Author's Note: I just want to give a quick thanks to everyone who has checked out and read the story thus far! I hope you all are enjoying it, as I'm having an absolute blast writing this!

Chapter 8: Day 5

"All right, we finally have everything!"

Everyone released a sigh in unison. Even Togami felt a mild sense of relief, knowing that tomorrow they would be equipped to complete the second Monokuma Casanova. "Well, it's ten minutes to noon," Fujisaki observed as she pulled out her e-Handbook. "Is everyone all right in calling it a day?"

"I sure as shit am," Owada remarked. "That nurse's office had some weird shit in it. Like, there were blood bags and stuff just casually in there!"

"Fortunately we don't require any blood bags," noted Kirigiri, who was also swiping through the e-Handbook. "Our list for the nurse's station is filled, and there isn't a marking for blood bags to be found."

"Meaning we can cross that room off our list!" Maizono exclaimed.

"Not necessarily," Kirigiri corrected. "We may need to come back later for items stored there. After all, Monokuma did say that we would be here for 50 days total, which indicates that this Monokuma Casanova won't be the last of the creations he's asking us to complete."

"Argh, what a pain in the ass!" groaned Kuwata as he ran a hand through his red hair.

"There's very little point in complaining about our current predicament," observed Celeste. "For now, we can take comfort in the fact that tomorrow, we will be fully prepared to complete the diagram."

"And on that note, I'm starving!" Hina giggled as she rushed past the boxes, practically singing about donuts on her way out the door.

Togami took a second to look down at Naegi, who was standing near the boxes alongside Taka and Kirigiri. As much as it pained him to admit it, the boy had been the easiest to work with thus far. Even Kirigiri's curious questions weren't the worst, but Naegi seemed to have picked up on Togami's mannerisms. Not once did he get in Togami's way when searching for items, and only a few times did he spoil the quiet in the room with questions that were genuinely good to ask.

The two had worked well together, and Togami couldn't deny the fact.

As if sensing his gaze, both Kirigiri and Naegi looked over in his direction. Naegi smiled and quickly approached. "Hey, before you leave, I was gonna ask…" Naegi held up his e-Handbook, revealing the basic diagram for the Casanova. "You said you were okay with taking charge of the blueprints, right?"

"Correct," Togami answered with a nod.

"Okay. I just wanted a game plan for tomorrow. I can already sense Hiro is going to want to do it, but-"

"But nothing," Togami interrupted. "I'll take charge of the matter. Trust me, that fool won't be ordering anyone around tomorrow."

Despite the caustic tone in Togami's voice, Naegi sighed in relief and nodded. "Thanks, Togami. It's much appreciated."

"I'm not doing it for you, Naegi. I'm doing it for…" Blinking, Togami saw her standing still, and he growled in frustration.

Naegi frowned when Togami didn't continue. "Hmm?"

"For the love of…" Looking past Naegi's shoulder, Togami watched as she fidgeted and looked at the floor, then back at him. Standing all alone, staring in his direction with the tact and grace of a school bus, was Fukawa. The tips of her index fingers met under her chin, and she was looking curiously at both Togami and Naegi, the former with wild adoration and the latter with obvious jealousy.

"What's wrong?"

"Follow me." Before he could comprehend what he was doing, Togami turned and began a brisk walk towards the exit of the gym. He could hear Naegi's steps behind him, as well as the boy's confused line of questions, but he ignored it all. Instead, he passed through the gymnasium entrance, turned right, climbed the stairs, then stopped.

The library was too easy, but maybe…

"Togami, wait!"

He turned to see Naegi staring up at him with a bewildered expression. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Just follow me. I'll explain in a minute." Making his decision, he strode forward and approached the wooden door to the library. Then, without stopping, he rushed to the archive door and opened it. He pointed and nearly shoved Naegi inside before slamming the door shut.

In the pitch black darkness of the room, he heard Naegi whisper, "Wh-what are we-"

"Quiet, you imbecile," Togami hissed. He pressed his ear against the door and listened. It took a minute, but soon, there it was. "Footsteps. She's following me."

