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The world was in one of its quieter states. They’d taken shelter in a nearby hotel that wasn’t totally destroyed, and the roof over their heads and four walls surrounding them gave them a sense of security that they hadn’t had since leaving Hope’s Peak.
Of course, any feeling of security was a false one. Even from a quick glance out the window, Toko could see Monokumas on the street below, though thankfully there weren’t any dead bodies. The last thing she wanted was to change to Genocider.
“Hey.” At the word, Toko jumped back from the window, curtains falling and obscuring the room from the outside world again. She didn’t need to look to know who had spoken, but that didn’t stop her. She would gladly take any opportunity to look at Byakuya.
He was sitting on the floor, using the foot of the bed as a backrest. Makoto, Kyoko, Aoi, and Yasuhiro were crammed on top of the mattress, each of them having passed out immediately when it was decided that Byakuya and Toko would stay awake first.
Though the room was dark, and Toko could only make out the silhouette of her beloved, she pictured his usual scowl on his face. “Get away from the window,” he ordered impatiently, his tone further proof that the scowl was a correct assumption. “What do you think would happen if any of the Monokumas saw movement up here?”
Toko slowly crouched below the windowsill. “The e-elevator doesn’t work,” she whispered. “And the st-stairs are steep enough that the M-Monokumas should have d-difficulties climbing them–”
“That won’t stop them if they’re determined,” he cut her off. “Or they could surround the building. We need to keep moving to have a chance of survival.”
That was true. When they’d opened the doors of Hope’s Peak and freed themselves from their prison, it was immediately apparent that the world was exactly like Junko had shown them. They’d taken food from the dining hall with them, and even deliberated staying, but after some discussion, it was decided that moving away from the school was the best thing for them.
Well, Makoto, Kyoko, and Byakuya had decided. Aoi was too much in shell shock and was practically useless. Yasuhiro pretended to have an opinion, but everyone except him knew his words weren’t being considered. As for Toko, well, she knew her own limitations. She deferred to whatever Byakuya thought was best.
And what he thought best now was to stay away from the window, so she crawled out from under it slowly. The hotel room, like most in Japan, was small; there was barely any room for anything other than the bed. She sat near the corner of the duvet, close enough to Byakuya while still giving him as much space as she could. She pulled her knees up to her chest in an attempt to trap in her body heat, but it wasn’t much use. Her feet felt like icicles.
Byakuya, astute as he was, must have noticed, since he wordlessly lifted up the blanket he was huddled under a moment later. Even though the invitation was clearly there, Toko still blanched. “M-m-master!” she stammered. “I couldn’t possibly–”
“Oh for the love of God, Fukawa, get under the blanket,” he huffed. “We’re already having to fight for survival, don’t be stupid by not fixing something easily solved. Get under the damn blanket with me.”
…No reason to look a gift horse in the mouth like that, particularly when the mouth was that of her beloved Byakuya. She scooted closer to him, and when she was close enough, he dropped the blanket so that it covered her as well. She pulled the fabric up to her shoulders; she was small enough that she was able to do that and still leave Byakuya over half the blanket for his own use.
She could see him in better clarity at this distance. Though they’d been travelling through a world that had died and had yet to be reborn from the ashes, he had hardly a hair out of place. He betrayed nothing, looking and acting just as self-assured as he had during the killing game. The only mar to his perfection was a small scratch on his cheek. Toko had wanted desperately to perform the role of his nurse when he’d received the cut, and use as much of their very limited medical supplies (so scarce that Aoi could carry them all in a small backpack) to treat him, but Byakuya had merely sprayed it once with antiseptic solution and decided that was good enough. He said their supplies were too valuable to waste on a scratch, no matter who had it. He said he didn’t even care if he scarred.
Toko was in awe of his bravery.
After a few minutes of studying him, he pulled out his pocket watch. It was their sole way to tell the time, which was so vital they’d even pilfered a second battery for it from the school store before they left. “H-how much longer d-do we have?” she asked, just so he’d talk to her.
“Three hours and twenty minutes,” he answered curtly before tucking the watch away. They took four hour shifts so everyone could get eight hours of sleep, which had been Kyoko’s idea. Aoi and Yasuhiro occasionally complained about four hours with nothing to do, but Kyoko insisted that having enough sleep would help with their travelling, and it was more important than ever when they discovered all the Monokuma’s running around.
Toko, however, didn’t mind four hours of being awake, not when she was paired with Byakuya. She could easily fill four hours of fantasies when he was sitting right next to her. And that didn’t even begin to touch on what would happen later, when they’d be sleeping in the same bed.
She usually didn’t acknowledge that the bed was also always shared with two others. They meant nothing, especially not to her imagination. Especially not when he–
“Fukawa,” he frowned, keeping his voice low to avoid waking the others. “You’re staring. Stop it. We have a job to do, you know.”
She felt a flush come to her face, staining her skin red. “W-we’d hear anything c-coming before we’d s-see them,” she muttered under her breath. “I-I can still hear e-even if I’m looking at s-something else.” Even with her protests, she turned to face the door, pouting slightly as she did so.
“That’s not the point,” he countered, and his voice was surprisingly gentle; she’d been expecting a scoff. “We need to be as alert as possible. If something’s coming, we need to be forewarned so we can wake the others and run. As comfortable as this hotel is compared to where we’ve been sleeping, we’re also boxed in. It’s not an ideal situation if we do need to get out.”
She fidgeted slightly as he continued. “The problem with our group is… we’re not fighters,” he grimaced. “The closest thing we have to someone who would be able to fight the Monokumas in hand-to-hand combat is Asahina, and even then I believe she’d be quickly overwhelmed. If Ogami or Ikusaba were here, things might be different, but we have to make do with what assets we have.”
Toko hugged her knees to herself. “You sh-should leave m-me,” she murmured. “I’m o-only slowing you a-all down, you’d h-have a much better ch-chance without me.” The words were acidic out of her mouth, but she felt they were necessary. She knew she wouldn’t survive long on her own, but if it meant a greater chance for Byakuya to live, she would happily make that sacrifice.
He turned to look at her, scowling now. “Shut up,” he scoffed, some of his old impatience creeping into his voice. “We’re not leaving anyone behind. Our best chance of survival is together.” He fixed her with a hard stare. “You survived the killing game at the school. You survived thus far in this world. You’re not allowed to give up now.” With a rather annoyed huff, he turned back to staring at the door. Toko did her best to imitate him, but it was near impossible after what he just said.
His strength was unbelievable. Her feelings for him–which she thought couldn’t get more intense–surged to even greater heights. At the last class trial, when she was told Makoto showed his true self as the Ultimate Hope, he’d given the others, even her alter, the strength needed to defeat Junko’s despair. Now, Byakuya was doing the same for her. And she loved him all the more for it.
Yet, she was frustrated. They’d told her what she missed during the last trial, and she now knew there were two years with him that she couldn’t remember. What she did remember was meeting him for what was seemingly the first time only a few weeks ago. She remembered how quickly, how violently, how completely she had fallen for him, which had confused her at the time. No one had ever before been able to snag her heart so efficiently.
She now knew it was because she had already loved him for two years, which Genocider still recalled, meaning those feelings inside her could never be fully forgotten. She felt the full force of two years of developed love, with none of the memories that came with it.
She was almost jealous of her alter, how she got to keep the memories while Toko didn’t. But at the same time, she was oddly grateful. If Genocider had forgotten as well, she might have gone after Byakuya with her wretched scissors. Toko was a bit surprised that hadn’t happened yet, but Makoto had told her that Genocider had confessed to him that she didn’t want to murder Byakuya. That had caught Toko off guard, but she certainly wasn’t going to complain about it.
