Consciousness returned gradually to Naegi, like the slow creep of the rising tide. Voices murmured to him as he woke, half-remembered words that he didn't consciously recall hearing.
"Try not to be so careless…"
Kirigiri frowned at him, arms crossed and expression chilly. She was as distant and self-possessed as ever as she spoke the reprimand, sounding almost bored by the need to scold.
But echoing behind that, he could hear the same words said differently. Wry humor colored the words to soften an often-repeated lecture, with a smile more open than any expression he'd ever seen her wear. Ghostly fingers ruffled his hair with a casual touch that had never been part of their interactions.
"It's so hard to keep ancient history straight…"
Monokuma's words cut through the memory, sharp with false kindness meant to wound. His laugh set Naegi's teeth on edge, with its gleeful pleasure in its own cruelty. He hated that laugh more every time he heard it.
And somewhere beyond that, faint and far away, he could almost hear another laugh, nothing like Monokuma's except in the chills it sent down his spine. He knew that laugh, knew that he should recognize it, but reaching for the memory only made it drift further away.
"Stay with me…"
Another voice pulled him away from the horrors lurking in those thoughts, a voice that he would always recognize. Togami pressed close to him, whispering the words with a sincerity that made Naegi's heart ache.
And the same words rang through his head again and again and again, spoken with every emotion from affection to grief, a plea so familiar he knew it in his soul. He'd heard those words before, so many times, and he could almost –
"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 A.M. and nighttime is officially over!"
Naegi slammed fully into wakefulness as Monokuma's announcement sounded, morning hitting him like a punch to the gut. His entire body ached with a bone-deep heaviness that went further than simple exhaustion, and the thought of needing to drag himself out of bed made him want to groan.
And then something shifted under him, and Naegi realized that he hadn't been sleeping on the bed – or at least, not entirely. Prying his eyes open, he found that his head was resting on Togami's shoulder, and the other boy's face was blinking sleepily only a few inches away.
Naegi shifted a little, figuring he should probably give Togami the freedom to move around while he was still trying to find the energy to get up – but Togami's eyes focused sharply on him the instant he tried.
"You're awake?" Togami reached over with his free hand to brush Naegi's hair away from his forehead. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Better," Naegi said, as confidently as he could. He remembered their conversation on the way back to the dorms, though his memory got pretty fuzzy after that, and he knew that Togami had been seriously concerned for him. After everything that had happened, the last thing he wanted was to make Togami worry more.
"Hmm." Togami eyed him dubiously. "It looks to me like you could use more rest."
"Well – maybe I'm still a little tired," Naegi admitted. "But I can't go back to sleep. We need to go meet the others in the cafeteria."
Togami grimaced. "I suppose we should at least keep tabs on what those girls are all doing." But even though he said so, he didn't seem inclined to move.
Naegi couldn't blame him. He'd missed Togami so much when they were separated – and the mornings had been the worst. There had been a brief moment of disorientation each time he'd woken up, as his subconscious sought the other boy's presence in the empty space beside him. Now that they were reunited, he just wanted to curl up around Togami and enjoy the time that they could finally have together.
But this wasn't the right time for that. The others would worry if he and Togami didn't make it to the breakfast meeting on time, especially after how shaky Naegi knew he'd looked the night before. And even apart from that, he wanted a chance to check on Ogami and Jill. The trial had hit those two the hardest of all, and he wanted to be sure they were okay.
So Naegi forced himself to pull away from the warmth of Togami's arms and tried to push himself into a sitting position. The sudden shift made his head spin for a moment, his vision blurring briefly out of focus – but he managed to keep himself upright without collapsing again. Once his gaze steadied again, he gave Togami a smile.
"See? I'm fine."
"Yes, I see you're capable of sitting up for several seconds together." Togami propped himself up on his elbow in a pointed demonstration of all the ease and grace that Naegi's attempt had lacked. "The real question is whether you're rested enough to maintain this elsewhere."
"Definitely," Naegi said firmly. "I slept all night, that has to be enough."
"Did you?" Togami's mouth twisted strangely as he looked at Naegi. "You're sure that nothing disturbed you?"
