As soon as Naegi said the words, Togami's expression changed, gaze sharpening and mouth thinning into an icy frown. "Does what you're about to say have to do with Kirigiri?"

Naegi didn't like the dangerous glint in Togami's eye as he said her name. "You can't get mad about it."

"Meaning that it does have to do with her," Togami concluded grimly. "Well, let's hear it."

"And you won't get mad at her?" Naegi pressed.

"I doubt I could get any angrier at her than I already am," Togami said, rolling his eyes. "Not unless you're about to tell me that she endangered your life again."

"No, it's nothing like that," Naegi said. "It's not even something she did, exactly. It's something I did while she was there." He took a deep breath and met Togami's eyes. "I'm really sorry, but I broke my promise to you."

"Your promise?" Togami looked blank for a moment – and then he sat up ramrod-straight. "You went back to the hidden room?"

"Yes."

"The room where she sent you so that she could check if the mastermind knew about it?" Togami demanded. "The one where you got knocked unconscious the second you stepped inside?"

"Right." Fresh guilt began to gnaw at Naegi at the horror on Togami's face. He'd known the other boy would be upset, but actually seeing it was worse than his imagination had been. "And – well, I know I promised to tell you first, but – well, it was during the separation, and we had to act fast. There wasn't anything I could do."

"You could have not gone!" Togami snapped. "I knew it, I knew she was going to try something when she got you alone –"

"It wasn't Kirigiri's idea," Naegi interrupted, glaring at Togami.

"Oh, really? You just felt like wandering back to visit one of the places you nearly died?" Togami snarled.

"It wasn't my idea, either," Naegi said, trying his best to stay calm. "It was Alter Ego's."

That silenced the other boy for a moment, and he seemed to calm down a little as he considered the statement. "During the trial, Monokuma did say that you and Kirigiri were doing something with that computer," he said eventually. "Something to do with electronic doors."

"Right," Naegi said. He glanced over at the camera, wondering if it was okay to say this where the mastermind could hear – but on the other hand, the trial had proven pretty thoroughly that the mastermind had known about their plan all along. "Alter Ego thought that he might be able to break into the school network, and he asked Kirigiri and I to help him do it."

Togami frowned. "So there was an Ethernet port in the hidden room?"

"Yeah, and a cable," Naegi said, nodding. "We thought that maybe if we could keep the mastermind from noticing, it might be all right. I carried the laptop under my jacket, and we pretended to have an argument about the room so that I'd have to go in again."

"And yet again, somehow you ended up being the one to take the risk," Togami said.

"No, I wasn't," Naegi said, biting his lip as Alter Ego's cheerful face flashed before his eyes again. "It was Alter Ego who took the real risk – and Monokuma killed him for it."

"And he thought about doing the same to you, in case you forgot," Togami said, leaning forward. "Monokuma was more than willing to kill over that rule – and it sounds to me like you were the one participating, not Kirigiri." He scowled. "This is exactly why I wanted you to talk to me before trying to go back to that room."

"But we weren't supposed to talk to each other then," Naegi reminded him. "And – well, I did think about breaking the separation just for a minute, but if I'd suddenly left to go talk to you, the mastermind might have gotten suspicious. It was already so risky for Alter Ego – I couldn't make it worse for him." He sighed, dropping his gaze to his hands. "Not that it helped in the end."

That was the worst of it – that everything Alter Ego had tried to do to help had been for nothing. Alter Ego had worked so hard to decrypt that data for them, and it had just been a part of whatever game the mastermind was playing with them. And then, when he'd gone a step further and tried to break into the network – well, if Monokuma was telling the truth, then all their precautions for Alter Ego's safety had been worthless. When Naegi had carried the laptop to the hidden room and plugged it into the network, he'd been taking his friend to his doom.

"So you're saying that you didn't tell me before you acted because you wanted to protect Alter Ego?" Togami asked, his gaze so intent that Naegi could almost feel the pressure of eyes on his skin. "A computer program?"

Naegi's head snapped up so he could glare at Togami, ignoring the way the sudden movement brought on another wave of dizziness. "He was my friend!"

"So that's what it comes down to, isn't it?" Togami clenched one of his hands into a fist, so tightly that his knuckles went white. "You'll risk your life for any of your friends – even the ones who aren't human. Even the ones who have sent you into danger time and again. All they have to do is ask, and you're willing to throw your life away."

"It's not like that," Naegi said, stung. "Look, I know you think that Kirigiri is trying to hurt me or something, but that isn't it. She just wants the same thing all of us want – to get out of this place. It's the same thing that Alter Ego was fighting for – and it's what I want, too."

Memories of his fallen friends blazed through him as he said those words. Fukawa's terrified screams echoed in his head, full of her miserable conviction that no one would care when she was erased from existence. Asahina's body crumpled before his eyes, riddled with bullets as "punishment" for the simple wish to speak with her best friend.

