Chapter 2: First Names
The lobby, or rather the entrance hall, was rather simple for such a high-end school. In fact, Makoto felt it was quite natural for almost any boarding school to have this sort of vibe. The entrance hall is spacious, no doubt, with a red and white lobby desk smack dab in the middle of the entire area. Behind the furniture was a set of large stairs supposedly to be the way to the classes and other facilities. The pillars supporting the room lined up vertically from both sides, almost like still soldiers awaiting the arrival of an individual which, in this case, is Makoto Naegi. As he gazed around the room entrenched by white-grey walls, he heard someone call his name, "Ah, you must be one of the Ultimate students, yes? May I ask your name?"
Makoto blinked in surprise and turned to see a man who looked like he's in his thirties. He has black hair with a Caesar cut and black rimmed reading glasses. His build is rather lean and fit, though not muscular. He wears a dull red jumper with light brown slacks. His face was of a gentle sort as he smiled warmly at the newcomer. He puts his hands in his pocket and said, "Sorry if I startled you. What's your Ultimate, by the way?"
"O-Oh. Well, it's nothing special. Just Ultimate Luckster," replied Makoto as his body felt rigid. He seemed nervous and quite uncomfortable, seeing as he was forced to speak with a person he had never seen before. He positioned his luggage so that it would not fall as he adjusted his backpack on his back. He asked the stranger shyly, "Um, are you the recipient I'm supposed to look for?"
He nodded. "Yup, that's me all right," he turned his body sideways and gestured the boy to follow him. Makoto obliged. They walked together with the latter behind him until they reached the desk. "Wait here for a moment," suggested the recipient as he went behind the desk and grabbed something from inside one of the drawers. He showed Makoto a dangling object: the key to his room.
"This is the key to your room," Makoto put out his hand as he placed the keys within his grasp. He felt the cold steel of the key being warmed by his body temperature. "Now if you would please follow me. I'll show you where you'll be staying for the rest of your years here in the academy."
"Okay, but, um, may I ask your name? I'm Makoto, by the way," asked Makoto. The man seemed quite surprised but smiled softly at him afterwards.
"Sure thing. My name is Hirato. A pleasure to meet you, Makoto," the two of them formed a handshake as formality. They continued their way to the dorms.
Before they do, though, they were met by an incredulous scream.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" it sounded like a girl's voice, though the nature of the voice must be of fear due to it likened to that of a banshee's wailing. Makoto winced at the force of the volume while Hirato picked his ears off like it was nothing. Makoto looked shocked.
"Wait, that's not normal around here, is it?"
Hirato turned around with a wide-eyed look, "Oh, you mean that? Nah, something must have happened to one of the students. But I think it's fine to leave them be."
Makoto gulped, already considering whether it really was such a good idea to study here in the first place.
They arrived at the dorm's entrance, which was basically two large wooden doors barring their way for entry. Hirato opened the left side of the door to the long hallway. The said hallway is rather exquisite with its dark bronze walls adorned by large paintings hung on the left side. The floor is carpeted red and adds comfort to anyone, regardless of footwear, when they step on it. To Makoto, this seemed too real to be a dorm. In fact, one could even say he could be mistaken to enter a hotel rather than an academy of any sort!
They walked further, passing by the wonderfully carved wooden doors with golden door knobs, and stopped at a certain point in front of one with a door plate with Makoto's name on it. Hirato twisted the door knob and pushed the door away to reveal Makoto's room. He walked into his room with luggage in hand first, courtesy of Hirato's inviting gesture. He dropped his luggage instantly.
The room is enough for Makoto to be allowed space to do whatever he wants. The queen-sized bed is positioned at the center of the wall to his right with a bedside table to boot. There is a study desk made of possibly one of the highest quality of wood there is, painted in light brown, and is placed at the wall opposite to Makoto's bed.
There are two windows: one to the right of the bed and the other to the right of the desk as well. The walls are light grey with a touch of turquoise to give a calming presence in the room. Besides the desk is a large black wardrobe closet, its interior spacious enough to put two weeks' worth of clothes inside it – and then some. The floor is dark blue with white stripes lined vertically from the door.
