Chapter 12: Planting Seeds
"What the fuck do you want?!"
Byakuya's scowl deepened. He must have been ringing the doorbell for at least ten minutes straight before it was wrenched open violently, so he felt like Fuyuhiko really didn't have any right to be furious. If anything, the yakuza should be on his knees, apologizing for wasting his time.
Keeping his tone as even as possible he said, "I want to inform you about a new rule. Everyone must attend breakfast from now on. That includes you. 7 to 8 a.m. Try to be on time."
He would have liked to leave immediately after delivering the message, but he felt like this wouldn't go over half as smoothly as with the other students. And he was right.
"You seriously bother me for this shit? Hell no." The glare Byakuya received was probably supposed to be intimidating, but coupled with the way Fuyuhiko balled his hands into fists at his sides it just made him look like an angry child.
"I wasn't asking for your opinion. It's already been decided."
"By whom? You?" Fuyuhiko scoffed. "Fuck off. It's not an official rule, so you can't make me do anything."
"No, but I can and will be back tomorrow morning and I don't plan on leaving until you come with me. You can do both of us a favor and have breakfast with the rest of us without causing a fuss."
Fuyuhiko laughed and his previously sour expression turned into a grin. "Oh, sure, go ahead. See if I care. By the time my patience runs out, your stupid breakfast hour will be over. I really don't fucking care what you guys get up to, but I want nothing to do with it." With that, he took half a step back and slammed to door shut in his face.
Byakuya counted to five. And then to ten. That had gone even worse than he had imagined. The decision to inform Fuyuhiko last had been a deliberate one, since he had already anticipated some form of resistance. But even Hiyoko hadn't thrown more than an insult in his face.
With a frown that felt like it had permanently etched itself into his face, he walked off, thinking about his options. He would pester him for an entire hour every morning, if that meant Fuyuhiko would give in eventually. But with the way things looked right now, it didn't seem like that would be a very time efficient thing to do. Why was every second person on this island so damn stubborn? His own classmates had been quite low-maintenance in comparison. It was too bad that Byakuya only now started to appreciate them.
Still, this was a problem. There had to be a better way. Fuyuhiko was right—just because he told him to be there didn't mean he would come. After all, he himself hadn't attended the breakfast meetings in Hope's Peak either, for exactly the reason Fuyuhiko had stated. It wasn't an official rule. Byakuya's word didn't mean anything if he couldn't enforce the rules.
Unless…
He stopped as he reached the pool, an idea slowly forming in his head. Who said he couldn't turn the very thing causing the problem into the solution? It wouldn't have been possible back in the academy, but here? It was worth a try.
"Monomi! I want to speak to you!" he bellowed. It only took a second for the rabbit to jump out of one of the bushes lining the path.
"I heard you call for me with my large ears and came running as fast as I could! What can I do for you?" the stuffed animal called out animatedly, both ears in an upright position and eyes bright with excitement.
Byakuya smirked. "I could use your help in a certain matter."
Before he could explain what he wanted from her, the rabbit sniffled, bending over to hold her paws over her heart. "Really? You're seriously asking me for help? That makes me so happy!"
He rolled his eyes. "Are you quite done or should I regret asking you already?"
She perked back up, quickly wiping a tear from her eye. "No, no, I want to help! Tell me what you need me to do! I won't disappoint you!"
If only she put her enthusiasm to better use. "I need you to add a rule to our handbooks stating that attendance at breakfast will be mandatory."
Monomi took a step away from him, gaping. "Why should I do that? We don't want to restrain you on this island! The students are supposed to enjoy their freedom!"
'We', huh? Byakuya filed that bit of information away for later. "But you also want us to get along with each other, don't you? This is to strengthen our… our bond in the group. Don't you think eating and spending time together would help us become closer?"
"I… uh… yes, that's true…"
"And not following the rule would just lead to setting off an alarm and not to an execution, wouldn't it?"
"Of course! That would be way too cruel! I can't stop Monokuma from enforcing his rules as he sees fit, but I would never enforce any violent punishments for my rules!" A bit more quietly, she added, "Uhm, that doesn't mean you should break those…"
"In that case, there shouldn't be any problem with this arrangement. Most of the students agreed to the new rule anyway. Fuyuhiko is the only one who doesn't want to follow it. And wouldn't you agree that he of all people could use some more interactions with the rest of us?"
