Togami frowned up at Ogami's door, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Little good could come of rushing in unprepared. He needed to decide exactly what he wanted to say to the traitor.
The question foremost in his own mind was about just what had happened this morning to make everyone miss the breakfast meeting – but he didn't think that starting with that issue would be the best approach. If Ogami still believed herself to be under orders to kill, he needed to address that question before anything else – otherwise, she might even view his presence in her room as an opportunity to fulfil the mastermind's demands. Once that issue had been settled, then he could move on to more pressing concerns.
Feeling better now that he had a solid plan in mind, Togami pressed Ogami's doorbell in a short, brisk ring.
There was no response. Could she have missed it? He rang the bell again, jamming his finger against it for a long, loud burst that no one inside would be able to ignore.
But still, nothing happened. Togami's scowl grew as the seconds ticked away. Was she ignoring him, or was it that she simply wasn't in her room?
Well, with Ogami, unlike with the other students' rooms, he had a way to tell the difference. He'd never gotten the chance to return her room key after that whole mess when he'd confiscated it, so the only means of locking her door still sat heavy in his own inner jacket pocket. Whether Ogami was in her room or not, there was nothing stopping him from going inside to check.
Togami reached for the doorknob, and sure enough, it turned easily under his hand. So it seemed that the mastermind really wasn't giving their agent any special favors – they were perfectly content to leave Ogami vulnerable to any of the students who might be inclined to take advantage of an unlocked door during the night. That was interesting – and a little worrying. Was there a chance that he was about to uncover a second murder scene in Ogami's room?
Well, if he was, there was no point in delaying its discovery. Ideally, he would have preferred to have at least one other student with him if he had to discover a body, to avoid any suspicion that he'd been involved – but if he'd known where any of the other students were, he wouldn't need to enter Ogami's room in the first place.
Bracing himself for the worst, Togami pushed the door open – to reveal only darkness. He frowned, squinting inside to observe what he could with the limited amount of light trickling in from the hall. The bed was definitely flat and empty, so the room didn't seem to be dark because Ogami had overslept – and being one of those annoying athletic types, she seemed more likely to wake up ridiculously early than to sleep in this late. Maybe the room was empty, after all, and she'd skipped the breakfast meeting to work out in the locker room or something along those lines.
If that was the case, then maybe he should just leave her key on her desk so that he didn't have to worry about the wretched thing any longer. Yes, it would be a blatant indication that he'd been in her room – but if she didn't want him to enter, she should have made the effort to get her key back from him before now. He'd offered her the key back, and she'd refused to take it – so she could hardly complain if he chose to use the key for its intended purpose.
Remembering that Ogami had left weights and other workout paraphernalia scattered across her floor like landmines, Togami reached out to flip the lights before trying to pick his way across the floor.
And as light flooded the dark corners of the room, Togami could see the far wall at last – where Sakura Ogami sat on the floor, staring directly at him from dark, shadowed eyes.
He managed to avoid taking a step back at the unexpected sight, if only just barely. What the hell was Ogami playing at, sitting on the floor of her own room like that? It didn't escape Togami's notice that the way she'd positioned herself would have given her a clear view of the door – and anyone standing there, outlined in light from the hall. She'd been watching him from the moment he'd opened the door.
Well, it wasn't as though she'd seen him do anything suspicious – he could make that argument quite easily if she decided to object. He crossed his arms, waiting for the flood of outrage most girls would fling at a boy who unexpectedly invaded their rooms.
But Ogami didn't say anything. Other than fixing her eyes on him, she didn't react to his presence at all. In fact, Togami had the disconcerting feeling that she didn't intend to do anything – that she would be perfectly content to sit staring at him until the silence made him uncomfortable enough to leave.
Togami scowled. He wasn't about to be chased off, not by a little staring. He'd come here in search of Ogami, and now he'd found her. This was what he'd wanted, and it had no business throwing him off balance. He strode forward into the room, stopping only when he was close enough to tower over Ogami, and dropped her room key on the floor in front of her.
"There," he said flatly. "Take that back and be done with it."
Ogami's eyes flickered in the direction of the key, but she didn't move to take it. Well, let her do what she wanted – the key was her problem now. She could leave it on the floor for the next week for all Togami cared. At least if she wasn't going to make a fuss about it, he could move on without wasting time.
"I've spoken to Monokuma about your order to kill, and he says that it's no longer in effect," Togami went on. "So if you've been plotting a murder, you can stop doing so immediately."
Ogami didn't move, not even to ask a question or voice skepticism at his claims. Togami frowned. He wasn't lying, of course, but it wasn't as though she knew that. Was she just going to accept whatever he said?
"I can call Monokuma back to confirm it if you want to verify it," he offered, watching for any reaction at the suggestion that he summon her boss.
Nothing. He might as well have been talking to a doll, unable to give any response but to stare back at him with cold, dead eyes. If it weren't for the way her gaze tracked his movements, he might have considered checking her for a pulse. As it was, he had to wonder if she'd even heard a word he'd said.
"Can you even hear me?" he asked, giving her an impatient frown. "Or did all the gunfire at that execution damage your hearing?"
At first he thought she wasn't going to respond – but no, her shoulders shifted upwards in the barest fraction of a shrug. So she could hear him, after all.
But even if her hearing hadn't been damaged, he was starting to think that something else might have been. There was something about the look in her eyes that he didn't like at all – an emptiness that he recognized. He'd seen a similar look on the faces of some of his siblings, at the moment they'd realized they'd lost. It was the look of a person who had been beaten, and broken by that defeat.
Togami looked the girl over again, observing her much more closely this time. Judging by the burn marks and dirt on her skin and clothes, she hadn't even changed or showered since the trial. Her hair hung lank and grimy, and he could still see blood flaking off her face. It seemed inconceivable that someone would sit alone in the dark in such a state for more than a day as some sort of plan – she couldn't have even known anyone would come in here to find her.
Could she really be sitting here like this because of Asahina? Togami had assumed that the friendship between Ogami and the swimmer had been a front to conceal her betrayal – but maybe there had been a seed of something genuine at the heart of it. After all, Ogami had said that Monokuma approached her the first night they were in the school – by which time, he was fairly sure she and Asahina had already been thick as thieves.
Then, if that was the case – then this wasn't just the look of someone who had been beaten. This was the grief of a girl who had lost someone she cared for – someone she had treated poorly, who she'd never be able to see again. For a moment, Togami's frightened vision of Naegi choking on poison gas flashed before his eyes – and to his horror, he realized that a spark of sympathy was flickering through his chest.