And beyond them, the others stretched out in a line of ghosts, each one bright with their own unique heartaches. Celeste's dreams twisted into desperation – Ishimaru's bond with Owada shattered, leaving him broken by grief – Fujisaki's innocent expression of admiration brought on his own death – and of course, before any of the others, Maizono's fears spurred her to use his affection for her and begin the killing.

They'd experienced nightmare after nightmare in this place, caught in the mastermind's trap. And the longer they remained, the worse things would get. He didn't just want to leave because he wanted to get away from this madness and return to his normal life – he wanted to get out because they all owed it to their friends who hadn't been able to make it this far.

Naegi reached out and caught Togami's hand in both of his, wrapping his fingers around the clenched fist. "I don't want to stay here and let the mastermind keep pitting us all against each other. I refuse to watch my friends lose hope and die. Even if I have to take some risks to fight against it, that's okay. This world that the mastermind forced on us – I don't want to be part of it!"

"You're dismissing those risks like they're nothing," Togami snapped. "This game has life or death stakes, even apart from the murders – both Asahina and Enoshima got killed for nothing more than rule-breaking! You can't just take risks without considering the consequences. You've nearly been killed twice – three times, if we count Monokuma's threat during yesterday's trial. If it went wrong – if you died – for god's sake, that isn't worth it!"

"But if it could help us find a way to get out –"

"It doesn't matter!" Togami's hand twisted to wrap around Naegi's in turn, gripping his fingers until they ached. "There's nothing you could gain that could possibly be worth your life!"

"But –"

"I'd rather stay trapped in this hellhole for the rest of my life than lose you!"

Naegi stared at Togami as those words rang out between them. The other boy had gone pale, a look of horror crossing his face. He hadn't meant to say that, Naegi realized. Togami hadn't wanted Naegi to know the depth of his feelings – and maybe he hadn't even known it himself until he'd heard his own words.

What was he supposed to say to that? Naegi didn't have the faintest idea. Nothing in his very limited previous romantic experience had even come close to that kind of declaration. Togami was willing to stay here in this twisted killing game, locked away from everything he'd spent his life working for – just so Naegi wouldn't have to risk his life? Naegi could hardly get his mind around the thought. It was staggering. It was world-altering.

It was wrong.

As amazing as it was to hear how much Togami cared for him, Naegi didn't want that kind of affection – not something so rooted in terror and pain. Their connection could be so much more than that, he knew it – more than it could ever be while they were stuck in the mastermind's game. They could build something beautiful between them if they had the chance, something that would give them strength instead of fear. Something like that was worth fighting for – it was worth risking everything for.

"Togami," Naegi said slowly, "I – I get what you mean, but – you can't say that. It isn't what I want."

Togami jerked back like the words had been a physical blow. "You – what?"

"I don't want to be the reason you give up," Naegi said. "That isn't how you make me feel at all – and it isn't what I want to be for you."

Togami stared at him, looking inexplicably stricken by Naegi's words. "I see."

"Huh?" Naegi blinked, startled as Togami broke their joined hands apart. "Wait – what are you talking about?"

"You've been more than clear enough." Togami stood, a cold mask settling over his face. "I told you my feelings, and you informed me that you don't feel the same way."

"No!" Naegi sat up straight, vision blurring in and out and preventing him from catching Togami's gaze. "That's not what I meant!"

"Isn't it?" Togami said, and the ice in his voice hit Naegi like a punch to the gut. "It sounds to me like that's exactly what you've been trying to tell me all morning. I don't matter to you. Not as much as – as you do to me."

"You do!" Naegi insisted, panic making his breath catch in his throat. "Of course you do! I've never felt like this about anyone before!"

"Really? Because you haven't shown it!" Togami snarled, with a viciousness Naegi hadn't felt directed at him since the start of their relationship. "You've jumped into danger on command for everyone else, all of your precious friends – but you couldn't be bothered with the one simple promise I asked for. All they had to do was threaten to ignore you for a couple days, and you completely threw me over. You've shown more concern for a computer's feelings than mine. You don't – you aren't –" He covered his face with one hand, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry!" Naegi protested, his voice shaking from the terrible fear growing inside him. "I – I didn't mean to hurt you, I'd never want that! I've just – I've had to make decisions, and –"

"And you haven't chosen me," Togami cut him off. He turned away, but not before a glimpse of his expression stole Naegi's breath away. "Fine. I think I've made myself enough of a fool over you."

"Don't!" Naegi tried to scramble to his feet, to run after Togami – but his head swam so violently that he collapsed back onto the bed before he could.

And lying alone on the bed, he heard the click of the door closing as his vision slowly cleared on the empty room.