Naegi wondered if he should have run after Togami. He'd tried to stop the other boy from leaving the gym on instinct, just because he couldn't stand to see the hurt and humiliation written in the stiff line of Togami's shoulders and the flush coloring his skin dull red. He'd wanted to tell Togami that it would be okay, that it didn't have to matter – but the look in Togami's eyes when he'd shaken Naegi's hand off his arm had stopped the words in his throat. And then, before Naegi could gather his thoughts enough to decide what to do, Togami had been gone, door closing in Naegi's face.
He wanted to follow Togami out of the gym, to find him and make sure everything would be okay, but he didn't know where the other boy had gone. So instead, he let himself be swept along with the others as they made their way back up towards the cafeteria, where they'd had to abandon their breakfast half-eaten.
Naegi didn't feel like he had much of an appetite anymore, though. He sat in front of a cup of tea that had gone cold, staring down at it without really registering what he was looking at. All he could see was Togami's face when he'd told Naegi to leave him alone.
He pushed the cup away from him, unable to stand the idea of drinking the stale liquid. With the sourness in his stomach from the assembly that morning, he felt like he might never eat anything again.
Someone settled in the seat across from him. Naegi looked up with a burst of hope – but no, it was just Celeste, hands clasped beneath her chin as she studied him.
"Do you want something?" he asked, when she didn't say anything.
She smiled. "Merely to say that I hope your charming little romance is able to overcome this obstacle soon."
Naegi stared at her, puzzled. "You do?"
"Certainly. Why should I not be pleased at something that makes my companions content in our new home?" Celeste leaned forward. "If you require advice, please do not hesitate to ask me."
"Advice?" Naegi wasn't sure what she meant. Did she think he needed romantic advice? Well, with the way Togami had run off from him, maybe he did.
"Oh, yes. While your first attempt does appear to have been successful, mistakes can be quite easily made in such situations. And while I personally would not be bothered, I'm sure you would not wish to damage your new servant irrevocably, would you?"
"Servant?" Naegi stared at her, confused. What was she talking about?
"I did notice that you appeared to have acquired quite a lovely rose whip from the school store several days ago," Celeste said, her eyes glittering. "Do let me know if you need assistance in the development of an appropriate technique."
"What are you –" And then Naegi got it, and his face flooded red. "Oh – no, no, I'm good! No advice needed!"
"If you're certain." Celeste stood, giving him a sweet smile. "I will be waiting if you change your mind, hmm?"
And here Naegi had thought that he couldn't possibly feel any more awkward about everything that had happened this morning.
Apparently Celeste's question had broken the ice, because after that the rest of the group drifted closer, curiosity getting the better of them. Naegi flushed as he thought about what they must be wondering.
Asahina was the first one to ask, taking the seat immediately beside Naegi and turning it to face him. "So – you and Togami, huh?"
"Well, yeah." Naegi shrugged uncomfortably under the weight of everyone's stares. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have minded letting his friends know – but Monokuma's cruel exposure of them made it feel like he was admitting to something shameful. He didn't want shame mixed in with how he felt about Togami.
"I thought you and Kirigiri were going to be a thing, though?"
"H-huh?" Naegi stared at Asahina's innocently curious expression. "No, I don't – I mean, she's not – we aren't –"
"Perhaps she believed so as well, and has gone off to demand the right to duel for Master Makoto Naegi's hand," Yamada suggested.
"I think it is unlikely that either Kirigiri or Togami would duel anyone," Ogami said.
"She appeared to be heading in the direction of the laundry room again after the assembly," Celeste said. "I assume she intends to spend the day there again." She gave Naegi a sharp smile. "If you and your boyfriend wish for time alone, she is unlikely to interrupt you."
"Boyfriend?" Naegi bit his lip. "I – well, I don't know if I'd go that far."
"Huh? Of course you're boyfriends. What else would you be?" Asahina asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"We haven't really had a chance to talk about it or anything," Naegi said, staring down at his hands. Admitting that felt like a rock in the pit of his stomach, but he didn't want to lie about it.
"You haven't? How long has it been going on?" Ogami asked, frowning.
"Just a couple days." Naegi sighed. It felt like it was longer, but realistically, he knew it had been less than forty-eight hours since Togami had kissed him for the first time.
