Today was a bright, shining new day at Hope's Peak Academy. Which, for students like the ones that attended such a school, really just translated to it being the same old, same old. Nothing particularly eventful was going on, not to Asahina Aoi's knowledge anyway.
One of the good things about this crazy school of theirs, Asahina always had found, was that so long as they showed up and honed their talents more and more, they were able to go around and just do whatever a lot of the time. Some days that meant attending class like normal, sure — she didn't feel like a delinquent or a lazybones like some of her other classmates. Not to the point of never coming.
But today was a day off from classes, and she didn't really feel like honing much of anything. She hadn't been feeling into it for a while for some reason. What had this left her with? With so many exciting options left to the girl on a day with no restrictions and a school at her disposal, Asahina began the exciting task of wandering around aimlessly until something caught her fancy.
Pretty cool, huh?
Well, she was sure she'd find something.
In fact, sure enough, as a result of her wandering around, somehow Asahina had ended up outside of the game room. She realized that she could've gone to eat, but rather than wanting to splurge or even swim, she found that had this... yeah, it was like she had this desire to find her classmates. She'd wanted to come here and play in particular. Everybody had days like that once in a while, didn't they? Boys loved video games, maybe she was having a moment like that.
She didn't feel lonely exactly, but it was like- Like when she would go to a swim meet and nobody showed up!
It'd be fun to swim, but on a day when she planned to swim with a bunch of people, it was lonely... right...?
... She wasn't sure if she was making sense... For some reason, she felt a little disconnected from the sport she loved so much. Like it hadn't been on her mind as much lately.
Maybe she really was lonely. That was unlike her, wasn't it? All she needed was the water and she would be fine!
At least... That was how it was supposed to be. Instead of that, she had found herself drawn to the game room. And why else would she come here if not to find someone to hang out with to play?
If that was the case, then some hanging out would be just the thing she needed to recharge before she got back in the water!
Approaching the door to the game room, Asahina could make out some familiar figures already inside. From what she could see from the outside... It looked like Yamada and Celeste were already in there doing something or other. Could it have been... a date... maybe...?! In a creepy kind of way, that was almost cute.
"Refill my tea."
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
"Are you going to really do it that slowly? It will cool before I can enjoy it."
"I-I'm sorry, ma'am!"
Ohhhh boy... Definitely had to keep the "almost" though...
Deciding it was time to make her presence known, Asahina gently rapped on the door before pushing it open. Yamada jumped nearly three feet in the air, letting out a squeal before retreating to the corner. Celeste... Asahina couldn't get a read on what the gambler's reaction was, actually. They were classmates, at least, and they got along well enough, but maybe that didn't call for her being okay with Asahina interrupting... whatever this was...
Time to user her special skill: When you want to swim during a cold winter, you have to break the ice!
"Hey, Celeste, can I play?"
From the looks of things, it didn't seem like the room's occupants would have ever expected such a question from Asahina. After all, Celeste was sitting there playing chess! Asahina knew she a game like that would have never gone along with a girl like her, but that was before Kyouko had taught her how to play! Maaaaan, when had they started doing that again, it had been so long ago that...
Huh, when had they started doing that? Oh, whatever.
Celeste and her rotund companion simply exchanged looks.
"Wh..." That was the best response she was going to get here...? Really? Oh for the love of... Celeste didn't have to look so mortified by the idea, did she?
Asahina was genuinely a little hurt.
"Fine, forget it! I'll go find something else to do!" Shaking her head, Asahina turned to go. Maybe she really had interrupted some kind of "alone time" between the two of them? If that was the case... That was kind of fun, but it didn't help her situation any! "Sheeeeesh..."
Just as her hand touched the door, however, a voice spoke up from behind.
"My... I don't remember refusing." There was the cool, calm Celeste that Asahina remembered. Not that it could have been that long since she had last seen her classmate though. "I... Yes, I was simply surprised you had any interest. Isn't that right?"