Their shift passed by without incident, and Toko passed the time by alternately actually paying attention, indulging in her daydreams, and glancing at Byakuya next to her and blushing furiously. And after they woke up Aoi and Yasuhiro for the next shift, she couldn’t help but be a little bit excited.
The way they made their sleeping arrangements was to have the girls on the inside and the boys on the outside. Therefore, Toko was nudged between Byakuya and Kyoko. Her natural inclination was to sleep on her left side, but that particular night, that would cause her to face Kyoko, and that was absolutely not what she wanted, so she flipped to her right side. She’d love to fall asleep looking at Byakuya’s face, but he always slept whatever side was facing away from everyone else. No matter. It didn’t change what she knew was coming.
She forced herself to stay awake until it happened. She was exhausted, and sleep sounded wonderful, but still she made herself wait. She could do it. She could stay awake knowing sleep would come soon and that she would be helping Byakuya in the process.
She didn’t have any way of telling time because they’d given Byakuya’s pocket watch to Aoi when they’d switched, but to Toko’s best estimate, only half an hour had passed when it started. As had happened every time he’d slept since leaving Hope’s Peak, Byakuya started shivering violently.
It always started small, with slight jerky motions, but within seconds developed into heavy tremors that were likely to wake Kyoko and Makoto, as well as alert Aoi and Yasuhiro. Toko knew that was the last thing Byakuya would want. Fortunately, she’d figured out a solution.
She scooted closer to him until she was flush against his back. Her arm slid over his body, gently coming to rest on his chest. Her face buried into his neck, and she tucked one of her knees in between his thighs. She said nothing, she simply held him.
And after a few minutes, his jerking slowed. His shivers came to a stop, and he slowly started to settle down. He sighed, and she felt his neck muscles release as he let his head sink a bit into the pillow. And though he seemed fine now, she still clung to him.
She didn’t mind at all. She never asked him about it, but she assumed he was getting cold. His outfit completely covered him, which was far more than some people had, but the fabric wasn’t made for warmth. Toko was happy to provide hers instead.
They never spoke about it. He almost always woke up before she did in the mornings, and he always detangled himself from her when he did. He didn’t ask her to stop, she didn’t ask him if it helped. As long as he seemed okay with it, she was going to continue.
Now that he was sleeping normally, Toko allowed herself to sleep as well. Nestling her head into the back of his warm neck, she drifted off in a matter of seconds….
When she woke, she became aware of two things. One, Byakuya had, as always, already woken up and extricated himself from her arms. And second, she hadn’t had one of the two nightmares that had plagued her since the killing school game.
She couldn’t help but notice that her nightmares had become less frequent ever since she’d started clinging to him while they slept. Even subconsciously, it’s like her body knew that if she was touching him, if she could feel his heartbeat under her hand, he couldn’t be dead, not because of the killing game or by her alter’s hand.
Hence, her two nightmares.
During the killing game, she’d been terrified someone would target him and she wouldn’t have been able to protect him. She saw the scenario frequently at night. Or, she dreamed he would become blackened and she wasn’t able to convince the rest of the class that she’d done it instead. But now that they were free, those fears, while they still tormented her with ‘what-ifs,’ weren’t immediate. He was safe from those perils.
But he wasn’t yet free of Genocider.
Toko sat up in bed, quickly locating Byakuya. He was ensuring the curtains were still in place, while also discussing their next steps with Makoto and Kyoko. Toko sat in silent contemplation, knowing she couldn’t contribute to their conversation.
She was relieved that since leaving Hope’s Peak, her alter hadn’t managed to take control. No matter Makoto’s assurances, no matter the evidence of Byakuya living through two years of her, Toko would never feel he’d be safe around Genocider. She was more determined than ever to limit the times she fronted, for Byakuya’s sake.
“Fukawa.” She jumped, startled out of her reverie, but turned toward the sound of Byakuya’s voice. “Wake them up.” He gestured with his chin at Aoi and Yasuhiro, who were still sleeping soundly next to Toko. She nodded, and started shaking Aoi’s knee, knowing from experience that being near her upper body while waking her up was a recipe for getting hit in the face.
Sure enough, Aoi ended up bolting upright, her arms instinctively hitting the closest thing to her, which happened to be Yasuhiro. Toko didn’t care. He was awake now too, killing two birds with one stone.
“Gah! Wha–” Hiro yelled before Kyoko slapped a hand over his mouth. The fire in her eyes was clear as day to read. ‘Shut up .’
Aoi, meanwhile, was working on slowing her breathing down, though was clearly trying her best to remain quiet. They had yet to find a way to wake her up without terrifying her, but she shared that trait with Makoto. Even Kyoko occasionally woke up like she was expecting to be attacked. They were all scarred from the killing game, and those scars were still fresh. It would take a long time, if ever, for them to heal.
Toko carried trauma with her as well. Having experienced it at so young an age, she was quite good at recognizing it. Having her alter be revealed to the others had been a tremendous blow to her psyche, even though she knew Byakuya had saved her from Genocider when he did it. Revealing her secret had been a necessary evil in their circumstances, but it hadn’t made it any easier for her.
But she could deal with that. She’d been managing Genocider for years now. No, she was much more concerned with Byakuya’s well-being. To the casual observer, he appeared as though he wasn’t affected at all. But she knew better. She noted the slight jumps when someone touched his shoulder when he wasn’t expecting it. She saw the growing bags under his eyes. She could tell he’d lost a few pounds. And she longed for some way to help him, but she didn’t quite know how to do that yet. It frustrated her to no end.
She spent the next several minutes just staring at him while he finished his discussions on their next moves with Makoto and Kyoko. It wasn’t until Makoto told them they would be staying one more day that she moved at all.
They’d all grabbed water bottles from the school store, and now she was in the process of collecting them. She and Aoi were to see if there was running water still available here, and fill the bottles if they could. But before they could even leave the room, Makoto and Yasuhiro, who had gone down to look for any canned food, came bursting through the door, both out of breath.
“Monokumas… overwhelming the lobby,” Makoto gasped out. “They saw us. We have to leave… down the stairs.”
They all froze at his declaration, until Byakuya swore under his breath. “Move! We can’t waste any time!” he shouted, spurring them into action, but Toko noted a sliver of fear underneath his tone.
They filed out of the room, looking for the stairwell. “There!” Kyoko pointed toward the other end of the hall. But before they’d even taken five steps in that direction, the door burst open. Monokumas crawled into the hallway, climbing and tripping over top of each other to get up the stairs.
They skidded to a halt, Aoi freezing, her eyes wide with fright. “Come on! Other way!” Byakuya growled, grabbing both her wrist and Toko’s. He pulled them along and the others followed, only to be met with a dead end.
“W-w-we’re going to die here,” Yasuhiro panicked, covering his head with his arms. Aoi had pressed her back completely against the wall, as if hoping she could sink into it. Even Kyoko looked scared as she faced the Monokumas. Toko saw her hand slip into Makoto’s, and he had a single tear running down his face.
Byakuya was the only one that didn’t seem resigned to their fate. His eyes darted around as he searched for something, anything, that could be used as a weapon. Nothing came to him. The fire extinguisher was at the other end of the hall, the doors that were off their hinges were too bulky. There was nothing that could be done. Nothing they could do.
Except… Toko could do something. She was the only one who could do anything, she realized, even though the thought of it scared her half to death.
But she had to. She had to give all she could to save them. She pushed to the front of the group, arms spread wide, cocooning the others. “G-get behind me,” she ordered.