"Whoa," was all he said as he admired the design of the pieces of furniture. Hirato shook his head amusingly, thinking that every student like him was amazed by the room every time.
"Yup, this is your room, kiddo. Hard to believe it's yours now, huh?"
"Uh-huh….," Makoto continued to be in awe. Hirato leaned on the side of the door, waiting for a few seconds before he said something.
"Well, I gotta go, so here's your keys," Makoto blinked and faced the man who handed out a key in front of him. He hesitantly took the keys from the recipient who then dug his pockets to find one more thing, "Ah, here we go." He presented Makoto a letter. The latter gently held the letter away from the man and took a good look at it. "Open that letter once I'm gone. It's something very important for you, for protocol's sake. Well, good luck living here."
"Yeah, okay. Thank you, Hirato-san!" Makoto gave his farewells as Hirato exited his room. Makoto clasped his hands with excitement, smiling to the beginning of his new life here at Hope's Peak Academy, "All right!" he placed both the keys and the letter on the oh-damn-soft blanket covering his bed.
He went to his luggage leaned against the side of the bed and laid it down to open it. He unzipped his case and placed all of its contents out of the bag neatly in one place. He placed his all of his clothes on the bed, categorizing them properly from shirts to underwear to sweaters. After that was done, he focused his attention to a short stack of books tied by a string. He untied it and put them all on the desk. Next, he decided to go to his backpack. He crouched in front of the bag and unzipped the main zipper. Inside was a special souvenir that he obtained years ago.
He carefully picked the plush toy out of the bag and placed it on the table beside his bed. He made sure that eyes of the orange dragon was facing the bed. It to him, it is crucial for the dragon to face the bed because it made him relive one memory over and over again.
"Kyoko," the name managed to stick with him all these years, yet he, unfortunately, had forgotten anything that remotely resembled or was related to her. Every day, every night, he would wonder just what happened to the girl. After all, they moved out of Tokyo the month after the festival ended. He cursed his damned brain over and over for forgetting all the supposedly great times he had with the girl, according to what his sister told him.
He also cursed his previously inept ability to remember the girl's features, likes and dislikes, and everything about the girl. He also regretted that he did not get a camera to capture those wonderful, precious moments.
That dragon plush toy was the grave of his lost memories. Now, 'Kyoko" was engraved into its headstone.
..
..
..
But notice the word 'previously'.
"Maybe that's why I'm called the Ultimate Luckster…. Wait, the letter," he picked the letter up and slipped it open. It said,
Dear Mr. Naegi,
Get your butt down here.
Yours faithfully,
Mr Jin Kirigiri
Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy
He sweat dropped. "W-Well, he seems like a casual kind of guy," he assumed nervously.
He folded the letter into his pockets and zipped his bag and backpack. He took the keys and headed for the door.
After he was out of his room, he locked it up with the keys given to him. He noticed that there were two keys connected by a small ring. He made a mental note to ask Hirato about it later on.
"Ugggghhhhh," he heard the voice of a loud groan. A door was opened behind him, the one opposite to his. He turned around to meet it slightly opened with the head of tenant popping out of the room. From what Makoto could tell, he looked tired as hell.
The tenant is male and has short, spiky brown hair with some of its hair sticking out like a sore thumb: an ahoge. His eyes have a straight line running across his pupil. However, he looked so exhausted his eyes are barely open. There are wrinkles on his face that indicate tiredness. His expression was of annoyance judging by his grouchy frown. His ahoge was bended instead of its sprouting posture.
"H-hi," Makoto slowly waved a hello, unsure of how to approach his first interaction with a dorm mate, "My name's Makoto Naegi. N'Nice to meet you."
Silence was his reply, though he gave a once over to Makoto. Suddenly, his ahoge acted up, twitching twice. He slammed his door immediately, most likely to continue his rest from the way Makoto saw it.
"Well, that was weird," he thought to himself. He decided to shrug it off and head to the Headmaster's room. "Oh, yeah," he thought of an idea, "I should try and get some lunch. It's going to be afternoon soon. Plus, Mr. Kirigiri never said anything about getting to his office early, so why not tour the facilities first? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Although the wording of the sentence was specifically intended to hurry him up, Makoto ignored the letter and chose to go with his plan.
