Chapter 40: Day 37

The first thing Togami registered was the sound of running water.

Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around the room after quickly putting on his glasses. The lights weren't on, indicating the morning announcement had yet to play; however, light from the bathroom filtered through the door frame. He realized he was hearing the sound of the shower running and frowned.

A quick feel to his side revealed that Naegi was out of bed. Putting two and two together, Togami's frown deepened. "Why is he up so early?" Togami wondered as he pushed the covers off him and turned the lights on. He began getting dressed for the day, figuring he would shower later, and had just finished putting on his usual pair of slacks and button-up when the sound of the shower died off. He waited a few minutes, his fingers toying with his cross tie but not securing it, before Naegi stepped out of the bathroom dressed in black pants and a red t-shirt.

The look on his face told Togami that something was wrong. And indeed, Naegi didn't even seem to notice the lights turned on or Togami's standing figure until he practically bumped into him on his way to the table. "O-Oh, Togami," Naegi stuttered, looking up in surprise. "S-Sorry… Did I…wake you up?"

Togami crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I woke up on my own," he answered softly, examining his boyfriend's worried expression. "But I'm happy I did. What's wrong?"

"I…" Grabbing his hoodie, Naegi walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, his gaze distant. Togami quickly followed him, sitting down and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Naegi immediately leaned into his side, and Togami could smell the shampoo the brown-haired boy had used. He ignored the damp feeling of his hair and began to slowly run his fingers along his shoulder in an aimless manner.

After a few minutes passed, Togami whispered, "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Naegi shook his head. "No, I… I need to tell the others."

Togami blinked. "You had a memory…" It was a statement more than a question, and Naegi slowly nodded. "And not a pleasant one, I assume?"

"No…" Naegi shuddered as he shook his head. "It… It's hard to explain."

"Do you want to wait to talk about it with everyone?"

"No… I…" He sighed heavily and pressed his face into Togami's chest. "I hope Mom and Dad are okay," he whispered.

Togami's eyes widened. He tightened his grip on his boyfriend and held him close. He tried to think of what to say, of what would be appropriate to say, when Naegi continued whispering, "My dream was okay. I was calling Mom and Sis about school. I was telling them about you…not that we were dating, but that we were spending time together. That I had a friend. I remember feeling nervous about admitting how close we were… I think we had just started dating. I thought about telling her the truth, but then I got scared. Mom was so, so happy I was attending, and I didn't want to ruin the moment in case…in case she didn't accept us. Now, I… I wonder what she's doing. I mean, did I ever tell her about all my good times here at Hope's Peak? About everyone? About classes? About…you and me?" Togami felt Naegi shake his head. "I don't know what any of them are doing…"

"We'll find out," Togami stated. "We have a little more than 10 days. Two weeks. We've been here this long, and we've already uncovered a significant amount just from our investigation alone. Once we leave, we'll certainly have our answer."

"And what if something happened to them?"

"Then…" Inhaling and slowly exhaling, Togami muttered, "We'll figure it out. Together. That's all we can do."

Naegi's grasp tightened. "Aren't you worried? About Aloysius? About your parents?"

"I am, but sitting here worrying will solve nothing. It won't provide me with answers. I must keep my head up and keep moving forward. To do anything else is to waste time and let Monokuma win. And I'm not saying that to be cruel. I'm saying that because it would be easy to wallow in despair." Lifting Naegi's chin up with his fingers, he looked directly into Naegi's eyes and whispered, "You're stronger than that, Naegi. We will escape this place, we will learn what's going on outside, and we will find your family. Whatever happened to them, we'll learn of it. And we'll move from there. That's literally all we can do."

Naegi nodded so subtly that, if Togami had moved his fingers, he wouldn't have noticed. But the statements seemed to calm him down. Leaning once more against Togami, Naegi wrapped his arms around him for a proper hug. "Thanks, Togami."

"We don't have a back-up to put together today," Togami reminded him. "We can take the day to continue the investigation. Put your energy into that. If we can learn something, it'll make it all worthwhile."

"You… You're right." Still, Naegi remained sitting against him. "I hope they're okay."

"I hope they are, too. For your sake."

A sudden noise cut through their conversation, and Togami growled as the morning announcement played. As if to shield him, he wrapped his arms tightly around Naegi, bringing him closer, and set his chin against the top of his damp head of hair. He didn't know if Naegi was crying, and he wouldn't ask. But he would protect him. He would be there for him.

And as they sat, Togami's thoughts wandered to the tower of items. He still owed Naegi for all the things he had done for him, after all. The coffee, finding him in the archive, watching over him…

Togami wouldn't let Naegi suffer. Not if he could help it. He just needed to use the resources available to him.

