Leaving the dorms so quickly left Togami with the question of where exactly he wanted to go instead. Anywhere that had the risk of Naegi's presence had to be off the table, at least for now. The stupid breakfast meeting wasn't even worth considering.
He might as well try to do something useful while the others frittered away their time in petty arguments and false friendships. Destination in mind, Togami made his way for the stairs, climbing until he reached the fourth floor. He could see that the next set of stairs continued upwards from here, but he could search that area later. He had a more important goal in mind.
During the trial yesterday, Ogami had claimed she'd broken down the door to the headmaster's room, and Monokuma had confirmed it. Togami didn't believe the rest of the rubbish she'd spouted about suicide plans and wanting to help them, but the state of the door did sound worth investigating. After all, with Alter Ego's data analysis results, the headmaster had to be the primary suspect for being the mastermind – regardless of the pack of lies Kirigiri had tried to feed him on the subject a few days ago.
As soon as Togami turned down the hallway towards the headmaster's room, he could see that something had indeed been done to the doorknob and hinges. Deep gouges marred the door in all those areas, and it no longer fit neatly into the doorframe. It looked like Ogami actually had been telling the truth on this topic.
But when Togami put out a hand to try to open the door, it wouldn't budge. The knob turned easily under his hand, and the door slid from side to side without the hinges holding it in the frame – but no matter how much force he used, he couldn't get it to open so much as an inch.
"What's this? Seeing your headmaster in the middle of the night wasn't enough?"
Togami turned around to see Monokuma standing mere feet behind him.
"It looks like you just can't stay away from my lusciously fluff-filled figure, huh?" Monokuma went on, that awful grin spreading over his face.
"Shut up," Togami ordered, raising his chin imperiously. The expression had never worked on that stupid bear yet, but at least it let him set the tone he wanted. "What happened to this door? Ogami said she broke it down."
"Oh? And that got you interested?" Monokuma asked. "Were you planning to sneak in to find some naughty discipline of your own?" He laughed. "Sorry, but I'll have you know I'm a very rule-abiding bear – teacher-student relationships are strictly off-limits! You'll have to daydream during class just like everyone else."
"You did something to this door, didn't you?" Togami demanded, deciding it would be best to ignore the bear's ranting. "You sealed it."
"And just in time, too!" Monokuma said brightly. "If you'd been just a little bit faster, you might have managed to sneak in. And who knows what exciting mysteries you could have uncovered if only you'd had the chance." His red eye gleamed as he grinned at Togami. "I guess it's a good thing for me that you were too slow!"
Togami glared at the bear, cursing himself for not thinking of this sooner. Ogami had announced that she'd broken open the door in the middle of the trial, right to Monokuma's face. Of course the mastermind would have taken the first opportunity to reseal the door. If he'd wanted to get inside the office, he should have gone immediately after the trial had ended.
But that would have meant abandoning Naegi. The boy had barely gotten to his room with all the help Togami had given – he never would have made it on his own. If he'd left Naegi's room after putting the boy to bed, it might have been just fast enough – but there was no point in dwelling on what-ifs. For all Togami knew, the mastermind had resealed the door immediately after Ogami had broken it, and this was all a ploy to make them suffer.
Well, he wasn't going to give the mastermind the satisfaction of seeing that he'd been disconcerted. "Fine," he said, stalking past Monokuma and heading back down the hall. "Then I won't waste any more of my time here."
"Oh? You have somewhere else to be? Or do you have a strict schedule of moping to get back to?"
The innocent-sounding questions stopped Togami in his tracks, and he spun around to pin the bear with the most vicious look he could muster. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Monokuma gasped, covering his mouth with both paws. "Oops, was it supposed to be a secret? Well, don't worry! I'll be extra careful to save all the camera footage from this morning in a beary safe place!" He threw his head back and laughed.
Togami's stomach heaved, and he had to swallow hard against the bile rising in his throat at the thought of the mastermind watching the moment when Naegi had broken his heart. Experiencing it had been bad enough when he'd thought they'd been alone – but knowing that an enemy had been observing him at that moment of painful weakness made him want to scream.
"I guess it's just another case of a whirlwind high school romance ending in tears," Monokuma went on, shaking his head in a mockery of sympathy. "Well, if you need a shoulder to cry on, all you have to do is ask!"
"Shut up!" Togami snarled, cheeks flushing a burning scarlet at the realization that the mastermind had also seen his tears. He'd rarely cried in his life, not since he was a child, and never in front of anyone else – but leaving Naegi had brought him to it. And now the mastermind had another weapon to use against him.
"Oh, my, such violence!" Monokuma drew back as if Togami had frightened him. "I'm starting to worry for the sanctity of my lovely fur!" He gasped. "Is the pain of losing your high school sweetheart too much to bear? Are you going to turn to delinquency and rule-breaking?"
"Don't be stupid." Togami scowled at the bear, preparing to leave again. "I don't know why I bothered. Nothing you say is ever worth listening to."
"Is that so? Then I guess you don't want to hear any secrets I came to tell you, do you?"
Togami froze at those tantalizing words. It was a trap – he knew it had to be a trap, the mastermind would never just share information to be helpful – but he had to ask. "What secrets?"
Monokuma grinned. "You came here to sneak into the headmaster's office, right? So you must be curious about what's inside!"
"Are you going to let me in?" Togami asked.
"After all the trouble I took to lock it up? No way!" Monokuma said. "But since you've had such a bad day already, I just couldn't resist giving you a little something to turn your frown upside down!"
Togami stared at the bear's beaming face, dread beginning to curdle through him at the possibilities of what he might be about to say. It hadn't taken him long to realize that the more Monokuma smiled, the worse something was going to be – and right now, Monokuma was wearing one of his widest grins.
But as horrible as whatever was coming might be, it would be better to know. Whatever Monokuma was planning, Togami at least wanted to be able to see it coming.
"All right," Togami said at last, crossing his arms. "What is it?"
"I know it was very upsetting for all of you to find out that your beloved headmaster's office was locked," Monokuma said, sighing heavily. "But it couldn't be helped! After all, even the most approachable and friendly headmaster needs to keep a few things away from a school full of curious students – things that aren't conducive to a healthy and fulfilling school life!"
"What kind of things?" Togami asked, frowning as he considered the possibilities.
"Oh, the usual things – barrels of honey, picnic baskets, maps for the best hibernation spots," Monokuma said.
Togami shook his head. "Right. I should have expected that kind of nonsense."
"You're not interested in the delicious varieties of honey your headmaster keeps behind lock and key?" Monokuma asked. "Oh, well, can't be helped – some people just don't have very refined palates. I guess there's really only one thing from that office that would interest a one-track mind like yours."
Now they were getting somewhere. "And that is?" Togami prompted.
Monokuma grinned, eyes gleaming. "A weapon."
Togami stared at the bear, waiting a long moment to see if he was going to elaborate. "And?"
"Huh? That's not enough?" Monokuma asked, shocked.
"There have been weapons all over this school since we arrived," Togami said, rolling his eyes. "What do I care if there's one more?"
"Huh. I thought you'd be more interested." Monokuma shook his head glumly. "I guess even the most dangerous weapon in the entire school isn't enough to distract you from your broken heart – not even if it gives the wielder the ability to secretly kill everyone!"
"That does sound dangerous," Togami said, making his disinterest in the subject clear. "It's a good thing you went to so much effort to seal it away."
"Oh – did I forget to mention that part?" Monokuma tilted his head with an innocent smile. "It wasn't in the office when I sealed the door. It's gone missing." And with a last wild burst of laughter, the bear disappeared, leaving Togami to stare at the sealed office in growing horror.
