The Misdirection

"So, when are we leaving?" Asahina asked eagerly, all traces of her former breakdown already gone.

"Will you keep it down?" Togami hissed through gritted teeth. "This is supposed to be a secret."

"Ah, sorry." Asahina's cheeks were red, but there was a small smile on her face. As if discussing secrets while they were strolling through a busy work area was a perfectly normal mistake to make. As it was however, none of the many workers in their cubicles appeared to have noticed their conversation.

Togami pinched his nose and muttered, "I'm regretting this already."

"M-maybe my White Knight should r-relieve his stress." Fuwaka tapped her index fingers together, grinning lecherously. "I would gladly volunteer."

. . . He'd been with them for less than ten minutes, and already Togami was considering locking himself in his room.

"I would never dream of touching a filthy mongrel like you," he said. (Fukawa swooned in the background). "Now, do I as I told you and for the love of god, stop talking –"

He came that close to walking straight into Kirigiri. The Detective had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, stepping into his path while his attention was elsewhere. Togami lurched to a halt, taking a moment to fix his glasses.

The Heir crossed his arms, and smirked. "Ah, why if it isn't the Future Foundation's newest lapdog."

"Togami-kun." Kirigiri's gaze was chilly, but it was nothing compared to the frost in her voice.

Almost immediately, a sudden tension filled the area, and many workers looked up from their station to stare. It wasn't just him and Kirigiri that were the source of the tension either. Asahina looked like she was trying to set the Detective on fire with her eyes, and Fukawa was mumbling something foul under her breath.

"What do you want?" Asahina growled.

"Asahina-san." Kirigiri nodded in her general direction. "I'm afraid this doesn't concern you."

"Why? Did you tattle on Togami again?"

Kirigiri didn't react to the barb. "Togami-kun, I have been informed that you picked a fight with Sakakura-kun yesterday."

Togami sneered. "That's hardly fair. If the Future Foundation was upset by that, then they shouldn't have sent a barbarian with the temperament of a toddler to deal with me."

Several people started whispering to each other. Kirigiri's eyes flickered to them, but that was her only response.

"We are not talking about this here," Kirigiri said. "Come with me."

"Ordering my White Knight around like that . . . How d-dare she? You're just jealous that he –"

"That's enough," Togami said, and Fukawa immediately fell silent. "It's fine. I've been looking forward to this, actually."

"I bet she has been, too," said Asahina. "You couldn't just wait to get one of us into trouble again, couldn't you?"

"Munakata-kun himself asked me to speak to him," Kirigiri said.

"And I just bet you couldn't resist volunteering! Can't give up an opportunity to show off in front of the Branch Heads, huh?" Asahina snapped. "It's not like we're supposed to be your friends or anything."

Kirigiri had already turned away, so there was no telling what her reaction had been – if there had been one. She merely repeated her previous order for Togami to follow her, and then walked away. Still smug, Togami followed. Kirigiri led him to her office, and opened the door.

"Shut it," she said as Togami stepped inside.

Togami did so. He turned around afterwards, leaning against the door as their eyes met –

"May I ask what you and Sakakura-kun were arguing about?" she asked calmly.

Togami shrugged. "I merely pointed out that I was groomed to take over an international organization that secretly ruled the world from the shadows. And that, objectively, would have made me better prepared to lead this foundation than the experience of being a mere student council president."

Kirigiri nodded to herself. "Nothing serious enough to elicit a true punishment."

With that, Kirigiri walked behind her desk and took a seat. Togami, too, stroke forward, taking the waiting seat in front of the desk.

Hands on her lap, sitting stiff as a board, Kirigiri spoke. "Let it be known that officially, I reprimanded you for your conduct, reminded you of the need for professionalism on all sides, and warned you that there may be consequences if you continue to antagonise your coworkers."

"The usual, then. I'm hurt by your lack of creativity."

"I'll keep that in mind for future conversations." Kirigiri said dryly. She took some papers out of a drawer and began looking through them.

Togami raised an eyebrow. "And now that we're done with official business . . .?"

Kirigiri looked up at him. "Are you aware that the surveillance team submitted an official report that Naegi-kun tried to escape around the time we received that email about his sister?"

Togami frowned. "No, I was not. Then are you saying he did send –?"