By the time they took their seats in the cafeteria for breakfast, Naegi had calmed down and seemed to be back to his normal self. He smiled as he set their mugs of coffee on the table, and Togami grasped it with both hands, letting the heat pool in his palms. He glanced over and smirked down at Naegi, who took a short sip before sighing heavily.

The others were taking their seats, and Togami noted that a few of them looked exhausted. Most were smiling, but he noticed that Celeste had a perturbed look on her face, while Hiro sat shuffling through a pack of cards with only mild interest. Fukawa stood in the corner, staring daggers Naegi's way. He watched as Ogami and Hina set the plates of breakfast food in front of them, and the two were just a minute slower at eating.

That's when he also noticed there was one fewer person at the table. "Where is Kirigiri?" he thought, looking up and down. Indeed, the lavender-haired girl was missing.

"Let us commence the morning meeting!" Taka proclaimed, standing at the head of the table as he spoke. Putting his hands on his hips, he smirked and said, "Kirigiri informed me she would not be attending this morning, so it is up to me to lead the charge! That being said, I think we can all agree that we must continue practicing and putting our efforts into making this upcoming festival one to remember! Therefore, has everyone decided what they plan to do?"

"Kuwata and I have a song lined up!" Maizono exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Heck yeah we do!" Kuwata chimed in. "And I'm planning on playing a solo, so you all better watch out!"

"Is anyone else planning on playing music?" inquired Hina, who looked excitedly around at them.

"Togami is," Naegi muttered after taking a bite of breakfast. All eyes shot his way, and Togami slowly looked around at their shocked expressions.

"No way!" Enoshima exclaimed. "That'd be, like, him actually participating in something!"

"Regardless, it's the truth," Togami countered. "I was planning on simply playing some music on the piano. Something to serve as background music to all of your activities."

"Yo, that'd be pretty cool, actually," Owada noted. "'Specially 'cuz it means I don't have to lug that fuckin' jukebox up a floor. Saves me a goddamn headache." Raising his hand up, he grinned cheekily and leaned forward. "I knew you'd come around to us, man!"

Togami rolled his eyes and sipped his coffee. Owada blushed upon realizing that Togami wasn't returning the high-five. "I don't believe Togami's changing anytime soon," Ogami remarked with a smile.

"It'll still be so nice having everyone there," Fujisaki noted with a soft grin.

"I have othello and hanafuda prepared," Celeste simply stated, still looking somewhat distant.

"And I got my Tarot all ready," Hiro noted. Togami observed that, as he ate, Hiro's mood seemed to improve.

"I was planning on bringing one or two targets from the dojo and doing some target practice, maybe give a lesson or two," Ogami added. "Hina here was going to help me out."

"That should be enough, right?" asked Naegi. "I mean, we all don't want to be hosting something because then nobody will be able to do anything."

"That's true," Taka remarked. "I honestly think that's plenty of activities! And we can certainly rotate in order to let those hosting events participate, as well."

"Yamada and I can prepare treats and tea to bring upstairs," Fujisaki stated. "I think that covers just about everything."

"Through 100% effort, we will give this festival our all and have a great time!" Taka declared with the tone of a drill sergeant. "Now, we have the full day ahead of us! Let us further prepare! We will be hosting this event in the music hall. If anyone wishes to assist Brother and I in setting up everything we need, we would greatly appreciate it!"

The table soon devolved into small conversations. Looking this way and that, Togami noted how Kirigiri still wasn't present. He glanced over at Fujisaki, but the computer whiz was wrapped up in conversation with the others about the festival. He frowned and finished his food before leaning over to whisper to Naegi, "I'm going to look for her."

"Kirigiri?" Naegi whispered back.

Togami nodded. "I don't like that she's not here…"

Naegi slowly nodded. "Okay."

Knowing that he still wasn't feeling well, Togami smirked and added, "Once I'm done, if you want to play billiards later, I would not be opposed."

"Don't you need to practice?" Even as he asked this, though, Naegi's smile widened. Togami scoffed.

"I have all day and all night to practice," he countered. "That is not my priority."

Naegi's eyes widened, as did his smile, as he took a final bite of food. "Okay. I'll probably just look through the tower of stuff. See what I can find. Then I'll head back to my room."

"Your room? Why…" Realizing Naegi didn't have a copy of his key, he chuckled and nodded. "Right. Of course. I'll come find you, then."

"Sounds good. And…thanks."

"For what?"

"Just…thanks."

Shrugging, Togami finished his coffee and watched as several others began finishing their plates of food. They all began to stand up and put their dishes away, and as Togami left the dining hall, he immediately looked around the lobby. "Now if I was the Ultimate Detective, where would I go…?"