Author's Note: Two chapters in one week, woot woot! Thanks again to all who have been reading. :-)

Chapter 10: Day 7

Togami growled in irritation as he shoved the booklet in his hand back on the shelf. "Another waste of time," he reflected. He pulled out his e-Handbook and saw that it was approaching 20:00. His heart sank slightly as reality hit him.

"A full day...and practically nothing to show for it." He slowly opened the archive door and peeked out. There was no sign of the stalker writer, so he pushed the door open the rest of the way and turned the lights on in the library, flinching slightly at the sudden illumination. He had spent the majority of the day in the archive, surrounded by the bookshelves and dusty memorabilia on the floor, only leaving to get a small meal around lunchtime. He hoped against hope to find some sort of clue as to the mastermind's plot, identity, or whereabouts, as well as maybe a sliver of truth as to what was actually going on in this school building. Instead, Togami was met with file after file of information that, while interesting in their own ways, correlated in no way to his current predicament.

Now, with a slight headache and a sense of frustration at the time lost, Togami told himself he needed to take a break. He would come back refreshed, ready to go at it again another day. After all, despite his love of literature and reading, even he could feel the stress in his eyes from staring at the words all day. But he also wouldn't accept defeat, either. No, there was something in that archive. Something worth finding...but not today. He stepped out of the library and closed the wooden door shut behind him before pulling his e-Handbook back out.

It was time to find something different to do.

Scanning the rooms one at a time, he noted how a majority of the students were downstairs in the dining hall, while others were in their dorm rooms. They had only bothered him once during breakfast to attend the ridiculous swimming event they were holding, but Togami ate his meal, ignored their requests, and went to the archive to lock himself away. Now scrolling through the maps of the school and examining the open rooms, he finally came to the main map of the third floor. His eyebrow rose on its own as he noticed a "Rec Room" and shrugged, having recalled several of the other students discussing the games they played the previous night. Shoving the handbook in his pocket, he approached the steps leading up to the third floor and soon approached the entrance.

He peeked inside and nodded to himself upon finding the room empty.

Stepping inside, he was immediately greeted by neon colored lights, including a bizarre Monokuma decoration. Directly in front of him was an othello game that looked to have been abandoned halfway through. In the far corner were magazines and a darts machine, but in the center was a large billiards table, clear of equipment.

His eyes widened, and for a brief second, he let a genuine smile cross his lips. Now here was something he could enjoy beyond the books in the library.

He walked across the room and grabbed all the necessary gear, lining the balls up in the plastic triangle and setting up a game for himself. Chalking up the end of the cue stick, he set his handbook and dorm key on the nearby table before standing at the end of the pool table to line up his shot. For a few seconds, nothing but his precision and the silence around him existed. With a sharp, sudden stab forward, he struck the white cue ball and watched as it shot across the table, blasting into the triangle and spreading the remaining balls in all directions. Two balls sunk into the corner pockets, and he decided to simply go in order by number, knowing that there was no competition except against himself.

Before he knew it, Togami was drawn into the game, even setting up a second round once he had finished sinking all the targets. It was something rather mindless, but after six days of physical labor, dealing with the other students, and researching, it was a necessary distraction. He could feel the tension easing from his body as he focused on his shots, and the permeating silence enhanced the overall ambience, allowing him to finally relax.

Or it would have if it had lasted. But once again, luck was not on his side. As he went to take the opening shot of his third set-up, he heard the door to the rec room click open and looked over. Standing in the doorway were Kirigiri and Naegi. A bright smile crossed Naegi's lips upon seeing Togami, while Kirigiri's expression revealed not so much shock as curiosity.

"Oh hey Togami!" Naegi exclaimed. "I'm surprised to see you here!"

"Hmph." Lining his shot up, Togami struck the cue ball and watched it hit the triangle. Only one ball sunk.

"We aren't...interrupting anything, are we?" Naegi slowly asked.

Togami began to walk around the table. "I told you I couldn't keep you from accessing places," he remarked. "You're free to do what you will here."

He could hear Kirigiri's smirk through her tone as she asked, "So you wouldn't mind if we did a little exploration of this room? I promise we'll stay out of your way."