"Well…" Monomi tilted her head to the side, tapping it with her paw in thought. "When you say it like that, I can't really disagree."
Byakuya nodded. "I do advise you, however, to add an exception to the rule that excludes students who are physically unable to be there, so there won't be an alarm every time Nagito or Teruteru fail to come to the hotel."
Monomi's ears drooped. "About that… don't you think you should let them out again? I'm sure they're unhappy being imprisoned."
"And I'm sure the other students would be unhappy being dead. They'll stay where they are."
If anything, the rabbit looked even more crushed. She whimpered pathetically. "I don't want anyone to get hurt either, but… I beg you, if they prove to reform themselves, please let them out again! Everyone deserves a second chance!"
"I feel like you're mistaking murder with a petty crime. For the time being, it's safer to keep them locked up. Both for the group's wellbeing as well as for their own sake. Now, what about that rule?" he asked to remind the pesky rabbit why they were having this conversation in the first place.
She was silent for another moment. Byakuya waited. He had made his case; there was nothing more to say.
And, true enough, Monomi finally collected herself with a nod. "Well, alright, I think this could really help you guys. I'll add the rule at once!" she said and raised her paw high.
That had been almost too easy. That battle was over before it had really begun. He watched her bounce away and a second later, there was a familiar pling coming from his student handbook. He didn't bother checking it, but he didn't have to. He knew for certain that it was the new rule when he heard a heartfelt "Oh, for fuck's sake!" coming from the open window of Fuyuhiko's cottage a second later.
Ah. Sweet, sweet victory. He relished in the feeling as he continued on to the hotel in order to eat something first and bring dinner to the two troublemakers afterwards.
Between letting Mikan change Nagito's and his own bandages again and seeking out Hiyoko and Ibuki before trying to deal with Fuyuhiko, he had used the rather uneventful day to think about a few things. Monokuma's words about there being a traitor among them had come back to him and Byakuya had to wonder if he hadn't misinterpreted them when he had first heard them.
At the time, he had assumed the bear was referring to him, since he wasn't technically a member of this class and because he was apparently the only one who hadn't lost his memories. It would set him apart from the other students, so it wasn't too far-fetched that Monokuma would use that to sow distrust among them. Nobody had indicated that they were worried about the alleged traitor yet, but that didn't mean they wouldn't start throwing accusations around at some point in the future.
However, after the events of the last two days, he wasn't so sure anymore. While he wasn't a part of this class, he didn't work against them either. He wasn't secretly in league with Monokuma, as Sakura had been. It was entirely possible that Monokuma hadn't been talking about him.
The reason for this train of thought was Nagito. The more Byakuya thought about what he said, the more unsettled he became. Replace the word 'hope' in his ramblings with 'despair' and you had a speech that may as well have been from Junko. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? Byakuya didn't buy it.
Drawing a connection from his skewed perspective on hope to suspecting him of being a traitor allied to Monokuma wasn't much of a stretch. If anything, it was the only logical conclusion one could come to, given the information he currently had. Causing despair for the sake of hope? It didn't get much more apparent than that. The only problem with that was that there was no way to confirm or refute it. He would have to try prying the information from Nagito himself. Would it be smart to accuse him of being the traitor directly? Maybe he would show some reaction if Byakuya just implied it or asked about something related. Or he would just smile that infuriating smile of his and laugh it off.
He contemplated it some more while he brought dinner to Teruteru first. Byakuya's lip curled in disapproval when he saw that he had eaten very little over the course of the entire day. He left him with his new plate and a prompt to eat properly this time. What was the cook trying to achieve? Was he going for some kind of protest by starving himself? If he was, he was sorely mistaken in thinking it would make a difference for his situation.
When he eventually went to bring Nagito his food, he watched out for anything he might say or do that could potentially hint toward him being the traitor. Unfortunately, he didn't behave in any way peculiar. Well, not more than usual. The Ultimate Lucky Student—was that even his real talent or, if he really was the traitor, was it supposed to be an ironic play on Makoto?—was still wearing his mask of pleasant passiveness.
