Togami felt as though the floor itself shuddered under his feet, quaking with the force of his hatred for the mastermind's puppet in front of him. How could that thing have the nerve to stand there, smiling and cheerful without a care in the world, when just one day before it had thrown the kindest boy he'd ever met into a horrifying nightmare? It shouldn't be allowed, it should be blasted into pieces for its role in the executions, it —

An arm brushing against his shoulder halted his thoughts, like an anchor sinking through the storm-filled maelstrom of his head. All of a sudden he became aware of Sakura Ogami's presence looming at his side, a wall of tense muscle and coiled sinew as she also stared at Monokuma with the same fixation he'd had.

The same… it was very much the same, wasn't it? Hardly identical, of course, but even so… Monokuma had stolen someone important from Ogami, just as he'd taken the boy Togami loved. Asahina's death had been an execution, if only on a technicality, while Naegi's had been unjustified murder, but still… would that make it any easier? It was difficult to envision their positions being reversed, but he didn't think that it would. She had to hate the sight of Monokuma just as much as he did.

And if that was the case… well, he doubted she possessed the same ability to control her temper that he did. Before he could allow himself to think of the many reasons not to do so, Togami flicked his elbows sideways, against Ogami's arm.

Her gaze darted sharply towards him at the touch with all the ferocity of a thunderbolt — and then relaxed, the red-hot blaze of hate receding to a more manageable level. She gave him a brief nod of acknowledgment before turning her attention back to the bear in front of them.

Following her gaze, Togami noticed that Monokuma's lightning bolt eye gleamed even redder than normal, and the apparently innocent smile displayed the tips of his pointed teeth. Suddenly he found himself very glad indeed that he and Ogami had managed to snap one another out of their fury before they'd said or done anything irreversible.

As much to distract himself from those disconcerting possibilities as anything, Togami drew himself up with all the haughty arrogance he could muster and snapped, "What the hell do you want?"

"Eh?" Monokuma tilted his head, putting on a show of being confused. "Shouldn't that be my line? I mean, you guys are the ones who came charging in here to find all my most intimate parts on display!" His cheeks went pink with feigned shame as he looked away. "Will I still be pure enough for marriage if people find out about what you've seen?"

"Stop acting stupid," Togami growled, crossing his arms. He'd never had much patience with Monokuma's idiocy, but now, the day after Naegi's death, it seemed in particularly bad taste.

"But how can you call a besmirched reputation stupid?" Monokuma asked, pretending to be hurt. "And when so much of it was your fault, too?" His eyes sparkled in a way that Togami didn't like at all. "Does that mean you don't intend to behave honorably?"

"It means I have better things to do than listen to your nonsense." Togami wasn't stupid enough to turn his back on Monokuma, but he did swivel a step to the side so that he could view the entire room as well as the bear.

"Really? Aw, too bad!" Monokuma heaved a sigh. "And here I thought I had something you might like to see, too!" He held up a loosely closed paw, shaking it to make whatever it held jingle enticingly.

Togami narrowed his eyes suspiciously, trying to hide the fact that his interest had been piqued just as Monokuma had intended. Anything that robot offered would benefit the mastermind more than any of the students, he had no illusions about that… but even the most double-edged gifts could be useful if handled correctly.

"What is it?" he asked at last, when it seemed that Monokuma didn't intend to say more without prompting.

"Oh, nothing much." Monokuma's sharp grin belied his casual words. "Just a little something that someone seems to have misplaced!" He flung out his paw with a flourish to reveal Togami's dorm room key.

The tension with which he'd braced himself drained away, easing a little of the tightness in his shoulders. "That's all? Fine, give it to me." Togami held out an imperious hand for the key.

But instead of handing the key back to its proper owner, Monokuma snatched his paw back like a child playing keep away. "Huh? I don't remember saying anything about letting you have it! As your headmaster, I could never encourage such a flagrant ethical violation!"

"What are you blathering on about now?" Togami couldn't suppress his irritated huff of frustration at the bear's stupid antics. "What possible ethical violation could there be in returning my room key?"

"Your key?" Monokuma tilted his head, pretending to be puzzled. "I think you must be confused! Each of you got exactly one room key — and yours is right there in your pocket! So there's no way that this one here could belong to you, right?"

Togami scowled at the bear, one hand slipping discreetly into his pocket so that he could curl a protective fist around Naegi's room key. He could see the shape of the mastermind's scheme now, and he didn't like it one bit. The only way he could reclaim his own key would be to admit that the one he had now wasn't his — and he knew Monokuma would seize the opportunity to deprive him of Naegi's key. After all, the mastermind had gone to a great deal of effort to make sure that the students had nothing left of the ones who'd died in the previous trials. Why would they let him keep Naegi's room key?

Well, he refused to give it up without a fight. Togami raised his chin and gave the robot his iciest glare. "Of course the key in my pocket is mine."

"Is that so?" Monokuma asked. "Then I guess this must be a forgery! I can't possibly leave something so dangerous lying around — it's my duty to destroy such a terrible thing!"

Togami gritted his teeth, envisioning a future trapped in this hellhole without access to his own room. He wouldn't even have clothes that fit properly, let alone any of the other possessions he'd had in the room. But when he weighed that thought against a future where he had no chance of ever touching something of Naegi's again… the decision wasn't even worth considering.

"Do what you like," he said coldly.

Monokuma threw back his head with wild laughter, the sound echoing around the library even after he'd bounced out of sight. Togami grimaced, not quite feeling secure enough in the bear's absence to release his grip on Naegi's key just yet. After all, he'd as good as admitted how highly he valued it when he'd chosen to keep this key instead of his own — who knew what Monokuma would do with that information?

His gaze flickered away from the place Monokuma had been standing when he addressed them, darting around the scattered collection of electronics. It was like that godawful bear had spread himself all over the room, his gears and wires slithering into every corner to contaminate everything in reach. Broken furniture, discarded tools, even the walls of books all seemed tainted by the griminess of Monokuma's presence. Nothing could be clean in a place where that thing had been.

Togami spun on his heel and walked blindly in the opposite direction, brushing harshly past Ogami in his desperation to get away from the blatant reminders of the bear's presence. Anywhere would be better, any room in the school, as long as he didn't have to look at that disgusting black and white monstrosity for another second. He should turn and leave, he should walk out of the library, he should —

He should stop short in front of the door to the archives, blood draining from his face as he realized the significance of where he stood. For all that the library had some of the most unpleasant associations for him of any room in the school… it had also been more than that. This room was the place where he'd first kissed Naegi… and where Naegi had done so much more than kiss him back. Their romance had started here… not when they'd kissed, not even when they'd had sex… but in the moments afterward, when he'd first allowed himself to give in to the softness and warmth Naegi had given him so freely.

Slowly, not quite sure that it was a good idea but unable to prevent himself, Togami pushed open the archive door and stepped into the small, dusty room.


Scheduling note: Due to an extremely busy upcoming week at work, I'm not going to be able to post anything this Thursday. Next chapter will be up on Sunday, 6/11. See you then!