In possibly one of most blessed areas to be invented, the cafeteria was quite empty, mostly due to the students not available until later. Loads of round tables are placed around with six to eight chairs for each of them. As it is quite a huge area, there is a section with sofas and short rectangular table set in front of a TV attached to the wall. Then, there is the long counter at the back of the cafeteria. It separated the kitchen from it, where all the wonders of food are created.
Makoto wondered what's being served for lunch, but he then noticed a lone figure sitting in one of the tables with a computer being used. He walked right to the stranger.
From the back, the figure had some sort of a green uniform with a brown skirt. He or she has a thin doll-like figure with short, light brown, layered hair. Makoto thought that the stranger must be a girl, so he decided to take it slow, considering how blunt-headed he is with his words. Yeah, his sister told him that, too.
He tilted his head sideways to take a peek at what the girl is doing with her computer, its screen comprising of numbers and letters that he could not understand. The girl then fidgeted before him and turned, her greenish-brown eyes widened in shock of the newcomer's sudden appearance, "Aah!"
"Agh!" he yelped as he took a step backwards which was his complete undoing. He tripped himself and fell on his back side, groaning in pain. The girl then gave him a hand to pull. He gladly accepted the gesture and got back on his feet instantly. The girl apologized.
"I am so sorry! I didn't know you were right behind me and then I screamed causing you to fall backwards and-"
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy! I'm okay. That's all that matters in the end, I think," Makoto scratched the back of his head with a grin. He continued, "Anyways, I think I should introduce myself after causing you trouble. My name's Makoto Naegi. And you are?" he extended his hand in friendly gesture.
The girl shook his head, "No, you didn't give me any trouble. And I'm Chihiro Fujisaki. Nice to meet you!" they both formed a handshake. Makoto was the first to let go.
"So, mind if you tell me how did you come here?"
"Oh, okay. You know that I'm sort of like an expert with computers, right?" Makoto nodded. He remembered that there were figures and streams of data which couldn't understand what it meant at all, "Well, you see, I am the Ultimate Programmer. I can program stuff and make software and do all sorts of stuff computer-wise!" she finished it off with aplomb. Makoto was impressed, naturally.
"Wow, really?! That's gotta be neat! I'm just the Ultimate Luckster so, heh, I don't really have much of a talent unlike yours," he rubbed his nose as he introduced his Ultimate. It seemed that he had been touching his face a lot lately.
Chihiro wondered just how lucky he must be if he obtained the title 'Ultimate Luckster'. It must be pretty damn high if he could enter a prestigious school like where he is now. Makoto asked a question to her.
"So, how long have you been here in this academy?"
"Me?" she put a hand on her chest, as if asking if it was her he was talking about, "I just got here recently. I got called for the 78th class."
"Really? How did you know which class you're at?"
"You'll have to go see the Headmaster if you want to know more than just your class. I bet he's got a much better explanation than I do."
"Huh," he thought, "I guess I'll ask him when I do."
"So, where are you going, exactly?" Chihiro asked curiously. Makoto thought about going to the headmaster's office immediately. However, he desperately wanted to do a little sightseeing.
"Hmmm… I want to tour the academy first. I mean, I should get acquainted with the area. I'll go to the headmaster's office at a later time." But Chihiro would not have it any other way. She pouted in anger and argued.
"You can't make the headmaster wait! It's rude!" Makoto was quite taken aback by the girl's outburst, but she kept going, "You can't make him wait! I say you head straight towards him and settle this!"
Considering that he had no say in this, Makoto relented, "Alright, alright. Jeez, you sound like my mom."
"Then she's a very good mom, if you had to say that. Though, that's a bad thing for me, right?" she cringed at the thought of being like that. Makoto saw her expression and chuckled softly.
"I guess you're the kind that don't think twice when it's about polite manners. Well, it was nice meeting you, even it is for a while."
She smiled in response, "Same with me, too. I hope we'll be in the same class."
"Yeah, me too," he took off to find the headmaster's office.
