A/N 11-12-17 For older readers, I wouldn't suggest skipping this chapter because a new scene HAS been added. You might find it familiar, but for the most part, it was NOT in the original chapter.
Please do take the time to read the A/N at the end.
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It takes Naegi nearly fifteen minutes before she can bring herself to enter her room. The first thing she notices instantly is how clean it is. Gone were all signs that it had ever been the site of a struggle, now appearing exactly as it once had before Maizono Sayaka had been murdered.
"I guess…Monokuma kept his word…" A droplet of sweat rolls down the side of Naegi's face. "But just to make sure…"
Naegi decides to take a closer look at her room. She deliberately avoids the bathroom, wanting to leave that place for last. She checks her walls and floor for any gouges or scratches that could've been left behind, but there are none. And when she checks her bed, she finds that it looks as pristine as ever, with fresh, clean sheets lining the mattress.
Her lint roller has been replenished with a brand-new roll and the replica sword is completely gone from her room. Everything is set correctly into place—all that's left for her to check is the bathroom.
"Just…one last place…" Sweat rolls down her face as she turns to her bathroom door. From where she stands, she can see that the doorknob's been fixed. "So inside should be clean…right?"
…
Gulp!
Naegi swallows audibly. Her stomach churns uncomfortably, and the palms of her hands grow clammy. She lets out a ragged breath and then makes her decision. Slowly, she makes her way over to her bathroom door. With each shaky step she makes forward, she gets closer to the door.
Th-Thump, th-thump!
Th-Thump, th-thump!
Her heart is pounding so hard within her chest and when she reaches out to grasp the doorknob, Naegi finds that she has some difficulty doing so. Her body—it just won't stop shaking. It's getting harder and harder to breathe, but Naegi manages to regain control of herself.
Slap!
She slaps her cheeks hard with her hands and then inhales deeply. She holds her breath for a few seconds before slowly breathing out. It's going to be okay…
"Everything…is going to be—it's going to be okay!" Naegi grasps the doorknob firmly with her hand. She turns it and then opens the door using the exact same technique that Monokuma had showed her when she first learned about her problematic door. Little by little, she pushes the door open. She has her eyes closed the entire time and tries her best to prepare herself mentally. "It's going to be okay…it's going be okay…"
She repeats herself over and over again—she honestly can't help herself. When her nose has yet to catch the scent of blood that the bathroom had once held, Naegi opens her eyes…and instantly regrets it.
Maizono's lifeless body flashes before her eyes, the blood covering the wall and floor and the knife piercing through her stomach still just as vivid as ever. Naegi chokes back a scream and, without even thinking twice about it, runs out of the bathroom. Tears prick the corners of her eyes and her chest grows uncomfortably tight. She feels sick and dizzy at the same time. She has no idea why, but all she knows is that she has to get out—she can't stay in her room. She just can't.
…
…
When Fujisaki is sent to check on Naegi after she fails to return to dining hall, she finds her sitting on the floor. Naegi has her knees pulled up to her chest, with her arms wrapped around them. She sits in front of the door to Maizono's room, her body trembling every moment or so. Fujisaki almost panics, having no idea on what to do. Though, when she notices that Naegi is actually crying, Fujisaki manages to remain calm. It's difficult, but Fujisaki convinces herself that it's all for Naegi's sake.
And just as she did earlier after Kuwata's execution, Fujisaki finds herself comforting Naegi yet again. She doesn't say much at first, other than that she's here—because really, that's all Fujisaki can say at the moment. She then sits down next to Naegi's side, quietly excusing herself. A few seconds pass before she tentatively reaches out, a small bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face. Bit by bit, her hand nears Naegi's head, until…
"I know it's hard…" Fujisaki says as she gently rubs the top of Naegi's head. "But it'll be okay, Naegi-kun…"
"N-No it's not…" Naegi's muffled voice speaks out.
Fujisaki blinks and then removes her hand from Naegi's head. "Wh-What do you…mean?"