Asahina blinked. That was a weird thing to ask Yamada, wasn't it? Never the less, she was giving him a look that made her.
"Would you mind going to find something to do? I want to be able to concentrate without being distracted by your stench." The gothic-lolita dressed girl waved her hand dismissively, which earned her a squeal and a boy dashing away, eager to serve.
Harsh... Asahina couldn't help but offer her silent sympathy as the boy left the two alone. She'd be rooting for them! Somehow!
"Anyway..." For now, however, Asahina knew the person she needed to root for was herself more than anyone else. "Are you ready for this?"
"I'm always ready." Ooooh, with Celeste being curt like that, now Asahina was getting into this!
Of course, she knew that when all was said and done, she didn't really stand a chance against the world's most renowned high school gambler, but she just wanted to have fun with a friend anyway, so that was just fine with...
...
No, if she moved her knight that way...
...
... Aha, Celeste, don't go there, you're making the move Kyouko always does... But your board isn't nearly as prepared for it!
...
... Hold up, Asahina realized, did she still have her queen...?!
...
In that case...!
...
"Hehe, wow! I can't believe it! I totally won!"
"Ah... Yes. So you did..."
... so it turned out, she had managed to win after all.
Asahina wasn't entirely sure how — there was no way Celeste would have gone easy on her after all — but the results were what they were. Her victory was undeniable. Watching the other girl look at the game board gave her a really weird impression, though... It didn't quite sit right with her.
"Sheesh, Celeste, you don't have to sound so sad about it..." It wasn't that big a deal. Placing a hand on her hip, Asahina offered a hand out to her classmate. It was a way of showing she wanted to make peace. This childish side of her friend was kind of cute, she supposed. "How about it? I can keep this between you and me so your title doesn't go unchanged?"
"My title...?" Pulled out of her thoughts — awww, the poor thing must've really been out of it, worrying about her career and all — Celeste blinked her long lashes at Asahina a few times. She seemed completely mystified by the idea — had no one ever offered her that kind of thing before? "Oh... Oh! Yes, that would be splendid. I'll be sure to avenge it soon enough anyway."
"Ah... Ahaha, I know..." Asahina scratched the back of her head, a smile finding its way onto her face despite how she'd just essentially relinquished victory. Not that that was really a big deal. "Naegi's luck must have rubbed off on me..."
Hmm... Naegi...? Now that she thought of it... Why hadn't she seen him today...
"Plotting for our rematch already?" Ah, right, maybe Celeste had seen him... No, she wouldn't be the one to ask. She could ask someone else — or meet him on the way.
"O-Oh, no no, I was just wondering something." Asahina simply gave a thumbs up along with another bright, cheery smile. Even if it was a secret between them, hey, she had had a good game with her friend and even kind of won! Why not celebrate a little? "I'm gonna go get some food. Wanna come? I feel like I haven't had any decent donuts in ages!"
"No, I suppose you wouldn't have."
Something about that answer bothered Asahina. Her friend's tone, perhaps?
"Eh?"
"My, don't you know? A hard earned victory brings out the glutton in all of us. I'm just hungry for revenge..." She sounded kind of distant. Like she was somewhere Asahina wasn't. It was almost worrying. "Go on without me, I'll come by for some fresh tea later. Tell that dog of mine to wait for me there if you run into him, would you? I need to contemplate my moves for a while."
"O-Oh..." Asahina felt small. She nodded, unsure of what to make of it. "'Kay."
Shrugging, dismissing these thoughts, Asahina turned to go.
As she reached for the doorknob, she paused. Something had been bugging her, and she just... couldn't let this one lie.
"... Hey, this is a weird question, but were you always this... well..." It wouldn't be rude, would it? "Um... Short...?"
Celeste smiled at her.
"My goodness, how rude." She giggled elegantly. Celeste didn't seem like she was offended, at any rate. "You must have been terrified of me if I look smaller now that you've conquered me in battle... I'll have to change that much sooner than I was planning."