He seemed to be staring a little bit too much, since Nagito eventually looked up from his plate to meet his gaze, just when he placed the can of water he had brought from the restaurant on his nightstand. "Is there a problem?" Nagito asked amicably.
Byakuya's eyes narrowed as he straightened back up. You are the problem, he wanted to say. Instead, he mulled over his options for another moment, trying to estimate the smartest choice. "I was wondering if you could answer a question for me," he finally said.
Nagito smiled. "Of course."
"Do you know who Junko Enoshima is?"
Byakuya watched him intently, waiting for some sign of recognition. Nagito blinked slowly and raised his hand to tap at his chin in thought. It was impossible to tell whether it was a show or an honest reaction. A second later, Nagito shook his head. "I don't think I've ever heard of her before in my life." He leaned forward with new interest. "Why? Should I know her?"
An uncomfortable silence settled between them as Byakuya continued to stare at him. Then, deciding that this line of questioning probably wasn't going to get him anywhere, he let it go. "No," he said, finally cutting through the suddenly tense air in the room. "It's not important."
Nagito responded with a chuckle. "Now, that's obviously not true. You wouldn't bother asking me about something like this if you didn't think it was important in some way. You expect me to know something about her. I just regret having to let you down. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to give you the answers you are looking for. Maybe if you could give me some more information about her?"
At that, Byakuya almost rolled his eyes. He still didn't buy the act of modesty and frankly, it was annoying. Turning around, he told him, "Just forget about it" and made his way to the door. He was just one step away from it, when Nagito's voice made him pause.
"Is it her?"
When he turned back, he saw that Nagito was staring at him in deep contemplation. All signs of light-hearted friendliness were replaced by an uncharacteristically serious look. It took him a bit off guard. Then he registered the question and furrowed his brow. This conversation could take a number of turns and he had no idea which one it would be.
"Is she what?" Internally, he braced himself for whatever was to come.
Nagito licked his lip and Byakuya suddenly realized that the student's body was tensed like a coiled spring. The hand holding his plate was clenched around its edge. After what was probably only a second but seemed like ages, Nagito almost breathed his answer. "Your hope."
Even though it was barely more than a whisper, the words seemed to echo through the cottage. Seconds ticked by as Byakuya tried to process that. Why… How did he come to that conclusion?! Where on earth had it come from? That was just… He couldn't wrap his head around it.
When Byakuya failed to give him an answer, Nagito's eyes went wide as saucers and he strained to lean closer still, almost knocking the plate off his lap in the process. "Am I right?" he asked eagerly, the words rushing from his mouth.
Byakuya restrained himself not to recoil at the question but he couldn't keep himself from grimacing in disgust. "No!" he said a little more forcefully than intended. Shaking his head, he asked, "Where did you get that idea? No, disregard that. What does that even mean?!"
Nagito let out a long breath, gradually relaxing a bit. "Didn't I tell you before?" he asked, the words coming slowly out of his mouth, thoughtfully. "I saw your hope. Ever since yesterday, you have worn it so confidently, I don't think anything could possibly disrupt it. It shines so brightly; I find it hard to believe that you could get this hopeful without some inciting incident. Something or someone in your past must have ignited it. I just thought it might have been her."
… What kind of explanation was that? That didn't make any sense whatsoever. And even if it did, there was still the question of: "Why would you assume that about her of all people?"
Nagito shrugged in what seemed to be a calculated move, leaning back against his pillow now. While he did that, his lips were pressed together and he took his time before he answered. "Why else would you talk about her with me of all people? I tried to encourage the others to be hopeful like you. I thought it was possible that you might want to talk to me about her, so we could devise a better strategy to spread hope to them."
"That's ridiculous." There was no other way to describe it.
"So, I was wrong? She's not your hope?" From his tone, it was clear that Nagito already knew the answer.
Byakuya snorted at the mere thought. "There's nothing hopeful about Enoshima." He regretted saying that almost instantly. Something in his subconscious mind told him that Nagito wouldn't mix well with her, so if he really was oblivious of her, the less he knew about her the better.
The lucky student looked down, breaking the eye contact that had persisted between them for nearly the entirety of the conversation. His voice was toneless. "In that case, I apologize for making wrong assumptions. I guess I got a bit too excited to find out more about you."