Naegi lifts her head, taking a second to rub her eyes on the back of her sleeve. She hiccups loudly, accidentally startling Fujisaki. "S-Sorry…"
"It's fine." Fujisaki nervously laughs. "You just surprised me—that's all. S-So…what's wrong?"
Naegi bites her lip. After about a minute, she manages to say, "Her b-body—it's still there."
"Wh-What?" Fujisaki's blood runs cold. She knows exactly who Naegi is talking about…and feels extremely uncomfortable when she sees that the door to her room is open. To say that Monokuma would purposely leave Maizono's body in Naegi's bathroom for her to find wouldn't be that farfetched…which is exactly why Fujisaki is so hesitant to check it out herself to confirm it.
The last thing Fujisaki wants to see after witnessing two brutal deaths is another dead body. She's had enough time to look at Maizono's corpse in the Monokuma File anyways…
"I don't want to see it again…" Especially not in person.
"Hey, they sent me to check up on ya—what's goin' on?" Thankfully, it seems that the others have sent Oowada to check up on the two of them. "What's wrong with Naegi?"
"Oowada-kun!" Fujisaki quickly gets to her feet and approaches Oowada. "Can you check Naegi-kun's bathroom?"
"Why?" Oowada asks, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"Naegi-kun says that Maizono-san's body is still in there." Fujisaki frowns. "Monokuma might've left it behind, even though he said he would clean everything up…"
"What?" Oowada's eyes go wide. Then, within the span of a few seconds, his face goes red with anger. "That son of a bitch!"
Oowada wastes no time barging into Naegi's room. He rushes over to the bathroom, practically seething with rage. He expects to see the same scene he had seen earlier, but instead, all he sees is…nothing—just a clean bathroom.
"Wha…?" And just like that, his anger subsides. Oowada scratches the back of his head as he stares at the bathroom. He calls out to Fujisaki, asking her to come over. "Don't worry—it ain't anything bad."
Fujisaki still hesitates to enter the room, although Oowada doesn't blame her. Too much had happened today—it's normal for everyone to still be on edge. He shows her the bathroom and she's just as confused as he is.
"B-But Naegi-kun said…" Fujisaki knows Naegi wouldn't lie about something like this.
"Bring her over here," Oowada tells Fujisaki. "Tell her what we found, because it ain't matchin up."
And so Fujisaki does as she's told. Naegi doesn't respond at first, not knowing what to say. Then, she says, "B-But I saw…"
Fujisaki frowns. "There's nothing."
"That can't be…!" Naegi stands up and runs into her room. She sees Oowada standing by the bathroom door and grimaces when she sees that it's still open. "Are you sure there's nothing there?"
"Don't see a thing, Naegi." Oowada is honestly relieved about that. "Should be happy about that, you know."
"B-But I saw…I know I saw her!" It was far too vivid for her to mistake it for anything else.
Oowada rubs the back of his head. "I'm not exactly sure what you saw, but whatever it is—it ain't here."
"M-Maybe you're just seeing things…" Fujisaki suggests as she enters the room. "It's been a rather stressful day."
Naegi bites her lip. "…"
"You can check yourself if you're so hung up about it." Oowada taps his hand on the doorframe. "C'mon—the guys are waitin' in the dining hall."
"Okay…" A droplet of sweat rolls down the side of Naegi's face. She still isn't too sure about this, but if both Oowada and Fujisaki aren't saying anything, then…it should be fine. "I'll just go check and then we can go…"
…
…
More than an hour has passed by the time Fujisaki and Oowada return to the dining hall with Naegi.
"Sorry I'm late…" Naegi says sheepishly, feeling uncomfortable with how long she's kept everyone waiting.
Asahina looks at Naegi and frowns. "Are you okay, Naegi?"
"I'm fine," Naegi replies, though that's just a lie. She looks far too nauseous and distressed to be find.
Of course, Ishimaru takes Naegi's reply to heart and loudly says, "You sure took your sweet time! I was just about to get you and drag you back here!"
Naegi flinches at how loud Ishimaru is. "S-Sorry…"
"So? Was your room fixed up like he said?" Ishimaru smiles as he lets out a lighthearted laugh. "I imagine it would be pretty hard to sleep with a rotting corpse in your bathroom!"
