Chapter Text
“As soon as Hagakure-kun arrives, we can start today’s meeting,” said Makoto.
Nobody acknowledged him, or barely even stirred. The beverages in the cups sprinkled across the table had passed their prime, though Byakuya had anticipated the late start and drunk most of his coffee already. He drummed an index finger against himself, his arms folded over his chest.
Their daily meetings always occurred at ten ante meridiem each day, and they always took place in the same office room. A short walk separated their apartments from Hope’s Peak. Despite this, Yasuhiro continuously failed to arrive on time. His apologies never sounded genuine either, usually accompanied by a laugh and a wave of his hand.
To be honest, Byakuya couldn’t say he was exactly on tenterhooks to start the meeting due to anything that would be shared during it. The content rarely deviated from the standard spiel. Makoto and or Kyouko would summarise what they would be talking about, with the topics nearly always relating to Hope’s Peak's imminent reopening. These points would be discussed, then everyone would give a status report before the meeting concluded and they could finally leave.
That was what Byakuya looked forward to most. Leaving, so he could go and be productive with the rest of his day. Which he couldn’t do until the meeting started, which wouldn’t happen until Yasuhiro decided to show up.
“What’s his excuse going to be this time?” Touko asked aloud, hunched forward and scowling. “D-Don’t tell me a squirrel stole his front door key as well today...”
“Or his sandals got possessed by the ghost of a member of the mafia again,” added Aoi. She blew out her cheeks, which were cradled in her hands, which had been held up by her elbows that had parked on the table for the past ten minutes.
“Must we wait for him?” said Byakuya, looking over at Makoto.
Unlike the others, Makoto was on his feet, standing by the interactive whiteboard hanging on one wall. He frowned, but before he could answer, someone else cut in.
“Everyone needs to be in attendance,” said Kyouko.
Makoto flashed her a smile, which she returned. Byakuya’s lips pursed.
“Kirigiri-san’s right. Hagakure-kun might have some vital information to share,” said Makoto.
When Byakuya just continued staring at him, Makoto winced and rubbed the back of his neck.
“... But also, we have something really important to discuss today.” He regained his composure. “Everyone needs to be here, because it’s going to affect all of us.”
That peeled Aoi’s face from her palms. She straightened up. “What is it? Is it something bad?”
“Nope,” said Komaru with a grin. Aoi, who was sitting next to Komaru, snapped her head in her direction.
“You know what it is?”
Komaru perked up her chin and tapped the side of her nose. Her smug expression didn’t waver even when Aoi grabbed her shoulders and started rocking her from side-to-side. On the other side of Komaru, Touko watched them sidelong, gritting her teeth as some of Aoi’s shakes bumped Komaru up against Touko’s arm.
“C-Can you stop acting like children?” hissed Touko.
“Hey, Komaru-chan’s still just a highschooler,” Aoi pointed out, though she stopped wobbling Komaru’s body.
“That doesn’t mean either of you should behave like you’re five years old.”
“I guess you're right. I’m practically an adult now,” said Komaru.
Touko shook her head. “When you’re a real adult, you’ll realise how foolish you sound at this moment. A-Anyway, you will always be Kidmaru to me.”
“Argh... It’s better than Omaru, I suppose,” said Komaru with a sigh. Nearby, Makoto gave a soft smile at their bickering. No matter how much the two argued, their bond never seemed to fray. Such friendship was remarkable to behold.
In the past, Byakuya would have scorned such a thing, but he couldn’t deny the pair made a formidable team. It was them who had saved Towa City. Had saved him.
The door swung open. Byakuya averted his gaze from Touko and adjusted his glasses.
“Ah, the court jester has graced us with his presence,” he deadpanned.
Yasuhiro strode in, dreadlocks pulled into a ponytail rather than donning a cap and bells. Nor did he wear a gaudish tunic and puffed trousers, but his usual shirt, work trousers and jacket over his shoulders. As he walked over to an empty chair, no jingling accompanied each step. Just the dull slap of his sandals.
Most of them, like Yasuhiro, typically wore what they did while employed at Future Foundation. The two exceptions were Komaru and Touko, the former in a prototype of the school's new uniform and the latter in a work-appropriate uniform.
As a group, they had all collaborated on Komaru's attire: a navy jacket, white shirt and matching navy plaid skirt and tie. Touko's outfit, meanwhile, had been designed solely by Byakuya. Instead of a tatty old high school uniform, Touko sported a white shirt and matching purple jacket, skirt and tie. Previously, she had worn her hair in twin braids, then wild and loose, but now it was typically styled in a single braid that hung down her back.
Her round glasses had stayed.
