Togami knew that returning to the fifth floor classroom would be difficult, and the stairs were only going to be the first obstacle. Even if he and Naegi could make it safely to the top, they would have to deal with the classroom itself, where the drug would still be lingering in the air to limit the time they could spend inside. He'd left the door to the hall open, since he certainly hadn't had the strength to close it behind him, but he doubted that the short amount of time that had passed since then would have made a significant impact in letting the room air out.

And even if they could find a way to get rid of the chemicals in the air, that didn't change the fact that the lights were out in that room. He supposed that the red light of the device he'd found inside Monokuma might still be burning, but even if it hadn't burned itself out, it hadn't been very useful as a source of illumination. He didn't like the idea of letting Naegi rummage around the site of a murder without being able to see clearly what he was doing.

Togami reviewed the problems once more in his head, then nodded once to himself. "All right. If we're going to go upstairs, there are three things we'll need." He held up three fingers to tick off each of the requirements. "First, something that can get you up the stairs. Second, a source of light. Third, a way to avoid getting knocked out by the drug in the air."

Naegi nodded slowly. "Our handbook screens give off some light when they're turned on. Would those work?"

Togami frowned. "Not as primary light sources. They might be helpful for checking corners or hidden areas, but they wouldn't be anywhere near powerful enough to search for anything important. All the lights in that classroom are broken." He thought for a moment. "We can check the storage room for something useful. With any luck, the mastermind stocked something that we could use in the event of a power outage."

"They might have," Naegi said. "But I'm pretty sure they didn't have anything like gas masks. I didn't search the whole room or anything, but I know I would've remembered seeing those."

"So would I," Togami agreed, deciding not to add that he might have considered trying to incorporate them into some plan of his own if he'd noticed something so useful. "But even so, there are a few ways we can improvise."

"What, like covering our noses and mouths?" Naegi asked, frowning.

"It isn't ideal," Togami admitted. "But it should give us just about enough time to go in, identify the body, and get out. I got caught earlier because I hung around breathing in the chemicals before I knew they were there. If we can be quick enough, that might not be an issue."

Privately, Togami wasn't at all convinced that Naegi would be able to be quick enough, especially not after climbing five flights of stairs — but he knew that saying so right now would only encourage Naegi to insist that he was perfectly capable of it. Better to wait to bring it up until they were actually at the classroom, when Naegi felt the full force of his exertions. Then he might be more inclined to agree to waiting outside and away from the dangerous fumes.

As for options that they could use… Togami scanned the room briefly, then nodded. "I'm going to try to put some improvised masks together. I want you to see if you can stay on your feet while I work on that."

"All right." Naegi shifted again, leaning more heavily on the edge of the bed than on Togami's arm. Once he seemed to have found his balance again, Togami slowly moved his arm away. When Naegi didn't topple to the floor, or even sway too alarmingly, Togami nodded and stepped back towards the supplies Ogami had brought from the clinic and the dining hall.

The bandages would work to cover their faces, he decided, picking up the last of the supply. It was probably unrealistic to think that this might be the last time any of them might need bandages, but hopefully there was a larger stock of them in the supply room somewhere.

It would have been ideal if he could have soaked the bandages in water somehow, but with the water turned off, that wasn't an option. He gave the thermoses of water that Ogami had brought a brief, speculative glance — but no, not when someone had drugged at least one liquid in the room already. Besides, now that he looked more closely, it seemed as though Ogami had emptied all the thermoses already anyway, so there was no potentially tainted water left for him to consider using. They would just have to make do with the bandages alone.

Which left only the last, most difficult problem of the three — how to get Naegi up the stairs to the fifth floor. It would have been hard enough if Togami had been at his best, able to help Naegi climb without worrying about his own stamina… but with the trouble he'd had just helping Naegi stand, it seemed impossible. Naegi needed something sturdy to lean his weight on, but —

Wait. Togami frowned, turning abruptly towards the side of his dorm room where most of the items not necessary for the makeshift sickroom had gotten moved. If his memory was right, then the music stand that had been collecting dust here since he'd arrived should be just about the right size for what they needed.

He crossed the room to examine the stand, testing the sturdiness of the central pole. It wasn't quite as well-crafted as the stand he used at home, but it wasn't some flimsy collapsible rubbish, either. The pole seemed to be solid wood, though still light enough for the stand to be portable. It was the work of a moment to disassemble the stand, pulling the pieces apart until the pole had nothing left attached to it.

"Try using this." Togami handed the pole to Naegi, setting one side on the ground so he could lean on it. "It should be a decent enough walking stick."

Naegi tested a little of his weight on it hesitantly, like he was afraid it might crack, but then a grateful smile spread over his face. "This is perfect. I'm sure I can make it up the stairs with this."

"If you can't, you have to tell me immediately," Togami instructed, giving Naegi his least forgiving glare. "Pressing on won't accomplish anything if you collapse. The sooner I know you're having difficulty, the better I'll be able to help you."

Naegi gave him a serious nod. "I know. And I'll tell you if anything's wrong."

That was probably the best Togami was going to get out of him. Togami sighed, turning around to inspect the room for anything else they might need one last time before they headed out. He scooped Naegi's dorm key and e-handbook off the bed, then gave a final nod. "All right — let's go."