Ishimaru had intended to make Naegi feel better with his comment. However, it has the opposite effect on her. The reminder of what had once been in her bathroom is enough to make Naegi feel even worse.
"Ulp!" Naegi covers her mouth as she gags.
"Jesus, that's fucked up, man." Oowada pats Naegi a few times on the back in an attempt to reassure her. He feels a little awkward, but by now, he's grown tired of letting Fujisaki do all the comforting. At the very least, he should do something instead of nothing—like he's been doing so far. "Why would you say something like that?"
"My room was…spotless," Naegi says slowly, almost as if to convince herself. "There wasn't anything left. Like the whole thing…never happened."
Oowada and Fujisaki turn to each other. They know Naegi is lying…because while they saw nothing, she did.
"It must be tough staying there, knowing what happened." Oogami can't even imagine staying in a room where someone was killed. "Why don't you just stay in Maizono's room?"
"Well…staying there, with her scent still hanging in the air…" Naegi bites her lip. Just thinking about it makes her want to cry… "That would hurt just as much. Plus…I've decided that I can't turn away from her death…"
"N…Naegi…" Asahina frowns at first, but then she smiles brightly. "Hey—cheer up! Getting depressed isn't gonna help anything, right? If we all work together, I'm sure we'll find a way out of here! So everyone just…try and cheer up and get back on track!"
Asahina's optimism is the last thing Naegi or anyone else expects from her. Her smile is bright and reassuring that it manages to make Naegi feel better. And for a moment, she thinks that maybe everything will be okay…
Then Togami scoffs. "Is that honestly supposed to make us feel better?"
"Huh?" A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Asahina's face.
"We were already 'working together' and yet someone was still murdered." Togami smirks. "Anyone could betray us at this point. Now that it's happened once, it's a question of when, not if, the next one takes place."
"W-We can all thank M-Maizono Sayaka for firing the first shot…" Fukawa scowls.
"…" Naegi bites her lip.
"B-But…if we work together against the mastermind, nobody'll have any reason to do something like that!" Asahina adamantly protests.
"Keep telling yourself that." To say that Togami isn't annoyed with Asahina would be a lie. By now, her optimism is starting to grate on his nerves… "I'll be over here in the real word. Working together, fighting a common enemy…Like it or not, it's not that simple."
Yamada is practically sweating bullets. "…What do you mean?"
"The mastermind seems to be much more powerful than we ever suspected." Celes diverts her eyes to the side. "They took over Hope's Peak Academy, which was supposed to be well defended, then modified it to fit their desire. They created Monokuma, which seems to be incredibly advanced, and they're providing for our every need. And the cherry on top is the execution we witnessed."
Everyone in the room, save for Kirigiri, Oogami, and Togami, shifts uncomfortably in their spots at the mere mention of the word, "execution." After all, Kuwata's execution is still fresh in their minds…
"Everything has been planned down to the last excruciating detail." Celes places her hand on her chin in thought. "This is not the work of your everyday psychopath. Defying them may be too great of a risk…"
"In that case, what is best for us to do?" Oogami asks, looking around the room.
"Anyone who truly does wants to escape…will just have to follow the rules." Togami's expression hardens. "In which case, the only option is to deceive those around you, and win the game."
"N-No…" Fujisaki disagrees. She clenches her fists tightly as tears stream down her cheeks. Whatever Togami just said—she doesn't like it at all.
Togami scowls at Fujisaki, annoyed that someone like her would even speak out against me. "What was that?"
"I don't want to live…if it means killing someone else to do it." Fujisaki sniffs as she wipes her eyes. "I don't want to kill anyone else…!"
Hagakure runs his hand through his hair. "Anyone…else? What do you mean?"
"Kuwata-kun died because we all voted for him, right?" Fujisaki looks at everyone with watery eyes. "It's no different from us killing him ourselves!"