“Sorry about the wait, dudes. My car had some scuff marks.” Yasuhiro palmed the back of his head with both hands and leaned backward in his chair. “Fortunately, it was nothing a bit of buffing couldn’t remedy.”
“Oh, come on, Hagakure-san. You used that excuse two weeks ago,” Komaru moaned.
“That doesn’t mean the same thing can’t happen again, ‘right? In fact, the scratches were very similar to last time. Just in a slightly different place. You know what that means?”
Komaru raised a finger and opened her mouth.
“Don’t,” Touko warned her.
“What does it mean?” asked Komaru. Touko rolled her head back and whined.
“It means I might be stuck in a time loop!” Yasuhiro declared, pointing at Komaru.
Byakuya pulled down his glasses so he could more easily pinch the bridge of his nose. “You dolt. It means you probably just drove too close to the same hedge again.”
“Or you have a jilted lover,” Komaru piped up.
Yasuhiro gasped, flinging a hand to his mouth to cover it. “Kira?”
Kyouko cleared her throat. The others turned to her, after which she lowered her fist from her lips. Her brow was furrowed.
“Now that Hagakure-kun has arrived, we can proceed with today’s meeting. We’re still on track for the projected reopening date for the new Hope’s Peak. Hagakure-kun’s mother has reported that the trainee nurses are progressing well, and Alter Ego is hard at work ironing out the bugs in our lockdown system...”
Makoto sat down with the others at the table. Of everyone, only Touko scribbled down notes as Kyouko directed the first part of the meeting. Her minute-taking wouldn’t only be useful for those present - particularly a yawning Yasuhiro with his feet on the table and a vacant-gazed Komaru. It would also be beneficial for Touko’s alter, Genocider Syo, though Byakuya doubted Syo read the notes in any great detail. If she read them at all.
“... I will now let Komaru and Fukawa-san take the floor,” said Kyouko.
She sat next to Makoto, both exchanging smiles at each other, while Komaru jumped up and rushed over to the laptop connected to the white board. Belatedly, Touko shuffled after her and stood slightly off to the side, fidgeting.
As Komaru loaded up their presentation, Byakuya eyed Makoto and Kyouko. Neither had confirmed anything to the others, but it was obvious to him that something was going on between them. Something beyond their roles as headmaster and deputy-headmaster. If they didn’t want to tell anyone, that was their business, but they could have had the decency to be more lowkey about their relationship. They were at work, for goodness sake.
“Okay!” Komaru opened up a powerpoint presentation, which was projected on the whiteboard. Initially, the first slide displayed a blank screen, but with a few clicks, lines of text appeared with various different entrance animations.
Komaru Naegi and Touko Fukawa
A Joint Project
For Your Consideration
Rehabilitation of the Warriors of Hope
Presentation
Komaru pressed her hands into her hips. “So! Most of you have heard of the Warriors of Hope, or even met them. They are a faction of children who once ruled over Towa City, eliminating adults to create a paradise for kids in the name of Junko Enoshima. Next slide, Touko-chan.”
A few seconds passed before Touko twitched her head. “Huh?”
“They did have computers when you were at school, right, Touko-chan?”
“I’m not thirty years older than you!” Touko snapped. Regardless, she dragged herself over to Komaru’s side and clicked on the laptop.
The slide on the whiteboard turned blank, but a few clicks phased in pictures of four of the former Warriors of Hope. Rather than use photographs, Komaru seemed to have drawn stylised versions of them, so they had overly large eyes and almost non-existent noses.
“Nice chibis! Did you draw them, Komaru-chi?” asked Yasuhiro.
“Yep!” Komaru beamed before slimming down her smile a bit. Under each picture, short bullet point lists appeared, which she read aloud in a serious tone. “Kotoko Utsugi, former fighter, current drama lover. Nagisa Shingetsu, former sage, current social studies lover. Masaru Daimon, former hero, current athlete. And Jataro Kemuri, former priest, current artist.”
Yasuhiro scratched his head. “Sage? Priest?”
“Those are just titles they gave themselves based on RPG classes,” said Byakuya. His gaze slid from Komaru to Touko. He twitched a hand. “We know who they are already. Tell us what this project of yours entails.”
Touko breathed in, blushing, but Komaru’s voice belted out instead.
“We’re just getting to that! Next slide, please,” said Komaru, waiting for Touko to bring up the following slide before speaking again.
The drawings of the former Warriors of Hope faded back in on the left side of the screen, then several clicks brought up a column of new drawings on the right. These depicted four of Byakuya’s colleagues: Makoto, Kyouko, Aoi and Yasuhiro. Lines appeared connecting a single drawing from each column together.
