"Oh man!" Came the cry of a short and flustered brunette as he frantically searched his room for his notebook. This young man was Makoto Naegi, a Hope who's also a seventeen year old student at Hope's Peak Academy in Tokyo. He was less than average in hight, more than average in optimism and completely average in everything else. At least, that's how he tended to describe himself.
"Makoto, hurry up or you'll miss the bus!" Came the cry of his mother from downstairs.
"Okay!" He called back, digging through the papers and books on his desk. "Ah ha!" He cried out in triumph as he pulled his black spiral bound notebook from the mess. He smiled happily and shoved it into his bag. He bounded down the stairs, giving a quick goodbye to his family and rushing out the door. He kept running all the way to the bus stop in the next street. Thankfully he got there just as the bus was rounding the corner. He placed his hands of his knees for support as he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath as the bus was pulling up alongside him.
"Good morning." He greeted the bus driver as he got on board.
"Good morning to you too." She replied, shutting the doors behind him.
Naegi's stop was one of the last on the way to school so the bus was already pretty full when he got on board. He surveyed it from the front and managed to spot an empty seat in the second last row next to a tall, well proportioned girl with brown hair and a cheeky smile. He recognised her as one of his upperclassmen, a Despair named Akane Owari. He didn't know her that well personally but her boisterous nature gave her quite the reputation around the school. Still, sitting next to her for a few minutes couldn't hurt he thought as he made his way down the isle. Unfortunately he was so lost in his thoughts he didn't see the high-heeled, red-laced boot in his path. All he felt was a sharp pain in his ankle then the his face was slamming into the floor. The entire bus exploded with laughter, but through all the various sniggers and cackles Naegi could hear the distinct laugh of the perpetrator, Junko Enoshima. The popular and gorgeous Ultimate Despair and the meanest bully in school. For some reason she had a vendetta against Naegi. Ever since they met in second grade when Naegi's family moved to Tokyo Enoshima had been doing everything she could to make his life miserable. Unfortunately for her Naegi's optimism knew no bounds. Though there were times when it was touch and Naegi would even start to feel insecure and depressed he always managed to pick himself up and that irritated the young Ultimate Despair to no end. Naegi also never did anything to retaliate, it just wasn't in his nature to hurt others, even if they were doing all they could to make his life hell. Being tripped on the bus was something he was use to by this point so it didn't really bother him. He just sighed and got up, stumbling to the empty seat next to Owari and sitting down.
"Hey, little man, how ya doin'?" Owari asked, grinning and hooking an arm around Naegi's neck.
"Great, how are you?" He wheezed out as he was unintentionally choked.
"Pretty great, my step-dad finally caught that rat in our kitchen wall." She said. She began explaining how her step-father caught the annoying rodent, Naegi listened politely occasionally commenting on something she said. It only took a few minutes to reach the school and by that time they'd moved on to other topics.
"Well good luck." Owari said, slapping Naegi on the back as the two got off the bus. She immediately noticed her boyfriend, Nekomaru Nidai, and rushed over to him. Naegi headed off into the school and down the corridor to his locker. He ignored the people who looked at him and laughed behind their hands as he walked past. Thanks to Enoshima, Naegi had gained a reputation at school as, well for lack of a better word, a loser. She and her friends were gathered round her locker, which annoyingly was just opposite Naegi's, as he headed down there. He put in his combination and pulled the door open only to have blue paint explode in his face. Everyone in the corridor burst out laughing. Obviously this was Enoshima's work, with her locker being opposite his it wasn't difficult for her to have looked over his shoulder at one point and seen his locker combination. Naegi had appealed to the school about changing the combination but they didn't think it was worth the effort. Everyone always took Enoshima's side because she was the Ultimate Despair and one of the most successful models in Japan, who cared if she bullied some average nobody like himself. He sighed heavily as he lifted up his arm to wipe some of the paint off his face with his jacket sleeve.