Slowly, very slowly, Togami turned the handle of the archive door and peeked out into the library. Fukawa stood in the center, looking around like a lost child. Even from his position, he could hear her sniffling, and he watched as she looked around the short bookshelves, behind the desk, even under the tables. Her eyes were wide as she bit her lower lip. She muttered, "B-But I thought… I thought… Maybe… Maybe he went…"

For a second, her eyes flicked to the archive door, and Togami's heart skipped a beat as anxiety rushed through his system. But fortunately, she shook her head and pulled on her dark purple braids in frustration. "N-No, I'll l-look elsewhere. He's gotta be somewhere here. Somewhere nearby…" With a swiftness Togami didn't know she possessed, the girl flung herself back through the open library doors, slamming them shut behind her.

Togami released a breath he didn't know he had been holding and reopened the door.

"Um...Togami?"

Togami turned to see the outline of Naegi from the light of the library. He flicked on the nearby light switch and watched as Naegi blinked his eyes, adjusting to the sudden light. "You've no doubt noticed the psychopathic woman who is following me," the Togami heir noted.

"You mean...Fukawa?"

"Yes, Fukawa Toko." Facing Naegi directly, Togami crossed his arms over his chest. "Has she bothered any of you since we've arrived?"

"Not really," Naegi admitted. "I know Taka has been struggling a bit to get her to focus on her cleaning tasks, and he's, uh, pushing her to bathe a bit more often."

"Or at all."

"Y-Yeah… Well, yeah. But otherwise no, she hasn't really been following anyone else."

"So she's chosen to stalk me of all people." Togami sighed heavily and shook his head, sarcastically adding, "Because my time here was simply going so well to begin with."

"So why bring me here?" Togami frowned as Naegi began scanning the surrounding bookshelves. "And what is this place?"

"This is an archive full of files that aren't meant for average citizens," Togami responded. "I'd be very careful if I were you. The folders surrounding us contain information privy only to government sectors and those who hold true power." Smirking, he added, "I would know. Much of this information is found in my family's personal library."

"But what's this kind of information doing here?"

"Hmph, so you do have a brain between your ears. That's a question that needs an answer, one I'm slowly looking into while we're stuck here."

"Ah…" Naegi cautiously turned to look once more, his expression a mixture of awe and fear. Finally, he settled back on looking at Togami and frowned. "So then… You brought me here because of Fukawa?"

"I brought you here to test my theory," Togami corrected. "And her behavior just proved my hypothesis. I wanted to see if she was desperate enough to seek me out even if I left with another person. Knowing that she is, I can now better protect myself from her."

"I-I mean, she's probably not dangerous or-"

"Are you out of your mind? According to Monokuma, we're all trapped within this school for the next 45 days of our lives. She's been here the same amount of time as the rest of us and has clearly already latched onto me like some leech. Imagine what she'll be like 10, 15, 30 days from now?" A look of panic spread across Naegi's features, and Togami turned and exited the archive. "Exactly," he said, grabbing the pile of books he had left behind on the table the previous evening. "So it seems my best bet is to read in the archive or my room. Or perhaps another location that she wouldn't anticipate. But I'll need to be cautious from here on out."

"If you want, I can try and talk to her," Naegi offered. "I can ask her to stop."

"Try all you'd like, though I doubt it'll get through that thick skull of hers. In fact, if anyone should be talking to her, it should be that Taka fool. Before she cleans anything, she should clean herself up." Shoving the books under his arm, Togami turned once more to face Naegi. He had expected a defeated expression on Naegi's features; however, the boy had a shockingly serious look to him, with a set jaw and focused eyes.

Kirigiri's words briefly floated through his mind as he looked at him, and he had to concede that perhaps there was some truth to what she said after all. Indeed, Naegi's appearance revealed that his offer to help was genuine. And while Togami knew it would amount to nothing, he couldn't help but shrug and concede, "I won't stop you from trying to reason with her. But for my part, I plan to try and keep as much distance as possible."

"So where do you plan to-"

"There you two are!"

Both jumped at the voice and turned as the door to the library slammed open, revealing Taka and Owada. "Come men!" Taka shouted. "We must do battle, and our fight demands we have third-party referees!"

"And here I thought I couldn't lose any more brain cells," Togami reflected. Looking down at Naegi, he smirked. "Well, sounds like you have enough on your plate."

"Huh?! H-Hey, wait!"

"'Course you can't be bothered!" Owada complained, pointing at Togami as the corporate heir slid between the two.

"You're right, I can't," he replied nonchalantly. Pulling his dorm key out, he descended the stairs and made his way straight to the dorm room, only feeling the slightest bit of guilt for having left Naegi behind.