As expected, Hinata and the others had been patted down by Togami himself before being allowed access to the party room. This was a crucial moment, but Togami didn't notice us at all. Not that I expected him to. As told, a wonderful feast had been prepared beforehand. The lights were bright, the room was wonderfully done. Not a trace of dust in the air. And, lastly, as planned…
("Hinata!") Sonia calls out to him, and the mentioned boy freezes up due to how the window stilled. ("Remember our conversation earlier? Please, let us talk of some of your spirit stories!") Her voice is light and regal, a wisp of bubbled excitement trailing on her words. ("Do not fret, I have a few of my own. Let us trade, Hinata!") Her eagerness was a bit of a pinch, resulting in guilt and distraught from two different parties.
("My what,") Hinata hurriedly whispers to himself, knowing full-well a mischievous dragon was listening.
"Aw, such a shame." Complaints go best with heavy sighs and lowering of the eyes. Too bad the 'Main Character' can't see this. He can only imagine my sad, sad face. "My conversation with Sonia was supposed to commence. Alas, you're in full-control...Don't disappoint her!" Shame vanishing, vicious mirth ran free. Best of luck, Sucker.
("U-Um, er, y-you can go first? I mean t-that is if you don't mind…?") Hinata manages to sputter, clearly flustered but unable to find a way out.
Sonia, the better person, smiles and gleefully cuts into a conversation about ghostly pets. She talked off a castle parrot who had passed away from old age. Apparently, the bird's original job had been to greet royalty, those who were entering the library at the time. Sonia was able to witness her aunt flush red when the hall's near the library squawked with:
["Good evening! Good evening, Princess!"]
It was...Actually, quite interesting. So interesting, in fact, both teenagers were in the middle of drinking their respective juice until the reminder hit. That was dangerous. Good thing there was still time left. Sonia's respective life stories are to be stored away later. Perhaps next time I could truly converse with her.
"Hey, switch with me," I tell Hinata, without providing a choice because I was set to claim my prize at whatever time. Claws flex and flames gather by the first-person window.
("Hey, wait,") Hinata sharply mumbles under his breath, but it is far too late for him to do a thing about it.
"Hinata!" Sonia gasps, but a stagger and stumble fixes the fumble 'Hinata' has been dealt with.
Curse long legs and Hinata's overall structure.
"Mm' good." Voice a slur, I viciously gulp down Hinata's drink. Fizzy and comfortable. "Sometimes, I get a headache when I drink too fast. Sensitive teeth, I think. The pain's sharp." And thankfully, not caused by Izuru's interference.
The rugged floor is soft and the room's lights weren't glaringly bright. It's a pleasant atmosphere with smiling teenagers and joking students.
"Geez, Hinata. It's not like we're drinking actual alcohol." A tan woman, Akane, casually speaks up before downing a glass in two seconds. "Are you secretly a wimp?" Her nose seemed to twitch as if she could sense a 'wimp.' A real animal, that one. I could respect it.
"I'll say." Candy-Apple hair, Mahiru laughs in agreement. "Hinata was the first to faint when we first got here. Not to say he's completely unreliable but...I haven't changed my mind yet." She huffs, to which Hiyoko snorted in muffled laughter.
Ah. They're all jerks. No regrets toward their fates, not at all. Why did Hinata like them? "Heheh, I guess? You guys are cruel." Echoing Hinata's blunt laugh is a bit harder than it looks. A hand clasps onto my shoulder, and curious attention proves Nagito to be standing nearby. He has a small smile on his face. The perfect posture of a laid back young man.
"I don't think they're bullying you, Hinata," Nagito says, and resisting the urge to flinch is difficult to do in the presence of a sharp person. "However, if it matters...I think you're uniquely exceptional. After all, you're the only one who doesn't remember their talent." His smile widens. "And I'm certain it's something special." Nagito says, with such confidence oxygen had left these lungs without warning.
"And why do you think that?" My statement came from Hinata's influence. He must be watching, with the help of Izuru. If I weren't enraptured by the same personality known as Komaeda Nagito, perhaps I would've gotten annoyed. Instead, intrigue fuels the desire to know more about his motives. To learn about Nagito's true feelings, and to aid Hinata's realization about them.
"Oh? Just a hunch. I may be useless but I can make great guesses, you know?" Nagito retracts his hand and strolls away back to a certain corner.
My gosh, Hinata is it just me, or does he pay more attention to you than he does to the others? Forcing myself to look away, I smile at Sonia Nevermind, who in turn smiles back generously.