"The Future Foundation is not considering that," Kirigiri said, skin around her eyes tightening just a bit. "They see no reason to change their approach."

Togami leaned back in his seat. "The approach that is completely useless to us . . . So, we proceed with the plan."

"Yes." Kirigiri suddenly reached down, and pulled up a laptop. She placed it on the desk, and slid it towards Togami. "Everything you need is there."

"Does anyone else know?" he asked.

Kirigiri stared at him. "Of course not. Why would you ask something like that?"

Togami shrugged, secretly delighting in annoying her, even just a little. "Just checking."

As Togami accepted the laptop and placed it on his lap, Kirigiri suddenly spoke again. "Asahina-san's very angry with me, isn't she?"

"Oh, yes," Togami said. "She claims to understand why you exposed her plans, but she is still quite bitter that you stopped her from sneaking into that raiding party that tried to retrieve Naegi. Not to mention she's rather upset that you keep taking their side over any of ours. You remember what happened in the fourth trial. Asahina doesn't bear betrayal well."

Kirigiri exhaled. "That's . . . unfortunate. However, if it makes our estrangement more believable, then I must continue to play the villain. I'm afraid I can't see a better way to ensure I become head of the new division."

"And we need you in that position," Togami agreed. "Is that still on track?"

"Yes. The higher-ups are still very concerned about those rumours that you're planning to use your remaining wealth and influence to usurp them. Your recent argument certainly hasn't eased those worries. They will welcome me as a division head to act as a buffer between them and you. Not to mention, they are eager to find somebody that can control the four of you, and I seem to be the best at that."

Togami smiled, and it was the smile of a wolf that had just spotted a herd of deer. "How very convenient."

Kirigiri didn't react. She instead changed the subject. "Togami-kun, I presume those two are accompanying you to Towa City?"

Togami looked off to the side, legs crossed one over the other. "Asahina would go on her own if I didn't allow her to. Fukawa obeys all orders except the ones where I tell her to stop following me."

Kirigiri smiled the tiniest bit. "Ah, it must be so horrible to be so popular."

Togami glared at her.

"Is that all?" the Heir demanded.

"No. Stay. Hagakure-kun should be returning soon, and we'll need to discuss that."

The two of them sat in silence. Kirigiri had a cup of tea with her and, after a few sips, offered to get some for Togami. Togami declined (of course he did. Lavender tea? How utterly commonplace) and the two were left with a slightly more awkward silence. It didn't help that while Kirigiri had paperwork to fill out, Togami did not have anything to do. Sure, he could have perused the laptop, but he was worried about someone coming in and seeing what was on it.

Then, it happened.

"Kirigiri-chiiiiii!"

"You may want to move out of the way," was all Kirigiri said as Hagakure's shout rang through the walls.

Togami gave it a moment of thought, then decided to evacuate to the side.

A wise decision.

The door slammed open. Hagakure rushed in like a typhoon, accidentally bumping the chair Togami had been sitting in and sending it skittering across the floor. The Clairvoyant was breathing heavily, sweating, his already frighteningly-messy hair somehow even messier. But despite his apparent distress, the Clairvoyant was grinning widely, waving his arms wildly to make sure he had the Detective's attention.

"Oi, Kirigiri-chi! It worked. Your magic charm worked!"

"Did it, now?" Kirigiri said, apparently unaffected by how the volume of the room had increased tenfold.

"Yeah! I got separated from the others and walked right in front of some soldiers. I thought I was a goner, but not a single one shot at me." Hagakure laughed loudly, hands on his hips. "I even kicked one and nothing!"

"I see. Please keep this between us."

"Huh? Oh, I get it. Everyone would be trying to steal that charm if they knew."

"Exactly." Kirigiri dipped her chin, right before saying, "Now hand it over."

"About that . . ." Hagakure grinned at her sheepishly, hand getting lost in his hair as he rubbed at his scalp. "I lost it."

"You did?"

"Uh, yeah . . ."

"Empty your pockets."

Hagakure froze. "B-but . . ."

"Now."

Looking like a boy who had been caught swiping candy, Hagakure reached into the pockets of his much too baggy pants. Some of the stuff he pulled out was nothing more than junk. Some of it was . . . questionable. At one point, Hagakure made a move as if to hide something behind his back. He was no match for Kirigiri though, who merely commanded him once to hand it over once. The Clairvoyant sighed and dropped a small trinket into her waiting hand.