"Hey Naegi, how are you today?" Enoshima asked. Naegi turned to see her leaning against her locker surrounded by her entourage. The popular crowd of the school. This group consisted of Sayaka Maizono, a Hope and one of Japan's most popular teen idol's, all her concerts were sellouts. She was only here because her parents insisted she get an education as well. Leon Kuwata, another Hope and star of the school baseball team and, as far as most of the girls in the school are concerned, not bad looking either. Hiyoko Saionji, a Despair and someone Enoshima liked having around because she was good at insulting and making fun of people. Saionji also liked the popularity that came with being a member of the group. Byakuya Togami, another Despair and heir to probably the richest conglomerate in the country. He was notorious for being an arrogant prick, but he was rich and handsome so naturally he was popular. Mikan Tsumiki, a Despair, she wasn't a member because she was popular, she just did whatever she was told to do, especially by Enoshima who she had an obvious crush on, so they kept her around as a kind of personal slave. Mukuro Ikusaba, she was Enoshima's twin sister and of course, a Despair. Despite their different personalities the two were actually very close and incredibly loyal to one another. Celestia Lundenberg, a Hope, no one knew her real name and there were several rumours surrounding it but she had all the requirements to be part of their group, in that she was cruel, manipulative and drop dead gorgeous. Then there was the final member of their group, Kyoko Kirigiri, a Hope. Makoto had had a crush on her since they were fourteen years old. He'd accidentally ran into her in the library causing both of them to drop their stuff. He apologised and helped pick her things up. As soon as their eyes met he was completely dumbstruck with how beautiful she was. When he finally snapped out of it he noticed she was asking if he'd sit with her. The two of them spent hours chatting together and actually discovered they had a lot in common. Naegi completely fell in love with everything about her. Her laugh, her hair, her eyes, her smile, her personality, it was all so wonderful to him. Not that he'd ever admit any of this. He'd only end up making a fool of himself. Kirigiri's beauty and intelligence had captured more hearts than just his and she'd quickly gained popularity throughout the school. Another thing that intrigued people about Kirigiri was the fact that she'd been wearing gloves to school eveyday for the last three years. Kirigiri never talked about why she wore her gloves and there were all sorts of rumours surrounding it but she never seemed to care. She was still a beautiful, intelligent and popular young woman. Naegi was sure she'd forgotten all about that day they spent in the library, now that she was a part of the group that had been tormenting him most of his school life. She wasn't as cruel as some of the others, the same could be said of Maizono, Ikusaba and Kuwata, but Enoshima could entice all of them into bullying and humiliating him if she wanted to. Like today when they were all laughing as he stood before them dripping in paint.
"Very funny Enoshima." He sighed, feeling paint start to drip down his face from his hair.
"Yes, I thought so." She said, causing her group to laugh again.
"You look like an ugly monster." Saionji snickered childishly.
"Yeah and he's covered in paint too." Ikusaba added causing them all to laugh again. Naegi could feel his face heat up in embarrassment as he was degraded in the middle of a crowded hallway. Not that he wasn't use to it.
Unfortunately he didn't have time to get to the bathroom before the bell rang so he had to sit through his first few classes with paint drying in his hair and on his clothes while his classmates snickered softly. The teachers just ignored it, they were use to Enoshima's pranks, just as they were use to Naegi being the most common victim. No one would punish the wonderful Ultimate Despair though. Naegi had to wait until the bell went for lunch before he could head over to the boys bathroom. He practically flew out of the classroom and down the hall, hoping to avoid too much teasing from his peers. He was going so fast he accidentally slammed into someone when he turned a corner and both were sent flying to the ground.
"Sorry." They said at the same time. Naegi sat up and looked at the poor soul he'd just run down. It was a young man, around the same age as him with spiky hair and an ahoge similar to his own but this man's hair was a bit darker. His eyes were a piercing green.
"I'm really sorry." Naegi said, offering a hand to the young man.
"It's fine, I was, sort of… Lost in thought, I wasn't paying attention." He said, grabbing Naegi's hand. Naegi noticed the despair symbol on the back of his hand as he pulled him back to his feet.
"I'm Makoto Naegi, nice to meet you." Naegi introduced, holding out his hand to the other.
"Hajime Hinata." The young man said, taking Naegi's hand and shaking it politely.
