Chapter 12: Day 10
As Togami slid on his crossed tie and clipped the button, the realization that he was only 1/5 of the way through this nightmare seeped into his brain.
He frowned as he pulled on his jacket, straightening the sleeves as he did so. It had been an absolute pain getting time to do his laundry, but after gaining assurance that Fukawa would be lured away by the other girls for another night in the bath, he quickly cleaned his sheets and clothes. He hated having to rely upon the others to get even the most basic of things done, as it was such an obvious weakness for the others to exploit. But Fukawa's antics were somehow becoming even more aggravating, and unfortunately, he had a sneaking suspicion as to why.
"I need to find a guidebook on billiards for Naegi," Togami contemplated as he stepped out of his dorm room and locked it shut. "That way he can stop bothering me." Yet even as he thought this, a small smile unconsciously crossed his lips. The past two nights, Togami had taken a break from his reading to continue playing rounds of pool, first by himself, then with Naegi, as the Lucky Student always seemed to find him near the evening hours. Togami tried shooing him off, citing Naegi's other friends, other obligations, even his dorm room as a substitute for spending time with the corporate heir. But Naegi would show up with that persuasive cup of coffee and persist, Togami would relent, and by the end of the night, Togami would be left in a state of confusion as to how he had spent so much time with the plebeian.
So much time that was becoming enjoyable.
Indeed, as Togami walked down the hallway, he couldn't deny that Naegi was clearly beginning to undermine his defenses. Togami could have, should have, ripped into the kid by now. He should have simply demanded Naegi leave him alone, tell him off, state he was unworthy of spending any amount of time with him, particularly after his comment in the library two days prior. But he didn't. He knew the act itself wasn't the problem. Every day since his arrival, he had told Fukawa and several others those scathing words without falter or fail.
But Naegi was different. Perhaps it was his 'ultimate luck.' Perhaps it was that smile of his. Perhaps it was the fact that Naegi was the easiest to work with, so Togami was merely tolerating his presence. But the results didn't lie. Togami was treating Naegi differently than the others. He didn't mind his presence...at least, not that much. But that left the massive, unanswerable question: why? Just what was different about Naegi? Why did Togami not just tolerate but enjoy his time with the boy? And, flipping the script, why did Naegi seem so adamant about spending time with him?
Knowing that more reflection wouldn't lead to any answers, Togami entered the dining hall and took his seat at the lone table before pulling out his e-Handbook. The group had collected a shocking number of items, but looking around, he could also begin to see the fatigue across their faces. Even with the afternoons off, the monotony of the daily group work was starting to take its toll. Fujisaki in particular seemed rather exhausted, as she sat at the table and slowly played around on her e-Handbook. Hina and Ogami had since entered the kitchen, and Togami watched out of the corner of his eye as Yamada entered as well. "Must be Fujisaki's back-up," he thought. "No doubt Celeste will have something to say about that."
"Good morning!" Taka's voice broke out through the silence, and Togami shuddered. Even Owada, his brother-in-arms, merely raised a hand to wave at him. Naegi and Kirigiri both entered, as did Fukawa and Kuwata. Kuwata yawned loudly and took his seat, while Fukawa did her usual act of standing in a corner like a dunce.
Togami eyed her cautiously. He hadn't caught her sneaking away from her duties to stalk him, but he highly doubted that meant she had stopped entirely. And with Naegi distracting him, he hadn't been as on guard as he should have. But for the moment, the writing prodigy merely stood and stared. And smelled. "How Taka tolerates her, I'll never understand."
"It's time for the morning meeting! Everyone, we've done tremendous work thus far! We are now at Day 10 of 51! I do believe congratulations are in order!" Clapping his hands awkwardly, Taka was joined by Hiro and Owada. The spectacle was cringeworthy, but Togami was coming around to accepting this as part of daily life here in the school. "Now! Let us begin today's assignments!"
"U-Um… C-Can I...have a day off?" Fujisaki asked. Even from his position, Togami could tell she was about ready to cry. "I, I'm sorry. But, um, I don't feel so good."
"Having you clean while sick wouldn't be wise," Kirigiri noted. She glanced over at Taka. "I was planning on having the gathering parties work on building the parts we require, namely the motors and converters. I can spare someone to help clean if need be."
"I'm so sorry," Fujisaki muttered.
Maizono smiled over at her. "No worries! I can help clean today! I'm not very good with putting the stuff together, anyways."
"Then Maizono, you will assist the cleaning crew today!" Taka declared. "Fujisaki, after breakfast, you may return to your dorm or the nurse's station to focus on getting better."
Fujisaki smiled at Maizono. "Thank you…"
"And that means the rest of us will go to the gym to begin creating the parts required," Kirigiri stated.
"This concludes the meeting!"
Watching as Kirigiri and Taka took their seats, Togami sighed and swiped through the e-Handbook. He was beginning to once more go through the calculations in his mind when he heard footsteps approaching. He glanced up to see Naegi smiling at him with not one, but two cups of coffee.
"I only need one," Togami joked, looking curiously at the two cups.
Naegi laughed. "I knew you would say something like that. But one's for me. I keep making you coffee, so I figured I'd give it a try."
"If you don't like it, that's a failing of your character, not the coffee," Togami pointed out, yet he smirked at Naegi as he slid the cup of coffee towards the corporate heir. Naegi chuckled, either oblivious to the underlying insult or ignoring it, when another set of footsteps caught Togami's attention. He expected it to be Hina or Ogami with their food, but as he turned to look, he frowned.
It was Fukawa. Who was currently staring menacingly at Naegi.