Turns out he hadn't got shit on where the hell is the office.
"Damn, should've asked her where it was. Oh well, might as well check out what they offer here," with that in mind, he wandered aimlessly as he viewed the facilities he happened to pass by. There are various facilities like the greenhouse room and the chemistry labs. He even found the classrooms that will harbor students coming tomorrow. Then, he stumbled upon the biology lab on the fifth floor-
OOF!
Makoto stumbled backwards as an unknown force in front of him pushed him back. He forced his body to be stable and looked to the front. The force was a tall and slender man with long shoulder-length messy black hair. He wears a dress shirt tucked-in half, a loosely worn black tie with red decals printed on it. His lower-half consists of black trousers, a belt, and bathroom slippers. He was apparently carrying a book by his right side.
The man hummed thoughtfully, causing Makoto to look a bit hesitant to talk to him, and demanded haughtily, "Who are you?"
"Makoto Naegi, Ultimate Luckster," he said without missing a beat. He felt like he had to. Somehow, this guy he's talking to just gave him the chills. He proceeded to prod on the theory, "And you are?"
"Don't ask questions to people you might hate later on," Makoto held a silent glare at his aloof yet rude attitude. The man went inside the bio-lab with his final words as a farewell. "See ya 'round, Luckster."
And the door shut in front of the boy who was seething with hate. Yet he could not help but wonder who he really is to be able to get away with that. "It takes all kinds of people to make a school, I guess"
He decided to let it go and went off. He then had the idea to find a school directory, which he did.
Now, in front of the headmaster's office, Makoto gulped in anticipation of the man to call upon his name as he knocked on his doors.
"Come in," he called. Makoto opened the wooden entrance and found himself in the headmaster's office.
The office was large, no doubt, with black sofas being present with a glass rectangular table being the middle of it. Behind that section is a large desk with the flag of japan placed on the edge of it. Papers and a computer were laid on it specifically so the headmaster could gain easy access to information by a stone's throw away. A chair, being occupied by an older man, hid behind that table.
The man was busy reading a file. Makoto thought it best not to interrupt his reading as he crept in closer than needed to the sofas. Desiring to sit on one of them, he made a shuffling noise which disrupted the headmaster's focus.
"Hm?" he raised his head up from the files and found a boys sitting anxiously on the sofa. He recognized who it was and detached himself from the chair immediately. With a happy smile, he called him, "Makoto Naegi! It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"E-Eh?" things started to get awkward for Makoto until he realized that the headmaster may have met him before his 'luck' came. Still, it felt weird for him to meet someone who he actually met but forgot about him entirely. (Don't we all?) He stood up immediately in response to his call.
The man circled round the table until he faced Makoto without any obstructions and gave him a hug. Makoto gave an awkward pat on his back, receiving the gesture with surprise. After a while, Jin released his hold on Makoto and began to talk, "Well, how are things faring for you, Makoto? Is your Dad still working?"
"Um, yeah, he's working as a hotel manager in Nagoya," he replied. Jin reminisced the times when he had worked with Kazuya on a certain hotel project. They used to laugh all the times about the mistakes and breakthroughs they achieved together. Now, those memories are kept close to his heart as that was the very reason why he never backed down on any project.
He gave a pat on the boy's shoulder, "Well, don't just stand there! Sit, please."
"O-Okay," Makoto sat down on the sofa again. Jin took the liberty of occupying the sofa adjacent to Makoto and sat there. Looking at the boy, Jin could not help but be amazed by how much the boy had grown. Back then he was only a frail boy with but the slightest sliver of hope for him to live on in the real world. Surprisingly, Makoto braved against the tides of facts and did the impossible: he got lucky.
"Um, just so you know, I'm the Ultimate Luckster. I'm the one who won the lucky raffle that my sister did for me?"
"Ah, yes, yes. But, either way, we would choose you anyways, Makoto."
"Wh-Why's that!?" he asked incredulously.
Jin straightened his back and held a serious face, "You see, we did plan to just allow anyone to enter by luck. Of course, I had some trouble by allowing that by the school board," he came to realize just how stupid of an idea it was for him, "we managed to get the deal and held the lucky raffles contest. However, when we found out about you who happened to take part of the contest…. Well, needless to say, we did a rundown on your condition."