This time, Byakuya really did roll his eyes. "Maybe you should stop making uneducated guesses." It was puzzling, though. His reactions had seemed genuine enough. And his idea had been so far off the mark… Was he really just pretending or did he honestly not know anything about Enoshima? It almost seemed like it was the latter.
Nagito looked back up with an apologetic smile. "Who is your hope then?"
"You're still going with that theory?"
Nagito laughed softly. "As I said, I can't imagine your hope hasn't been shaped by an important source."
Technically, Makoto had been the biggest influence on how he handled the killing game this time, so that could be what Nagito was talking about. After all, Makoto had become the Ultimate Hope in the end. It would make sense that Byakuya would have adopted some of his optimism by spending so much time with him. And Makoto sure had been the one to encourage them to reject despair. But still, how did one even go about measuring hope?
No, wait. What if he misinterpreted the question and Nagito implied that Byakuya's hope stemmed from the killing game that Junko had started, making her his hope? With all his talk about despair being necessary for hope to be born or something along those lines, he wouldn't put it past Nagito to see it that way. Could that be the case? Or was he just overthinking things?
Byakuya shook his head. All that wasn't important right now and it wouldn't do him any good to tell Nagito about any of it. This interrogation hadn't gotten him anywhere. He would have to think of a different line of questioning. For now, he decided to take his leave and end the conversation by saying, "Did it ever occur to you that you're not always going to be right about everything?"
Without waiting for a reply, he turned his back on Nagito and finally closed the last distance to the door. He didn't look back before he left the cottage and locked it behind him. Sighing internally, he allowed himself to relax a bit. No more crazy talk for today. He really needed a break from that. Trying to speak to Nagito without having the conversation derail into madness was terribly exhausting.
The rest of the day passed smoothly at least. Sonia and Hajime didn't have anything noteworthy to report back to him either and it seemed that all the problems had been dealt with for now. Of course, he didn't expect it to stay that way. If none of the students caused trouble, Monokuma certainly would. They hadn't heard anything from the bear in a while, which was never a good sign. He just hoped he wouldn't come up with anything too bothersome.
Makoto slowly trudged through the dimly lit hallway on his way to the bathroom when he was alerted by a shimmer of light in one of the corridors he passed. Frowning, he turned his head, wondering if someone left a light on. After all, it was past midnight and everyone should have been in bed. As he got nearer, he realized that the glimmer poured out from under the door of the central monitor room that was connected to the Neo World Program. The grey hallways of the large administrative building they used for their cause all looked the same, so it was easy to get confused.
He walked over to the door with the intention of just switching the lights off and carrying on his way, already reaching for the handle, when he noticed a muffled voice coming from the inside. No, wait, there were two.
He directed a puzzled stare at the door, wondering who could possibly still be up and about at this time of night. Not wanting to just barge in and interrupt them, he knocked. The voices fell silent instantly and for some reason, he felt like he got caught doing something he shouldn't have.
Then, a moment passed and he clearly heard Kyoko's voice calling out, "Enter."
Oh. Well, he should have known that it would have been her. In their group, she was the most likely to wander around at night. But why was she still here? He opened the door just a crack and peeked in curiously. "Kyoko?" he asked, as his eyes finally fell on her. Then he noticed another figure on the central monitor above the control panel. "And Alter Ego? What are you two doing here?"
"Nothing," Kyoko replied briskly as Alter Ego waved at him hesitantly. "We were just having a little chat. You should go back to bed."
Disregarding what she said, he pushed the door open further so he could sidle into the room. "About what?"
"It's not important. Nothing you need to worry about."
Her face and voice would have seemed impassionate to anyone who didn't know her. But Makoto had gotten to know her pretty well at this point, so he noticed that there was a slight edge to her tone, even if her body language betrayed nothing. There was something she wasn't telling him and it just served to fuel his curiosity. He didn't mean to pry, but what could be important enough that she would seek out Alter Ego in the middle of the night, and at the same time not important enough to tell anyone else about it?