“Fukawa, what are you doing?” Even Byakuya’s voice was panicked now. She turned to look back at him, and noticed her arms were shaking, just like Byakuya did every night. Would continue to do, if she had a say, because he would live. They would all live. And strangely, it was this shaking that gave her the strength to continue.
“We won’t f-fall here,” she whispered. “I-I promise. I won’t l-let us.” Before Byakuya or any of the others could ask what she meant, she sneezed. On purpose.
As Jill woke up, she blinked a few times before noticing the oncoming Monokumas. “Woah! What the fuck is going on here?” she asked. Unlike Toko, there was no fear in Jill, though she likely didn’t fully comprehend the situation. There was no predicting how she’d react when she did.
Aoi, Yasuhiro, and Makoto were looking at her incredulously, and even Kyoko was moderately surprised. Only Byakuya immediately understood what Toko had been trying to do, and after he pushed down his initial shock, he knew it was his turn to play a part. “We’re in danger! We need you to break those.” He pointed to the Monokumas, who had navigated the stairs and were running down the hall towards them.
A blush rushed to Jill’s face and she squealed in delight. “Master is giving me permission to use my scissors?”
“Genocider! ”
“Roger that, darling!” She sprung up into the air, revealing a Monokuma that had been right in front of her. It raised its paw to swipe at Makoto, who was closest to it, but it never got the chance. Jill landed behind it, scissors in each hand, and both of them plunged into the Monokuma’s head. With seemingly very little effort, she pulled the thing apart, right down the middle.
Before any of them could process what she’d done, she was rushing down the hall singing “Bloodlust time!” at the top of her lungs as she spun around, her scissors digging into every Monokuma within reach. All they could do was stare as she threw herself headfirst into the fray of claws and teeth and scissors, completely unconscious of her own safety.
It was the first time any of them, even Byakuya, had seen firsthand what Jill was capable of. And watching her, Byakuya felt entirely inadequate. It was a feeling that was uncomfortable becoming more common, ever since the fourth trial. He could do nothing to help, do nothing but watch as she fought with every fiber of her being.
He hadn’t made a mistake when he said there were no fighters in their group. He’d purposely excluded Genocider. Toko was terrified of her, and he wasn’t going to force her into something she’d be scared senseless of doing.
But she chose to do this. On purpose. To save him. To save all of them. If he lived through this, he would owe his life to Toko Fukawa.
Jill was as potent as a one woman army, but still one Monokuma made it past her. Byakuya cursed, again looking for something to use as a weapon, but he needn’t have. Aoi, whether inspired by Toko’s bravery or for some other reason, managed to unfreeze herself, and charged the oncoming Monokuma. “Yippee kai ay!” she yelled as she punted the thing, her foot connecting right in its red eye.
The Monokuma flew into the air and without looking, Jill held up one of her pairs of scissors, skewering the bear in the head. With a flick of her wrist, she decapitated the thing and went back to attacking the rest of them. By this point, she’d managed to bottleneck the Monokumas in the stairwell, and was easily taking them out one by one.
After an immeasurable amount of time, it was finally over. Jill had actually needed to push them down the stairs, so as not to completely block their only way out. Now, she came back up the stairs, scissors hanging from each hand, looking like some sort of crazed, avenging deity.
She sauntered back over to the rest of them, one hand on her hip. “Well that was fun,” she cackled. “It might not have been as good as putting my scissors in an adorable man, but at least I got to use them. I haven’t been able to cut anything in over two years!” She sighed dramatically before purposely losing her footing, falling straight into Byakuya. He instinctively put his arm out to catch her, then scowled when he realized that’s exactly what she wanted. “Using my scissors and having Master’s arms around me. Could today be any better than this?” she squealed.
“Behave yourself, or I’ll drop you,” Byakuya threatened, though he doubted dropping her would actually accomplish anything. After what he’d just witnessed, he wouldn’t be at all surprised if she twisted and landed on her feet like a cat.
She pouted but thankfully shut up. And while she was here, he might as well check to see what kind of medical care she’d need. She had been walking fine, so he was sure she wasn’t hurt badly, but no doubt she had a myriad of cuts from the multiple claws and teeth she’d had to defend them all from.
But as his eyes grazed over her, he noticed no cuts or even small scrapes. Her skirt had been torn, nearly up to her thigh, and one of her braids had come undone, but she appeared to be physically completely unharmed.
The others hadn’t noticed yet; in fact, Hina was kneeling down rummaging through the backpack of medical supplies. “What do we need?” she asked, frantically, to which Jill responded with a frustrated groan.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “Those things aren’t strong enough to hurt me. The only way anything can hurt me is if I decided to turn my scissors on myself.” She turned her gaze to Byakuya again. “And I would never do that now that I have Master!” she moaned, her voice now an octave higher.
He ignored her but did set her back down on the ground now that he ascertained she was fine. She acquiesced well enough, though she refused to put her scissors away. Where she even kept them was a mystery, and that was one question Byakuya didn’t need answered. “We should get out of here,” he announced, trying to regain a semblance of control over the situation.
Thankfully, no one seemed to have any further arguments. “Agreed,” Kyoko murmured. “Let’s grab our things and leave quickly. No doubt more of them will come if we linger.” They started going about their usual duties, except for Jill, who just stood there, one hand on her hip, the other hooked through her scissors.
“So obviously I’m happy to use my scissors on anything Master wants me to, but no one explained what was happening,” she huffed. “Last thing I remember was standing around waiting to leave after June Bug kicked the bucket. Where are we now, and what were those things I was breaking apart?”
Byakuya sighed, but figured she deserved an answer after saving their lives. “The world is exactly like Enoshima described,” he said, keeping his tone flat and emotionless. “There are countless types of Monokuma robots running around, and despite their size, they’re quite adept at killing. It’s been a chore to avoid them while searching for the few remaining people who’ve managed to keep hope.”
Jill regarded him calmly enough while he was speaking, but a wicked smile spread across her face when he finished. “So you’re telling me every time I see these robots I get to break them apart with my scissors?” She seemed a little too excited at the prospect, but he couldn’t deny her efficiency, so he nodded once, making her squeal in delight.
By this time, the others had finished gathering everything. “Let’s go,” Kyoko announced, taking the lead with Makoto. Byakuya followed next, Jill happily trailing him just a couple steps behind. Aoi and Yasuhiro brought up the rear, both regarding Jill warily. They hadn’t spent any time with her one on one and were unaccustomed to her presence, unlike Byakuya and even Makoto to an extent.
They made it back to the stairwell, which slowed them down quite a bit. Jill hadn’t exactly been thinking about creating a neat exit path while on her spree, and she alone managed to get down to the lobby with little effort, choosing to walk on the remains of the Monokumas rather than maneuver around them. Her balance, especially compared to Toko’s, was almost freakishly good.
Byakuya kept a careful eye on her as they exited the building. Though she’d proved she could more than hold her own against the Monokumas, the last thing he wanted was for her to needlessly charge into a fight. But for now, she seemed content to look around, drinking in what information she could while she fronted. “How the hell has Miss Morose not passed out yet?” she asked as she looked over at one of several dead bodies scattered around the area.
“She closes her eyes and has one of us take her by the hand and guide her until we arrive at a place to stay for the night,” Byakuya answered curtly. He wasn’t exactly being patient with Jill, but he also wasn’t actively avoiding her like he had in the school, which thrilled Jill to no end.
She didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy it though. With the city being filled with rubble, and Jill not exactly caring about secrecy, she kicked at a brick, which turned up dust, which got in her nose and…
One sneeze later, and Toko was back.
