Summary: Things were so peaceful and quiet, before she butted in…

Warnings: Rated for a little blood, spoilers for pretty much the whole game, oneshot.

Author's Note: This fic was posted to my Ao3 and Tumblr accounts, along with the rest of my SDR2 fics, some time ago. I am posting this alongside another (non-shipping) fic, just to gauge the activity/size of the SDR2 fandom over here.

Before

"So, Ibuki's in dream–land. Cool!"

Nobody doesn't even dignify that little statement with an answer. He honestly thought he was dead; and in the context of the game, he was. But in the context of the computer, specifically the hardrive, Nobody wasn't dead at all; stored in a dark and dingy save–file, living until the machinery itself died.

And so, he lives now, in the quiet, peaceful solitude of–

"Black void over here, turn, black void over here, turn, black void over here… Nope! Ibuki can't see anything!"

–it used to be quiet, peaceful solitude.

"Wonder if there's any rabbit holes?"

Again, this question does not receive a response. Of course, other people on the island have stumbled on this place in their dreams, but they have always appeared to be dazed, or perhaps sleepwalking. They meander a little way, then they simply disappear; that is the way it has always been–

"Or blue, smoking, caterpillars, Ibuki would like those just as much…"

–well, until Ibuki Midoa showed up last… Tuesday, Nobody reckons by his watch (though that is never right, he still sticks to its measures of time anyway; it is an old habit). Oh, how he wishes she would simply leave; he has never had anyone this awakeenter his domain before, nor anyone this annoying.

"Hey, Mr. Porkfeet!"

How she saw him, Nobody figures he'll never know (he then realizes what must have happened exactly three seconds later) – her big, purple eyes are in his face a moment after the cry has come from her lips, and she's smiling happily at him, which is so pretty as to be distracting to the actor.

"Don't… don't call me that", Nobody grumbles, somehow mustering the courage to snap a little at her, his back going straight as he pretends to be Byakuya Togami for a moment. "Oy, what do you want?"

"Can you tell Ibuki a story?"

Yet another question he isn't going to answer; when is she going to get the message? Still, the ghost with the skewer–hole through his chest makes use of the silence to glare at his unwanted companion; she's a trendy girl, piercings and bangles, some of her hair done up in two horns atop her head, with the rest hanging in gaudy pink and blue highlights down her back. There's no guitar in sight, thankfully, but she has shoved an unplugged microphone in his face for no good reason that Nobody is aware of. She's a strange girl, certainly–

–whose only sign of being recently deceased is the faint bruising around her neck, only visible as she draws nearer.

"You're dead", Nobody says at last, glaring at her, because (a) this means that she will be with him forever, annoying him forever, and (b) she must have been killed somehow, when he specifically said he didn't want anyone to die.

"Yup! Ibuki's been dead for quite a while now, murdered and all. But she didn't find you until – well, just then, really. Different save files or something, that's what Koizumi said, though Ibuki's fairly sure that she's still kind of crazy…"

Nobody stares at her for a long while, wondering how on earth such a gentle, harmless airhead like her could possibly have died – though then again, her being a gentle, harmless airhead was probably the reason. Part of himself – the Togami part, the disguise part – urges him to send her away, but then another part is curious, wondering what story she might have to tell – and then there is the third part, the part that loved her before the island, a part he wasn't even aware of until he found himself in the save file, and his memories–

"Oi! You awake in there?"

Ibuki raps on Nobody's temples, snapping him out of his reverie. The two of them are currently floating in the dark void of cyber–space that the imposter has declared his own; and he decides to act on that right here, right now – after all, intruders on the actor's solitude are not exactly welcome here, and 'Togami' is sure to emphasize that message with folded arms and a puffed out chest. "Of course I am awake. I was merely hoping that you would leave…"

"H–hey! Ibuki just wants to talk to someone!"

The third part of himself prevents the big teen from at all hurting his fellow ghost, but it sure as heck doesn't stop him from beingrude to her. "If you want to talk to someone, go and talk to someone else", he grunts, looking in the opposite direction as he does so; but since there is not exactly much to look at in the void, he finds his gaze drawn back to her. "Go on! Shoo! Find somebody else to annoy!" Once again, Nobody tries to look away, but this time her voice pulls him back, so sweet and so lonely, so alone in the dark – shut up, third–part–of–me!

"Who?"