"You…" She hissed the word, her gaze seering into Naegi. Both Togami and Naegi looked directly at her, and Naegi frowned.
"Uh, h-hi Fukawa," he greeted. "Good morning."
"Why are you allowed to spend time with...with him?" She pointed at Naegi. "D-Don't pretend y-you aren't getting special privileges. How come you're allowed to m-m-make him coffee? And serve him? And b-b-b-be with him?"
Togami glared at her over the rim of his coffee cup. "I personally asked Naegi to make my coffee for me," he explained. "That filth you made the other day wouldn't be served at a local donut shop, let alone at my table."
"B-B-But how does he make it then? I did exactly what the directions s-said."
"I mean, I, uh, followed the directions too," Naegi pointed out. Fukawa hissed at him again, causing him to take a step back. Togami looked over to see that several at the large table were now looking their way.
"Once again this fool is attracting unnecessary attention." A sudden idea struck him as he sipped his coffee, and Togami smirked. "I would think someone who so admired me would respect my decision on the matter."
Her eyes widened. For a brief second, she didn't seem to understand what he said, as she stood in total shock. After a few seconds passed, however, she shuddered and took a step back. "Wh-wh-what do you m-mean?"
"I mean exactly that," Togami replied, wondering if this new strategy would be the key to finally creating some necessary distance. "I personally requested that Naegi make my coffee for me. If he didn't, that would make me very upset. And you wouldn't want me to be upset, would you?"
It clicked. The cruelty of it was palpable, yet Togami couldn't help but keep the victorious smirk across his lips as Fukawa skittered backwards like a cornered dog. "I-I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't m-mean to o-offend you or m-m-make you u-upset. I'll stay over here and m-m-make sure Naegi makes your coffee from here on out! So long as th-that's what y-you wish for..."
"Just mind your own damn business," Togami concluded, taking another sip as he did so. Fukawa slithered a few more steps back. For a few seconds, an awkward silence hung in the air. Togami glanced up at Naegi, who was clearly uncertain about what to do, and nodded towards the cup. "Drink it before it gets cold. Else you certainly won't like it."
"O-Oh, uh, yeah…" Naegi blushed and turned to approach the long table, taking a seat between Maizono and Kirigiri. Togami noticed how Owada, Enoshima, and Hiro were staring blatantly at him, and he glared in their direction. Both Enoshima and Hiro backed down, but Owada scowled in return.
"Oi, just what's your problem?" he asked, his voice surprisingly low for the biker. Togami thought to ignore the bait, but he watched in surprise as Owada stood and pulled his chair over before plopping down next to him. As he did so, the long table began to fill with chatter, masking Owada's voice just enough to make their conversation somewhat private. "Just what the hell was that all about?"
"None of your damn business," Togami remarked.
Owada growled and leaned forward. "You abusin' her or anything?"
"On the contrary, she is stalking me."
"I mean, yeah, that's pretty obvious. But you ain't doin' anything weird to her, right?"
"Aside from doing my best to ignore her? No."
"And you ain't usin' Naegi for anything bizarre?"
At that, Togami frowned and set his cup firmly down on the saucer. "Just what are you implying?"
"I mean, Fukawa's crazy, but she ain't wrong. You're only lettin' Naegi anywhere near ya, and you're all but demanding he wait on you hand and foot."
Togami's eyes turned to slits at the accusation. "I'm sorry, did he do my laundry for me yesterday? No. Did he deliver books from the library to me? No. Did I demand he play billiards with me? Absolutely not. The only thing he has done to 'wait on me' is to make my coffee because he's the only one with half a brain to do so." As if to prove his point, Togami drained his cup in one final gulp and set it back on the saucer. He then returned the glare at the biker and crossed his arms over his chest. "I've already gotten the speech to let Naegi have his fun, and I am. So just what, precisely, is the problem here?"
"It's your problem, man! You're the one who ain't spendin' time with us. We don't even know who the hell you are still, and all we're seein' is you scare the shit outta Fukawa or boss around Naegi. Anyone who's worked with ya, me included, sees you're just an asshole who can dish out instructions. So like, and I ain't one to be all 'peace and love' bullshit, but ya see where we're comin' from here? To us, it looks like something fucked up is goin' on."
"Just because I'm not spending time with you all doesn't mean I'm being manipulative or abusive," Togami retorted, not liking the implication at all. "And as for Naegi, any time we've spent together has been of his own volition. He was the one who asked me about books in the library. He's the one who's requested I teach him how to play billiards. And the fact that I'm catering to him should be evidence enough that I'm not the psychopath everyone is clearly making me out to be."
At that, Owada's eyes widened. "Wait...so you are spending free time with him? You aren't just bullshittin'?" Togami realized too late the trap he had fallen for, but before he could backtrack, Owada shockingly smiled at the truth of the matter. "Well shit. I had no idea you were bein' social at all here. Why haven't ya joined us in anything, then?!"
"Breakfast time!" Hina called out. Owada and Togami both looked up, and the sight of Ogami, Hina, and Yamada cut through their conversation. Owada jumped from his seat and quickly returned to the table, the discussion clearly left to be continued later, much to Togami's relief.
Togami sighed heavily as Hina set his plate of food in front of him. He secretly wished for another cup of coffee to get him through the day but knew it would merely attract more attention. Silently, he dug into his food, keeping his gaze focused on his plate. After all, Fukawa was one thing, but if the others seriously thought he was hurting Naegi…
For some reason, that bothered him. A lot. Enough to make his stomach churn as he slowly ate his breakfast.