"Ohhhh, that must be it." Nodding to herself — she'd seen that sort of thing at swim meets plenty of times — Asahina gave her classmate a friendly wave.
The door slammed just in time to silence the sounds of guilty tears.
She had almost made it to the cafeteria, still no Naegi in sight, when she had spotted someone else that made her change her plans completely. As if the sight of this person filled her up with enough energy to not even need food, Asahina began waving frantically as she dashed on over to the person in question. She couldn't stop herself from being excited about it. It was like she was in school again — well, no, she was in school!
"A-Asahina-san?! Why are you-"
"Hi!"
Clasping the idol's hands in delight, Asahina decided she would continue where she left off from Celeste and keep hanging out with her other friends for now. Food could wait a little while — the sight of Maizono Sayaka had, for some reason, taken away the hunger just like Celeste and Yamada had stopped her from noticing it to begin with. Now she just wanted to see this person. It felt like they had so much catching up to do!
But that couldn't be, could it?
"I'm so happy I caught you!" Looping one of her arms with one of Sayaka's, oblivious to the girl's state of mind, Asahina started walking off towards... she supposed the dorms were this way? Come to think of it, it had been a while... hadn't it? Well, the dorms were most sound proof, so that'd work for some girl talk or something, if nothing else! "Wanna do some karaoke or something? Or we could just hang out and get some donuts later, you know? It's been a while since we've chatted it up!"
"O-Oh, yes, it has been!" If she thought so too, with a response like that, Asahina found it hard to think the girl really meant it.
But that was okay. That left it up to her to make it happen!
"So come on, let's get to it!"
Arm in arm with her classmate, the walk to her room was quick enough. Maizono was quick enough on her feet, but Asahina couldn't help but feel like the idol was slower than she remembered her having been. With that arduous task out of the way, Asahina settled them onto the bed and just kind of... grinned at the other girl. It was probably a stupid look, but then, she'd been told she had that kind of look before. She didn't mind it.
It felt like it had been a super long time since she'd done something like this. Kinda stupid, huh? She'd done it just recently with... Kyouko, maybe? Y-Yeah, that was it.
"A-Asahina-san, what is it you wanted to talk about with me?" Eyes darting around like a nervous animal, Maizono seemed like she was almost... scared. That wasn't good. This was supposed to be girl time, ya know? No time for that kind of attitude! "I-If it's about the tr-"
"Now now, don't be like that!" Slapping her hands down onto the girl's shoulders, Asahina shook her head. "I don't know what's got you acting so weird, but I just wanted to hang out. Is that so wrong? I feel like... It's weird, but I feel like we never really get to do it, and I want to take this chance. Is that such a bad thing? I mean..."
She thought for a moment.
A picture floated into her mind. The mental image of close friends.
"I think it'd be good if I did. Why?" Asahina raised her eyebrows. The way Maizono was acting... It really was strange! Wasn't it? "Did you have somewhere else to be? Or... Oh, don't tell me, you were looking for Naegi too? Maybe I can't find him because he's looking for you... I oughta tell someone about that, it sounds like a great movie..."
Maizono stared at Asahina, transfixed. Had she really thought there had been some kind of ulterior motive here?
She sounded like she really...
"Do you mean that?" Looking far too serious for what this conversation, as far as Asahina was concerned, warranted her to be, Maizono scooted closer across the bed. Do you really, truly mean all of that, Asahina-san?"
The swimming fanatic tilted her head. Had she done anything to make this girl doubt her this much? She was starting to feel bad now... Could it be that her friend thought she was after Naegi too?!
Oh!
Oh oh oh oh oh!
Of course! That explained it all!
W-Well... It wasn't that she disliked Naegi or anything... Really, if anything, maybe she did... No, she was pretty sure she didn't, and besides, didn't Kyouko...? And more to the point, it was so obvious that Maizono here... But wait, why would Maizono not... When Kyouko... Huh? Huh? Huh?
