Author's Note: Regular posting will resume next week. That means new chapters every day Sunday to Thursday, then no posts Friday and Saturday. I'll be continuing with that schedule unless I have a note saying otherwise.
Togami waited impatiently for a response to his summons, glaring up at the camera so that the mastermind couldn't fail to notice that he was addressing them directly. But as the seconds ticked away, no response came.
"Monokuma!" Togami called again, a peremptory demand that had never before failed to bring underlings scurrying to do his bidding. "Stop hiding and show yourself!"
Nothing happened.
Togami looked around the room, goosebumps crawling down the back of his neck. For all that Monokuma made this nightmare worse with every foul word he spewed, his unexpected absence was even more unsettling. He'd never ignored any of the students before, even when they'd called in the middle of the night or without warning. He always seemed to turn up whenever they talked about the mastermind or their imprisonment too long, to remind them with his stupid puns and mad cackles that they could never escape from his notice.
Monokuma couldn't have failed to see what was going on. Jill had attacked Naegi in the library – that kind of violence, complete with splattered blood and collapsing furniture, should have gotten the mastermind's complete attention. And surely they had to be watching now, to see whether these events would play out in a way that would require another class trial.
So why was there no answer?
"Monokuma!" This time Ogami was the one who called, her voice booming with the deep lung capacity of a well-trained athlete. "We want to speak with you!"
No one could have missed that – but Monokuma still failed to appear.
Which meant that either the mastermind was deliberately choosing to ignore them – or that for some reason, Monokuma couldn't appear.
Togami's mind raced through the possibilities, evaluating and discarding different theories. Could something else be happening in another area of the school? Jill and Kirigiri were still at large somewhere – one of them might have managed to do something significant enough that the mastermind didn't have any attention to spare. But did the mastermind have limits to their attention? Surely they must have expected that at some point, they would need to respond to events in multiple areas of the school – someone who had come up with a plan as detailed as this couldn't have overlooked that possibility.
Then was Monokuma deliberately choosing to ignore them as some kind of power play? The mastermind must have heard the conversation that Togami and Ogami had just had, about finding medical equipment and using it to help Naegi. Was Monokuma refusing to appear just to make it obvious that their efforts were in vain? But that didn't fit with the way Monokuma usually responded. Even if he intended to refuse their demands, Togami would have expected the bear to show himself and do it to their faces, taking obnoxious glee in the suffering his words would cause.
But what if this wasn't deliberate? With all the technology required to cover the school with security cameras, it was probably more of a surprise that the mastermind hadn't encountered any technical difficulties in their observation so far. It was possible that something had gone wrong on their end, preventing them from watching as usual. But if that were the case, what were the odds that it would have happened now, at the exact moment that he'd called out for Monokuma to appear? That seemed like an incredibly unlikely coincidence, unless the setup was far more error-prone than he thought and this was just the first time it had intruded on their notice.
But whatever the reason might be, the main point was the same. Monokuma wasn't answering when summoned, and that meant that Naegi's situation wasn't the only major event happening in Hope's Peak right now.
Togami's mind burned with the need to find out more, to gather information on this question and figure out some way to turn it to his advantage. This was the first potential weakness that the mastermind had shown, and the familiar roar of a rising hunt rushed through his blood, compelling him to seek out vulnerabilities and use them to tear apart his prey.
But – he turned towards the bed, where a different kind of weakness lay stretched out before him. Naegi had been so badly hurt, on top of all his other injuries. Even if he was more stable now than he'd been, he was by no means safe or well, not yet. Not when he still hadn't woken up. Ogami had said it herself, Naegi shouldn't be left alone in this state – and just moments ago, Togami had sworn that he would be the one to stay by Naegi's side.
Go or stay? Whichever he chose, part of him screamed in protest of the decision. He had to act on this change to learn more about the mastermind now, or the opportunity might never come again. And he had to stay with Naegi, to watch for any signs that he might be worsening and hold him to life by whatever means necessary. Two things he had to do, two paths he had to take – but he couldn't do both. He had to make a choice.
What would Naegi want him to do?
It was a strange to find that thought rising to the forefront of his mind. He usually made his decisions by evaluating his own wishes, what he would gain or lose from different options. But now, with Naegi unconscious, not even able to speak up in favor of one path or the other – somehow, his wishes seemed more important than any other concern. And from everything that the other boy had said during their arguments in the past couple days, Togami knew exactly what course Naegi would urge him towards.
He looked up at Ogami, who still watched the security camera with a worried frown. "Something's happening here – something important. We can't ignore this."
"What?" Ogami blinked. "You believe this to be more than – than some kind of mockery on Monokuma's part?"
"It has to be," Togami said, some of his impatience at being forced to spell it all out bleeding into his tone. "It could mean a chance to learn something about Monokuma or the mastermind, something that they don't want us to know."
Ogami frowned, trying to follow his train of thought. She still hadn't worked out all the implications of this. Well, of course she hadn't. Ogami might be without peer when it came to fighting, but Togami knew she wasn't in his league when it came to brains.
Togami took a deep breath, steeling himself for the decision he was about to make. "We can't let this opportunity go to waste. I'm going to investigate what happened."
"Are you?" Ogami asked slowly, her eyes moving towards the bed. "But…"
Togami grimaced. He didn't like what he was about to ask her to do – but he couldn't see another choice. "I need you to stay with him until I can get back. Make sure he doesn't –" The words dried up in his throat, forcing him to rephrase. "Make sure nothing happens."
He knew it was a risk, a terrible risk, to leave the mastermind's spy alone with Naegi. She could do anything to him, without anything to stop her or see what had occurred. Togami could return to find her gone and Naegi still and unmoving in his bed.
But that last option could happen anyway, even if he locked Naegi alone in the room. By protecting Naegi from the possible machinations of another student, he might throw Naegi to a different doom from his worsening injuries, one that could have been avoided by prompt medical attention. And with her minimal knowledge of first aid, Ogami was the best one to administer that attention. She was the one who should stay on hand in case of an emergency.
"All right," Ogami said, nodding firmly as she took the chair at Naegi's side. "I don't understand, but I know you wouldn't leave unless it was truly important. Go and do what you must. I'll take care of him for you."
Togami hesitated, studying Ogami's serious expression as she promised to protect the boy he loved. Could he trust her? She'd betrayed the students, and then turned around and betrayed her new allegiance to the mastermind. Her word was worth nothing more than ashes.
She'd saved Naegi's life. Yes, words were important, but at the end of the day, actions meant more. And today, over and over, Sakura Ogami had protected Naegi. How did that stack up against the betrayals? When did one balance out the other? Could broken trust ever be regained?
Naegi would have trusted her.
Togami met Ogami's eyes and nodded once, accepting her words and her oath. "I'll be back when I've learned something useful."
He didn't let himself look at the bed, for fear that his newfound resolve would crumble at the sight of the boy lying there. Instead, he turned for the door and strode out into the hall. He had answers to find.
