Heir & Heiress

Fragmented Memory

"Kyoko and Makoto, though?" I chuckled, tilting my head at Hina. "And I'm not sure Kyoko is that easy to win over". We sat around the dining hall, waiting anxiously for the pair to return.

"Really? I don't know," Hina crossed her arms. Her eyes darted between Byakuya and me, "I mean, look at you two. How did that happen?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Byakuya's eyes narrowed. He looked at me; certainty was replaced with confusion. Neither of us knew exactly when it happened. Since being trapped here, there had been no hesitation in sharing a kiss or sleeping in the same bed.

The same budging headache began to arise, "Before...Hope's Peak?" I pressed a hand against the back of my head. Byakuya's lips tightened, crossing his arms, trying to recall anything before being trapped here. "I guess we just clicked after being reunited," I lied.

"Reunited?" Hina tilted her head.

"Didn't I...? Oh, no, I only explained that to Makoto," I said more to myself than anyone. "Anyway, yeah, reunited. We rarely saw each other growing up, maybe once or twice every year or so".

It took Hina a few moments to process what I said before a wide smile grew on her face. "Oh! That's what you meant by always-!" Sakura's hand hovered over the swimmer's mouth. "Whoops, sorry," she chuckled.

Byakuya and I looked at each other, thankful that he didn't ask for details. Heaving a sigh of relief, I turned in my chair, staring out at the bathhouse. What's taking those two? I ran a thumb over Celeste's ring, the sound of fire and screaming still fresh in my mind. "Hey...you don't think Kirigiri would...," the question faded away. Although I had everyone's attention, I shook my head and smiled, "Never mind. It doesn't matter. I think I should lay down," I started to stand.

"Before Kirigiri and Naegi return?" Sakura asked.

"No need," her voice echoed as Kirigiri and Naegi entered the room, "It was right where Celeste said". She swept her lilac hair from her face; I watched her gloved hands sweep across her frame. Kyoko and I stared at one another; a silent conversation filled with doubt and suspicion. Would it be better to explain now? How can I be sure that we both have the same question? "You should get some rest, Billotte. We can talk tomorrow".

"What was that about?" Byakuya asked, shutting the door behind us.

I set Celeste's ring on the desk and reached for my sketchbook. Glancing over the previous drawings, I started sketching the newest resurfaces of fragmented memory. "I think Kyoko and I are in the same dilemma," I said, staring down at the two girls beneath my hand. Kyoko and a girl with short black hair sat across from each other, eating lunch. Apart from the Hope's Peak uniform, I didn't recognize the black-haired girl. Putting my pencil back to paper, another girl appeared; she was shorter with pink hair and wore a hoodie under her brown blazer. She was focused on playing a video game while talking with two familiar boys. "Wait," I muttered, dramatically flipping the pages back. "He was a Hope's Peak student!" I blurted, bolting from my chair. I held the book out, flipping between the two drawings for Byakuya to see.

"Let me see that," he took the sketchbook and examined each drawing. "Who is this?" Byakuya pointed to the black-haired girl.

"I have no idea. We could ask Kirigiri, but chances are slim that she'd remember". If the two were anything alike, then a secret was hiding under the black military gloves. Military, the word reiterated through my mind. The girl was wearing military gloves and combat boots.

Byakuya shook his head and pressed a finger against his temple. He muttered under his breath as he re-examined the pages. Byakuya's eyes widened, "Did you do this on purpose?" He focused on three drawings; one with us in kimono and two with our classmates in uniform.

"I don't...understand. What am I looking for?" The uniforms differed; one was short-sleeved, and one was long-sleeved. Kimono...long-sleeves...short-sleeves; my eyes widened. The drawings went by season; Winter, Autumn, and Spring. "It wasn't just a few months," my hand hovered over my mouth, "We've lost an entire year".

With the sketchbook clutched to my side, Byakuya and I entered the dining hall. "I wish the others would reassure us," Sakura said.

"Yeah, but Fukawa and Togami only think of themselves," Hina's shoulders sagged a little.

"And I don't know if Karen's really trustworthy with Togami and all," Hiro added.

"I'll keep that in mind," I grimaced. Byakuya parted off, leaving me in the hall to talk while he made coffee. "I know we have an exploration to get to, but first, I want to talk about yesterday". Kyoko's eyes perked up; her full attention was on me. "I haven't...exactly been fully honest".

"What are you talking about?" Makoto asked.

"I didn't know why I was here when we woke up," I blurted. "I'm missing months' worth of memory. The last place I remember being before waking up here was France". I passed the sketchbook to Makoto, "I think these are fragments of memory I've had since waking up in the infirmary". I watched everyone pass the book around; their eyebrows squinted together, eyes narrowed, each trying to place where they might've seen this before.

"I remember you mentioned a name when you woke up," Makoto turned to me. "Nagito. Is he in one of these?"

"The white-haired boy," I pointed at the page that Kyoko was examining. "You asked about what happened in the repository. Here's your answer," Handing the notebook back to me, Kyoko's eyes locked with mine. "Before he died, Hifumi mentioned meeting us before".

"This wouldn't be the first time the possibility was under discussion," Byakuya returned, placing a cup of coffee in front of me.

"That doesn't guarantee the authenticity," Kyoko closed her eyes. "But I'm willing to consider the possibility," she stood up, readying herself to leave. "Are you well enough to explore?" she asked.

"Definitely," I smiled. "No more waiting around. No more killing game, right?" I grabbed Byakuya's hand, eagerly waiting for a reply. He offered a small grin in return, gently squeezing my hand.