The top half of Hagakure's face turn blue as beads of sweat roll down his forehead. "B-But…"
"If we hadn't voted for him, then we all woulda died instead, right…?" Asahina purses her lips. "That isn't what you wanted, is it…?"
Fujisaki says nothing and just starts crying softly.
"She's right," Yamada says as he adjusts his glasses. "If you heap that kind of blame on yourself, you'll turn into a full-fledged masochist."
Fujisaki isn't feeling any better after hearing that. She tries to stop crying, though, but that only brings more tears to her eyes.
"Hey, Fujisaki-san…" Naegi looks concerned at Fujisaki. Twice already, Fujisaki has comforted her when she was crying…now it's her turn to return the favor. "You're not to blame—not you, not Kuwata-kun, and not Maizono-san. The mastermind is responsible for everything that's happened. We had no choice but to vote. I can't even imagine what would've happened to us if we refused…And in the end, it was Monokuma who ultimately killed Kuwata-kun…!"
Naegi trembles when she recalls Kuwata's execution. She still remembers it as though it only happened minutes ago. She swallows hard and gives Fujisaki a reassuring smile.
"So don't waste your anger on yourself…" Naegi places her hand on Fujisaki's shoulder. "Instead, direct it at the mastermind!"
Fujisaki looks at Naegi as she sniffs. She feels a lot calmer now and when she wipes away her tears, only a few more come out. She stops crying altogether after a couple of minutes. She wipes her face again one last time and then looks at Naegi. She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can even utter a word, the bell rings.
Ding dong, bing bong!
The monitor in the dining hall flickers on and the screen soon shows Monokuma sitting in a chair. He sits within a room that has many monitors showing various locations on their screens. In his paw, he holds a wineglass full of what appears to be red wine.
"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point will be strictly prohibited. Oh, and one other thing…"
Monokuma's posture seems to straighten up as he continues speaking. "It was totally obvious before that you were trying to make yourselves feel better and justify what you did."
…
"See you, see you, don't see you, see you!" Monokuma remarks. "That's about how much I can see you, even when you try to hide! Now pay attention and remember this well! The burden of judging others is a heavy one to bear. So be well aware of your actions! Order and stability rely on the sacrifice and responsibility of everyone! And with that, I wish you all a good night. Sweet dreams…"
The monitor turns off after that. No one says anything, Monokuma having rendered them silent with his words.
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…
Fukawa is the first of them to speak, breaking the silence with a loud shriek. She clutches her head, her glasses nearly falling off her face from the action. "What w-was that about just n-now…?"
"Was he saying it's our fault what happened?" Hagakure lets out a shaky sigh as he crosses his arms over his chest. "That's pretty cruel, man…"
Beads of sweat roll down Oowada's forehead as he grits his teeth. "That piece of shit! Who does he think he is?!"
At that moment, the monitor flickers back on and Monokuma appears on the screen once more. "Oh, and Naegi-kun?"
Naegi jumps. "Huh?!"
"You really making my job even harder…twice in a day is just too much to be cleaning after you." Monokuma sighs in such an exaggerated manner. "So I won't be cleaning your little mess until tomorrow. You really should have thought twice before throwing up on your own bed…"
The monitor then turns off after that. The room goes just as quiet as before and Naegi finds herself the center of everyone's attention. She bites her lip and shifts uncomfortably in her spot. She really hoped that no one would find out about what happened in her room…
Of course, Monokuma just couldn't have that and went on announcing it to the entire school. And now Naegi is being given a numerous amount of concerned stares by her own peers.
"Are you okay, Naegi?" Asahina asks.
"I'm fine…" Naegi exhales shakily and then forces a smile. "I just…overreacted."
"To what, exactly?" Kirigiri looks inquisitively at Naegi. She can tell that Naegi is hiding something…
"…" Naegi says nothing and just turns to Oowada and Fujisaki instead.
They look at each other with such concern and then sigh after a couple of seconds. They really hoped that they didn't have to tell anyone about Naegi's problem…but it seems that isn't possible anymore.