Almost without meaning to, his gaze swept over the various monitors showing different locations of the Jabberwock Island simulation. Every scene was cast in darkness, only dimly illuminated by the pale moon in the sky that would never lose its intensity, even if it waned. It was a precaution they had taken to be able to see what was going on in the simulation in case of an emergency, no matter the time of day.
Since everything was so dark, it took him a moment to notice the one scene sticking out from the others. "Hey, isn't that Byakuya?"
It sure was. One of the monitors showed the image of their friend, sleeping peacefully in his cottage. As he realized that, he frowned. Why would they need to monitor his sleep? Sure, there were cameras in all the cottages, but they weren't commonly used unless Alter Ego alerted them, to respect everyone's privacy. Had he missed something?
Looking between Kyoko and Alter Ego for an answer, he found none, so he asked, "Why are you watching him?"
He didn't mean it as an accusation in any way. He was sure they had a good reason, after all. But as Kyoko opened her mouth to speak, Alter Ego cut her off before she had even managed to say anything, hurriedly telling Makoto, "We weren't doing anything bad; I promise!" while holding up his hands defensively.
Makoto blinked in surprise and Kyoko cast Alter Ego a look that wasn't quite exasperated but it made him shrink back on the screen regardless, as if he had a physical form.
Makoto came a bit closer, his eyes drawn back to the monitor showing Byakuya. Something seemed off about him, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"As I said, and Alter Ego confirmed," Kyoko paused here, probably to look at the AI, but Makoto was too focused on trying to figure out what was different to pay much attention to it, "there is nothing to worry about. I'm sure you're tired. I can tell you about it tomorrow."
Suddenly it hit him. His eyes widened. It was such a small detail that he hadn't noticed it at first. Especially with Byakuya's head lying on his pillow. But at a closer look, he could faintly see a distinct strand sticking up from his usually so meticulously groomed hair. He looked back at Kyoko in astonishment.
"Did you edit his avatar?"
Kyoko sighed, looking away in a display of disinterest. Though Makoto wasn't sure whether her nonchalance wasn't just an act. "I thought it would be fitting, considering he is supposed to take your role. And it won't hurt to emphasize this for him so he won't forget it. Since we are unable to send him a message in any other fashion, this is the only option we have left. Even if I'm not sure how effective it will be."
He awkwardly raised his hand to scratch his cheek. It was true that they had lamented the fact that they couldn't communicate with him directly just this evening, since the Neo World Program wasn't built to allow outside contact in the first place and with the added obstacle of the virus blocking their access on large parts of the code… But Makoto wasn't sure whether editing his avatar in this way was really the best option of sending a message. Not to mention what it was supposed to tell him. "I thought he was quite dedicated to his role already…"
"Dedicated as he might be, he should focus on giving them hope, not reminding them of despair," she countered.
Oh. This was about Byakuya's conversation with Nagito earlier today, wasn't it? Alter Ego had shown them a recording of it after he had deemed it noteworthy to them. Makoto agreed that talking to them about Junko could backfire, considering their history. That didn't mean that Byakuya could have known that in this situation. "Well, blaming this on him is a bit unfair, don't you think?"
Kyoko smoothed back a strand of hair that threatened to fall in her face. "I'm not blaming him. It's unfortunate that we couldn't send him in with all his memories intact. I would just like to try and influence his decisions by reminding him of his priorities."
Priorities he didn't actually remember. How would Byakuya know that he didn't need to figure out why he or the students were there as long as he kept them alive? Makoto hesitated, but then, gathering his courage, he asked, "Are you sure you didn't just do it because you know he'll hate it?"
Turning her head back to him, she gave him a blank stare. "Of course not. Don't be ridiculous."
"…Right." He cleared his throat and looked away.
"I was also talking to Alter Ego about his progress with the virus," Kyoko thankfully brought up before their chance meeting could start to feel too awkward.
Makoto turned to their AI friend optimistically. "Oh! Were you able to intercept her?"
Alter Ego wove his fingers together in front of his chest and avoided his eyes. "I'm afraid not. Whoever programmed that virus must have been very knowledgeable. I'm trying, but so far I haven't figured out what language it was written in, let alone how to stop it from spreading." He looked up on the verge of tears. "What's worse is that there's a lot of decrypted data that doesn't seem to belong to the AI at all. It's something separate. I don't know what it does yet, but it may have brought in more files than we expected."
