Togami froze in the doorway, trying to make sense of the scene before him. He had no idea what could have set Genocide Jill and Kirigiri at one another's throats, but whatever the cause, he had no interest in getting in the middle of it. He had half a mind to turn around and leave them to tear each other apart as much as they liked…
Except that he'd never learn the truth about the last trial if things went too far. Silver scissors flashed in one of the genocider's hands, and even from across the room he could see blood-red fury blazing in her eyes. But even pinned to the ground, Kirigiri was still a threat. She twisted against the hold with skill that could only have come from years of training — skills that she'd oh so conveniently never mentioned she possessed.
Jill's uncanny speed and strength were the only reason she was still keeping Kirigiri in place, and Togami could see the stalemate wouldn't last long. Either Kirigiri would shake herself free and turn the tables on her attacker, or Jill would lose patience and use those scissors to end things more permanently. Togami didn't like the thought of either scenario… which meant the only question was whether he had to interfere.
But even as those thoughts rushed through his head in his initial assessment of the scene, Ogami took the decision out of his hands. She charged forward toward the struggling girls, alerting them to the fact that they were no longer alone and eliminating any chance of a stealthy approach. Togami scowled, taking a few more steps into the room as though he'd intended to do so all along. Clearly he should have taken the time to establish an appropriate chain of command for unexpected situations like this.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ogami demanded, though it wasn't at all clear which girl she was addressing. "Brawling amongst ourselves will accomplish nothing — surely you've realized that by now!"
"Fighting?" Jill somehow found the breath to laugh, her grip on Kirigiri never loosening in spite of her wild grin. "No way, I'm not looking to horn in on your turf — keep the shounen-style sweating to yourself! Nope, I just had a taste for some late night rat-catching — and wouldn't'cha know it, I caught me a big one!" She slammed her fist onto the floor, just in time to block Kirigiri's snake-fast snatch for her braid.
Togami watched the scuffle through narrowed eyes, tracking the way both girls couldn't quite manage to overpower one another. So Jill had been the one to start this? Well, he couldn't say he was surprised — Kirigiri had far subtler ways to go after her enemies than fistfights. But the rest of Jill's words were something else altogether.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded, once it was clear that Jill was too occupied with holding her captive in place to pick up the conversation again. "Explain yourself properly."
"Huh? You can't even get that far?" Jill's words were bright and cheerful as ever, but her red eyes burned straight through him. "Yesterday must've really done a number on you!"
Yesterday… at her casual reference to what had happened, the trial, the execution, all of it flashed before Togami's eyes, a blaze of fierce grief that blurred the dim present out of focus. He could feel himself flinching back at the blow, proving her words had found their mark — but what did it matter now? All the stoicism in the world wouldn't change the fact that she'd witnessed the root of his pain.
The past could easily have consumed him, dragging him back into darkness — but a flash of silver sliced the vision to shreds. Togami blinked, the present rushing back around him just in time to see Jill's scissors stab down towards Kirigiri's face.
Ogami flung herself forward at the girls, her wordless roar of protest echoing through the room. She caught Jill's hand just as Kirigiri twisted away, taking advantage of Jill's distraction to break her grip and tear herself free.
No. Togami spun toward the doors, slamming them shut before Kirigiri could take so much as a step towards them. He was too tired, too hungry, too unprepared for a confrontation with her now — but that didn't stop him from putting his back against the doors and glaring at her with all the haughty confidence he could muster. If she wanted to leave, she'd have to get past him first.
Not that she seemed inclined to try. Kirigiri crossed her arms at him with a faint frown. "Don't tell me you're going to start making a scene as well," she said, as bored as if she felt nothing more than mild annoyance at the situation.
She was certainly good at the act. He might almost have believed her… if it hadn't been for the lines of blood trickling down her neck or the tilt of her head compensating for the newly jagged lines of her hair. She might like to pretend that nothing anyone did could touch her… but the truth was right there for all of them to see.
"All I want to do is talk," Togami told her, leaning pointedly back until the door handles pressed against his spine. "Any scenes will be entirely of your own making."
"I have nothing to discuss with you." One finger tapped a rapid rhythm against her upper arm. "Now move. I want to get this cut disinfected before the nighttime announcement and you're in my way."
"Oh, so now you wanna keep your mouth shut?" Jill snarled, glaring across the room at the other girl like Ogami wasn't an immovable presence between them. "Now you've got nothing to say? But you were oh so ready to talk yesterday, when you sang out all those pretty lies so we'd dance to your tune!"
Lies? Togami's eyes shot from Kirigiri's icy mask to Jill's incandescent rage. He was missing something here, and considering the two girls involved, he didn't like that thought at all. "I was under the impression you'd bought into her ideas."
"Sorry to break it to you, baby, but even a gal smart enough to avoid the dumb mistakes of your average murderous fiend can't be perfect," Jill said, one hand on her hip as her gaze skittered away from his. "Yeah, I was sold on the idea you'd gone after the mastermind right up till we voted — the lightbulb didn't go off till I saw Makyutie's face up in lights where it never should've been."
"You —" The fury boiling through him at those words nearly drove Togami away from his post at the door. He caught himself at the last moment, clenching his hands into fists that throbbed with pain. "You have the nerve to say such a thing — after you went against all your own arguments and voted for him?"
"Not me, darling," Jill said, tossing her braids. "You were my one and only, just like I said. I never voted for your sweetheart — but she did."
Jill's hand shot out, scissors extended to point straight at Kirigiri.