("What are you going on about?") Hinata tiredly asks, but there is no reason to reply. He knows what I'm talking about.
"Hey, Sonia, have you ever heard marched before? Like in a band?" She's the Ultimate Princess, Sonia's has had to do something of the sort, hadn't she?
"I have, but never in a band. I was always taking part near the floats in parades." The regal young woman blinks, as I demonstrated the basic march of 8"5's to the table and back, backward and forward marching. "Fascinating, Hinata! I did not know you had such skills!" Sonia compliments, and I continue the demonstration without need for thought.
"Thank you. I can easily do this in my sleep." It's not a boast, this was the truth. Marching Band had been a favorite sport of mine. I could do many versions of the shows I've performed all throughout high school! Marching back and forth is nothing. Nothing compared to the Box Set.
Sonia nods quickly. "Another Japanese saying?" As if she'd add it to her list.
"That's American, actually." Souda pipes up from nearby, and just then is the realization the young man with pink (disgusting) hair had been listening in on our conversation. "It means he's done it so many times, it's basically muscle memory." He adds, too helpfully, and I stare at him with likely too much intensity. He blinks sheepishly, giving nothing else away.
"Oh." Sonia voices in acceptance.
There's a click, a faint beep, and lights disappear without a sense of reality.
Pitch-black raids the area, and the students panic. One can easily swallow the drops of adrenaline rushing through veins, as the other students did. Shouts and yells filled the air without a moment of break.
"What? Where is it?!" Someone yells over everyone else, outraged.
There were only a few people who managed to evade the overwhelming bite of terror.
The Perpetrator, The Lamb, and The Entertainer.
Perpetrator or not, they were slow. Far too slow, compared to the seasoned veteran who's been marching for years under pressure. Under the eyes of hundreds of people, a couple of times on live television, this pressure was nothing. Perform well and entertain the crowd. Dance and spew the high-notes under the count of One-Two-Three. The Perpetrator may have a line of cord to follow, but practiced movements move faster than a calculated plan.
The Entertainer reached the table first. There was no need to go under, merely picking up the stolen night-goggles from the perch on the floor, next to a table leg. Placing the object on, I wait and listen to shrill student chatter, foot-stomping, and lastly the shuffle of cloth.
The Lamb is left scrambling for control. They do not know what to do with the quick wrench in plans.
Through the vision goggles, Nagito escapes from under the table. There is a knife in hand as he safely leaves with intention.
He doesn't get far, not with the Entertainer waiting to pounce. A vicious grin flashes across lips sweet with soda.
"Erk!" Nagito is tall but even the mightiest giants can be tackled at the right angle and time. The two of us crash to the ground but there's a focus on the metallic weapon glowing in the dark. He is unprepared as another set of fingers snatch the knife. Nagito's eyes had flown open, unable to properly fight back against the person straddling him. The knife is raised. Through the night goggles, I am able to see Nagito go rigid. He's finally caught on to what's happening.
It's truly a good thing Izuru had 'agreed' to distract Hinata, or else this would be difficult. What would be heart-crushing worth in this host's eyes? The fact Nagito seems to allow this to happen, or the fact despite the dance of madness dancing in wide-plate eyes, the Luckster wheezed a breath of fear?
Grasping Nagito's hand together with Hinata's, I smile in the dark and steel nerves under the grounds of uncuttable material.
The knife slams down, cutting through both our hands and into the floor.
Ah. Several beats of muddled hearing are all it takes under the chaos.
We're both terribly unprepared. The pain is a lot more excruciating than originally planned.
Hinata's scream consists of a yell and regret dripping off in waves. Fingers can't move, refuses to move. Nagito's cry sounded like a drowned dog, paws scratched by the water's floor rocks. He doesn't budge an inch either. Both of us were struck still by the desire to keep still and less harmed. Deep and gorging, the warm substance of liquid life bleeds between the pain and twitching struggles.
The lights flash back on, and the sound of running feet are of little consequence to the blaring sirens of pain digging at the consciousness. The remaining students are sighing in relief of the renewed light. They are oblivious to the previous danger from seconds ago.
"K-Komaeda?" Sonia calls, as they haven't quite found him yet. "Where did…?" It must be easy to spot the disappearance of one of their own.
"Hinata?" Chiaki voices her concern, and an inch of panic grips as she's the first to poke her head over the scene. She's not the tallest person, but her position standing over the table to catch the sight of two imbeciles on the floor demonstrates her giant standing. The Ultimate Gamer peers over us with a sluggish blink. "Oh." Is what she says softly, to which Nagito groans from his spot on the floor. His eyes are fluttering. I, however, choose to stare at the knife entwined in both pain and suffering.