"Well it was nice to meet you but I must be off, see you around." Said Naegi, giving Hinata a quick wave as he headed off to the bathroom. He was thankful there was no one there when he arrived and began to splash water in his face and over his hair. Sadly, a lot of the paint had dried by this point. He was able to scrape most of it out of his hair but couldn't get it off his jacket. Fortunately his jacket was a very dark brown so it didn't show too much. He decided it would have to do and headed off to the dining hall for lunch. The room was already in uproar when he arrived. All the tables in the room had a designated group. At the largest table in the middle sat the popular group. Enoshima was the centre of attention, sitting proudly with a smug smile on her face. Tsumiki was sat on her left babbling with a heavy blush on her face, no doubt telling Enoshina how amazing she thought she was. Ikusaba was on her right, smiling softly as she ate a salad. Kuwata, Maizono and Saionji were all having a conversation while they ate. Togami and Kirigiri were sat off to the side reading quietly. Naegi let his eyes linger a little longer on Kirigiri, just thinking how beautiful her eyes looked when they were so focused but he caught himself and looked away, determined not to be caught staring.
Naegi ducked his head and headed over to his table passing the other groups along the way. The first table he past consisted of Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai, who, like his girlfriend, was a Despair. He was also one of largest and strongest kids in school and the official coach for nearly all the school's sports teams. Sat with them was Sonia Nevermind, a Hope and exchange student from a country called Novoselic, she was widely considered to be one of the most beautiful girls in the school and could have easily been a member of the popular crowd but she avoided them by choice claiming she did not want anything to do with "bullies like them", as she put it. Also at their table sat Gundam Tanaka, another Hope, he was quite an eccentric person who enjoyed dressing dramatically and never went anywhere without his pet hamsters.
The second table he passed included Kiyotaka Ishimaru, a Despair and the school's head hall monitor. His best friend Mondo Owada, a Hope and ironically one of the school's biggest delinquents. Their other friend, Chihiro Fujisaki, also a Hope, who was quite small and shy. Both Owada and Ishimaru were very protective of him. They were also joined by Yasuhiro Hagakure, a Despair. He was already nineteen but still in Naegi's grade due to being held back a few times. He wasn't very bright but he had a good heart and an easygoing attitude. The final person at this table was Kazuichi Soda, a Despair. He enjoyed fixing things and flirting with girls way out of his league. Though to give him some credit he was the star of the school's design and tech class.
At the next table sat Aoi Asahina and her best friend Sakura Ogami. Asahina was a Hope and Ogami was a Despair. Both really enjoyed sports, Asahina was the star of the school swim team and Ogami was the star of the school's martial arts club. Also sat with them were Chiaki Nanami and Ibuki Mioda, both Hopes. Nanami always seemed to be tired no matter what. She was a really friendly person but she'd kick anyone's ass at any video game if challenged. Mioda was very outgoing and energetic. She had a strong passion for music, especially punk/rock.
At the next table sat Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, a Despair, Kuzuryu put up a front that he was tough and mean but deep down he was a really nice guy. None knew this better than his best friend, Peko Pekoyama. She too was a Despair and had known Kuzuryu since they were kids. It was obvious to everyone that they were both crushing on each other big time but they were both too proud and too scared to admit it. Also sat with them was Mahiru Koizumi, a Hope and head of the school photography club. She had a strong temper but was generally very friendly.
He kept moving past the tables filled with people from the upper or lower years that he didn't know at all. He only really knew the people in his year and the one above because their years were always paired together for school events and special class activities. Eventually he came to his area of the cafeteria. The area reserved for loners. This was a cluster of small tables where people who didn't fit into a group would sit on their own.
One of those people was Toko Fukawa, a girl in Naegi's year and a Despair. She was a genius writer and star English student but she had a massive inferiority complex and didn't trust anyone. A lot of people found her annoying because of it. No one hated her more than Togami whom she had an unhealthy obsession with.
Also a loner was another classmate of Naegi's, Hifumi Yamada, a Hope. He spent most of his time watching anime and drawing fan art/writing fan fiction for it. He could be quite obsessive too, leading people to find him a bit disturbing. Not that he cared, he liked to insist he was happy with his "2D friends".
