The painful press of the floor against his side gradually forced itself onto Togami's awareness, his shoulder aching with a dull, constant throb. What had happened? Why had he been sleeping on the floor, instead of somewhere sensible like a bed? Frowning, he opened his eyes to try to figure out where he was.
And the first thing he saw was Genocide Jill, sitting directly beside him and peering down into his face.
Togami shoved himself away and up to a sitting position, ignoring his aching shoulder in his haste to get away from the genocider. What the hell had she been doing hovering over him like that? Had he actually been stupid enough to fall asleep somewhere that wasn't secure from her, or –
And that was when he got a look at the wreckage of the library around him – and remembered exactly what had happened.
The scissors.
The blood.
Naegi.
Togami twisted around to look behind him. The broken pieces of the bookcase still lay there on the ground where they'd been, still streaked red with blood and gouged from scissor blades – but Naegi was gone.
"Where is he?" Togami snarled, shoving himself to his feet and looming over Jill. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing!" Jill vaulted up to her feet as well. "Well, nothing new, but you already knew about the scissors. Best thing about a trademark, it doesn't leave room for questions! Gotta have a way to separate the true artists from the amateurs!"
"Shut up," Togami snapped, glaring at her. He didn't have much patience for her blather in the best of times – but with Naegi badly injured and missing due to Jill's own actions, it was intolerable. "I'm only asking once more. Where is Naegi?"
"The Ogre's taking him downstairs," Jill said, waving a hand towards the door. "Said something about sterilization."
Downstairs – that had to mean the nurse's office. Togami turned and strode for the door, picking his way across the trashed floor a little more carefully than when he'd entered. There seemed to be another destroyed bookcase just beyond the door, this one scored with – gunfire? He shook his head, not bothering to spare it more than a glance as he headed past. None of Naegi's injuries had been from bullets, so what did it matter if something had shot at a piece of furniture?
As he left the library and hurried to the stairs, the familiar patter of footsteps came from behind him. Togami swung around sharply to find Jill trailing a few steps back, the same way she'd kept trying to do after first revealing her existence.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, crossing his arms.
"Sticking by my White Knight," Jill said promptly. "That was a nasty spill you took, baby! Gotta make sure there's nothing wrong with that sexy head of yours."
"I don't see how that's any of your business," Togami snapped. "Get lost."
Jill tilted her head, one hand on her hip. "But I thought I'd go with you to check on Makyutie –"
"You're not getting near him again!" Togami's blood seemed to burn in his veins at the thought of Jill being anywhere in the vicinity of an unconscious Naegi. "One of your murder attempts is more than enough!"
"Please – what kind of two-bit hack do you think I am?" Jill tossed her braids dismissively. "When I try to kill people, they die! I told you, I just wanted to shut his mouth."
"And it didn't occur to you to say so before jamming your scissors through his arm?" Togami shot back. "You had a wide range of options that didn't involve any stabbing – but you picked the one that left him bleeding out and unconscious with a bookcase fallen on him!"
"If he didn't want to get stabbed, he should've stayed out of my way!" Jill said. "I told him to leave me alone, over and over and over again – and he just kept yammering at me!"
Togami could well believe that Naegi had done exactly that. After seeing Fukawa's execution, Naegi would have been concerned for the remorseless murderer. He would have wanted to make sure she was all right and had whatever support she needed to cope with losing one half of her psyche. And Jill had taken advantage of that kindness to attack him.
"Baby, you gotta believe I didn't want it to turn out like this," Jill insisted, leaning forward intently. "Your boy's cute, don't get me wrong, I can see the appeal – but he's never been the one I wanted to kill."
"What, because you wanted to kill me instead? You think that makes it better?" Togami laughed, harsh and sharp. "And whatever you want to say, you can't have been that committed to the idea."
She blinked. "What –"
"I saw the floor," he cut her off viciously. "You started writing your signature there, in his blood." He shook his head. "Don't pretend that this was some sort of mercy. The only reason you stopped is that you knew we'd all recognize your murder method. If you'd thought for a second that you could get away with it –"
The memory of Naegi pinned with the scissors and covered in his own blood flashed before Togami's eyes again, a nightmare made vividly real. The knowledge of how easily it might have been so much worse choked him, burning hot and wet behind his eyes.
"You can't believe that!" Jill protested indignantly. "When I want a boy's blood on my hands, getting caught or not doesn't matter. And – okay, you're right, I thought about it. With him lying there all nice and vulnerable, who wouldn't? But I stopped – because I couldn't do that to you."
Togami stared at her blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm not saying I wouldn't jump on a nice two-for-one special if I got the chance," Jill said. "But taking him and leaving you behind? I wouldn't do that to you." She grinned at him. "If I ever rip your heart out, it won't be metaphorical."
Ice roared over the fire in his blood at that, alternating waves of hot and cold rushing through him. She knew. She knew just what Naegi meant to him, and how it had hit him to see the other boy so broken. He didn't know if he'd gone pale with rage or red with mortification as he stared at Jill – but whichever it was, his expression made her take a step back.
"White Knight –"
"Get away from me."
Jill's smile fell from her face, leaving her looking lost without the mask of a grin across her face. "Master Byakuya – please –"
"Shut up." Togami took a sharp step towards her, and she retreated in turn. "I don't want to hear you talk. I don't want to see you. You're nothing but a criminal, a squalling child who destroys what she can't have, and you don't deserve to live under the same roof as someone like Naegi. You will not come near him or me again, do you understand?"
"But –" Jill's red eyes were as stricken as if he'd slapped her. "Not ever?"
The word never burned on the tip of his tongue – but Naegi's face flashed before his eyes. Not the pale, broken boy who had lain bleeding on the floor, but the boy who looked up at him with eyes bright with hope and pleaded for him to believe that they could all be friends if they just tried hard enough. Togami hadn't believed it, not really – but Naegi had.
"Not until he asks me to change my mind," Togami said finally. "Now get away from me before I change my mind."
And with that, he turned and stalked down towards the stairs, leaving Jill alone in the hall.