He sighs, turning back to Ibuki with arms still folded, though his expression is more fed up than stony now. "What do you mean, 'who'?"

"Weeeell… Who am I going to talk to? Hibiki's in space and Hanamura's a pork chop and Saionji can't speak with all those knives through her and Peko is busy stalking Kurzuryuu and Koizumi's head injury did her over something awful…" A deep intake of breath; not really necessary, more of a habit, then she goes on: "So, that leaves you as the last one left." Ghostly fingers trace down his neck as she moves in closer, coming away spattered in blood so very translucent, it appears to be pink. "C'mon. Story. Tell me about before the island and all, you know the bit."

Nobody's not sure whether to be shocked by the long list of dead people, or by the fact that she seems to remember the past as well. It takes him a moment to act, pulling away from her puppy–like stare: "Don't be silly, Ibuki." The imposter calmly pushes her off himself, looking in the opposite direction as he does so; but since there is not exactly much to look at in the void, he finds his gaze drawn back to her. "You remember it as well, so I don't need to–"

"Mmm–hmm, but Ibuki hasn't had time to sort out all the memories yet. Her brain's all wonky – so you'll have to confirm that the order of events is correct, Mr. Porkfeet! ;) 3" To be honest, any number of emoticons could have been plastered onto the end of her words, and yet the imposter wouldn't have been surprised; they're computer–generated beings, after all, doomed to exist forever in this dark and dingy save file. He gazes listlessly at Ibuki for a moment; Ibuki the oh–so–cheerful, floating cross–legged in the air as she waits for her story like a plaintive child…

"C'mon, Togami!", she grins, pink tongue darting out and around her lips, hungry for his words. "Or, trust me – I know a song that is so very annoying, it'll be in your head all day and all night too!"

"I'm not Togami", Nobody mutters quietly under his breath, sounding for a moment more like a whiny kid than the magnificent heir he is supposed to embody – but he still begins the story, perhaps because he happens to be kinder than the real Togami, or perhaps because that third part of himself honestly loves the girl (ah,don't think about that!).

"This was all before the island, you understand…"

yes, before the island

andbefore the program, before the knife and the skewer, before Monobear and the murders and all the rest of it – though it was also perhaps one year into the two years of training, the learning, learning to worship her. They had all acted rather differently, taken by despair as they all were, and–

("Ooh, what did I look like?"

He sighs, grumbles, wonders if she already knows –from the tell–tale twinkle in her eye, she does know, and is enjoying this, this sentiment then supported by the realization that the ghost has decided to drape herself across him, like some sort of bizarre rug. She must be trying to make some sort of point, but what could it be, what could it b– oh, shut up, third mind!

"Well, you looked…")

–they had all looked different, too. Take Ibuki, for instance, with her glasses, her red contact lenses, her pigtails, often seen with blood dripping from the tips of the scissors she carried; a far cry from the preppy pop–star that had arrived at the island that first day. Oddly enough, some part of her mannerisms still remained; she pranced down the corridors, chattering happily with a Koizumi bloodied from previous conflicts, as the latter snapped pictures of some dismembered corpse or other to give to the research–obsessed Tsumiki. During the day, the music student tried to compose with the screams and pleas of her victims, and the photographer searched for the perfect short. At night, Ibuki would get into arguments with Tsumiki over what exactly a heart was, until the latter was compelled to rip a couple out to prove her point, usually out of bodies still breathing, Koizumi eagerly filming this just in case it turned out to be the perfect shot; and so, the girls were occupied all the time, never bored.

("Hey, Ibuki wasn't that bad. Not as bad as the others."

"If you remember that much and are going to correct me, then I shouldn't be telling the sto–"

"Nonononononono! Keep going!" A crafty smile. "Ibuki's sure you'll get it in the end, 'mmm? And she searched for you in here for three days straight – so you had better get it, Mr. Porkfeet!"

"Get what?"

"Ooh, you'll have to wait and see! It's a surprise!")