"When I went to fetch Naegi-kun earlier, I found her crying outside of her room…" Fujisaki begins. "She said that Maizono-san's body was still in her bathroom…"
"The thing is, there's nothing there," Oowada explains as he rubs the back of his head. "I checked there myself, Fujisaki did too…but when Naegi checked, she freaked and ran over to her bed and…yeah."
Naegi hangs her head low in shame. "I don't know what's wrong with me…it's just whenever I look into my bathroom, all I see is Maizono-san with the knife sticking out of her stomach…"
…
…
"Trauma," Kirigiri says in a clear and concise tone. "It's trauma, Naegi-kun."
"Huh?" Naegi looks questioningly at Kirigiri. She seems so sure what it is… "Is that…really it?"
"Psychological trauma would be a better term," Kirigiri surmises. She knows that people react differently to trauma, though she isn't at all surprised to see Naegi reacting to it as most others would. It was honestly only a matter of time… "It seems that finding Maizono-san's dead body in your bathroom did more than just cause you to scream and faint."
"It must have been a delayed reaction." Oogami looks over Naegi. The poor girl likely held it all in without even knowing it herself…
"Perhaps that is how she managed to take Enoshima-san's death in stride." Celes recalls how composed Naegi had managed to stay when the Super High School Level Fashionista was killed right before everyone's eyes. "Kuwata-kun—not so much…"
"Have a weak stomach, don't you, Naegicchi?" Hagakure smiles at Naegi.
A small blush tinges Naegi's cheeks. It's a bit embarrassing, but Hagakure doesn't seem to eman any harm. "Uh…I guess…"
"I doubt she'll be able to go near her bathroom without having flashbacks," Togami muses. "Quite the inconvenience, wouldn't you say?"
"A-Almost as an inconvenience as b-being afraid of blood…" Fukawa adds as she bites down on her thumb.
"Mind your manners, Togami." Kirigiri narrows her eyes at Togami. She doesn't appreciate his unwanted comments. "Naegi-kun's dealing with a rather natural reaction to something as stressful as finding a dead body in her bathroom."
"I'm just saying what's on my mind." Togami turns away from Kirigiri. "I'll be leaving, now."
Fukawa nods her head. "S-Same here."
"It is rather late." Yamada yawns loudly as he stretches out his arms.
Togami, Fukawa, and Yamada take their leave after that while the rest of their classmates stay behind.
"It is in fact very late." Ishimaru nods his head in agreement. "But so long as a fellow student is distressed, I shall remain here."
It is, after all, his job to help out others when they need it most.
"What makes you think that she needs you?" Oowada stares sternly at Ishimaru. "You lack tact, so watch what you say."
"I'll take that into consideration." Ishimaru isn't one to pass up any criticism he receives.
"So where's Naegi going to sleep?" Asahina looks around at her classmates. "Naegi's room isn't exactly…clean right now."
"Naegi-kun can stay in my room." Fujisaki is surprisingly quick to offer that she even surprises herself. Her cheeks heat up with a light blush and she shyly looks downwards to avoid everyone's gaze. "I-I mean…if Naegi-kun is okay with that…"
"Fujisaki-san…" Naegi hadn't expected this all so suddenly…but she doesn't see any reason to turn down such an offer. Fujisaki has been nothing but kind to her and it she guesses it wouldn't be so bad to share a room with her. "Okay, I'll take up your offer."
"R-Really?" Fujisaki smiles widely as she clasps her hands together. "Okay, follow me!"
Fujisaki seems a lot happier than before as she leads Naegi to her room. That is one thing that the remaining students in the dining hall notice as they watch the two girls leave. It takes a moment for anyone to speak.
"They're certainly looking happier," Hagakure remarks with a smile on his face. He's happy to see the two of them doing better than before…
"I'm glad they're both happy!" Asahina beams brightly. "I was worried about both of them for a second…"
"Same," Oowada says as he rubbed the back of his head. "Those two seemed to have hit it off rather well."
"Indeed." Celes nods her head.
"I'd say it's rather fortunate those two to have latched onto each other when they did," Kirigiri muses. "Fujisaki-san is definitely the type of person Naegi-kun needs right now and vice versa."