Pink. A gross, magenta pink leaks from the wounds.
How I hated that color with a passion.
Izuru, I call, and he doesn't need to answer for knowledge to know of his presence. He's likely listening while doing whatever he is to distract his former self. You can explain to Hinata what's happening. I'm almost done here. And it's highly likely the true host won't be taking over for a while longer. Not like this, as having Hinata see himself see this chaotic scene, might damage him more than necessary.
Unable to watch the liquid pink, eye-contact is made without another shade. Chiaki's eyes peer at me, and staring back is all I could do with grit teeth.
"...Is that really you, Hinata?" Chiaki questions, and there's no real reason to respond to her odd phrasing. Multiple footsteps pick up, classmates rushing to view the scene. There were only a couple of seconds to ourselves.
"I'm confused," Nagito begins, a whisper-rasp. His eyes are awfully hazy as they try to focus on the person straddling him. "Hinata, why didn't you…?" Time's up.
Souda screams as he's the second to arrive, extraordinarily loud and piercing. Either he can't handle the impalement of two hands, or he's terrified of a near-murder scene. Perhaps both. Either way, he had gained the attention of everyone else, who went to see what had happened.
Many of the students had gone pale, with several holding their mouths or covering their eyes. A whimper from someone in the room floated in the air as neither the Entertainer nor Preparator moves.
The lamb, Togami, was clear ashen white, staring at us, but careful observation can declare he wasn't staring at anything. It was as if we were glass, and the young man had drifted his mind elsewhere for several moments of needed sanity. He had tried his best to prevent this, as in the original chapter. Should there have been no interventions, perhaps he would have succeeded in sacrificing himself rather than allowing a classmate to get hurt or worse.
"Ah!" Someone cries out, as a thump follows soon after.
Pitiful.
Teruteru was foaming at the mouth, passed out.
Chaos begins to brew, with Souda's second scream hitting the surface and becoming the utter catalyst. Fear began to breed incompetence and desperation, disbelief ringing against eardrums. The bloody-scene was minor (to some) but a reality shock to others. This was too much for them. Too much.
"Everyone stop!" Chiaki commands, quelling more than half the group with her sharp and less-soft voice. Togami finally snaps out of his daze.
"And line up!" Togami demands, like a whip. "We need to figure out how this happened, and if everyone else is safe!" He approaches us first, kneeling down. "Tsumiki, Nekomaru, with me." He gestures a hand. "The others fall back and search for Fuyuhiko. We need to know if he's involved or safe." Several of the students look at one another.
"R-Right!" Mikan rushes over, reaching into her pockets and flexing out medical supplies.
"I'm HEEEERE!" Nidai announces as he barges to the front. "...You two doing okay?" There's a frown on his face as he stares, arms crossed. He's concerned, it's easy to see in his eyes. There's a twitch at the corner of his face, and Nidai is stuck staring at the impaled hands with a watery softness. Still, his question feels uncalled for under the constant throb and intense burn of a blade between flesh.
"Just peachy," I mumble, to which Nagito releases a soft wheezy laugh from the floor. "Oh quiet, you." To which the Luckster actually does so.
"Go," Togami repeats, and the other students split up faster than rats. Everyone is in pairs or triplets, and the party-room is emptied save for the chosen selected, the Pawns, and the Leader.
"I can take it out," Mikan says confidently, staring at the knife. Her eyes are focused, fingers twitching for action. "But...Anesthetics are needed for a clean s-swipe." She stutters as attention of Nidai and Togami focuses on her. "S-So I don't d-damage the nerves. S-Sorry." She apologizes as if she should have certain medications on her at all times.
"Fetch them. Nekomaru will accompany you." Togami comes to a decision with grace. "I'll wait here."
Nidai stares. "Huh? But you'll be alone," He comments with a heavier frown.
"These two Fools make pleasant company," Togami says, and perhaps the two on the floor shivered at his icy tone. "I'll be fine. Go quickly." The Leader of the class assures them despite the lack of softness, and Nidai is the first to snap out of it. Muscles and all.
"Right! Come on, Tsumiki! Get those legs into ROCKING gear!" Nidai counts off a strict regime, Mikan rushing to catch up. She's already out of breath with two seconds of running.
"C-Coming!" And then there were three.
