Chapter two: How do you measure a year?
Discalimer: I don't own Danganronpa, no matter how much I love the games and the anime
Hey lovelies
Here's a new chapter, I got inspired for the title by the song seasons of love from rent, I hope you enjoy it, if you do let me know in the review section.
Love Snow
The student orientation went well, with minimum incidents if you could count Mondo trying to start a fight with most of the other students to get Makoto's attention only to get a bop on the head by Saicho meaning he absolutely clobbered the ultimate biker gang leader in one move, and the teacher constantly calling the boys perverts whilst acting slightly lecherously towards Makoto as he handed her, her school issued uniforms( four skirts, four winter shirts, four summer shirts, two brown blazers, three red cravats, a school issued sports uniform and a swimsuit), the mere thought of him seeing her in her sports clothes made Makoto shudder for two reasons, one being the man's behaviour towards her, the second being the state of her arms, they were littered with cuts and burns, both old and new, if any one saw them, there would be questions, a lot of questions.
By the time the final bell rang the entire class where all told that this would be the last night that they'd be going home, because the very next day they'd be moving into the dorms, Makoto thought this was an opportunity to say good bye to her sister as well as pack her suitcases, she was looking forward to be leaving home for the dorms, mainly because it was a place where her mother can't get to her, but she worried about the incessant calls and texts she'd receive from the vile bitch, it almost made Makoto relieved about the mandatory one month incommunicado policy the school has in order to get used to living at the school.
Makoto sighed as she got up out of her seat and walked to the doorway when someone placed a hand on her shoulder, she turned to tell them that she had to go or she'd miss her bus, only to find that it was Sakuya, looking at her with concern, Makoto frowned, Sakuya had been Makoto's friend in middle school, but they lost contact after a while, Sakuya was the only one who knew what was happening to Makoto at home, on more than one occasion he had her over at his family's home when her mother became too much to bear.
"Are you alright Makoto?" he asked worriedly, hinting at her homelife.
"I'm fine, why would you ask me such a thing?" Makoto replied, pretending to be oblivious to what Sakuya meant.
"no, I mean are you alright Makoto? Is everything alright at home?" he asked once again, hinting at Makoto's mother.
"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, leave it at that, I gotta' go" replied Makoto coldly before leaving the room, and Sakuya shaking his head sadly.
"What the hell was that about?" asked Mondo in confusion.
"it seem's that you where upsetting Naegi-san!" yelled Taka pointing at Sakuya in an accusatory manor.
"What makes you think that?" asked Keyo calculatingly.
"You saw how they interacted with each other! I think Miazono owes us an explanation" said Beyakuya adding his two cents in to the conversation, causing Sakuya sat down, he had a feeling that it was going to be a long story.
"You might as well sit down for this, cause you're not gonna like what I've got to say" Sakuya explained, everyone looked at him staring at him, with eyes so wide they'd be mistaken for owl eyes.
"Go on!" urged Keyo, seemingly out of morbid curiosity.
"Makoto and I went to the same middle school as kids, we were friends, she was my only real friend actually, but as the semester went on I noticed things about her, she'd always have a thick layer of make up on her face for a period of time, her smiles always seemed to be fake, you know like the "I'm hurting but I can hide it" kind of smile, well I found out why, one after noon I followed her home, I was hoping to see if she'd hang out later, that when I saw her talking with her mom" Sakuya began, trying hard not to cry as her repeated the events of that day.
"What's her mom got to do with it?" asked Leon, not liking where the story was going.
"She started screeching at Makoto about being home on time and if she wanted to a get into a good college, she'd get home quicker, then I saw something that'll stay with me for ever" continued Sakuya clenching his fist.
"So? she has an angry mother?" asked Toko, his stuttering voice reiterating each syllable.
"it's worse than that, I saw that woman hit Makoto! and drag her into the house while screaming at her that she was her daughter and she was to do as she was told, when they were in the house, I heard more yelling and I even heard furniture breaking, it was so bad the neighbours called the police but they didn't take her away, that's when I found out that it had been going on for years" said Sakuya sadly.
"so, what you were doing was seeing if you could help her, or are you trying to remove any guilt you hold for not being able to help her" said Keyo, connecting the dots.
"I'd rather not talk about it anymore, I'm sorry, but I've got packing to do" explained Sakuya getting up and leaving, making everyone else realise that they've got to do the same.
Meanwhile Makoto had arrived home walked upstairs ignoring her father who asked how her day went, and her mother who was passed out on the couch, drunk from celebrating that her so called "hard work" finally paid off, Makoto rolled her eyes as she made her way up the stairs, waving at her sister as the younger girl did her homework, before going to her room to gather her things, once the things she both wanted and needed (new uniforms,clothes, under wear, pj's, wash bag, shoes, tooth brush, cell phone, laptop, ipod, speaker etc, she blushed when she placed a plush border collie toy amongst the items) then went down stairs.
"Dad, where's the step ladder?" Makoto asked her father who jumped as soon as she made a sound.
"Why do you want it sweetie?" he asked quietly praying that his wife didn't wake up.
"I'm moving into the dorms tomorrow, so I'll need a suitcase, preferably the big one please" answered Makoto, not caring if her mother heard.