"What kind of rundown? Is it about….," Makoto quieted down, thinking that must be the case to which the Kirigiri headmaster nodded.
"That's right, Makoto," it was obvious, really. Not only had Makoto won the lucky raffles contest, but he also survived the harsh life of an inept leaner for many years. How he handled that eventually was beyond Jin' understanding. However, one thing's for sure, and he smiled for it, "How are you with learning?"
"I….well, you see…..um…..yeah….I can learn…..I can finally remember what happened yesterday and the day after and the day after. I don't have memories of those when I was a child. But now, I can remember. That's all that matters." Makoto's face lightened up as he explained his conditions. He shrugged and closed his eyes, reminiscing the moment where he actually started remembering stuff, "I was fifteen years old when that happened. Too bad it couldn't have come sooner. Still, I'm quite lucky, aren't I?"
"Don't say that, Makoto," he opened his eyes and looked at the headmaster who furrowed his eyebrows and frowned, "It may or may not come sooner, but now here you are: alive and kicking. And to top it all, you can finally learn! You're more like blessed than lucky, Mr. Naegi."
"Mr Kirigiri…..." he stared at Jin with wonder. In truth, he was right in that aspect. The ahoge boy should be grateful for he is finally able to keep up with students, make friends with them normally and actually find something to do rather than nothing. Yes, nothing is more blessed for a child than to be able to learn.
"Well, for me, I'm glad you're alright. Also…" Jin quieted down at the last second, earning a curious blink from Makoto. "Should I? He might have forgotten her after for such a long time…."
"Mr Kirigiri? Is there something wrong?" he questioned with interest. It's not every day that the headmaster is hesitant in telling a student something of vital information.
"No," he chuckled suddenly, thinking of a mischievous idea, "I'll let her decide whether he truly is the Makoto she once knew." Jin pushed himself off the sofa and straightened his tie, signaling Makoto that he was done for that time. "Well, in any case, I hope you will find in your heart to love this school. We hope that you and your class will succeed just like our first graduates!"
"Yeah, so do I," Makoto stood up and thanked Jin, "Thank you, Mr Kirigiri, for accepting this lucky student," He flashed a friendly smiled towards Jin who responded with his own. They formed a handshake and not long after that, Jin went to his desk and picked up a small bluish green tablet. He gave it to Makoto who held it with two hands, feeling the light weight of the device while eyeing the item with fascination.
"That, Mr Naegi, is an e-Handbook. It's a Hope's Peak essential for any student living here," Jin then showed Makoto how to use the handbook, "You can check the map of the school with this and you can also go over the rules and regulations of the Academy by pressing this."
"Oh, that's neat," Makoto made a mental note of actually revising the rules when he returns back to his room. Jin continued, "Here, you can also find a notifications section where students will be given announcements or invitations of any sort of events. You can even find pictures of such events being sent to the e-Handbook. Pretty nifty stuff, huh?"
"Y-Yeah. I mean, this is all too gadgety for me, you know… is there a library that I can use where I can find books and stuff?"
Jin blinked in confusion, "Well, we do have one in the second floor. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just that, when you think about it, you'd think that there wouldn't be a need for a library if you can access everything from this tablet," he scratched his cheek with his free hand shyly. Jin agreed with what Makoto reasoned, but he shook his head anyways.
"We want students to be able to interact with the school and its students and staff. We definitely don't want them being cooped up in their room until class time, so we made sure that no such feature will be available for the e-Handbook. Though, if you ask me, it is kinda convenient to do that."
"Haha, I'm pretty sure it'll all work out in the end. Right, Mr Kirigiri?" Makoto then thought of a question, "Oh yeah. When do you think class starts for my group?"
"That is true…I forgot about that," he did something to the e-Handbook which resulted in it showing his class number; 78, and a list of names right beside it, "Here, you can find the dates of your classes, the names of students that you will be joining with and…..Oh? Well, that's odd," he rechecked the list of students again, holding is chin lightly, "I was sure I put her name on it."