"So." Togami bluntly starts, and the ceiling looks very pretty today. Lights and all. "Which one of you planned this whole ruse?" His words are cutting, a blade gently sliding against the stomach in wait to gut. "Don't worry. I'm not stupid. One of you wrote this letter," Out of his pocket came the note used to bait the Lamb into planning. "And one of you went through with it." He stands above, no longer kneeling in the watchdog manner from minutes before.
"Which is which?" Togami presses, and this was likely his true goal in having both support leave for the time being. Interrogation. Privacy. Has he done this before?
Nagito glanced at 'Hinata' to which I stared back. There's a dark flicker in his pale olive eyes, a furrow of the brow twitching as his mouth opens.
"Damn." The voice leaves Hinata's mouth instead, blunt and regretful. It was worth seeing Togami's eyes dart over, as well as Nagito stops blinking entirely. "Someone realized I was planning a murder?" To which I allow a pause to seep in, absorbing the sea of both puzzlement and sheer shock. "Was it you, Komaeda? Or were you just unlucky as hell?" Mustering glares is something I specialize in. "I was aiming for someone a little less self-loathing." And now, squint.
"No," Nagito chokes, his mouth twitching. He's trying his best not to move due to the circumstances. Pain continues to sting but neither body jerks in order to prevent an increase of harm. "I-I'm a very lucky…" The opportunity must be a bit too exciting for him. The Luckster shivers. "It must be fate! I'd rather die than have one of the Ultimates suffer a terrible fate as me-" He begins to rasp in a quick frenzy, and Togami looks far too tired to deal with any of this.
"Stop," Togami says, closing his eyes. "I heard enough. Hinata Hajime, you know what this means, don't you?" Exasperated, the cutting words of disappointment would've hurt more should I have been the person he believed me to be.
Considering the lack of head pain or the real Hinata's interference, it's easy to fall back into the role of a villain. Although, it would be nicer if Nagito didn't stare at me like some sort of messiah.
"...What? You're gonna tell everyone?" Grinning with teeth is an effective method to raise fury. This 'Togami' didn't seem to fall for it, considering his hard stare. To further dig, a sweeter smile spreads across the lips. Eyes falling half-lidded, Hinata's face is prime for demonstrating confidence. "And throw them into a panic? The exact opposite of what you've been going for."
Ah. There. A tiny flame briefly out, just to reignite.
"...We're going to have to keep you with someone at all times." Togami continues. "For tonight, since everyone is tired, we'll have to lock you in here. Your room might have weapons. I'll be personally searching there." He informs, curt. "I'll find you a bodyguard for the night." At least he's willing to tell his prisoners of the plan.
("What!") Hinata tunes back in, practically screeching, sending my inner self swerving. ("Is this what you've been doing? Trying to plan a murder?!") Ah, he's screaming at me. He sounds this close to attempt strangling me.
"...Hinata?" Nagito murmurs, soft, and haha, my hands are trembling again.
Hinata will probably be able to do it too, with Izuru's aid. Crush my throat, stomp my bones to dust and cry out in rage for every wrong-doing I've committed against his feeble trust.
"Why are you shaking?" Togami murmurs, unaware of the phantom ghost. "You're the one who tried to commit murder here." He justifies with a squint of the eyes. "There will be no pity for scum like you." Final and stern, the young man turns away with a push-up of the glasses. Hinata Hajime's social coffin had been sealed.
("Togami, wait!") Hinata calls, but he's powerless. Togami is already standing back up. ("Wait! That's not me!") He continues to hiss and struggles for control. He's too weak, his influence is far too limp. ("You! Truth. Fix this!") Hinata demands, demands, demands.
My mind swims with ways to fix it, most of them involve ruining all the hard work I've been working toward. The bet, marching, and setting up the whole plate with Teruteru's nervous self. Hinata isn't present. He's trapped in his mind, banging on the invisible walls and stirring up chaos with pure willpower. One could wonder what Izuru is doing to prevent massive damage. It's still not enough to hinder an experienced soul nor her tricks.
"Nah," Is what I whisper back, chilly. The icicles in veins creak under pressure. A single shard could enter the heart and break the entire body. So shut up. "I get it, Togami. I get it." Tilting vision to Nagito, I grin, full of teeth. "So you better watch it." This won't be happening again. And trust the fact, there will be consequences regardless of this utter dodge.
Nagito wisely says nothing, but judging by how his chest stuttered, he understood the message.
"I-I got the anesthetics!" Mikan crashes into the room, nearly tripping. She had been caught by Nidai before she could, to which the nurse sputtered an apology before thanking Nidai.
"Good." Togami nods. "Treat them. Nekomaru, I need a word with you…"