"And you've already gotten that far with him?" Asahina's jaw dropped. "You're definitely boyfriends."
Naegi's ears went red, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to deny it again, but pretending would only make it worse if Monokuma's show drove Togami to end things. And as Togami's angry leave me alone! echoed in his head again, he was starting to think that might be how things turned out.
He had to look away from the girls at that, not able to cope with Asahina's cheerful certainty and Ogami's somewhat bemused support. And when he looked across the room, he realized that Fukawa had joined them in the cafeteria. She'd sat on the opposite side of the room from the rest of them, as far away as she could get without pressing into the wall. She didn't even have the pretense of food in front of her as she sat – she just stared directly at Naegi without a break, her gaze not even flickering when someone walked between the two of them.
A faint, secretive smile spread across her lips as she realized Naegi was looking at her. He didn't feel very cheerful, but it seemed like it would be rude not to smile back now that she'd seen him. She jolted back in her chair like he'd slapped her instead of smiling, but that wasn't too unusual.
He wasn't really sure why Fukawa was sitting in the cafeteria with the rest of them, anyway. She didn't usually join them, preferring to trail after Togami unless he specifically told her not to do so. Maybe he'd told her to go away, too – although that made Naegi's heart sink a little, thinking that Togami had apparently spoken to him the same way he addressed his stalker.
Naegi shoved away from the table and got to his feet, not feeling up to answering any more questions about what he and Togami had been doing. "I need to go," he said, not really to anyone in particular.
Asahina nodded understandingly. "Good luck!"
Naegi knew she was trying to be nice, so he made himself smile back at her before he left – but as soon as he left the cafeteria, the smile dropped off his face and his shoulders drooped. What was he supposed to do now?
He could go try to find Togami, but he'd seen yesterday that Togami was much too good at hiding to be found. Besides, Togami had made it pretty clear he didn't want Naegi around. Leave me alone – there wasn't much room for misinterpretation in that. If Togami needed some time to himself after that horror show, it would be really unfair of Naegi to go force his presence on the other boy, just because he selfishly wanted to be near him.
And it was really starting to dawn on Naegi just how much he wanted to be near Togami. He'd felt nothing but the pressure of eyes on him since leaving the gym, but none of them had been the gaze that he wanted. When Togami's eyes were on him, he could feel the other boy's impossibly high standards stretching around him – and it made him want to do more, be more in response. He wanted to see what he could become, in the challenge of Togami's eyes – what the two of them could become together. He'd had the feeling it could be something really great.
Something that Monokuma had deliberately and maliciously tried to shatter before it could really start.
He sighed and turned to head towards his room. Maybe resting for a while would make him feel better.
"Naegi, wait. Come here."
He paused and looked over to see Kirigiri standing in the door of the laundry room, arms crossed and looking serious. He changed direction and trudged over to her, not feeling at all up to his usual brisk pace. "Did you need something?"
"I wanted to talk to you," she said. "About the assembly this morning."
Naegi stared at her in surprise. "Not you, too."
"I don't mean that I want to gossip. I'm really not interested in what you and Togami do alone together, as long as you're both alive at the end of it," she said. "But Naegi, I want you to be careful."
He frowned. "I am careful."
A faint smile crossed her lips as she shook her head. "You really aren't. And after this morning, you'll need to be."
"I don't understand."
Kirigiri sighed. "Do you really think the mastermind called that assembly solely to humiliate you? Oh, I'm sure that was part of their plan, but I don't believe that was their true intention. The mastermind is trying to goad us into acting again, and they've just painted a target on your back."
"Me?" A sudden chill slithered through him, making him shiver. "No, I – I don't see how that would make me a target. Not unless you're trying to say that Togami would – because he wouldn't. I know he wouldn't."
She shrugged. "You may actually be right about that one, but Togami isn't the only person here."
Naegi shook his head. "No one else would do anything either. Why would they? All that happened is that Monokuma showed a bunch of embarrassing videos. It was pretty bad, but I don't see how it would anyone want to commit murder."
"Maybe," Kirigiri said. "But the mastermind showed us those videos for a reason. Try to keep that in mind."