"Of course I do." Shaking away the weird thoughts, Asahina gave her classmate a gentle, reaffirming smile. It wouldn't get her anywhere to say otherwise, now would it? It was the truth after all. "What else could I mean?"
The idol seemed to be contemplating this answer.
After a few moments, she sighed, as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Whatever had been holding her back, it looked to Asahina like it had been something really heavy. She was glad she had been able to help, however she had.
"... Hey, Asahina-san..." Her voice quiet, Maizono looked to her. She was timid, but not quite in the same way she had been earlier. It was more open than earlier. Good! Now they could finally hang out! "Do you think... Do you think Naegi-kun... Do you think Naegi-kun forg-"
Hearing what the idol before her was getting ready to ask, despite the seriousness of which it was clearly being asked, Asahina burst into laughter. She couldn't help herself! It was just... It was funny, wasn't it?
The poor girl in front of her seemed stunned.
"Okay, hold on now..." Asahina shook her head. She had to get the visual out of her mind. She could see it happening at one point, but not anymore — not these days. Smiling affectionately at the girl — it was adorable, you know? she was kinda feeling like a big sister all of a sudden — she nodded firmly. "I know he's kind of a flake, but there's no way he forgot to come to class today! He's just off somewhere... being himself. Maybe he's arguing with Togami about something. You know how they get."
She pursed her lips.
"S-So..." Maizono took a deep breath. What was it about this line of questioning that was so hard for her? It seemed so easy in Asahina's eyes. "You're saying you think he wouldn't have a problem with me if he saw me again?"
"Well... I think you would know that better than I would, but in myyy opinion..." Naegi Makoto's smiling face flashed in her mind. His words, words that resonated so often with her, followed soon after. Asahina gave her friend a confident, unwavering smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Absolutely! There's no way, no matter what, he wouldn't welcome you with a smile! So turn that frown upside do-whoa!"
With no idea as to what had caused it, Asahina spent the next fifteen minutes trying to calm down a hysterical idol, who couldn't seem to stop herself from sobbing into Asahina's chest.
Making girls cry... It was a good thing Naegi had a good reason to not be here right now, else Asahina would...
"... Huh? What am I... Huh?"
If Naegi had a good reason to not be here, why was she looking for him?
"Oh, um... Hi, Eno..."
Weird... Wasn't she friends with Enoshima Junko? Or something like that...
It had happened a little while after she had bid Maizono goodbye — she had said she wanted to clean up. Asahina had bumped into another one of her classmates. For some reason, the moment she bumped into the blonde fashion mistress, the air became really tense. On her end, anyway... Junko seemed to be her same old self, though... She seemed really, really happy to see her for some reason, like... really happy...! So why did she feel like something wasn't right here?
"... Why don't you go play with Mukuro for a little while? I think she's feeling loooooonely."
The way the other girl drew out the last word... it was almost like she was being mocking about it. The tone of voice, too... Something was familiar about it...?
"Are you two fighting?" Asahina wondered why she was asking. Something told her she didn't want to continue this conversation, that she should know the answer, but at the same time, she couldn't have. There was no way.
The blonde girl in the designer clothes simply grinned. It should have been a grin to make boys swoon and girls jealous. Asahina got no such feeling from it. All she could recognize was that there was something off about it.
"You could say that." The ever fashionable girl raised a hand to signify her departure, an eerie giggle in its wake. "See you around~!"
Oddly enough... Those quiet moments she spent with Ikusaba-san after that encounter with Junko felt like the closest she had ever been to the other girl.
How strange.
"Stop! Stoooooop! You can't do that!"
The group of boys huddling around the table exchanged confused looks upon finding Asahina barging into their "manly gathering of manly men" — or whatever it was they were calling it. Were they confused they had been caught, or confused that they couldn't do it?
As if acting in defiance of Asahina's wishes, the person she had pointed at with all her heart and soul began to show their stuff... by proceeding to continue to show their stuff! The audacity! The shamelessness! Was this how it was in high school?! It was, wasn't it?!