"Do what you want." Lining up another shot, Togami pulled back, fixed his aim, and struck again, sinking another two balls. He stood up straight and surveyed the table before shooting a glance the others' way. Kirigiri was opening a locker and looking through it, but Naegi was instead looking at the pool table. "What, you've never seen billiards before?" inquired Togami.

"I-I mean, I did last night," Naegi corrected. "But only once or twice before that. And I don't know anyone who can play very well…" Chuckling, he added, "Owada definitely wasn't this good last night."

"You do now." As if to make a point, Togami lined up his next shot and fired off, sending another ball into a pocket. Naegi watched as if stunned.

"Togami, have you noticed anything strange in this room?" Kirigiri's question caught the heir off-guard, and he glanced up before shrugging.

"Nothing more abnormal than any other room here," he answered as he surveyed the table once more.

"I see…"

"And before you ask, no, I didn't find anything in the archive, either. Not yet."

"I figured as much, though I guess I also wouldn't expect you to share the information with us if you learned anything."

"Oh please. As soon as I find something on how to escape this place, I will be certain to spread the good word. In the meantime…" Firing off another shot, Togami sank another ball.

"So even the Togami heir can enjoy himself. Good to know."

Togami rolled his eyes and went to move around the table only to look up and frown in confusion. Naegi was still staring curiously at the pool table set-up, his gaze moving across the balls as though he was trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. Deciding to just ignore him, Togami went round after round without missing a single shot, eventually sinking all the balls into the pockets. He smirked, wondering if he should try and go for a personal record, when the Ultimate Lucky Student took a step forward.

"Um...can I try to play with you?"

Togami scoffed. "You really think you can act as competition for me?"

"No, but-"

"Then why would you want to play with me?"

"I mean, you're clearly good at the game, and it looks like it's pretty interesting. I was watching a little last night, but Owada just ended up yelling. You could teach me how to play, and then-"

"-Then what? Somehow you'll be better than me?"

"It's not about being better! It's just about learning it and having some fun."

Naegi's response caused Togami to blink in surprise. The boy was staring with that determined expression of his directly at Togami. "Why would he bother learning a game if he doesn't plan on winning? And what is his deal?! Why is he so adamant about spending time with me?"

Sighing in defeat as the realization that fighting Naegi was probably a pointless endeavor, he pointed at the plastic triangle and ordered, "Set the balls up with 1 at the head of the triangle. In numerical order. It will go near the center."

And there it was. That warm smile, accompanied by lit up eyes, returned to Naegi's face. Togami frowned but grabbed the second cue stick, making sure both it and his own stick were chalked up appropriately. He then turned to see Naegi placing the balls loosely in the triangle, the balls rolling out of formation every time he tried to set them in place. He sighed and set the sticks against the wall.

"Make sure they're tightly packed," he stated. He watched as Naegi simply kept pushing them around, making Togami realize just what an amateur the kid was. He just wanted the round set up as quickly as possible. Without thinking, he stepped forward and placed his hands over Naegi's, grasping onto the triangle while feeling Naegi's warm hands underneath his own. "You can't just roll them around," he explained, hovering over the shorter boy. He could feel Naegi become tense and realized he had all but sandwiched the kid between himself and the table. He took a step back but kept his hands over Naegi's in order to keep hold on the triangle. "Now push and pull. Like this." In one swift motion, Togami moved the triangle forward and back, forcing the balls in the triangle to roll and click into place. He waited a second and nodded when none of them moved, indicating they were securely locked against each other. Slowly, Togami raised both his and Naegi's hands, lifting the triangle up and grabbing it from the boy. "If you're going to learn how to play, at least learn how to set it up properly." He walked away and set the triangle on the nearby table. He then grabbed the cue sticks and turned.

He blinked in confusion. Naegi was looking oddly at him, with pink highlighting his cheeks and hands still held out in front of him. Togami's eyes widened. "Why is he blushing?" And that's when he noticed the silence surrounding them. He glanced up and saw that Kirigiri had vanished, leaving only Naegi and him in the room. "What's going on here? Where did Kirigiri go?"

Unaware of the corporate heir's thoughts, Naegi smiled awkwardly and reached out to grab the cue stick from Togami. He stood still for a moment, holding it oddly in his hand. Despite his blushing, the brown-haired student continued smiling as he glanced up at Togami. "Okay, so...how do you play this game?"

Togami sighed. It was going to be a long night.