She blinked several times as she took the reins back, waiting until all their faces came into focus before saying anything. She smiled tentatively when she saw them. “Y-you’re safe,” she whispered. “Then it w-worked. She m-managed to save you…” Her words cut off as she swayed dangerously.
“Are you alright?” Kyoko asked; she rushed forward with Makoto in case Toko lost her footing, though Byakuya would have caught her if she did swoon.
“I’m j-just… my body… f-feels exhausted.” Toko sounded like she’d just run several miles and was barely hanging on to consciousness.
“Genocider’s actions must have tired you out,” Byakuya deduced with a small frown. “You’re in no fit state to travel.”
Toko whimpered, but she couldn’t argue. Her body had no energy left to argue. She couldn’t even fathom putting one foot in front of the other, much less travelling for an entire day like they’d been doing.
Wordlessly, Byakuya grabbed her arm, pulling her to himself. She could hardly even conjure up the energy to be delighted before he turned his back to her, stooping slightly. “Climb on my back,” he grit out. As if sensing her intentions, he snapped at her before she could even begin her feeble protests. “Don’t bother arguing! Just do it. You won’t be able to keep up and I already explained that we’re not leaving you behind. You should feel honored that I’m lowering myself to such a degree.” Yet for all his complaints, not once did Byakuya even consider letting any of the others carry her, though he kept those thoughts to himself.
She was too weak to even express her happiness. Wearily, her arms loosely went around his neck and he hooked his own arms underneath her knees. Hoisting her onto his back was almost effortless; she weighed next to nothing. He knew he was getting incredulous stares from the others, but he ignored them and kept trudging forward. “Let’s go,” he grumbled.
Makoto opened his mouth to say something, but Kyoko gave him a look that quickly shut him up. Miraculously, she was even managing a small smile, one that mirrored the expression Toko was wearing on her own face.
He also noticed Byakuya’s staunchly determined expression. He had a one track mind, and Makoto knew that even if they offered to take turns carrying Toko, Byakuya would decline them all. He was going to do this, and God help the fool who tried to stop him.
Well I’ll be, Makoto thought. He’d been under the impression, for so long, that Byakuya scorned Toko, that her feelings were entirely one-sided. But there was something happening between them, whether the two of them realized it or not. Makoto, however, could see the connection, and who was he to interrupt such a thing? He simply stayed silent, letting them have their moment, and fell in step beside Kyoko as they travelled through the unknown.
Toko could tell it was several hours later when she was woken up by Kyoko softly shaking her. “We didn’t know if you felt well enough to sit watch,” the detective explained gently. “If you want, I will happily cover for you.”
Surprisingly, Toko felt well-rested, which in and of itself was a rarity. “No, I can do it,” she mumbled as she stood up and stretched, using the moment to take in her surroundings. They seemed to be inside a house that was mostly intact, which was where they usually found shelter. Find a relatively safe place, raid the cupboards for any non-perishables, get what rest they could, rinse, repeat.
Their only solace was that this, at least, was better than the killing school game.
This particular house must have been in better condition than most; walls were still standing. It was only Toko and Kyoko in what appeared to be the remains of a sitting room, and Toko could hear the soft voices of the others coming from around a corner. Ignoring Kyoko’s proffered hand, she stood and headed for the source of the voices.
Sure enough, she found the others in what used to be a kitchen, though there wasn’t much left. No table, cupboard doors hung off their hinges, and she had to be careful not to walk in the bits of broken glass that glittered on the ground.
Byakuya glanced up at her as she entered, his blue eyes setting her heart aglow. He thrust half a glass of cold miso soup at her. “Drink,” he ordered. “It isn’t much, but you especially need to refuel.”
She took the cup, unable to stop a loud sigh when his fingers momentarily touched hers. “Thank you M-master,” she said before bringing the glass up to her lips. It wasn’t the best thing she’d ever had, but Toko had known starvation at the hands of her mothers all too often. Anything was better than nothing at all.
She sipped slowly at her soup, listening but not paying attention to the conversation around her. Makoto asked how she was feeling, and she mumbled a short response, but for the most part she focused on studying Byakuya, as she always did during these moments of relative peace.
Most of the discussion was on the sleeping situation; there were no intact mattresses here. When Toko awoke, she’d been laying on moth-eaten couch cushions that had been strewn on the ground. Eventually, it was decided that the cushions would be used for pillows. Their bodies would have to make do with sleeping on the floor, but they’d already had to do that in the wake of fleeing Hope’s Peak.
In desperation to be useful, and also out of guilt for having slept all day and forcing Byakuya to carry her, Toko piped up. “I-I can stay awake for now… that is, i-if Master doesn’t mind.” Her tone turned dreamy as she turned to her beloved.
“I have no objections,” Byakuya said, though he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I’ll go look for blankets.” He left the room without any further ado, making Toko wilt a bit. Her first words probably should have been to apologize for making him carry her.
But it wasn’t just Byakuya. Everyone was treating her differently. She tried to do her usual chores when they settled for a night, such as providing water, only for Aoi to ensure hastily that she’d already done it. Yasuhiro wouldn’t stay in the same vicinity as her alone. Even Kyoko and Makoto were being unnaturally nice and almost delicate, like they were walking on eggshells around her.
She nearly screamed. She’d never been close to any of them, but they’d banded together after leaving Hope’s Peak. This intense feeling of otherness was both foreign and too familiar, and she absolutely hated it. It only reinforced her beliefs that they didn’t want to lug her dead weight around.
They’d moved to the sitting room, the one she’d woken up in, by time Byakuya returned with a few blankets in his arms. He tossed most of them at the four who were attempting to sleep, keeping just one draped over his shoulders. He immediately went to Toko, who was sitting on the far side of the room, back against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest.
He sat down next to her, throwing the blanket over the both of them. “How are you doing?” he asked her after a moment of silence.
“Ngh…” She could feel a heat rise to her face, becoming briefly tongue-tied. They’d had a few, for want of a better word, normal conversations before, almost exclusively out of earshot of the others, but he’d never asked about how she was like this. Yes, if Genocider had fronted during a trial, he’d always sought her out to tell her the outcome, and yes, he’d asked her to go with him to the bathhouse once (she still didn’t know why since they were interrupted by Alter Ego when they got there) and yes, he’d becoming increasingly nicer to her, but this was still new territory.
As such, she took far too long to answer, and he tapped his fingers on the floor impatiently. “Well?” he prompted.
“I-I guess I’m okay,” she finally managed to sputter out, before remembering what she should’ve done the second she woke up. “I’m s-sorry I made you c-carry me,” she whined before thoughts began to fill her mind. “Carried… b-by Master…” She was furious she slept through such a thing.
He snapped in front of her face once before she could completely lose herself in a fantasy. “You don’t have to apologize,” he muttered. “I already explained several times that no one was going to be left behind. Especially not after what had just happened.” She saw the profile of his face turn in her direction. “You saved our lives,” he said softly.
She simultaneously blushed at his compliment and scowled because it wasn’t true. “No I didn’t. I didn’t do anything. She saved you,” she huffed, her tone petulant.
“Stop denying you did anything,” he disagreed. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and found him staring directly at her. It was too much to bear, so she directed her gaze to her knees again. “You were the one who came up with the plan,” he continued, ignoring her discomfort. “You pushed us all behind you. You switched on purpose. That took courage.”
She shivered slightly, even though the room was far from cold, what with the blanket and the proximity of Byakuya’s body heat. “It w-was all I had to g-give,” she whispered. “I’ve b-been useless, I know I have. But I c-couldn’t let you d-die.”
