#askshslfukawa

"…I s-suppose so…B-But the only person I appreciate is my white knight."

"W-What, are you trying to make f-fun of me now?!"

"N-no! Not at all! I just value your friendship is all! Honest! I wouldn’t ever step in the way of you and Togami!"

"In fact I think you’re actually helping him open up more…"

"N-No way! He’s n-not opening up at all…"

Fukawa yanked at her hair anxiously, “Why’re you s-saying these things? Are you t-t-teasing me?!”

"What are you talking about…? Give me one good reason why I should be teasing you or anything of the sort."

"P-Pretending to be nice! You’re p-p-pretending to be nice so you c-can tease me later!"

"Oh Fukawa…what are we gonna do with you?" Naegi asked rhetorically.

"We do nothing, leave her be." Togami answered, albeit unexpectedly. "What good is a girl who can’t accept or show any gratitude every now and again?"

"T-Togamiiii—-" Her face lit up for a mere second, then returned to its usual gloomy state.

"I-I do too—- B-But, he was g-going to make fun of me!" She sputtered anxiously, looking up at Togami with big, sad eyes.

"And even if he was? Would you really just stand there and take that from such a gutless frail excuse of a man like him? If you do then you’re worse off than I thought…"

"Nice to see you too, Togami…" came the following deadpan greeting with shoulders drooped.

"I-I wasn’t!" Fukawa whined, "I-I wasn’t…" Her voice trailed off.

"Oh really? Then show some backbone." Togami demanded with curtness in his voice.

"Hey Togami…you wanna lay off her a little bit?" Naegi asked, timidity ever present in his voice.

"And who are you to decide what I can and can’t say?”

Fukawa shrunk back from both of them, looking entirely miserable. She opened her mouth to say something, then simply shut it without a word.

"F-Fukawa…" Naegi, ever the hopeful one reached a hand out to her, not knowing what to say.

"Are we done here? I’ve got business to attend to, and do try not to trail too far behind little Naegi. You’ve got more than your fair share of work to do." Togami answered, turning his back on the two and beginning to walk away.

The author whimpered and seemed to almost collapse in herself, looking as though she might cry at a moment’s notice. She stared at Togami with longing eyes, though she knew that he would never look at her in the same way.

"You stop right there." The seemingly unthinkable happened, in the blink of an eye.

The beacon of hope had seen and heard enough abuse and decided to take matters into his own hands. Spinning Togami around and grabbing his shirt with a grip that defied the strength someone his stature should be able to exert, he yelled at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? All she wants is for you to acknowledge her and you do nothing but neglect her. She’s been through that nightmare and survived with us, helping you every step of the way! Doesn’t that mean anything!?”

For the briefest of moments, Togami had genuine shock expressed on his face and as soon as it came it went, leaving behind an emotionless glare. “You’d best unhand me this instant, you plebeian. Or I will make what remains of your life worse than the experience we had at Kibougamine.”

Fukawa’s eyes were the size of dinner plates, magnified behind the thick lenses of her glasses. Naegi was standing up for her? This was a first— Actually, anyone standing up for her at all was a first.

Togami’s reaction frightened her, though. She winced and took a few steps back out of instinct, as though he might lash out at Naegi or herself. “I-It’s fine,” she whispered delicately, “T-There’s no need to get upset…!”

"NO! It’s not okay!" Naegi cried out in protest. "There’s no reason to act like a complete ass to those who only want to help you!" He shook the heir violently so much that his glasses slid off the bridge of his nose and onto the ground near his feet, thankfully without shattering the lenses.

"Isn’t that why we made this foundation Togami!? To get help and make the world a better place!?” 

"Let me make myself clear, you naive fool. I’m only restoring stability to the world in order to build my corporation back up from ruin. Nothing more and nothing less. Everyone who "assists" me are only means to an end. You and that spineless girl over there are no exception.”

"…I’ve got nothing more to say to you right now. I know what I have to do and I’ll get it done…see you later, Togami." Letting go of the taller male’s shirt, Naegi turned around and walked past Fukawa, waving at her before continuing on his way and throwing his hood over head while a visibly unshaken Togami retrieved his glasses while muttering under his breath.

"Hmph…being led by emotions will get you nowhere in life but failure." 

Fukawa trembled visibly, unsure of what to do in the situation.

She looked at Togami, then Naegi as he retreated. Back at Togami. At Naegi again. Togami. Naegi. Crap. Now what?

Touko’s bottom lip began to quiver and she whimpered softly.

"Fukawa…would you like to accompany me for a while?" Naegi asked,  throwing his hood down just enough for her to see his face and offering his hand to her.

"O-Oh…alright…" She gulped and took his hand, hurrying after him. She glanced back at Togami, but he wasn’t even paying attention to what she was doing.

Once they were far enough away from the seemingly heartless scion, he stopped and turned to the writer and pulled the rest of his hood down to address her. “I hope I don’t sound rude for asking but…what do you see in a guy like Togami?”

Fukawa’s chest puffed up angrily at the question and she gave him a nasty glare. “H-He can be nice when h-h-he wants to be…! He’s a good leader, too.”

"He has credentials but honestly…he only gives you the time of day when he needs something from you…you can’t really be happy spending your life in love with someone who doesn’t love you back….right?"

"H-He’ll love me someday," Touko stubbornly stuck out her bottom lip in an angry pout.

With a sigh, Naegi shook his head and couldn’t up but give her a smile. “Well you keep on staying hopeful then…” It was only then he realized that he was still holding her hand, to which he immediately let go with the faintest of the pinks tinting his cheeks.

"S-sorry about all that…"

Fukawa snatched her hand to her body, giving him a harsh stare. She gave a little snarl and tugged on her braids.

Scratching his cheek awkwardly and pairing it with a nervous chuckle, he checked his watch and went wide-eyed at seeing how much time had passed. “That late already huh? I guess I should get going…if I don’t have those papers on Togami’s desk soon I’ll never hear the end of it.” There was truth to that, he did have to sign off on some documents but it was also convenient for him to make his leave, lest things become anymore awkward.

"Take care of yourself okay Fukawa?"

"Y-Yeah, you too," She muttered, then looked him in the eyes somewhat nervously, "D-Don’t let him p-push you around too much."

"R-right…I’ve gotta man up if we’re gonna succeed and bring the world back to it’s rightful place!" Nodding to further convince himself what he already knew, he bid farewell to the writer with another smile and wave.