To Fall into Shadow:
A/N: Italics are non-spoken words. Single quotes are Makoto's thoughts.
Chapter 1: Entrance:
*Start recording*
Send for the postmaster, Jin. We must get the letters to next year's group of prospects as soon as possible.
Are you certain? Have you decided about the...problematic one?
I have.
And?
We invite him.
Are you sure this is the correct move? Look at what he has done already! What if he endangers the remainder of the students?
What he has done already is precisely why I say to invite him. If his mind is nurtured, allowed to grow, who knows how great a force he could be for hope?
What you say is correct. However...I worry...
You have always worried, Jin. You have been worrying since the beginning of this enterprise. Perhaps it is time for us to begin taking risks.
But what of my daughter? Is she also to be sacrificed if things go wrong?
Kyouko? If it is necessary, then yes. None of us are important enough to warrant the loss of the light of hope.
If...if you think I must, then I shall. God help us all.
If we fail, there won't be a god left who can.
*End Recording*
A child, 14 years of age, sits in the center of a room, the door of which is unlocked but shut. His eyes are closed and one leg is folded over the other. He tilts his head, as if he is listening to something, and smiles slightly. In his hand lies an envelope that has been opened and resealed. Further down the hall in the same house, the child's parents are talking to each other. Their voices are both calm and at a normal volume, and any observer would have had to listen extremely carefully to catch the edge present in their voices.
"I'm sorry, Natsumi, but you must let him go. This could be the most important event in his childhood," says the child's father. His voice is sympathetic, but beneath that sympathy lies exasperation. He has had this argument many times before.
"I cannot. Who knows what kind of criminals might be at that mess of a school?" The child's mother, meanwhile, has a tone which blends fear for her son and concern. She does not understand why her husband is having such difficulty with this concept.
"Now, Natsumi, that just isn't fair. Hope's Peak Academy is one of the most illustrious schools on the main peninsula. They only accept the best of the best."
"Well, Hizashi, you've got that right. The Super High School Level Gambler is certainly the best in her field." The concern and fear in Natsumi's voice is now tempered with a bit of dry humor.
"One example does not define an entire class of students, Natsumi."
"Then how about some more? The mercenary? The otaku? There's even rumored to be a SDHS Greeter, for God's sake."
The argument continues for some time in this vein. After a few minutes of listening to this, the child straightens and stands, before tilting his head in thought.
'Is it yet time to give my opinion? Based on what I'm hearing, it's unlikely that waiting will help matters, and it is only a matter of time before they both become too set in their opinions to reach agreement. So be it, then.'
He straightens again, opening the door, and walks to the room where his parents are arguing. As he opens the door, both of them turn to him.
"May I, perhaps, interject? This does directly involve me, after all."
Both parents look at each other uncertainly, and the father nods.
"Sure, Makoto. We would be glad to hear your opinion."
"Thank you. Mother, I realize that you worry, and from your point of view, that worry may seem correct. However, remember: the school has been graduating classes for almost 75 years, and most every class has contained unsavory characters similar to or worse than those you have mentioned. However, the educations of the students never suffered for it. What makes you think this year is different?"
Natsumi looks uncertain, taking a few seconds to respond.
"75 years is not long enough to guarantee that education will not suffer. There could very well be larger problems this year."
"I was invited to this school for my skill with rationalism. Perhaps you should give as much trust to that skill as they do."
Natsumi winces, and Makoto seems uncertain, briefly thinking to himself about his next moves.
'That may have been a little bit too harsh. Time to provide a seeming compromise.'
"Mother, how about this: I will write to you once a week, attempting to mention anything which could be interpreted negatively. If you feel there exists a problem, then talk to the school about it, and use the letter as evidence. If the school refuses and the problem is actually serious, I will agree to leave at least briefly. Is this satisfactory?"
Natsumi closes her eyes briefly and nods. Hizashi merely stands there, surprised.
"And it seems I need say no more on this subject. Anyway, I have finished packing. Father, when will we be leaving?"
"In about half an hour."
Makoto nods and returns to his room. A few minutes later, he returns with his bags, and the family sets off.