“Regardless of your reasoning, it still took bravery, and you should take pride in that,” he said with finality, giving her no room to argue. “I know I’ve called on Genocider in the past, and I don’t regret it since it saved our lives in the trials, but I never dreamed to do it here. The fact you did is commendable. I… well, I can’t imagine it’s easy to switch back and forth.”
Toko shook her head. “I d-don’t know where I am,” she breathed, her voice barely audible. “I wake up, a-and I don’t know w-what’s happening… or if sh-she’s killed anyone.” Her words turned to a whimper by the end of her sentence.
He frowned, though he wasn’t angry at her; it was more so from a lack of understanding. For as much as he studied the Genocide Jack case, meeting her in person had shattered any presumptions he’d had. Though he’d agreed that the culprit likely had DID like the police suspected, he never thought her other personality would be like Toko.
And when he did meet Toko, he never could have imagined he would have any sort of admiration for her. But here he sat, shoulder to shoulder with her, not only with admiration, but respect. He owed his life to her, and there was no other way to spin it.
“You’re strong,” he murmured. Toko whipped her head around so fast she smacked herself in her face with her remaining braid. She searched for a lie, but could find nothing but sincerity etched on what little of Byakuya’s face she could see. She had no rebuttal to it, either. She couldn’t agree, but it seemed in bad taste to disagree. Instead, she settled for chewing on the inside of her cheek.
He turned away from her suddenly, staring towards the wall that separated them from the outside world. “You’re doing more than anyone else. And far more than I’ve been able to do.” For the first time, he sounded bitter.
Toko’s eyes widened. “N-no! You’ve been k-keeping us all together, Master. We’d b-be lost without you. We n-need you!”
“No you don’t,” he huffed. “All I’ve contributed could easily have been filled by Naegi or Kirigiri.” He ran a hand through his hair, agitated now. He’d never been open like this to anyone before, and two days ago, would rather have hanged himself than confess his turmoil to anyone, especially to Toko of all people, but here they were. “I’ve always known what to do. Even during the killing game, I never doubted myself. But I don’t have the answers now. I don’t know what to do. And I hate it. This feeling of uselessness… it’s unacceptable. I was a Togami for God’s sake.”
He should have realized his mistake there. Were he talking to any of the others (which he most certainly would not do) they wouldn’t have picked up on it. But whatever they’d gone through, Toko was still the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, and that title was not for show. She understood, even better than Byakuya himself, the power of words. And she immediately zeroed in on a particular one the moment Byakuya let it fall from his lips.
“What do you mean ‘was?’” she asked. “You’re still you. You’re still a Togami.”
Byakuya looked like he’d just bitten into an especially sour lemon. He didn’t want to discuss this. Strong emotions were for the weak. He’d become heir to the Togami Corporation by successfully repressing said emotions. And in this desolate wasteland, logic was more important than ever. Deciding anything with emotions was a surefire way to get them all killed.
But as he was slowly coming to realize, repressing emotions didn’t always kill those emotions. And maybe, just maybe, if he spoke them out loud, they would leave him. And who else would he talk to other than Toko? Hagakure was useless. Asahina would scorn him. Naegi would try and “fix” the problem. Kirigiri would psychoanalyze him to hell and back. Toko would actually listen to him all the way through, and he could always tell her not to bring it up again.
He also realized he’d been sitting there for a full ten minutes while he ruminated. Toko sat unmoving, waiting for him. He took a moment to marvel at her patience so he could stall a bit longer, but it was futile. If he was going to attempt this, it had to be now.
“From what we’ve seen, it’s clear that Enoshima wasn’t lying,” he began slowly. “The Tragedy definitely took place, and we’re living in the remains of that Tragedy. Therefore, I have no reason to doubt her claim that she exterminated the rest of my family. And while it would be foolish to think I mourn them on a personal level, I respect what they represented. My whole life, my entire identity, revolved around being a Togami. What am I supposed to do in a world where the name Togami doesn’t mean a thing?”
The question was meant to be rhetorical, but Toko picked it up anyway. “I don’t want a Togami,” she frowned. “The T-Togami part of you is important, b-but… I want you. I need you. As B-Byakuya. Not just as a Togami.”
He felt like he’d been slapped in the face. All his life, he’d placed his entire value on being a Togami. He’d spent a majority of it fighting for the right to the name. He’d been told over and over and over again that he would only have worth if he won the name. Being a Togami was all that mattered, all that anyone had ever seen him as.
Everyone except for Toko, apparently. She was staring at him with wide eyes. Eyes that somehow saw him for who he was rather than his station.
It must have been the stress of the situation that caused him to tilt his head towards hers. There was no other explanation, because Togami’s never stooped so low as to feel anything. Yet with her, he didn’t feel the pressure of being Togami… he was only himself. And she loved him anyway.
Her breath hitched in her throat as he started moving closer to her. This had to be a delusion, but God, she never wanted to wake up if it was. Her eyes fluttered shut.
A great snore from Hiro shattered the bubble they hadn’t known they’d been in until that moment. Byakuya pulled back abruptly, all vulnerability forgotten. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking, letting her get under his skin like that. His identity was that of a Togami, regardless of what she thought was important, plain and simple. He retreated back into the shell of familiarity, ignoring the prickle of unease in his gut as he did so.
As for Toko… well, she’d always left being the Ultimate Murderous Fiend to her alter, but she wouldn’t mind borrowing the title for once to get back at Hagakure for the most inconvenient snore of all time. Were secrecy not their greatest weapon, she would have screamed aloud.
Byakuya turned away from her completely and coughed once. “I-In any case, me carrying you earlier should be sufficient repayment for you having saved our lives. And just because we’ve found a solution against the Monokumas, you aren’t to needlessly seek out fights. Genocider isn’t easy to control, even for me, and we can’t allow her to jeopardize our safety. Do I make myself clear?” His tone was back to normal, and there was no room for argument.
“Yes, Master,” she murmured. He made a noncommittal noise to show he heard her, then spent the rest of the night in relative silence.
Toko tried not to read into what he said too much. It was a moment of vulnerability, nothing more. Even someone as perfect as Byakuya must experience that once in a while. No doubt the moment would replay in her mind’s eye when she retreated into her fantasies, but while she remained rooted in reality, she didn’t want to fool herself into thinking that moment meant anything deeper beneath the surface.
But any time Byakuya needed her, she would be there. Whether it be to hold him at night, to help when his confidence wavered, or to put herself in danger to save his life, she wouldn’t think twice. She could do nothing less. She loved him.
****
Days blended together, barely distinguishable from each other. How long had they been out here? Days? Weeks? Toko couldn’t tell. What she did know was that they were weakening. Hope’s Peak had been in the heart of Tokyo, and while they hadn’t left the city, it seemed the farther they got from the school, the more Monokumas there were, and they were sometimes forced to take shelter without procuring food. All of them had noticeably lost weight, and for someone like her, there wasn’t much she could afford to lose. She didn’t know how much farther any of them could go on like this.
Kyoko insisted that there must be survivors who still felt hope, but hope was thin among them. Would they even find these supposed people? Or were they just waiting to drop like flies? What was left for them here?
They were currently making their way through an office building, hoping that there was an exit on the other side. There had been far too many Monokumas outside to use the main road, and judging by the amount of iron she could smell before getting ushered into the building, the bears were fresh off kills and no doubt eager for more.
They stumbled through the halls, more than one person tripping. They’d found nothing more than scraps to eat for the past three days. The supplies they’d taken from Hope’s Peak were almost depleted. Their only hope was to find somewhere with food soon, pray it wasn’t overrun by Monokumas, and that it wouldn’t get attacked before they could fully replenish.
