Naegi didn't want to think that his boyfriend had spent the last day believing something so horrible… but the timing matched up too well for it to be anything else. It might be a little self-centered to think he could be so important to Byakuya after just a few weeks together, but what other explanation could there be for the pain in his heartbroken eyes? He couldn't have learned the truth of the outside world while Junko's cameras monitored his every move, and there wasn't much else left in the school that could hurt him.

But even so… why would Byakuya believe he'd died when it wasn't true?

Naegi's gaze dropped away from the screens to fall on Junko. She wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was watching him, that same horrifyingly friendly smile painted on her lips. Watching like she always did, watching every move, sitting here behind her cameras and watching her friends suffer.

"Why?" The word slipped out before he could think of the thousand reasons it shouldn't, answers to the question that it would only hurt to know. "Why didn't you… tell him?"

"Hmm?" She had the nerve to act confused, tilting her head with so much force that it made her pigtails swish. "Was I supposed to tell someone something?" She tapped one finger against a temple, as if she were actually considering it. "Nope, nothing's coming to me! You'll have to do better than that if you want me to understand you!"

She was just trying to torment him, Naegi knew it. She'd practically read his mind earlier, so this sudden inability to understand his question had to be a lie. She was just forcing him through the pain of speaking because she could, like it was some kind of twisted game. Had she hidden this side of herself for the years he'd thought she was his friend — or had he never seen just how cruel she really was?

It didn't matter. Whoever she'd been before, however much of it had been a lie, it didn't change anything now — he still had no choice but to play along with her terrible game. He took a deep breath, struggling for the strength to speak as useless tears burned at the edges of his eyes. "Why… didn't you tell… Byakuya… I'm alive?"

There were more words to say, more protests to make, but he couldn't muster the breath to say them. His empty lungs burned for air, even when he tried to fill them. He couldn't keep pushing himself so hard, he knew it… even with the pain so far away, he could still feel how terribly wrong something was. Why was Junko forcing him to speak through this when she'd said herself that she wanted him alive and intact?

He didn't know… but the excited sparkle in her eyes said she didn't plan to relent any time soon. She wanted to watch the ache in his chest as he struggled to draw in enough air, the trembling of his lips as he fought to shape words. Her gaze scraped his nerves raw, reminding him of his utter vulnerability in a way that mere physical weakness couldn't.

The feeling only got worse when a bright smile of comprehension spread across Junko's face, as though she truly hadn't understood what he meant until that moment. When she could lie so easily without saying a word, how would he ever know what to believe? His head ached from the painful impossibility of the task.

"Huh? That was what you wanted to know?" Junko tilted her head from side to side in confusion, hairclips flashing in a dizzying monochromatic blur. "Wow, maybe I should've spent more time checking you for head injuries. I can't believe you've forgotten something so important!"

Naegi frowned up at her, an echo of pain throbbing between his eyes as his forehead creased with the effort of trying to understand her words. Could there really be something important he'd forgotten…? There was no way to be sure, especially when so many of the trial's final moments had faded to a blur.

"Well, guess it's up to me to jog your memory!" And with that, she leaned abruptly forward, an oddly serious expression overtaking her face. "At the end of the trial, you were declared the culprit and executed."

Naegi had the disorienting sensation that he'd been thrust into the middle of a different conversation without warning. Of course he remembered the verdict, and at least the first few horrifying moments of being dragged off to the execution before everything dissolved into agonizing chaos. He hadn't forgotten any of that — and he knew it didn't answer his question. The execution wasn't the point. He glared up at Junko, forcing out words that could point out her error. "I'm… not… dead."

"Technicalities." She let her shoulders lift in an easy shrug. "You lost the vote and even admitted live on the air that you were the culprit — and the rules say culprits have to be punished. What kind of game would this be if the players could jump right back in after getting eliminated?"

The killing game. God, of course her top priority would be her nightmare of a game. It wouldn't be fair to let a culprit go back — and both Kyoko and Byakuya had noticed the mastermind's dedication to making sure the game stayed fair.

"I mean, we all know how games break down when you start making exceptions," Junko went on, waving a manicured hand expressively through the air in an arc of bloody red. "First it's just you, but then everyone starts asking about Asahina, or Fujisaki, or Maizono, and before you know it I'll be emptying out the whole morgue! And don't even get me started on Fukawa, because two of you chipping away at a perfectly good memory erasure is enough ingratitude!" She shook her head. "Nope — sorry, sweetie, but you've hit your official game over."

There was horror lurking in her words, but Naegi didn't dare let himself think about it too hard, not with her eyes on him. Instead he did his best to focus on the meaning beyond the horror, the point she was really making. She wouldn't send him back because it would break the rules… but that wasn't what he'd asked. But maybe… if she realized he wasn't asking her to break a rule…

"Don't… send me back." It took the last of his strength to say the words… but if they worked, it would be more than worth it. "Just… tell him… I'm alive."

"Oh?" Junko tapped a red nail against her lips as they curved into a thoughtful frown. "Hmm, I guess that is a loophole, huh? Weeee-eeell…" She dragged the word out as long as she had the breath for it. "I guess I could humor you with this one teeny request. It does bend the rules a little, but I think it'll be okay if it's just him. After all, you're one of my darling friends — and all I want is to take care of you!" She gave him a sweet, gentle smile. "Okay, then — I'll be sure to let Byakuya know about you just as soon as the right moment arrives!"

Naegi would have liked to insist that she tell him now… but even if he had the strength, arguing for further concessions might just make her mad. This was probably the best result he could have hoped for. He looked back up at the monitors, tracking his boyfriend from screen to screen as he and Sakura made their way down the stairs. Byakuya still looked so painfully miserable… but it was a little easier to bear now that he knew it wouldn't last forever. Byakuya would know everything wasn't as bad as he thought soon.


Schedule note: Due to upcoming work travel I have to do, there won't be a new chapter next week. The next chapter will be up on Sunday, October 29. See you then!