*Scene Break*
Makoto stands before the imposing doors of Hope's Peak academy as his family drives away, their car moving almost silently on the asphalt. He would have preferred them to be able to help him unpack, but the acceptance letter did specify that students were to be without family from the moment they entered, barring students who had relatives in the faculty.
The time is now 7:15 am, approximately 45 minutes before orientation. Makoto raises his hand to the gates, and knocks once, sharply. He waits a few seconds, examining his surroundings, before the gates swing open, silently. As he walks through, he catches the faint liquidy noise of hydraulics, presumably the motors beneath the gate. About 100 feet further, down a wide path through a few gardens, he comes to an ornate door, decorated with curlicues surrounding a large phrase: "When the spark of talented minds is brought to the kindling of an excellent school environment, they will burn with a brilliant flame of hope." As Makoto walks towards those doors, they swing open before him, and the piece of the door with the word hope stays hanging in the air.
'Now, this is interesting... So, there are a few possible hypotheses as to how it floats: air pressure's out, as I would feel something. As for alternative possibilities, a string and magnetism are the first to come to mind. Now to test them..."
Makoto reaches into his pocket, and pulls out two objects: a coin and a pencil. He moves the pencil under the floating word before releasing it, and it clatters to the floor. He does the same thing with the coin, and it flies upward, snapping into place on the word.
'Well, it is most likely magnetism, then. The coin floating falsifies it being a string, and the pencil not floating falsifies some method of general levitation.'
Makoto steps forward, a small grin forming on his face, and pulls the coin off of the word, grunting a little with the exertion. As he does so, another child runs forward from around a corner. This newcomer looks to be about 16, and is wearing an expensive suit with the lapel pin of Hope's Peak. As he gets close to Makoto, his pace slows to a sedate walk, and he begins speaking.
"My name is Sota. Hideki Sota, to be precise. And I am here to welcome you to Hope's Peak."
Makoto's eyes narrow slightly. Sota's voice, while not outwardly seeming overly unctuous or fake, has a brittle quality to it. It feels like it could shatter at any moment to reveal something deeper.
"So, Sota, have I passed the secondary entrance exam?"
Sota's eyes widen.
"You figured out what that was? Well done. I shall have to report this as well to the administration."
"Then, perhaps, tell them they should cover the metal hidden inside the door a little bit better. I caught sight of it and it directed my testing to places which might have otherwise taken a little longer to reach."
Sota nods with a twinkle in his eye.
"I shall be sure to let them know. Might I have your name and talent?"
"Certainly. My name is Makoto Naegi, and I am the SDHS Rationalist. Might I have your talent, Sota?"
"Mine? I am the Greeter. 76th class."
Naegi's eyes widen, and Sota chuckles.
"I must confess, that is...not what I was expecting."
"Why, nobody expects it. That is one of the reasons I'm so effective. Surely someone of your particular set of skills knows not to overgeneralize from a single piece of evidence."
Makoto laughs.
"Touche. Now, since you are the greeter, would you happen to know where I should be going at this time?"
"While there isn't anything scheduled for now, the other early students are congregating in the cafeteria."
Makoto nods.
"My thanks. Until we meet again, I wish you the best in future endeavors."
"And you on yours."
As Makoto walks away, he sees Sota return to his watching post around the corner from the door and manipulate a control panel, shutting the door.
'I must remember that people are not all they seem. While certain talents will leave physical signs, others will be difficult to spot. Here, more than anywhere, I must avoid unreasonable assumptions.'
As Makoto reaches the cafeteria, he hears from inside a clamor of conversation. He opens the door to find about 20 students sitting and chatting in assorted groups.
'Well, no better way to begin this than just to dive right in.'
A/N:Well, here's chapter one of what's likely to be a rather different companion story to LiDD. This is going to be different in almost every stylistic way, so I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you want in terms of update rate and such through review or PM-for now, this will be updating less frequently than LiDD, but hopefully not less than once every 2 weeks.
As for Naegi's parents' names, I did not think they were canon, so I picked my own.
Please review!