As they were walking, Toko’s foot caught on the floor, nearly causing her to go sprawling. But before she could, Byakuya pulled her back to her feet. “Come on,” he grumbled. Toko allowed herself one moment to gawk at him. She was in awe as to how well he was holding up. Admittedly, she’d experienced the excruciating pain of starvation before, and though it was never easy, she was somewhat used to it. But she knew Byakuya was used to three square meals a day, often prepared by Japan’s finest chefs. However, he never complained, never stopped moving forward. He never fell asleep holding his stomach like Aoi, Yasuhiro, and Makoto often did.
And if he could keep going, so could she.
It took most of the day to traverse the building and by the time they found an exit, a flash of orange pierced through the red sky, signaling the sun was setting. They’d have to find somewhere to stay for the night, but first, there was hopefully something to eat on the other side of this place.
Kyoko tugged on one of the double doors with an emergency exit sign above them. They swung open with no resistance, only to reveal a veritable horde of Monokumas on the other side, most of them staring right at their group.
Kyoko immediately slammed the door shut, but it was too late; they’d already been seen. “We need to bar the door!” she shouted. Byakuya and Yasuhiro were already on it, having grabbed what looked like an upturned security desk and started hauling it towards the door.
But Toko knew that even if they succeeded, Monokuma claws were sharp enough to slash through any barrier they might attempt to erect. It was useless.
So she knew once again what she had to do. On unsteady legs, she walked over to Byakuya and Yasuhiro, who were attempting to wedge the desk underneath the handle of the door. “Let m-me out,” she said, causing both men to look at her like she was crazy.
Byakuya pulled his lips back into a snarl. “No,” he growled. “We’ve seen that you and Genocider still feel the same physical problems. You haven’t eaten for days. Even if Genocider doesn’t feel or ignores that, the exertion would likely kill you when you switch back.”
“S-so I either wait for them to k-kill us all, or I can try to give you a chance to survive,” she argued. Usually she didn’t dare counter her precious Byakuya, but in this case she felt she could not back down. “Let me go!” she shouted again.
Byakuya still looked stubbornly furious, but before he could say anything, claws came through the door, cutting off part of Yasuhiro’s hair. He shrieked and scrambled away, as Toko impatiently took a pair of Genocider’s scissors from the pouch on her thigh and tossed them to a surprised Aoi.
“If she falls, use these to d-defend yourself,” she instructed before turning back to Byakuya. “You c-can’t stop me. I’ll do this if it means saving you. I… I love you.” And true to her word, before he could do anything about it, she ducked under his arm and pushed through the door.
“Fukawa… dammit!” Byakuya yelled as he failed to grab her and stop her. He was about to go out himself, but a hand on his shoulder stalled him.
He turned his head and found Kyoko standing there. “Don’t go after her,” she cautioned. “Toko is risking her life for all of us, you in particular, I’m sure. We have to respect the sacrifice she’s making for us.” Despite her words, her voice shook ever so slightly.
“We have to believe in her,” Makoto piped up. “Toko chose to fight because she still believes in us; she still has hope. Now, we have to place our hope in her.”
Their words did little to mollify Byakuya, though he no longer felt the need to leave the building to bring Toko to safety. He shrugged Kyoko’s hand off his shoulder and pressed his ear to the door. He could hear a faint “Kyehahahaha!” which calmed him a thousand times more than either Kyoko or Makoto’s words could.
The Monokuma with its claws in the door was making no further attempt to get in, so Byakuya assumed Genocider had already incapacitated it. He grabbed a claw between his thumb and forefinger to try and push it out of the door so he could see what was going on, but it was very stuck, and he couldn’t get a better grip without wounding himself. There was nothing to do but wait.
And the wait was agonizing. Byakuya found he couldn’t sit still, so he paced around the room, utterly inconsolable. Kyoko and Makoto alternated between glancing at him and each other. Both of them had noticed Toko’s confession before she left (though her feelings were obvious, she’d never outright said something like that) and though Byakuya hadn’t directly responded, they both theorized her words led to his agitation, even if he would never directly admit it.
Aoi, meanwhile, was sitting on the floor, looking at the scissors Toko had given her. She didn’t know whether to feel touched or be scared of them. It was a weapon to keep them safe, but the fact that Toko had relinquished them meant Toko thought there was a very real possibility that she might not be returning.
It would have been maddening, sitting there not knowing what was happening, if not for the noise. The sound was cacophonous, sounding more like two armies were going to battle versus one woman. No one looked at the pocket watch, but it seemed like hours had passed.
Only when it was silent did the reverie break.
“Something’s happened,” Byakuya said, his voice slightly coarse from lack of use. “She should be coming back. Why isn’t she back?”
“Let’s go,” Kyoko announced, but when Byakuya marched over to the door, she put an arm out to stop him. “Hina should go first,” she murmured. “Just in case. She’s the one with the weapon.” Byakuya looked murderous at her statement, but had no argument to make against it. Silently fuming, he stepped aside so Asahina could open the door, scissors at the ready. Unable to stomach the anticipation a moment longer, Byakuya pushed out after her.
What greeted him was a sea of Monokumas, more than any of them could have expected. And every single one of them was destroyed in some way, not moving so much as a twitch.
What worried him was that he couldn’t immediately locate Jill.
“Spread out along the debris field,” Kyoko ordered. “She must be here somewhere.” They immediately began awkwardly clambering over the remains of the robots, Byakuya included. However, he was at a loss to answer why. Fear plagued him, and as much as he hated that, what bothered him more was that he could neither stomp it down nor find the catalyst. It couldn’t be because he was worried about Toko. He couldn’t stand her. If she fell, what was it to him?
It bothered him that he barely even agreed with his old assertions anymore.
“Here!” Makoto called as Byakuya was wrestling with his own mind. He whipped around. Makoto was crouching down some fifty yards away, where the pile of Monokumas seemed to be the most concentrated. Byakuya hastened in that direction. Fear was overtaken by dread when he realized what he might find; he still couldn’t see Toko or Jill.
For all his haste, he wasn’t the first to reach Makoto due to being so far away from him. Yasuhiro was the first to crouch down next to Makoto, and then Jill’s voice rang out loud and clear. “Aww, Big Mac, when you called out I thought that meant Master was coming. Not… who are you again?”
Byakuya didn’t hear Yasuhiro’s offended reply. Relief washed over him, quickly followed by annoyance when he remembered it shouldn’t matter whether or not she lived. Perhaps it was his hatred of leaving things unfinished… yes, that would be it. It wouldn’t do for her to die when he owed her a debt for saving his life again. A Togami always repaid their debts.
Eventually, he got close enough to where he could finally see her. She was laying on her back, blood gushing from a wound on her head. She looked more disheveled and exhausted than ever, but still managed a smile when she saw him. “Oh good, you’re still alive, Master,” she simpered. “I didn’t see you when I woke up, and of course Gloomy didn’t bother to leave me any kind of hint. But you’re here and all worried about me!” She attempted a cackle, but it was lacking her usual energy.
He knelt down at her head, trying to ascertain how serious her cut was, but it wasn’t easy to do with all the blood in the way. Without a second thought, he took off his jacket and pressed it against her head. It wasn’t the most sanitary solution in the world, but it would have to make do.
Jill sighed with pleasure the moment the garment was off. “Master! We can’t be taking our clothes off here, not in front of all these people!”
“Behave yourself,” he warned, though his tone lacked his usual bite. They were both silent for a few moments before he spoke again. “How did everything go? Why are you on the ground?”
Jill told them how she fought a veritable army of Monokuma robots, how there never seemed to be an end to them, and how she was constantly fighting against not only the Monokumas, but also her confusing and wearisome exhaustion. When it was all over, she could do nothing but fall where she stood, utterly depleted of the energy to do anything else.