The other boys looked back and forth from Asahina to the bold one. They weren't sure where to look.
"I-It's okay! I lost, s-so... I... I'm going to take it off!" There was the declaration of war! She had to prevent this before it was too late! He had his whole life ahead of him!
"OOOOOHHHHHHHH!" And there was the chorus from the crowd of boys approving this act! Peer pressure is wrong, you know?! Stop!
Asahina was at a loss. Her classmates were being unreasonable! All of the boys were ganging up on one just because he was cute... It wasn't right! Kyouko wasn't around to put a stop to this either... then again, Kyouko wouldn't, would she, in fact... No... Never mind that!
"Even if Chihiro-kun is a boy..." Reaching for the student in the hopes of stopping him from doing something he might regret, Asahina looked around at the others — Kuwata, Ishimaru, Owada, and Yamada all looked like they couldn't look her in the eye. "Playing strip poker with him... Aren't you ashamed?!"
"B-But I... I wanted to... Because I'm a man! Just like-"
"That has nothing to do with this! Y-You guys are all still underage!"
Huh? Why did they look so offended because she'd pointed out how old they were?
She was too, dummies! But she wasn't stupid enough to actually play this game, so she obviously didn't count herself.
At that moment, a spark of inspiration came to her. That was it. They weren't expecting her, a fair young maiden, to join the fray, were they?
That was it!
She had to challenge them!
Unlike with Celeste, she was pretty sure she'd be able to put up a much better fight here.
But strangely enough...
...
"I'll be taking that!"
"But that's my..."
...
Just like with how things had gone earlier with Celeste...
...
"T-This is unthinkable... I cannot monitor the halls without my..."
"Well I'm sure someone will monitor you..."
...
Once all the cards — and clothes — had been laid on the table...
"Okay guys, if I don't stop here I think I might end up getting arrested, you know?"
"H-Hey... When did you get so good at this..."
"S-Seriously... This is... Totally..."
"Totally wicked, yeah? I'm cool with this."
"O-Owada-kun! Cover yourself!"
"Hey, I still got my boxers on, chill."
"Asahina-dono! You are avoiding the question!"
Asahina rolled her eyes. She was still completely dressed. The boys, well, not so much.
So how had she gotten so good at it, huh? Well...
"Eh? Ahaha, oh, you know, getting stuck after class with Togami and the others with nothing else to do, I've had plenty of chances to work on my game. I couldn't keep losing with Naegi and Hagakure right there, you know?" Fondly recalling the memories after one project they had had to do for one especially particular teacher, Asahina sighed. "I remember this one time, I told Naegi this, I said 'Just use that luck on Kyouko instead!' and he got so flustered that..."
Huh? Had she said something strange? Why were they looking at her like that?
... Ah! Now she understood!
"Don't get any funny ideas! He was the one who ended up naked, not her, okay?!"
Asahina was exhausted. Those... Those boys! Gosh!
"And what was with that goodbye... Happy to see me? Sorry? They just wanted me to keep playing so they could get me out of my clothes..." Sticking out her tongue, the student turned the last corner towards her destination.
At least now she was going to swim. It hadn't been as bad at first, like it hadn't really occurred to her she even could, but with the pool there and all, she'd really started to ache for a good lap or hundred in the water.
She brightened considerably when the locker rooms came into sight. She'd somehow started to miss those. The pool was just beyond. Hopefully her suit would still fit — well of course it would — and then... Oh, she was just getting all giddy now. It really did feel like it had been a long time since she had gotten in a pool properly. Whatever the reason was, she was about to change that, so without any delay...!
"'Scuse me..." Laughing to herself, already starting to feel a little excited for how much swimming she was about to get down, Asahina slid into the locker room door to take it in before she changed and dove into the water she so loved.
Yup. That was the plan.
"I was waiting for you, Asahina."