“Even though the Tragedy is over and these kids no longer want to kill all adults, they still need help. Our help. Right now, they are safe in Towa City, but our plan is to bring them here so we can give them therapy and supervise them. They don’t have families anymore, or structure, so what better place for them to recuperate than here, at a school, with us?”
Komaru paused. Makoto and Kyouko regarded her with focused expressions, listening intently. Aoi bit her lip, eyes downcast, while Yasuhiro cocked his head to one side. None of them said anything. Equally quiet, Byakuya cupped his chin.
This was his first time hearing about this plan, but he couldn’t say he was too surprised that Komaru had come up with it. Makoto had been the one determined to rehabilitate the Remnants of Despair. Like brother, like sister. Though the siblings were different, they both tried to see the best in people. Both were willing to give people second chances where most others wouldn’t.
Admittedly, Byakuya was surprised that Touko hadn’t run this project by him first. Though she didn’t spend quite as much time with him as she once had, they still interacted with each other a decent amount. All of them did. Byakuya supposed she felt she didn’t need his approval on everything anymore. Touko had come out from his shadow.
The silence made Komaru wither slightly. She coughed.
“So... um, me and Touko-chan discussed who would be better suited with who, based on a whole bunch of factors, and this is what we ultimately decided on. Kirigiri-san will be paired with Kotoko-chan, Asahina-san will be with Masaru-kun, Makoto with Nagisa-kun and Hagakure-san with Jataro-kun. They already know me and Touko-chan, so we thought it’d be nice if they could get to know you all better by doing this. Basically, they’ll live with you guys, and you’ll be responsible for taking care of them. The therapy and schooling won’t be down to you but you’ll provide them with support, care, attention...”
Komaru trailed off as Aoi raised her hand.
“Ah! Do you have a question, Asahina-san?” asked Komaru. Aoi winced.
“Um... it’s, uh, not really a question. I don’t... want to do this, sorry.”
“Huh?” Komaru stared at her. “Why not? I thought you loved kids.”
“I do!” Aoi said. She hugged herself and shuddered. “But... my brother was a kid when his bracelet exploded in Towa City, killing him. The bracelet that those children kept active.”
Aoi rubbed the heel of her hand against her eyes. Yasuhiro, Kyouko and Makoto shot her sympathetic looks. Excluding Komaru, everybody here had the person or creature dearest to them captured by the Remnants of Despair. Byakuya hadn’t been close to his siblings, or anyone in his family, so they had kidnapped his butler. Most of the captives had eventually been freed, but Aoi’s brother died prior to this happening.
“I told you she wouldn’t agree,” said Touko quietly, wringing her braid.
Komaru’s attention remained on Aoi. Her brow crumpled. “I’m sorry, Asahina-san. I didn’t realise...”
“That’s because I did my best so you wouldn’t.” Aoi scrunched up her shoulders. “Ever since you and Touko-chan told me what happened to him... it’s been eating me up inside. But I’ve had to stay strong. Strong when he died, strong when we were working for Future Foundation, strong for the final killing game and strong now... The pain never goes away. You just... find different ways to fit it inside you better, for the sake of yourself and everyone around you.”
“Asahina-san, that doesn’t sound healthy,” said Makoto, concerned. Aoi shook her head.
“I know those kids were manipulated. I know they wouldn’t have done any of that if it wasn’t for Enoshima. But that won’t stop me from being reminded of what happened to Yuta whenever I see them. So... I can’t help you with your plan. I’m sorry, Komaru-chan.”
A furrow carved into Komaru’s brow, darkening her face like a storm cloud.
“So what should we do with them?” asked Komaru, her voice trembling like her fists. “Abandon them? Imprison them? Execute them?”
“That’s enough, Komaru!” said Makoto, turning to her sharply.
Aoi rose to her feet, while Komaru ignored him and walked over to her. Byakuya couldn’t help arching his eyebrows at Makoto’s vocalisation. He was no stranger to Makoto becoming heated or raising his voice. It had happened plenty of times during the murder trials in the mutual killing game, and Makoto could be very passionate during his speeches. This was the first time, however, that Byakuya had heard Makoto use this tone on his own sibling.
Touko stiffened, releasing her braid. Though she stayed where she was, her eyes flicked between them, and she looked ready to dart between them. Glancing away, Byakuya noticed that Yasuhiro had hidden under the table and rolled his eyes. Despite their hostile body language, neither attempted to throw a punch or lay even a single finger on the other. Instead, Komaru heaved a sigh, her anger melting away as quickly as it had flared up.
“I’m sorry, Asahina-san. That was uncalled for. I do understand how you feel, kind of. My parents...” Komaru didn’t bother trying to wipe away her tears. “... we never found their bodies, after all that time. Even now, part of me expects them to come through the door and pull me into a hug. Stroke my hair, tell me they’re going to bake my favourite cookies...”