"Since everything seems to have been settled, I believe it is time for all of us to return to our rooms," Ishimaru declares. "The doors should be closing soon."
"Hey, Sakura-chan…can I sleep with you again?" Asahina looks questioningly at Oogami.
Oogami blinks and smiles. "You may."
…
…
It's late into the night when Fujisaki wakes up. The bed feels a lot warmer than usual, likely because of the heat from Naegi's body—speaking of which, she's a lot…closer than usual.
"N-Naegi-kun…?" she softly calls out.
There is no response. All she continues hearing is Naegi's soft, rhythmic breathing. Then there's movement and Fujisaki almost shrieks when she feels Naegi curl up against her back.
"C-Close!" She's a lot closer than before!
Fujisaki didn't think it would be so awkward to share a room with Naegi…then it occurred to her that there is only one bed. She remembers offering to sleep on the floor, but Naegi wouldn't have it.
"We're both girls—right?"
There was not much Fujisaki could say after that. All she could do was watch Naegi as she got into her bed and then pat at the empty space right by her. It took some time before Fujisaki managed to bring herself to get into bed with Naegi. At least with the lights off, it was easy to forget that she was so close to someone else…
Or so she tried to convince herself.
Even now, Fujisaki doesn't know how to feel about this. She's never had anyone get so close to her like this…it's awkward.
"Really, really awkward…" A droplet of sweat rolls down the side of Fujisaki's face. She lets out a ragged breath and closes her eyes. "I should just…sleep."
Except just as she's about to fall asleep, Naegi's hands grasp the back of her shirt. Fujisaki's eyes snap open and she's seconds away from yelling out Naegi's name. But then she notices something…
"She's…crying." Fujisaki can hear Naegi's quiet sobs. It's all she can hear, aside from how hard her heart is pounding within her chest. "N-Naegi-kun?"
"M-Maizono-san…" Ahh, so that's what it is…
Fujisaki sighs shakily. "She must really miss her…"
The two were especially close. And to have all that happen to her—it must really be hurting Naegi. Fujisaki still wants to cry herself, considering what also happened to Kuwata and Enoshima. But she keeps herself from doing so—it wouldn't do Naegi any help if she cried too.
As she just thinks that, Naegi's crying turns hysterical. "Naegi-kun!"
Fujisaki turns around to face Naegi and finds that she had burrowed underneath the blankets. She quickly pulls them off and places her hand on Naegi's shoulder. There's not much of a response from her, as she continues to cry. But then Fujisaki says her name again and this time, Naegi does wake up.
She jolts violently, nearly lashing out at Fujisaki. Fujisaki is surprisingly quick to grab both of Naegi's hands. She isn't strong by any means, but it's just enough to help Naegi ground herself. She looks around the room frantically, stopping only when her gaze met Fujisaki's.
"N-Naegi-kun?" Fujisaki says again with a concerned expression on her face. "A-Are you…?"
Naegi stares at her with watery eyes. She blinks a few times before a sob tears itself from her throat. She cries again. She cries and cries and cries, Enoshima Junko's name leaving her mouth each time she sobbed.
She cries almost incomprehensibly over the fact that the Fashionista will no longer have a chance to look for a dream—all the advice she had given her now rendered useless by Enoshima's death. She sobs loudly when she realizes that Enoshima won't be there to help her cover the bruise on her face. Enoshima won't be there to fuss over her appearance anymore…
"Everything she did yesterday was the last of it!" Naegi says between shaky sobs. "No more—she's gone!"
She's gone…
"I never had a chance to call her by her name!" That is Naegi's only regret… She could have at least done that before Enoshima was killed…but she didn't. She cries even louder, the tears just pouring down her face. Sobs wrack her whole body as Fujisaki pulls her tightly against her chest.
"I-It's going to be okay, Naegi-kun—I-I'm here." Fujisaki has never been more relieved to know that the room is soundproof, because she's not sure if she could handle everyone else asking about Naegi right now. All this time—she's been holding it in… "Y-You don't have to h-hold back anymore…just let it out."