"Put whose name on it?"
"Well, it's my daughter's. She enters the school as an Ultimate Detective soon. I wanted to put her in this class, but I guess there was a misinformation. I'll look it up later on."
"W-Well, do you mind if I ask her name? I mean, it'll be easier to get to know her and stuff, in my case," asked Makoto bravely. Not only was it his supposedly first time he's dealing with a girl, he isn't yet used to meeting with people for the first time. However, since he is in a unique school, he might as well try to get along with at least one person. Other than that, it's better to ask now since she is a relative of the headmaster, who happened to be his father's friend.
Jin had a knowing smile. He wondered what would happen if Makoto knew that her daughter actually met him nine years ago. He chose to test that theory, "Her name is…"
"MR KIRIGIRIIIIIIII!" a man stormed into the office, surprising Makoto while receiving only a turn of the head by Jin. It was Hirato, though his skin looked more green than usual. Other than that, his face contorted into fear crossed with worry with beads of sweats forming profusely from top to bottom. He panted quickly and consistently, most likely from all that running. He called to Jin, "Headmaster! Ms Tsumiki is injecting everyone with some sort of green fluid, myself included! Everyone's showing signs of rashes and is affecting everyone's performance levels! *cough*cough*"
Jin sighed, naturally, as this, in his record being here, had been the third time happening since his reign as Headmaster. Honestly, he had no idea how the former Headmaster was able to take this all in. he rubbed his forehead with his right hand.
Makoto looked confused, but not more so than afraid. To think that there is a psychotic woman throwing out free injections of unknown doses will haunt him in the academy. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled for a few seconds. Makoto forgot to eat lunch because of the rush. He blushed slightly.
"I understand," assured Jin, "You can go now. But I expect you to come meet with the rest of the students who are moving in tomorrow, okay?"
Of course, Makoto had intended to do so. He was a day earlier than the move-in, anyhow. He should help them and coincidentally make friends out of them. Makoto nodded in understanding, "Sure. You can count on me, Headmaster!" He rushed out of the room and headed straight for his room. If anywhere is safe from the injection culprit, it is behind the locked doors of his sanctuary.
Once he had exited, he consoled the green Hirato, "It can't be that bad this time, right?"
"Well, not as bad as before, but it is still harmful if it reached the ears of the school board."
"Then call Nagito to solve this problem. Surprisingly, he's the only one who doesn't mind getting an injection from her. Of course, there's a reason why. Just get him already and he'll take care of it."
"Roger that, sir," Hirato quickly exited his office to meet with the problem solver. Meanwhile, Jin sat on one of the sofas and massaged his temples. He had not thought that these kinds of activities were a norm for the school.
"I supported this project to build hope….not to build experiments," he couldn't help but think that way. So far, he had been hearing reports of weird technical difficulties, broken equipment, overgrown plants and, most recently, rare symptoms and psychological illnesses. He had a pretty unique time so far. "And this is only Year Two since I took this position."
But he had to. He must. After all, he promised this to be the last project he had ever done to his family. Only a few years ago did he apply for a job at the same academy he is in now. Now, to his shock, he became Headmaster of the entire school. Though, it came with the benefit that he can supervise the progress of the school performance and, without a doubt-
"Kyoko," she followed his grandfather's footsteps for as long as he could remember. As a father, he could never be prouder than ever to think that his daughter was chosen as the 'Ultimate Detective'. However, not all was good for Kyoko. In fact, she had forgone all of her emotions for this specific line of work. She had abandoned what you call bonds of friendship to ensure no personal attachment will intervene through her cases, and that made Jin sad.
"If only…. If only I was not so foolish as to deny her rights," he muttered loudly, hoping someone would interrupt his line of thought. No one did. He placed his elbows on his shoulders and clasped his hands together. He concentrated on the memory of when Kyoko definitely happier than ever. He could not forget her pristine smile, almost too heavenly for her own good.
Skip one month later and he cursed himself for destroying that smile.
Flashback
"Wh-Why…" Kyoko widened her eyes in shock at her father's answer. Tears brimmed through her eyes, "What do you mean Makoto's going to Nagoya!? Are you saying I can't go either?"