Perhaps it was because of that, then, that these three were arguably the better–behaved ones of the fifteen brainwashed kids, too; the somewhat less murderous, somewhat less threatening ones. You could have done much, much worse – Saionji, for instance, had been in her element back then, dressed up in elegant European frills as the girl danced a dance of blood for Sonia, who had laughed and commanded in equal parts, bedecked in her executed parents' trappings. And then there was worse again, because such cruelty was admired and even revered by all fifteen of them –Owari and Nidai always competing to see who could draw the most blood, Peko occasionally taking the initiative and merely blaming the still–laughing Kuzuryuu for whatever gory task she had just accomplished, Hanamura always serving up some new stew of assorted body parts procured from the day's 'work', Komaeda and Hinata (he'd looked very different then, but Nobody insisted on thinking of him as Hinata) locked in a perpetual argument over how human flesh should be served. Even the cowardly Souda and the holier–than–thou Tanaka had bowed to despair in the end – although the former mostly worked on bizarre machines that managed to kill in increasingly creative ways (it started with electrocution, then moved to baseballs and falling fire engines) – and the latter tended to kill more for his animals than for himself (or so he claimed).

("What about you, though?"

He harrumphs and turns away again; this is undoubtedly one part of the story he doesn't like telling. "What of me?"

"C'mon. Tell Ibuki what you were like back then too, hmm?")

As for Nobody…

…well, his special talent was being someone other than himself, and so he had stayed true to it, taking Nobody as his name in the very depths of his despair – or at least, that was what Nobody had told his parents when he'd offered them up to her, his glorious leader, and had watched them die at the claws of Souda's mechanical marvels. He wasn't their son, wasn't anyone– in a heartbeat, (or perhaps in a wig), he was Komaeda (the smarmy brat, obsessed with hope in the depths of his despair), and in another moment he was Tanaka (so long as he hid the fact that he owned no hamsters, all was well), or maybe – yes, he was Togami Byakuya, one of her greatest enemies! Nobody had found that one, ironically enough, right as his darling family had drawn their last breaths; and it was undoubtedly one of his favourites. Not only was it a perfect disguise to fool those ridiculous Future Foundation people, it also served as a beautiful insult to the Byakuya name, and, in Nobody's head, happened to be a miniature rebellionagainsther – and so, from that day onwards, Nobody was Togami, when he was not busy utilizing the guise of another.

("B–but there was another reason you liked being Togami so muchos, riiiiiight?" Ibuki leans in again, long fingers caressing his check as she giggles. "C'mon, where's the good bit?"

"Can you honestly not take a decent exposition?",Nobody grumbles; but he does hasten to the 'good bit', as she requests.)

He never really admitted it, of course, but there was another reason for his liking the disguise so much; the truth of it all was that Ibuki actually liked this particular form of his, this mocking imitation – and he was in absolute heaven when she liked it. The musician liked the way it defaced the memory of that student who had stood up toher, sheliked the way 'Togami' was so bold and strong and yet so stupid, when she knew the actor to be quite intelligent in his own right. She liked how the imitation hid things from her, things she could put into song lyrics, little things that he would bring out when she teased him with her scissors; things about bleeding hearts and bleeding nouns, things she was all too happy to set a melody to.

And better still when she played him the 'music of death itself', as she so much liked to call it, she liked Nobody, and would speak to no–one else; for he couldalways reply to her performances with a thousand voices, a thousand hands raised in salute, a thousand helpful bits of advice… and a thousand different kissing styles, obviously. He could make up a little drama for her, right there on the bloody plank she called a stage – every week, Togami would be backed into a corner by some invisible crowd booing him, and someone new would be reduced to tears at the beauty of her work, even though the beauty itself had been torn from the beautiful thing that was Nobody. Still, she did have favourites, and her favourite character of the imposter's was Togami – he could tell, because she called him that always, despite his wincing, and always said it right before she kissed him, deeply, passionately, driving him back against the wall ("Togami, Togami") –

(– he stops, muttering under his breath; stupid third part, stupid third part!

"Mmm–hmm. Are you getting a little message now…?" She snaps her fingers in front of his nose. "Dingalingaling! You've got mail!"

"But Ibuki, I–"

"Uh–uh." One ghostly finger goes to his lips before Nobody can protest, try to tell her that he's a different person now, and so is she. "Keep telling the story for Ibuki, yes? We can talk it over afterwards."

He winces, but still goes on anyway.)