"Thank you," she said. "You can leave now."

Despite the dismissal, Hagakure remained. "Are you sure? I mean you don't really need a charm like that if you're just –"

"You can leave now."

Sulking, slumped at the shoulders, Hagakure did.

". . . A magic charm?" Togami asked from his corner, eyebrow raised.

"He believed it, didn't he?" Kirigiri countered. "And given Hagakure-kun's reputation around here, nobody will bother digging deeper. It was rather clever, wasn't it?"

As she spoke, Kirigiri had leaned closer over her desk. She wore expression that anyone who knew her would say to be the closest she could come to explicit smugness. Togami grit his teeth, unable to deny her statement, but also reluctant to give her a compliment with no strings attached.

"That it didn't backfire terribly is impressive," he said instead.

"Indeed." Once again, the barest hint of smugness crept into her voice. It was infuriating.

He changed the subject. "So, if none of them attacked him, then we can conclude your hypothesis is correct . . ."

"Naegi-kun has somehow managed to infiltrate the Monokuma system."

The silence hung. Togami leaned back in his seat, shaking his head.

"Unbelievable," the Heir said. "How could an ordinary person like that –?"

"You underestimated him," Kirigiri said. "As always. Regardless, you should be able to move freely without fear of the Monokuma army."

Togami shook his head again. "Naegi really is impossible to keep down."

Kirigir said, "The division heads will be having a meeting at three o'clock tomorrow. That will be the best time to sneak away."

"Can you get us some of those megaphones?"

"I can. Return here at noon tomorrow."

With that, the conversation ended. Neither Togami nor Kirigiri felt the need for proper goodbyes. Once Togami simply nodded once and then made his way towards the exit. Kirigiri returned to her paperwork. Both of their expressions were tight-lipped, as if they indeed had been having a very serious discussion about Togami's misdemeanours.

But then . . .

"Togami-kun? If you do indeed find Naegi Komaru, then Asahina-san would be very happy. Perhaps, she her mood would be boosted enough that she would be willing to extend an olive branch . . ."

Hand still on the door handle, Togami looked over his shoulder at her. "When we rescue Naegi's sister, I'll find a way to tell Asahina the truth about what you're doing. That said, I find the 'if' in your statement offensive. Surely, you don't doubt me."

Kirigiri sighed. "We still have no proof that Naegi-kun sent that message."

Togami didn't open the door. He watched Kirigiri instead, expression guarded and unreadable.

"I must say, Kirigiri," the Heir suddenly said, "I never thought I'd see the day where I had more faith in him than you."

Kirigiri looked up sharply.

Togami continued, "If Naegi did indeed hack an army of Monokumas, then I find it difficult to believe that sending a simple email is beyond him."

Kirigiri held his gaze a little while longer.

"I'll see you at noon tomorrow," she finally said.

The fawn ran. Its flanks were heaving, ears flat against its skull as it tore through the bush. Behind it, the beast advanced. Its long fangs glinted in the dim light; black eyes reflected the tiny, frail body of its prey. Then, all so quickly, it happened. The fawn slipped. The beast's paws pounded against the dirt and – it was over. Teeth tore into the young body, crushing bone and muscle alike.

Naegi shoved popcorn into his mouth.

As the bear onscreen began to feed, he turned to Kuma and asked, "Did you ever do anything like that?"

Kuma stared at his popcorn bowl.

Naegi sighed. "I already gave you too many marshmallows. Plus, you ate two of my lunches."

Kuma stared at his popcorn bowl.

Naegi looked to Tanaka. The breeder was on a chair next to his bed, having refused to sit upon the object itself. He gave the bear a firm look and shook his head. Kuma huffed, but adverted his gaze.

"I don't get how you can say no to him," Naegi said. He stared at Kuma, saw the flint-like, cold black of his eyes, the teeth – thick and long as his fingers – peeking out; saw a sturdy head placed upon a powerful neck, attached to an even more powerful body lined with muscle; saw a size and mass that could easily kill him by accident alone . . .

". . . He's just so cute," Naegi finished.

Tanaka nodded solemnly. Then jumped as a couple of his hamsters took offense and head-butted him in the stomach. Naegi smiled at that, and then glanced back at Tsumiki.

