare worry about me Shinobu, it is a waste of energy that could be focused on other things. However, you are to come up with me to the dorms. There is someone I.. Someone that I would like to see."
He cursed the hesitance of his voice at the end of his response.
Hesitance was not at all a trait he could afford to show, especially now.
Shinobu quickly molded her face into a neutral expression, but he could tell that she was still worried. He ignored this though, instead turning around and marching through the hallways of Hope's Peak Academy.
His steps echoed through the halls, the only disturbance in an otherwise eerily silent hallway. He found himself glancing around the empty hallways, half-expecting to see students chattering among themselves on their way to their classes.
But he could only see the empty halls of his school around him.
The strange feeling that filled him at the sight of his former headmaster's remains came back to him full force at the realization. It seemed to consume him almost, bathing him in its misery.
He fought against it as he wove his way through the halls, reminding himself that this was his duty as the heir to the Togami Corporation. Everything he did, every word, every action, it was all for the advancement of the corporation. It was his everything.
These students.. His classmates… They were nothing to him in the long run. They were only there as temporary companions, necessary fixtures in the school he once attended. They were not his concern now.
Now he had to put everything towards his father's plan.
He was so caught up in his thoughts, that he barely noticed as he reached his destination.
The dorm rooms of the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy.
He glanced over the nameplate proclaiming who resided where. He felt a dull ache seemed to grow within him as he looked over the names, but he forced it away.
Emotions were for the weak after all.
Finally he came to a stop before one of the doors. It was the same as the other's in nature, a simple red door against a red wall.
The nameplate, however, read Naegi Makoto.
He sucked in a breath and found himself unconsciously reaching out and grabbing the doorknob handle. Before he could stop himself, he opened the door and stepped through it, his eyes widening at the scene before him.
True to Shinobu's words, two sullen guards stood at attention on either side of the entranceway. The room itself though, was practically empty besides them, except for the person lying silently on the bed. Due to this, his eyes were automatically drawn to the unconscious young man.
Despite their similar age, the boy was still as short as ever, only a fraction of his magnificent height. His spiky brown hair lay limply on his head and his green eyes, once shining with life and happiness, now were shut tight. If he did not know any better, he would have assumed the other boy was dying.
Then again, was he not about to die in a way?
Something tugged at his heart as he saw how uncharacteristically lifeless the other boy was. This time, however, the pain seemed to be even worse, desiring to drag him into the deepest pit of his mind and utterly destroy him. He could feel his heart seize up at the ache inside of him and he swore his eyes began to get misty as he realized exactly what he was damning the boy to.
He wondered what was wrong with him. The boy before him was a simple commoner who got a lucky break by being accepted into the academy.
So why was it causing him so much pain to think of what awaited him?
Suddenly, the boy's green eyes shot open, startling him. The boy stared at him for a bit, shock and fear in his eyes.
"Byakuya….? Byakuya what is-"
"Sir get back!"
He felt one of the guards suddenly grab his wrist and pull him away from the boy. The other guard dashed around them, shouting loudly as he tackled the other boy. The boy screamed at this and tried in vain to fight against guard, but to no avail. Easily, the guard restrained him, restraining his movement and shouting for a tranquilizer.
"Call the medical team now! One of the participants has awoken!"
Distantly, he heard Shinobu's scream for a medical team, as well as the screams of the guard holding him to get back.
But all he could do was mindlessly stare at the boy in front of him.
He felt an overwhelming desire to help the boy out and free him from the hell that awaited him. He could easily call off the guard and have the boy himself flown somewhere else.
He could easily save him.
However, all he did was turn away from the scene in front of him.
Naegi Makoto was no longer anything but a mindless participant in his little game. He was nothing worth the pity of the Heir of the Togami Corporation.
At least, that is what he told himself.
As soon as he turned away from the scene, he became face to face with the arriving medical team. They stared at him silently, obviously awaiting his next orders.
He took a deep breath before speaking, forcing himself to prepare to lock away any vestiges of guilt or pain that would plague him after his next sentence.
"Subdue him."