Makoto breathed out slowly, trying not to let his disappointment show. It wasn't Alter Ego's fault that he couldn't get rid of the virus. After all, they still didn't know where it even came from in the first place. Alter Ego was an AI; he wasn't designed to scan for malware. They hadn't assumed something like that would be necessary in the first place. The Neo World Program wasn't connected to any kind of outside network. It should have been self-contained.
Trying for a smile to soothe Alter Ego, he assured him, "You're doing your best. Just keep trying, please. Byakuya is doing everything in his power to buy us more time and I'm sure we will find a solution somehow."
Alter Ego thanked him silently with a hesitant smile of his own.
"Still, it would be preferable if we found it sooner rather than later. You know Junko. Even as an AI, she won't stand by watching Byakuya thwart her plans forever. We can't risk her doing anything more drastic," Kyoko said.
"Something more drastic? What do you mean? She took over the role of a teacher, didn't she? She shouldn't be able to harm anyone personally. As long as Byakuya can convince the others not to participate in the killing game, everything should be fine."
Alter Ego looked uncomfortable at that.
When he didn't answer, Kyoko explained, "It seems like she is trying to access more files to modify them. For now, her influence is restricted to the central island, but we can't be sure she won't be able to manipulate other areas in time. She can't do anything to harm them as Monokuma, but that doesn't mean anything if she manages to corrupt the environment."
Makoto frowned. Junko overwriting the code of the statue to turn the animals into Monobeasts had been bad enough. The sudden image of a roof collapsing over the entire group entered his mind and he swallowed heavily.
"I'm really sorry! I'm trying to stop her, but she just continues to block my access to evade me," Alter Ego said quickly, bowing to them.
"It's okay, you're doing what you can," Makoto assured him. "Besides, Monomi is still there to keep Monokuma in check, too. The situation isn't looking too—"
"Oh, what's this, what's this? A romantic computer screen lit date between two lovebirds? You don't mind me watching, do you?" a shrill voice came from the doorway, followed by wild cackling.
"Uhm, Jill, that's not what it is," Makoto tried to tell her with a red face, but she had already pranced over to them.
"No need for excuses, I can imagine how it went down." She waved her hand dismissively. "I know the feeling of waking up, unable to contain my desire for my wonderful prince and— hey! Speak of the handsome devil, isn't that him?" Genocide Jill had noticed the monitor and a second later, she had pressed both of her hands against the screen. Makoto had to look twice to confirm that she wasn't actually licking it, though her tongue was dangerously close. "Ah, how I wish I could be there with him now," she swooned.
He glanced at Kyoko who just kept her eyes stoically on Jill. They may have accepted Toko's other personality as their friend but interacting with her was still rather difficult.
Suddenly, she drew back with a small "Oh?", staring intently at the screen. Then another wave of laughter broke out of her. Holding her stomach, she turned to Makoto and Kyoko, looking between them. "Did you do that? It's brilliant! I love it! It almost makes him look cute again!" she proclaimed in between guffaws, wiping a tear from her eyes as she calmed down. With a grin stretching from ear to ear, she addressed Alter Ego now. "Hey, can you make him thin again, too?"
Alter Ego looked panicked at the question.
"That won't change his appearance in the real world," Makoto tried to explain to save him, but Jill just rolled her eyes.
"I know that, Big Mac. But as long as he's in there and I can't be close to him, I wouldn't say no to some eye candy!"
Kyoko folded her arms, took a deep breath—as close to a sigh as it could get—and gave Makoto a look that told him just how annoyed she was. It also told him that she wasn't going to deal with this, so that would fall upon him.
He turned back to Jill and, with a sigh of his own, resigned himself to the task of explaining to her that they couldn't modify his avatar that much without alarming both the students and Byakuya himself. It would be a long night.
A/N: Ah, this is of my favorite chapters so far. I had lots of fun writing it. Don't expect to see more from the Future Foundation any time soon, though. There will be some snippets from outside the program, but they're not very frequent.
Next chapter preview: "I bet you don't actually care about us, do you? You act all high and mighty, like you're so much better than us, but you probably wouldn't shed a tear if we all died!"