"Uh, Mikan? Why are you hiding your face like that?"

"It's . . . it's just . . . that poor fawn!"

Ah. Naegi winced in sympathy. "I know it's bad, but it's just nature."

"I know, it's just so horrible!"

As Tsumiki whined and continued to lament the loss of the fawn, Naegi watched her with only one thought in mind:

Please don't say she's freaking out because it reminded her of me.

Naegi glanced back at the TV. "Look, now they're fishing!"

They watched videos and movies about bears until the evening. At least, that's what Naegi thought. It was kind of hard to tell time in the infirmary. But he couldn't think of another reason why Tsumiki would kick Tanaka out and then take him to brush his teeth.

"Try not to roll around too much," she said afterwards when he was tucked in. "The handcuffs shouldn't bother you if you don't. Umm, j-just try not to think about them, okay?"

"Can't you take them off?" Naegi asked, lifting the offending wrist. "I mean I'll be asleep anyways."

Tsumiki glanced nervously from side to side. "B-but you might run off and . . ."

"I won't."

"You weren't supposed to before," she said quietly, almost guiltily.

"Mikan. . ." He sat up to speak to her better. "I'm not going to run away."

"But you –"

"I promise."

Mikan stared at him. She swallowed.

"Al-alright."

The cuff came off with a small click. Naegi rubbed his wrist, even though it didn't hurt.

"Thanks," he said.

Mikan stood there, still holding the loose cuff. "You're not lying to me, right? You're not going to run away, are you?"

"No, I won't run tonight," he promised.

He glanced at the infirmary doors. He hadn't seen any sign that someone was behind them, but the first night after his attempted escape? He'd be shocked if there wasn't somebody secretly guarding those doors.

Naegi asked, "Is Komaeda-kun not coming to say goodnight?"

"Umm, I guess not," Tsumiki said. "I'm not sure. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Naegi said. He felt . . . oddly putout. At least that probably meant he didn't have to recite the eulogy today. "Mikan, you're not going to stay up all night again and watch me, are you?"

She stared at him for a long while.

"No," she said. "You promised and . . . a-and I'm going to trust you! I'll be in that bed over there."

Naegi watched her as she indeed walked over to one of the neighbouring beds and got herself comfortable. She flashed him a smile when she saw him looking, and then snuggled into the pillow and closed her eyes. Naegi did the same shortly after. It wasn't like he could do much else.

Time passed, and the two dozed off.

Then, in the dark, dark corner of the room, something stirred. Kamukura stepped forward, moving soundlessly until he was right by Naegi's bedside. He stared down at the younger teen's unbound wrist, face as emotionless as ever.

". . . I'll assume you have a reason," he droned.

A phone rang.

In a flash, before either of the two sleepers could wake, Kamukura fished Kuzuryu's phone out of his pocket and brought it up to his ear. He didn't check the caller ID. He knew exactly whom it would be. As he walked back towards the dark corner, he waited for her to speak.

"Kuzuryu-kun, do you know Naegi contacted us?" Yukizome asked.

Kamukura moved the phone away so that she wouldn't hear him clear his throat.

And then he spoke with Kuzuryu's voice.

"He sent you guys a message through the website, right? Yeah, we know about that."

"Okay, just checking. . . He told them where you're holding his sister," Yukizome said quietly.

"We know. Don't worry about it. It's all part of the plan."

"Okay, if you say so! Anything you need from me?"

"Make sure Munakata doesn't take it seriously," he said.

They exchanged basic pleasantries and hung up. Kamukura grabbed a bottle of water afterwards and took a deep drink; his throat always went dry while using his Ultimate Voice Acting talent. He then leisurely made his way toward the exit. He had to swap this phone with the decoy he'd planted on Kuzuryu earlier before anyone noticed.

He glanced down at the phone and something tugged at his lips for an instant.

"Ah, Komaeda. After what he employed to get this far, it really would be unfair if I allowed you such an easy way to thwart him," he said idly to himself.

But of course, that wasn't the real reason why he'd done it. If his analysis was correct and the situation advanced as he predicted, then the stage for the showdown had just been set. He'd finally get a real chance to put his theory to the test.

For better or for worse.

Review Response:

Mike: Bears are truly the best. The collar is a tracking collar, because Kuma had a habit of wandering off to raid picnic baskets and stuff XD