Kirigiri didn't bat an eye at Togami's snarl, even though he was mere inches from her face. "I haven't done anything to Naegi. He left to take care of something else, that's all."

"Oh, really? Then what was it?" Togami demanded. "Why wouldn't he come back?"

"You'll have to ask him about that." Kirigiri dropped her eyes to his hands. "You can move back now."

Togami briefly considered shoving her chair backwards and sending the coolly confident girl sprawling across the floor – but that wouldn't achieve anything. Being petty was only worth it when the victim would react, and he knew she wouldn't. He took his hands off the chair and took a single step back.

"Good," Kirigiri said. "Now –"

"When will he be coming back?"

She shot him an irritated glance. "Later on, I expect."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"What it sounds like," she said. "Do you want to know what we found or not? The nighttime announcement will be coming any minute."

The two needs for knowledge warred in Togami's head for a moment as he considered her. "The whole point of having a second person along was that he'd be able to verify what you tell us."

"And he will," Kirigiri said. "Later."

Togami scowled. He didn't like that answer at all – but the nighttime curfew would start soon. If he wanted to hear what Kirigiri had to say tonight, this would be his only chance. And Naegi was always very scrupulous about obeying the group's self-imposed curfew – even if he'd gone off somewhere, he'd return to meet them in the dining hall before the announcement sounded.

Though it didn't do Kirigiri any favors in terms of Togami's suspicions that Naegi just happened to be gone when she would be revealing information about Alter Ego, even after the objections to that scenario. Still, he'd definitely verify everything she said with Naegi later, point by point, and if she'd lied about anything – well, that would be the proof he needed about her.

"Fine," he said at last, claiming one of the other chairs at the main table. "Get on with it, then."

"As I was saying," Kirigiri said, looking over at the rest of the group. "Everything turned out to be just where we'd expect. Nothing was out of place at all."

So Alter Ego was safe after all, then – at least if Kirigiri could be trusted on the matter. Togami nodded, willing to accept the information for the moment. There had always been the possibility that Celeste had actually destroyed the laptop and was only directing them to its broken pieces, but it seemed she hadn't been quite that vindictive. Rather surprising, actually. If it had been Togami, he rather thought that he would have smashed the computer, knowing that anyone who used it again would only be doing so if he lost and got killed.

Ding dong, ding dong.

The bells for the nighttime announcement played. Togami looked back at the dining hall door, frowning. Nighttime, and Naegi still hadn't returned?

"The dining hall is off-limits now, right?" Asahina stood up. "We should get back to the dorms, then."

Togami hesitated as the others headed for the door - but he was probably just being ridiculous. Now that the curfew had officially begun, Naegi would presumably return directly to the dorms instead of the dining hall tonight, when he came back from wherever he'd been. In fact, he might have realized the time and headed back to the dorms already.

But when they all made it back to their own rooms, it didn't seem that way. Togami tried the doorbell at Naegi's door once – twice – a third time, longer than either of the others – but there was no response. Naegi wouldn't ignore the doorbell, Togami was sure of that. So that meant he hadn't returned yet.

Fear trickled slowly but steadily towards Togami's heart, along with the bitter realization that his first instinct had been right after all. He shouldn't have let Naegi go off alone with Kirigiri after all. She'd caused this. Wherever Naegi had decided to go off to without telling anyone, it was her doing.

Togami thought about going and trying the bell at Kirigiri's door instead – but she'd probably just stonewall him again. He had no leverage to use against her, that was the problem. He wanted information from her, but she had no reason to give it.

Where could Naegi be? If Togami could just think of some idea, then he could go and look – but he couldn't very well scour the entire school by himself at night. And leaving meant risking that he would miss the moment Naegi returned.

Togami sighed, leaning against the wall outside Naegi's door. Was it possible he was just overreacting? Maybe there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for where Naegi had gone, and he'd feel like an idiot once he heard it. Maybe he was just tired and overwrought from the day's trial, and he was exaggerating the dangers.

He didn't believe any of that, of course, but there was some small comfort in thinking about how things might turn out okay. It was better than dwelling on the alternative, at any rate.

Maybe he'd be better off returning to his own room to wait there. Then at least he wouldn't feel so exposed standing there in the middle of the hallway. If he left his door open, he'd be able to see if Naegi returned. He'd have to be careful not to fall asleep that way, of course, but he didn't think he'd be able to get much rest until he knew what had happened.

He was just about to turn and head for his room when he heard a faint scuffling from the other side of the floor. He paused, looking over in that direction, but it didn't look like there was anything out of place. But – no, there it was again, a little louder this time, like it was coming closer.