By the time she was done speaking, the gash on her head had stopped bleeding, and now that he could see it, Byakuya knew it was definitely going to need stitches. It could have been so much worse, he couldn’t see bone or anything, but if she tried moving at all he knew it would open up again. With how much her body had already been through, she couldn’t survive constant blood loss.
He glanced at the others gathered around him, before his gaze landed on Makoto and Kyoko. “She needs food,” he ordered. “I don’t care what kind, I don’t care if it’s from a vending machine, just get her something, now.” The two ran off with no protest as Byakuya next turned to Aoi. “You grabbed a suture kit before we left Hope’s Peak, yes?”
Aoi rummaged through her bag for a moment before pulling it out. “Here!”
“Help me get her into a sitting position. I hope you know how to use a sewing needle.” Hina looked slightly green as she realized what Byakuya meant, but she swallowed down her revulsion and nodded, staunchly determined to do her part.
Yasuhiro stepped forward eagerly. “What can I do?”
Byakuya barely regarded him. “Watch out for Monokumas and stay out of our way.”
Jill had no arguments while he was doling out his instructions, so Byakuya assumed she had no issues, but as soon as Aoi started setting up her supplies, she lifted her head, eyes narrowing. “No, no, no! I am not letting Jugs near me with a needle!” she protested loudly.
“You don’t get a choice,” Byakuya growled. “You can’t travel with that injury. I don’t want to force you back to Toko, but I will if you refuse to cooperate.”
“Nice try,” she snorted. “If I’m this exhausted, I can imagine how Miss Morose would be able to handle it. She’d probably drop dead on the spot. And while I’d love for her to be gone, I don’t know if that would kill me too or not, and I don’t feel like trying my luck. I mean, I’m not Big Mac.”
Byakuya scowled, mostly because she was right. Toko had already been proven to be able to withstand far less than Jill. Instead of arguing with her, he turned to Aoi. “Besides the suture kit, is there anything else you think we’ll need?” Aoi had been given a bit of medical knowledge while training to be a lifeguard, and while this was far beyond her skills, she was determined to do the best she could.
“I’ll have to clean it with antiseptic spray first… we’re running low on that,” she said with a frown. “But we should have enough ace bandages to keep her head wrapped afterwards. The biggest problem is going to be keeping it from getting infected.”
“Hey!” Jill suddenly shrieked, staring at Aoi’s hip. “Those are my scissors! Fucking thief! No one gets to touch my scissors unless I’m stabbing them!”
Byakuya rolled his eyes at her, though much of his worry had lessened. “She’s going to be fine,” he said as Jill snatched the scissors from Asahina and put them back in her thigh holster. “If she’s more worried about her scissors than nearly dying, I doubt she’ll allow herself to succumb to infection.”
“‘She’ is also right here and can hear every word you’re saying,” Jill grumbled. “Talk to me, Master! Not about me,” she whined.
He regarded her warily. “Are you going to actually listen to me?”
She cocked her head at him for a moment, as if thinking it over. “Can you be the one to stitch me up? I won’t complain if it’s you, Master.”
Byakuya had never patched a wound in his life. He’d hardly even gotten scrapes and bruises as a child that seemed to be common amongst others because his mother didn’t allow roughhousing. But he wasn’t about to admit any weakness, not to Jill. Instead, he said something he’d probably regret later. “I can’t stitch you if I’m holding you in place.”
As he expected, Jill let out a squeal. “I guess that’s an acceptable alternative,” she decided, highly pleased. Byakuya was just glad she wasn’t fighting anymore.
He was about ready to help her sit up when Kyoko and Makoto returned, thankfully with food. Yasuhiro moaned aloud and grabbed for some, but Kyoko swatted his hand away. “We found mostly full vending machines not far from here. We’ll be able to eat later. This is for Genocider.”
Byakuya nodded a thanks before returning to the task at hand. He managed to get his arm underneath Jill’s shoulders. “Ready?” She nodded, and he pulled up, lifting her upper body off the ground.
If he hadn’t been right behind her, she would have fallen right back down. Her head thudded against Byakuya’s chest, and he hastened to hook his arms under hers to hold her steady. Her eyes appeared dazed, as if she was on the verge of passing out. “She needs something to eat. Now!” he barked.
Kyoko knelt down next to them, a bottle of Pocari Sweat opened in her hand. She tipped it towards Jill’s mouth, but she reached her own hand out for the bottle. “I can… do it myself,” she slurred. They had their doubts, but Jill managed to keep it steady, consuming half the bottle in slow, measured sips. Her consciousness seemed to improve with every swallow.
After the drink, she started nibbling on some senbai, and when Byakuya was confident she was no longer in danger of fainting, he turned to Asahina. “Let’s start,” he murmured.
The swimmer nodded and opened the suture kit. “Can I get the lighter?” she asked. Makoto fumbled in his pockets for a moment, but managed to toss over the requested item. They’d taken it with the intent of starting fires but hadn’t felt secure enough to use it yet. Aoi put on latex gloves before taking the lighter to run it over the bevel of the small needle to sterilize it. It didn’t take long; the needle was tiny, much smaller than Byakuya had been expecting. That was going to make it much more difficult to maneuver.
Aoi seemed to share his sentiment. “I wish they gave me forceps,” she frowned. “Oh well. Not like I know how to use them anyways. That’s just how they did my brother’s when he cut himself after he tripped in track.” Usually, Byakuya would be annoyed by her incessant babbling, but it seemed to be calming her down so he allowed it. Just this once.
He dipped his chin so his mouth was next to Jill’s ear. “Stay still,” he growled. She made no response, but leaned her head back so she could stare at him with sycophantic, adoring eyes. She was probably as ready as she’d ever be. He gave one curt nod to Aoi.
Her hands trembled as she brought the needle to Jill's cut. “Don't shut your eyes!” Jill snapped at her as she felt the cool needle against her skin. Aoi flinched for a moment, but did indeed keep her focus on what she needed to do after that. The cut had already been cleaned with antiseptic spray, so Aoi quickly made the first poke, dipping the needle just under the skin.
Jill hissed in agitation, gnashing her teeth in Aoi's direction. “What? That fucking hurt,” she huffed when all of them tensed. “I assume I'm still allowed to say it hurt? Hell, if my darling wasn't holding me right now, I'd bite your hand clean off!” she said with a cackle. She made no motion towards Aoi, but the swimmer still blanched. Slowly, so that Jill might think it was absent-minded, Byakuya grabbed the hand of hers that was closest to her scissors, just as a precaution. As expected, that action distracted Jill enough for Aoi to continue.
But for all Jill's threats, she was surprisingly tame. She whined every time the needle went through her skin, but she stayed still, making no actual attempts to attack Aoi. Whether it was because he was holding her or whether she lacked energy didn't matter, Byakuya decided. He didn't have to know absolutely everything.
After several tense minutes, Aoi finally backed away. “That's all I feel comfortable doing,” she said nervously. “I know they're supposed to be individual stitches, but I couldn't really do that since I don't have forceps to tie the string off, and it's too small for my hands…” her voice trailed off helplessly, but there wasn't much more to be said. She did her best with what she had to work with.
There was a bit of an awkward pause. “Well, we'll just have to do our best to keep it from becoming infected,” Kyoko murmured before handing Jill a few more senbai; getting the stitches had made her lose what little color she had.
“Guys!” Yasuhiro shouted a second later, startling all of them. “We're saved! We're saved! Look!” He pointed to the sky, and there in the distance, they spotted a helicopter heading in their direction.