"Actually, I think I might have gotten more rest last night than any of the last few," Naegi said. He frowned, thinking back. "I had some weird dreams, though."
"Oh?" Togami raised an eyebrow.
"Not – not that kind of dream," Naegi protested, turning a little red. "I just dreamed that I heard Kirigiri and Monokuma and you talking, that's all."
"Ah." Togami let out a long breath. "Well, I thought that might be it."
"Huh? You did?" Naegi asked, puzzled. "Was I talking in my sleep?"
"No." Togami sat up entirely rather than lounging, his expression growing more serious. "That wasn't a dream. Both Kirigiri and Monokuma were here last night."
"While I was sleeping?" Naegi asked, horrified. Kirigiri being in the room wasn't too worrying – but the thought of Monokuma appearing in the room while he slept was just creepy. "Why?"
Togami studied Naegi for a moment, then shook his head. "If I don't tell you, I'm sure she will."
"Tell me what?" Naegi asked, starting to get worried at the look on Togami's face. "Did something happen?"
"It might have," Togami said grimly. "I doubt you remember, but you didn't make it to bed under your own power last night. You collapsed just inside the door, and I had to carry you the rest of the way."
"Oh." Naegi blinked, a sudden image popping into his head of Togami lifting him over the threshold bridal style. "That was nice of you."
"It was stupid," Togami corrected him flatly. "Because in the confusion, I – well, the door ended up remaining unlocked."
Naegi waited for Togami to continue on to whatever had him so upset, but he didn't say anything else. "So… that's how Kirigiri got in? I guess it was nice of her to check up on us."
Togami stared at him. "Maybe I didn't make myself clear. She entered this room while we were both still asleep. I only found out because I woke up and caught her at it."
"Oh." Naegi frowned. "Okay, I guess that's a little strange. Did she say why she came in?"
"Did she offer an adequate explanation for sneaking into your bedroom without an invitation and hanging around doing who knows what while we were sleeping?" Togami said acidly. "No, she didn't."
"Then I'll ask her about it later," Naegi decided. "I'm sure she must have had a reason."
"Yes, I'm sure she did," Togami agreed darkly. "That's what worries me."
"Wait – you don't think she was trying to – to do something to us, do you?" Naegi asked, startled. "Kirigiri wouldn't hurt us!"
"She's done so twice already," Togami countered. "Every time you've been alone with her, you've been left so badly injured that you were unable to stand on your own."
"Not every time," Naegi protested. "And I mean – it's not like she wants me to get hurt. It's just a risk of investigating, that's all."
"A risk that she repeatedly asks you to take on her behalf," Togami said. "I notice that she never seems to end up poisoned or beaten over the head. Whenever she wants to try something dangerous, she makes you do it for her – and it is going to stop."
"She doesn't make me do anything," Naegi said. "I want to help investigate. And she didn't even have anything to do with that needle – that was just an accident."
"One that you don't remember." Togami shook his head. "Whether or not she's deliberately causing you harm is beside the point – the point is that it keeps happening. Do you honestly believe you would survive another such accident, in your current state?"
Naegi opened his mouth to protest again – but then the look in Togami's eyes finally sank in. Yes, Togami was furious with Kirigiri, blaming her even though it was really the mastermind's fault that all this had happened – but there was more to it than anger. Of course there was, if Naegi really had collapsed last night. That must have been terrifying, knowing that it was poison that had caused it. Could Naegi really get upset at Togami when he'd been so afraid for Naegi?
"I see what you mean," he said instead. "And – well, I'll try harder to be careful."
"Good. And if Kirigiri tries to talk you into any other stupid risk, tell me before jumping in head first," Togami said, relaxing minutely.
But as he said that, the words triggered a memory in Naegi. Tell me first – the promise Togami had asked him to make about not returning to the hidden room again.
The promise that he'd broken.
He had to tell Togami about it, he knew it. He shouldn't have even put it off as long as he had – only the separation forced on them could excuse the delay. This wasn't a good time, not when Togami was already so angry at Kirigiri – but Naegi couldn't see another option. Not telling would be as good as lying, in this situation.
"Uh – Togami? There's something else I think I need to tell you about what happened while we were apart."