The harsh line between Makoto’s eyebrows dissolved. Kyouko reached for his hand and squeezed it, her eyes trained on Komaru.
“Even so, I want to help these children,” said Komaru. “I understand if you’re angry, or even hate me now, and I totally get it, but I...”
Aoi drew Komaru into an embrace. The two of them stood still, until Aoi brought a hand to Komaru’s head and gently stroked her hair.
“You can still carry out your plan, Komaru-chan. I fully support your idea. I just can’t offer the sort of support any of them need right now.” She stepped back, smiling sadly. “Please understand. I’m not ready yet.”
Komaru sniffled and nodded, also smiling now. A relieved sigh escaped Touko as she placed a hand over her heart. Nearby, the tension seeped out of Makoto and Kyouko like air from a balloon. Byakuya felt the table shake as Yasuhiro crawled out from under the table. Yasuhiro's eyes flickered between Komaru and Aoi, as though he expected one or both of them to suddenly explode.
“Hey... Is this a bad time to say that I’m going to have to pull out too?” He quickly showed them his palms. “I’m totally cool with your plan! Even though two of those kids tried to murder me and Nakajima-chi! It’s just, uh, that I’m not good with kids, and my place isn’t kid-proof, and I...”
“Stop,” said Byakuya, raising a hand for silence. All eyes turned to him. He looked at Komaru, then Touko. “Why on earth did you choose Hagakure to pair with one of the children?”
“Hey! I’m great with kids!” said Yasuhiro angrily. Byakuya’s gaze didn’t stray from Touko.
“W-We weren’t sure you would appreciate being volunteered to take part,” admitted Touko, squirming her hands together. “Those brats - I mean, children, did lock you up... a-and you’re usually so busy...”
“... and you're not very hospitable,” added Komaru. Touko glared at her.
“That is all true. However, given that Hagakure and Asahina have bowed out, I will have to save the day and offer my services,” Byakuya told them.
Several seconds elapsed before Komaru and Touko understood what he said. The blank expression on Komaru’s face shattered as she broke into a wide grin.
“Really, Togami-san? You’ll do it?”
“I just said I would,” Byakuya replied.
“Kirigiri-san and I will also help,” said Makoto. Kyouko nodded.
“And me as well,” said Touko. “I know we planned for the others to do it, but I will participate in the project so we have the numbers.”
Touko had barely finished speaking when Komaru sprung onto her and caged her in a tight hug. “Thank you, Touko-chan!”
When Komaru let go, Touko staggered back a bit, winded, as if the intense hug had been hard enough to crack a few of her ribs. Komaru gave both Kyouko and Makoto hugs next before turning to Byakuya. He tensed, expecting her to throw herself at him.
Instead, Komaru held out her hand.
“Thank you, Togami-san,” she said seriously.
Byakuya blinked, but accepted her handshake.
“W-What? Byakuya-sama... and Komaru?” mumbled Touko, grasping her cheeks. “This is the ultimate betrayal...”
“It’s just a handshake,” Komaru told her. “Here, you should both shake hands, as this is Touko-chan’s project as well.”
Before Byakuya could think about what she had said, Komaru grabbed Touko’s wrist and pulled her closer, then she grabbed Byakuya’s wrist with her other hand and brought their hands together. When neither grasped the other’s hand immediately, Komaru mashed them together until Touko curled her fingers and Byakuya relaxed his around hers.
Whilst shaking Komaru’s hand, he had thought little of it. Nothing beyond the fleeting pressure of her hold. Yet when his palm pressed against Touko’s, warmth engulfed where they touched. It trickled up his arm, to his shoulder, to his throat, to his gut. Then the warmth became heat. Boiling. Burning. His palm felt damp, sticky, melting, and he had to jerk his hand back to free it.
“Ah ha... I may never wash this hand again,” said Touko, admiring the hand that he had shaken.
Byakuya stared at his own. It looked fine. Unmarked. Untouched. This was far from his first handshake; he had grown up in a corporate setting, and though most of the time greetings were exchanged with bows, he had dealt with Westerners and their handshakes. None of them had ever had this effect on him.
So why...?
Or did the sensation have nothing to do with the handshake?
But then...?
“We’ll have to swap around who's assigned to who,” said Komaru, having returned to the laptop without him noticing. She closed out of the powerpoint presentation. “I don’t have any drawings of Togami-san or Touko-chan on me, so Togami-san, pretend your picture is Hagakure-san’s, and Touko-chan, you’ll have to be Asahina-san...”
While Komaru continued speaking, Byakuya frowned and closed his hand into a fist.