Makoto immediately sprang into action. He grabbed a flare from the side pocket of the backpack Aoi carried and lit it, waving it above his head in hopes that the helicopter would see. A few moments later, they assumed it must have; it changed direction slightly, now making a beeline straight towards them.
Byakuya felt Jill stiffen in his arms. “I gotta get out of here,” she muttered. “I don't want to deal with anyone other than you people. Miss Morose can handle this. Can you find some way to kick some dust up?”
That wasn't hard. There was debris everywhere. All Byakuya had to do was shift a few of the Monokumas. Jill stuck her face in the resulting cloud of dust and one sneeze later, she was back to a very dazed, very confused Toko.
“Wha–what happened?” she slurred before she managed to focus on Byakuya. “M-master! You're safe!” She stood like she wanted to rush towards him but swayed dangerously the moment she was on her feet.
Byakuya held out his hands to steady her. “Careful,” he warned. “You're exhausted and hurt. Genocider defended us nearly at the cost of her life. And you need to keep your wits about you. Someone's coming. Naegi and Hagakure are optimistic, but I believe we should approach this with caution. We don't know if they're friend or foe.”
Toko gulped but nodded, clutching Byakuya's arm as the helicopter came ever closer. He was at a loss as to why he allowed it, but he let her hold him as they both silently tracked the aircraft's flight. There was no doubt now, based on its trajectory, that it was coming for them.
It wasn't long before the helicopter landed, though it had to do so a ways away due to the minefield of Monokumas. Once the blades stopped spinning, a man with white hair and a crisp suit of the same color stepped out. Makoto gulped, then took the lead. “Um, hi. My name is–”
“Makoto Naegi. We know,” the man said, cutting him off. His no-nonsense tone unnerved Toko, and she shrank further into Byakuya's side. “I am Kyosuke Munakata, vice-chairman of an organization known as Future Foundation. We're a group made mostly of former Hope's Peak alumni who have not yet succumbed to despair. I'm here to take you back to Future Foundation headquarters.”
Most of the group let out sighs of relief, and Yasuhiro, Aoi, and Makoto eagerly stepped towards the helicopter. Even Toko managed a smile as she moved forward, eager as the rest of them, but stopped dead in her tracks when Munakata pointed a finger at her. “Wait,” he commanded. “Not you.”
She froze, hardly able to breathe. She was finally being afforded a respite, only to have it snatched away mere seconds later. But under the man's stare, she didn't have the will to protest. All she could do was whimper pathetically.
Fortunately, Byakuya was not so easily intimidated. “Absolutely not,” he growled. “If not for her, there would be nothing left for you to rescue but bones. She comes with us. End of discussion.” He glared right back at Munakata, just as unyielding and stubborn.
Munakata snarled. It was obvious he wasn't used to being questioned. “She's too volatile,” he hissed. “We all watched the broadcast. She is unable to control her murderous side. We cannot afford to bring that level of risk to Future Foundation.”
Byakuya grit his teeth. “Then you won't be taking me either,” he decided, firmly staying by Toko's side. He couldn't answer to himself why he was doing this, but he did know that if he left Toko behind, he would never forgive himself. Toko herself gasped in surprise, but he remained where he was, still in a staredown with Munakata.
There were a few tense heartbeats before Munakata opened his mouth to speak. But before he could get a word out, Makoto beat him to the punch. “Byakuya's right,” he murmured. “We're a family. We've survived this far because of each other. We need to stick together.” And he too walked over, standing on Toko's other side.
Like dominoes, the others followed. Kyoko joined them mere seconds after Makoto, and then Aoi and finally even Yasuhiro. None of them said anything, but their gestures spoke more than words ever could. Toko couldn't stop herself from tearing up. This solidarity shown by people she believed hated her, was almost too much. She couldn't even pull herself together to thank them. She could only blubber incoherently as tears continued to fall.
Munakata looked murderous. “Don't be fools!” he thundered. “You can't survive here on your own! You're barely standing now. Only with Future Foundation–”
“Kyosuke?” A woman came out of the helicopter, wearing a blue dress with an apron. She put her hand on Munakata's shoulder. “We need to bring them all. Tengan can decide how we want to handle Genocider back at headquarters. But we can't just leave her here. If we do that we'd be sentencing her to death.” She gave Munakata a pleading look throughout her impassioned speech.
Toko didn't expect Munakata to soften under this woman's gaze, but to her shock, he did. She concluded they must be in love. “Fine,” he grumbled. “But she's under your watch, Yukizome. If she kills anyone, that will be on your shoulders.”
“No need,” Byakuya huffed. “She's under my watch. There won't be any killing as long as that is the case.” He looked around at the rest of them. “Well? Are you satisfied enough? Let's get out of here.”
One by one they filed onto the helicopter. Toko and Byakuya were the last to board. She was so overcome with emotion that Byakuya was forced to put his arm around her and steer her to their destination. As they passed Yukizome, she winked at them. “Don't worry,” she whispered. “You're all welcome at Future Foundation. I promise.” Byakuya nodded at her, but there was something slightly off-putting in her smile that he couldn't quite put his finger on. No matter her words, they were not allies, not yet at least. The six survivors of the killing school life would have to continue to rely only on each other.
There was very little room in the helicopter with six of them. Munakata and Yukizome sat in the pilot and co-pilot seats respectively, leaving the rest of them to crowd in the rest of the craft. Toko and Byakuya sat down in the very back, and Byakuya took the opportunity to give her a more detailed explanation of events up to their rescue.
Toko listened without interruption, but when he was done, she looked fearfully towards Munakata. “They d-don't want me,” she whispered. “They're scared of m-me… because of h-her. Because I h-had to use her to s-save you all.”
“They will not leave you to fend for yourself. I'll personally ensure it,” Byakuya promised, then coughed when he realized what his words sounded like, like he was becoming fond of her or something. He hastened to make his intentions clear. “A-after all, it's simply repayment for saving my life. Quid pro quo. Nothing more.”
Still, Toko smiled wearily. “W-will you watch over me while I s-sleep, Master? I'd feel safer kn-knowing you're there.”
He nodded once. “Sleep. You need it. I’ll make sure nothing happens. You have my word.” With no further prompting, she rested her head on his shoulder and was out within seconds.
He stiffened at the sudden contact, but strangely, he didn’t have it in him to shake her off. Even he knew she didn’t deserve that after all she’d been through. Just once, he could allow this.
And the weight of her head on his shoulder, of her body next to him, it was strangely… comforting. Even if they were heading into an unknown future, she would be a constant that he could always rely on. And while the thought used to twist his stomach, making him feel something he still didn’t have a name for, he found himself somewhat accepting that strange feeling now.
Not that he’d ever admit any of that out loud, of course.
But her presence was comforting. Strangely… comfort….
Around twenty minutes into their trip, Kyoko nudged Makoto, then pointed over to where Toko and Byakuya sat. Adrenaline seemed to have worn off for them; they were both asleep. But while Makoto wasn’t surprised to see Toko resting her head on Byakuya’s shoulder, he was shocked to see Byakuya had leaned into her, his head on top of hers. Their hands were only millimeters apart.
And what was more, both of them were entirely at peace.
They all suffered nightmares. It was no big secret. Makoto knew that they would all forever be haunted by what they had gone through at Hope’s Peak, even Byakuya. Makoto had seen him writhe at night, even if Byakuya would never admit to doing so in his waking hours.
Yet here with Toko, he looked calmer than Makoto had ever seen him. Even in sleep, the two just fit together, drawing strength from one another. They had become each other’s hope.
And when they woke, maybe they would finally start to see it as well.