Then there was Teruteru Hanamura, a Despair and notorious pervert. He was constantly throwing himself at people, no matter their gender or faction (Hope or Despair). Most people just avoided him but if he ever offered them some food they'd take it. No one was scared he'd drug it or anything, he took immense pride in his cooking skills and wouldn't tarnish a dish he'd prepared for any reason. His family owned one of the best diners in the city so Hanamura had grown up around food. Cooking and love were his life as he'd say.
At the table next to Hanamura usually sat Nagito Komaeda, a Hope, infamous throughout the school for being creepy and obsessive, but Naegi was surprised to see he wasn't sat alone today. In the chair opposite him was the boy Naegi had run into earlier, Hajime Hinata. The two were talking and eating together. Komaeda was acting quite flustered whilst Hinata looked a bit uncomfortable but at the same time determined.
Naegi tried not to eavesdrop on whatever they were talking about and headed to his table. He too sat alone. Not by choice of course, he would give anything to have friends. Unfortunately, most people he'd ever made friends with were scared off by Enoshima. Naegi couldn't understand why she went to such lengths to make him miserable. If anyone wasn't scared off by Enoshima's bullying she found a way to blackmail them. So now Naegi had to face her wrath on his own. Most of the time he bore it with a smile though there were moments when it became difficult. Like, for example, right now, as he noticed Enoshima, Ikusaba and Tsumiki coming over to his table. As soon as they reached him, Enoshima slammed the sandwich Naegi had only just taken out from out of his hand, leering down at him as intimidatingly as possible.
"Hey, Naegi, having a nice lunch?" She asked with a sickly fake sweetness to her tone.
"Um… Yeah." He replied nervously.
"Well, listen, I need your help with something." She continued.
"I have a lot of important interviews and photoshoots this week so I have no time to do my homework. So I need you to do it for me."
She pulled a thick notebook out of her bag and dumped it on the table in front of him.
"What? That's not fair." Said Naegi.
"Come on, I mean it's not like you have much to be doing." She said.
"Y-yeah," Tsumiki butted in, "you don't have a-a-a l-ife anyw-w-ay s-so you should d-do something useful for once."
"Yeah Naegi." Enoshima said, leaning closer with a wicked grin on her face. "How does it feel, knowing you're life is meaningless? That you have no friends? That you're completely boring?"
"You're so plain looking." Said Ikusaba, they all began to laugh. Naegi kept his head down. He knew their words were true but they still hurt deeply. He silently dragged the notebook off the table and into his bag then left the cafeteria, trying not to cry. It was only a few minutes till the bell rang so he quickly headed back to his locker to grab his books for his final classes.
Surprisingly, nobody made fun of Naegi during his last classes. In fact quite the opposite, they completely ignored him. Instead, he saw a few people pointing and snickering at Komaeda, who, when he looked closely, he noticed had dried tear tracks down his cheeks. Something must have happened after he left the dining hall.
Being the caring and concerned person he was, he approached Komaeda at the end of the day when he was about to walk out of the school gates.
"Komaeda," he called after him. The white haired boy stopped and waited till Naegi caught up to him.
"Yes, Naegi, how can I help?" He asked politely.
"You seemed upset this afternoon, is anything the matter?"
Komaeda seemed a bit thrown off by the question.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for your concern but someone like me is unworthy of it. Enjoy your evening."
Komaeda turned and began walking down the street. Naegi stared after him, certain there was more to it than he was letting on. He thought about running after Komaeda but was worried he'd be overstepping boundaries, so instead he went home and decided to try again tomorrow.
"Hey Makoto." His sister greeted him when he arrived back. "How was school?"
"Same as always," he replied with a smile. His family didn't know about the bullying and he was determined to keep it that way. He didn't want them to worry. "I better get a start on my homework."
"Okay see you at dinner." She said.
Naegi headed to his room and got out Enoshima's homework as well as his own. He sighed, realising he may not have time to do all of it. He decided to do Enoshima's first since he knew there'd be consequences if he didn't. He sighed heavily, opening the notebook and beginning to write.