Togami slipped around the corner that led to the storage room, keeping a careful eye on all the doors that led into the main hall as the noise slowly got a little nearer. It sounded like it was coming from the hallway to the rest of the first floor, if he judged correctly. He narrowed his eyes at the gate that barred the hall – just as a small figure stumbled closer, steadying himself against the wall. Another faltering step brought the person into the light enough for Togami to recognize Naegi. The boy leaned heavily against the wall, staring at the gate like it presented an insurmountable obstacle.

Before Naegi could make a move towards it, Togami had the gate open and stood in front of him. "What happened to you?"

Now that he was closer, Togami could see a thousand details that all said he'd been right to worry. Naegi looked disheveled, dirt smudged on his face and a film of dust and grime clinging to his clothes. Scrapes marked his palms, and there was a tear along one sleeve of his jacket. And his hair – what had happened to make it lie so disturbingly flat?

Togami raised a hand to touch the place where Naegi's usually fluffy hair had been matted to the back of his head – and just as he'd feared, his fingers came away bloody.

"Ow." Naegi winced, leaning away. "Don't – that still hurts."

"I'm sure it does," Togami said grimly. He looked around the hallway, peering back into the darkness. He didn't see anything – but that didn't mean there was nothing there. "Come on, you need to get back and rest."

Naegi nodded unsteadily. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Togami definitely didn't trust Naegi to walk on his own in this state. He slid an arm around Naegi's shoulders, taking on as much of the boy's weight as he could as they made the long trek across the hall to where the dorms were. Naegi shook with every step like he was drawing on his last reserves of strength, even with the support.

How far had Naegi already been forced to drag himself in this condition? Togami thought of Naegi trying to navigate the dark, empty halls of the school by himself, hurt and suffering from a head injury, and for a moment white hot rage clouded his vision. What if Naegi had been too badly injured to make it here? He could have easily collapsed somewhere – and if it were somewhere out of the way, who knew when they might have found him? It could so very easily have been too late.

Naegi's room was a few steps closer than Togami's, and even a few feet would make a difference considering Naegi's condition. Togami located Naegi's key and let them both in, making sure to lock the door behind them and then pocketing the key. With Naegi in this state, he was taking no chances.

"Thanks," Naegi mumbled as Togami guided him over to the bed. He seemed to be running on autopilot at this point, and left to himself he probably would have simply flopped on top of the bed and fallen asleep there. That would hardly get him the rest he needed, though.

Once he'd ensured Naegi was safely ensconced in a nest of blankets and pillows that wouldn't put pressure on his injured head, Togami settled on the edge of the bed beside him. Seeing the boy snuggled among the blankets would have been a charming picture in any other circumstances, but Togami couldn't forget about the dirt, cuts, and blood left behind. None of it could be cleaned away until the water came back on in the morning, leaving Naegi marked with the evidence of whatever had befallen him. Naegi barely seemed to notice it at this point, but Togami couldn't ignore it.

He reached out and ran a hand through Naegi's hair, careful to avoid the part of his head where the injury was. "Naegi?"

"Mm…?" Naegi's eyes were closed, but he didn't seem fully asleep just yet. Good.

"What happened to you?" Togami kept his voice as soft as he could, gentle fingers continuing to stroke through Naegi's hair.

"Got hit…" Naegi murmured, his voice quiet and fading. Togami had to lean close to hear it, close enough that Naegi was speaking almost directly into his ear.

So it hadn't been an accident. "Who hit you?" Only Togami's iron will kept the words from shaking with his fury at the thought. Someone had attacked Naegi, mere hours after the last trial had ended.

"Don't… know."

Well, that made sense, Togami supposed – whoever had done it must have snuck up on him. If he'd seen his attacker, no doubt he wouldn't be here right now.

"Where were you?" he asked, trying a different tack.

"Can't say."

Togami's fingers stilled in Naegi's hair at that. Can't say? Not that he didn't know or something along those lines, but – can't say? "Why not?"

"Promised… Kirigiri…" And with that, Naegi's breathing evened out, and he dropped from his half-doze into true sleep.

Togami had to fight not to let his hands clench into a fist, not when his fingers were still trailing through Naegi's hair. So wherever Naegi had gone this evening, Kirigiri had known about it. She'd sent Naegi to a place where he'd been attacked like this.

Togami was going to make her regret that decision.

Author's Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday here in America, I'm going to take a short break while I'm out of town. The break will last through the end of November, and the next chapter should be up Tuesday, December 1.