–and he loved her, loved the way she loved his lies and believed in his deceptions, loved the way she referred to herself as 'Ibuki' as though afraid of losing her own identity, loved her eyes, her bracelets – everything, really. He wanted to make her happy, because he loved her, and so Nobodypretended that he was a crowd, or that Togami was a judge, a judge who seized others and brought them before the accusing finger of Ibuki Midoa. He played with her, there in the dark corridors and flickering lights of Hope's Peak, and they played like children; though instead of worms, they hunted humans, and instead of merely removing the heads, they did far worse (or rather, Ibuki did, whilst Nobody pretended that he was the mighty landlord Togami Byakuya, who was far above such things – so he merely watched and laughed at it all). These were romantic, fun–filled days –even if they were dates of despair, and filled with torture, the two of them somehow managed to make it fun. It was probably the brainwashing talking, but Nobody felt alive back then, the atmosphere was electric – there was Ibuki's childish laughter bouncing off the walls, mixed with Togami's more mature cackles, and it was all good, because he loved her, and she loved him.

(Which explains the third part of Nobody rather well, in all honesty; he stops again and shakes his head in disbelief, but once again the musician takes the initiative, leaping into action before any form of argument can begin: "Soooo, all that aside – why do you think you were Togami when you came in, even though you'd lost your memory and all that? Ibuki will give you… hmm, one, two, three guesses."

There is a long silence at this, broken only by the girl's childish giggles; and just for a moment, Nobody lets his expression soften, watching her thoughtfully. "I see what you're getting at…You're right, actually."

"Heh! Never did Ibuki think that you'd be one to admi–"

"–don't worry, I didn't. I only said that you were right."

"Which means that if Ibuki was right, you were wro–"

"I had not formed my own opinion", Nobody evades; bringing in a little Togami now, watching the girl try to hide her growing smile at the sight of her beloved act.

"Aaaaanyway, here is the answer to the question: Because Ibuki was the one you liked the mostest–"

"–I remembered your favourite act of all things", he finishes. It's true, as well – out of all the acts Nobody could have chosen, his subconscious had undoubtedly picked that one when he was standing on the island, wondering what to do with himself.

"Yep!" , she grins; a sly, mischievous showing of her perfect teeth. "Hey, I just thought – 'Subconscious Love'! Ibuki could make some really cool lyrics with that! She should totally thank you for this!" Her eyes narrow a little; as she leans into him – he doesn't resist in the least, looking almost bemused as their lips meet.)

A year later, when she went into the program with the rest, she was Ibuki.

But a year later, when he went into the program with the rest, he was…

"Ibuki, what do you want me to be for you?"

"Silly, you'll forget all about it." A half–hearted grin, barely visible through the mess of wires attached to the girl's body; both of them are lying on stretchers adjacent to each other, the final two to be sent into the virtual reality that will somehow help them. "Heh – Ibuki's gonna forget too, and Souda and Tanaka and Sonia and Saionji and Kuzuryuu and Peko and Hanamura and Nidai and Owari and Komaeda and Hinata as well, just like the docs told us…"

"I won't", Nobody mutters to himself. "If she'd just give me a name…"

"Togami." And then, when the young man starts in surprise (and his handlers hold their tranquilizer rifles a little tighter): "What? Ibuki's got great hearing, remember?"

And then they flipped the switch, and Nobody kind of forgot all about it –

– because he wasn't Nobody, he was Togami now, here on his first day at Hope's Peak, standing with a bunch of strangers in a classroom, glaring at this one girl with her hair all done up in horns (what a silly twit), and wondering if he had somehow missed the whole 'getting to Hope's Peak' bit of things.

"So, I guess I'm back to being Nobody now", Nobody muses, as soon as Ibuki has finished kissing/suffocating him (whichever it is).

"Well, no", she giggles, giving him as tight a hug as she can manage, and doing admirably, considering Togami's girth. "Ibuki's not killing anyone, and you're not laughing. So… guess you're a Somebody now."

"A Somebody?" He snorts. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can change, can't ya? Go on, try being a Somebody!"

The idea is so typical of the girl in how utterly ludicrous it is; but then again, Ibuki did kiss Nobody, she did try something that no–one else had ever tried with him, and so he feels somewhat obliged to return the effort."Hello, I'm Somebody", he greets her, with his best attempt at a dreamboat smile. "I can be whoever you like, hmm?"

And for a moment, Ibuki actually seems to take him seriously, considering his words with a delicate finger on her chin – before she breaks out into a goofy grin that has the other teenager faltering in his own act. "Ibuki reckons that you were doing it right before you tried to do it right. Natural talent, hmm?"

"Well, yes…" And for the first time in ages, Nobo– Somebody feels his body relax a little at her smile. "Yes, I suppose it is a talent."

END