Fujisaki tries to ignore the pang in her chest when she recalls that it was her and Enoshima who had confirmed that all the rooms were soundproof. She was never as close to Enoshima as Naegi had been, so she can never comprehend the grief she's going through right now. Still, the least she can do is comfort Naegi.
"L-Let it all out…I'm not going anywhere." Fujisaki will make sure of that. She rubs Naegi's back in soothing, circular motions. She cares not for the wet spot Naegi is leaving on her shirt—she can change out of that in the morning. "I'm…here."
Little by little, Naegi begins to calm down. Soon, she's just hiccupping every moment or so. Her hands cling tightly onto Fujisaki's shirt. It's a bit awkward, but Fujisaki can manage. Eventually, Naegi falls asleep, her arms now wrapped around Fujisaki's waist.
Fujisaki exhales shakily, feeling rather relieved, if somewhat flustered. A light blush dusts her cheeks, but there's not much she can do about Naegi. All she does is reach out for the blankets and drapes them over herself and Naegi. She rests her chin on top of Naegi's head and closes her eyes.
"S-Soft…" Naegi's hair is especially soft… That's the last thought Fujisaki has before she, too, falls asleep, her arms still wrapped around Naegi in an embrace.
…
…
…
A/N 11-12-17 I am happy to say that this chapter got even longer after I finished going through it! You have me expanding on scenes and then adding them in, like just so now! Like that was NOT in the original chapter! So have some Naegi/Fujisaki scenes—it's good for the soul and is one of many to come!
Moving on, let me explain Naegi's current scenario…she is going through some trauma. It's a natural occurrence for people to go through it after such a stressful experience. Naegi is no exception, and that is why this chapter is called Trauma. One of the things I want to go into in this story is delve into the possible effects a character's death has on the other characters. Naegi already had her reaction to Kuwata, but the thing with Maizono is that Maizono was killed in her bathroom, which is definitely going to leave a huge impression on her. Try to think of it as going into a room where you know someone has been killed in and doing your best to keep it out of your head…kinda difficult, no?
It's kinda worse for Naegi, who has flashbacks about it whenever she tries to look inside her bathroom. Though, as Togami has mentioned, it's a bit of an inconvenience because how is Naegi going to use her bathroom without freaking out? She'll have to resort to using the restrooms in the hallway. And as for bathing…I'll get into that in the next chapter.
As for Enoshima…ohh, that'll be something I'll get into later on, but just know that Naegi and Enoshima were rather close, too.
So yeah, Naegi and Fujisaki are certainly getting along. These two are already hitting it off as friends and considering how I said that this story is basically going to be Naegi/everyone…yeah. Make what you will of that.
I'm also starting to notice how much Togami is picking on Naegi—like damn, that's a thing. And now that I managed to get the last bit of plot-induced story, I can start getting to the part I have been waiting for: Free Time. Course, that won't happen until after the next chapter, unless things happen like it did here. But do feel free to suggest with who Naegi should spend time with and how.
Anyways, I have a lot of shout outs to do, using my new format for it!
Reviewer #10: Anonymous Reviewer, Just a Fangirl
Reviewer #11: Kobolum
Reviewer #20: UnstableFable
Reviewer #22: NekoGurl98
Reviewer #30: jmspikey
Reviewer #33: timothy . nguyen . 73
Reviewer #40: MisterAngelo'0
Reviewer #44: HikariNoTenshi-San
Reviewer #50: Forgotten Cross
Reviewer #55: Nox Arcana the Necronomicon
Honorable mentions: Mikah Wyroar-Kun, oOScarletOo, Kiri Kaitou Clover, basrutten, NekoMimiMyawMyaw, Azure King and Azure Queen (your review gives me ideas), ReDux ReDo, Rayify, CaptainQuackin (loving your icon), Helgenraiser124
So like aside from my DRV3 fic, Clair de Lune, I'll be working on this story this entire month since I've decided to make it my NaNoWriMo fic. Hoping to add in a lot more words to this fic during editing and revising!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this A/N! So that's it for now. Until next time, guys! KD out! XD