"Sweetie, you and I both know that's not true. But, you see," he crouched down to his daughter's heights, his concern masked on his expression, "I got a lot of work here in Tokyo. I need to sort that out first and foremost."
"But why should I follow where you're going? Makoto's my first friend! Why should I bother waiting for this stupid project to finish!?" she yelled at her father, causing him to stand up angrily.
"Kyoko, you're walking on dangerous territory there," his father unexpectedly glared at her, surprising her, "You shouldn't say that when your father's doing so much work for it. Believe me, everything will be alright. Once I'm done with 'Hope's Peak', we'll go to Nagoya together, okay?"
"It's always Hope's Peak," Kyoko lowered her head, shadowing her eyes as a result, "Hope's Peak this, Hope's Peak that. It's like you never did care about me at all," she then raised her head with an angry face, "It's because of Hope's Peak that Mom died!"
"Young lady, that's enough! Go to your room!" he pointed to the direction her room resided. Seeing as she had no say, she could not hold back the tears. It threatened her to cry at that point, but not without a frown to match it.
"YOU'RE SO MEAN, DADDY! I HATE YOU!" she ran away to her room, her tears flowing quickly from her eyes. As she closed her door, Jin could hear the sobbing of his endearing daughter shrieking through the door. He remained stuck in his position until he moved to the nearest chair in the living room.
He hoped he could explain the matter further. It turned out that Kazuya's job forced him to move to the Nagoya branch of the hotel he worked in. It also meant that he would bring his entire family there, seeing it would be difficult for his kids to be supported financially based on his status. However, it came at a cost.
Kyoko was not one to make friends with whoever she sees and meets. She was to be taught the skills of a detective by her grandfather, who graciously accepted her. Of course, Jin opposed it at first. However, his father was adamant in doing so.
It didn't also help that Kyoko's mother passed away recently and he just did not have time to meet both ends. Bottom line, Kyoko found comfort when she passes the time with Makoto: her first companion in a long while. And Kazuya was more than generous enough to help keep an eye on her.
And now shit had hit the storm. Kyoko and even his father were devastated by how terrible the day had become. He had to finish the project. Beforehand, it was just a huge project being developed for one of his old friends. Now, it had become something more to him. Still, it was no fatherly of him to abandon his daughter in need of a family.
He felt like he was in a dilemma. In the end, he decided to leave her to his father and let him teach the ways of the family. Kyoko will resent him for sure, but he must make ends meet… with 'Hope's Peak'.
"H-Huh?" a girl awakened from her slumber, thinking that it must be evening already. She awoke to her room as she felt the soft fabric of her bed underneath her belly. "I must've fallen asleep by accident," he then felt a tear running down her face. She caught and swiped it off. She cursed, "Dammit, why now?"
She wears a white blouse along with a short skirt. Her hair is a mess without the braids and has no footwear and gloves on. Her hands are visibly and terribly burnt from a past case.
She jumped off her bed and made her bed. Making sure the blanket was tucked in, she noticed something black upon the corner of her sight. She looked at it to see the black plush toy sitting quietly on the dressing table. It was a reminder, albeit a painful one. One that helped her through her days training to be a detective. She picked the toy up, stared at it intently. Although his family name was not known to her anymore, his first name was all that she needed to remember the kind soul that gave her light, though no more in the end.
She hugged the dragon tightly to her chest. The purple-haired girl walked backwards to her bed and sat on the edge of it. She laid on her backside, thinking about him. Even though she pulled every last shred of detail of her friend's memory away from her mind, she would never forget his name.
"Makoto."
Author's notes:
A/N a little revamp on a few sentences. Always vital to check the things you've written.
I'm not kidding, but this story is quite a refreshing change from my two other stories.
Oh, this is Emblem of Light, here.
The batch from Danganronpa 2 will be Makoto's seniors.
When I'm doing something like the life at school or something, the genre has to be general: lots of crazy things happen in school, after all.
Follow, Favourite, Both. Take your pick.
School ain't school if there aren't any school tournaments. Just sayin'
Learn as you live, live as you learn