That was the plan...
"Oh! Sakura-cha-"
...
"... No..."
She fell to her knees. Collapsed, more like. Had that weight that she had helped relieve Maizono of come back for her all of a sudden?
"No no no no no...! ... No..."
It took just one look at her, one look at Oogami Sakura, for her to understand all of it. All of the inconsistencies, the weird feelings- Just one look and all of it came rushing back to her.
Why Celeste had looked smaller to her eyes.
Why it had felt like it had been years since she'd had a donut.
Why Maizono had been so desperate to hear from her specifically how Naegi felt.
Why thinking about herself like a "big sister" to Maizono had felt like a perfectly natural thing to think.
Why she had been bothered by her underage classmates playing strip poker even though playing it herself didn't phase her at all.
Why she suddenly felt very differently about those sisters...
Why some of her classmates weren't here yet she felt so much closer to them in particular...
But most of all-
Why she had gone to that game room first, before anywhere else, before she had even realized the truth-
As soon as she mentally made the admission to herself, Asahina became aware of herself all at once, like she'd been struck by lightning. Her body, her mind, her thoughts, her memories, her life... All of it. If seeing Sakura had roused her, understanding why she had been drawn to the game room most of all had woken her in all.
"I..."
She had gone there to find Sakura.
"No... Why am I...?"
Had... Had she been wearing a suit this entire time and not even realized...? Or had the suit simply felt so natural on her body, after having to wear it for so long, that it just... didn't even register as different...?
Of course... Everyone had been looking at her... Looking up at her... They never had had to before, not like this...
She had never... been able to look Sakura in the eye before... So why...
She was supposed to look up to Sakura...
Sakura, her best friend, was a beautiful tree that she was blessed to be able to lean under.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Sakura had been cut down before she had truly bloomed so that she could grow and then grow old beyond that.
This wasn't right.
She wasn't-
She wasn't supposed to ever see Sakura at a time when their heights matched-
She didn't deserve to be-
She had no right to look her in the eye-
Asahina's shoulders shook violently. When had she started to cry? Had she been crying all this time and only just become aware of it?
"It's fine, Asahina." A strong, gentle touch, a touch Asahina had missed every day after it had been lost to her, came to rest on her head.
Yet she found nothing now that it was finally here. It did nothing — no, it only made her feel like she had failed all the more.
"It's not... Sakura-chan... Don't... Don't!"
She could barely speak. Her sobs threatened to overtake her.
"This life you protected... This life that you saved... The life... The life you gave me...
"It's fine, Asahine."
No! No it wasn't fine! Don't lie! How could she even say such a thing?!
"I couldn't... I didn't..."
"It's fine, Asahina."
That strong, gentle hand was on her shoulder now.
"I... I'm so... so sor..."
Another hand, just as strong and just as gentle, had found its way to Asahina's back.
"It's fine, Asahina."
The woman could no longer hold herself back. She sobbed openly into into her friend's arms. Faced with such firmness, the compassionate power that only Oogami Sakura had to give the world, anyone and everyone would fall before it. She had never been an exception.
"Sakura-chan... Sakura-chan... Sakura-chan...!"
She had wanted so badly to see her again, but she had paradoxically wanted to wait her whole life for it.
She had failed.
She had wasted her life — she had wasted the last thing Sakura had given her.
"I'm so... so sorry... Sakura-chan!"
She would never forgive herself.
"It's fine, Asahina."
She would... never... ever...
"It's not. I..."
... ever... ever...
"If you ever trusted me, if you ever trust anything I say again, then hear this and trust me, Asahina."
"S-Sakura-chan..."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Asahina. Nothing."
"... But..."
"Do you understand me?"
"... Yes."
"Good. Now come here."
"... 'K-'Kay..."
In the arms of an old friend, Asahina Aoi rejoined Hope's Peak Academy's 78th Class once more.
And at long last, she found peace under the cherry blossoms her heart had sought for so long.
end