"tell you what, I'll take you out and get you a new case? I believe the local Junes is still open" explained Mr Naegi smiling at his daughter, his plans also finally falling into place, with one daughter out of the house and in relative safety he just might be enough for him to gain the strength to take Komaru and run.
Mr Naegi grabbed his wallet and car keys, and he and Makoto went to the local department store, while looking through the luggage section Makoto found a beautiful xxxl wheeled suitcase, it was forest green with warm, earthy brown accents, handles and zippers, it also had the elegant image of a dragonfly on a waterlily pond on the front of it.
"Dad, come look at this one!" she called out, causing her father to come rushing over to her.
"It's gorgeous, do you want it?" he exclaimed smiling at his daughter's taste, she always did like natural woodsy colours, they fitted her perfectly.
"yes!" cried out Makoto happily at the fact she was allowed to choose something she wanted for once.
"Why don't you have a look around and see if you can find anything else you like" he said as he went to get an assistant to help him get the case from the shelf, while Makoto looked around for other things she'd need, a new wash bag matching the suitcase, despite having one, it was really grotty and horrid, she picked up more bath and shower items as well as other feminine products, an extra-large first aid box for personal reasons, and a few more items she'd need.
She met her father at the checkout who smiled as she showed him her bounty, they went through the check out and went home, the ride home was a happy one full of chatter and laughter, however when they got home, they fell back into their expected roles, Mr Naegi went to the den and sat in his recliner with a newspaper, while Makoto took her new suitcase and shopping upstairs and resumed packing, silently happy to be free no matter how temporary the freedom was.
Early the next morning the Naegi house was in utter chaos, the two girls where constantly bumping into each other getting dressed and ready for going to their respective schools, Mr Naegi nearly broke his neck tripping over a garden ornament carrying Makoto's case to the car while his wife whined about him not being available to take her to work. It took an hour and a half for the family, consisting of Komaru (who was being dropped off at her school on the way), Mr Naegi who was silently panicking as he followed his daughter's directions while he navigated through a high-end suburban neighbourhood, and Makoto who was praying that they wouldn't be late.
Once they arrived the father and daughter where greeted with a sea of students with suitcases, all of them waiting with their respective class group, Makoto got out of her dad's car, walked to the trunk and got her suitcase and messenger bag out of it, then walked over to her class group, wheeling her case behind her, where she was greeted by Aoi and Sakuya.
"Hey, Makoto you got here early too?" asked Aoi looking around at all of the other people standing around.
"It seems that way, in all honest I was terrified that I'd be late" replied Makoto smiling.
"I like your case Naegi-san, is it new?" came a shy voice from behind Makoto, causing her to turn around to see a boy with stormy grey eye's, a pale freckled face and matted yet tidy black hair, he had a suitcase with a camo design.
"yes, my dad got it for me last night as a going away gift, I like yours too it's so sleek and screams adventure...uhh, I'm sorry I don't believe that we were introduced" said Mikoto, genuinely smiling albeit awkwardly, holding her hand out for him to shake.
"oh...uh...yes my name is Mukuro Ikusaba" replied a pink faced Mukuro timidly shaking the girls gloved hand, this interaction was watched by Mukuro's brother Jun, who thought his brothers attempts at talking to the girl where both pathetic and hilarious at the same time, he actively had to fight back tear-filled laughter.
The students stood and chatted for ten minutes until the doors where unlocked and various home room teacher started to call out to their students instructing them to follow them to certain wings of the building, Makoto assumed the different wings where for different year groups, however she did wondered why they had to clime so many stairs with their suit cases though.
As everyone made their way up, there was the occasional slip and trip on the way, however Makoto took a tumble when someone had a leaky shampoo bottle in their bag and like the unlucky soul she was at times, she slipped on the shampoo and both she and the suitcase fell backwards, Makoto thought she was done for, until she felt someone grab her by the belt.
Mondo was directly in front of Makoto, when he heard her slip and begin to fall, so he quickly dumped his bag at his feet, turned and grabbed the small girl by her belt, while someone grabbed the bottom of her suit case, that someone was Taka, who also noticed the shampoo on the step, and he was furious about it.
"ALRIGHT! WHO HAS THE LEAKING BAG! YOU NEARLY INJURED PEOPLE!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, causing everyone to jump in shock, while Mondo set Makoto back on her feet and pulled the suitcase out of Taka's grip and back into her hands. Meanwhile everybody was checking their bags to see who had the leaky bottle only for boy by the name of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu lift his suitcase to see liquid drip from it, he went bright pink in embarrassment, he quickly apologised and ran up the stairs, shoving as many people to the side as he could, their protests echoing up and down the stair well.
Once that was over, Makoto and the others went back to heading up the stairs, well everyone else was going up the stairs with ease while Makoto struggled to pull her large case up the stairs, until a familiar tanned and scarred hand brushed her hand away and grabbed the handle of the case, lifting it with little to no effort, causing Makoto to look up and see Saicho carrying her case up the stairs.
"Well? Are you going to come or are you going to just stand there?" asked Saicho, causing Makoto to run after him until they reached the floor, they were supposed to be on, once they arrived, Saicho placed the case down on the tiled floor and waited for Makoto to catch up to him.
"we need to go this way" explained the white-haired boy gently, steering Makoto down a hall, following the signs for Junior dormitories until they came to an open steel gate where their home room teacher was waiting.
"And why are you late?" asked Mr Kizakura in irritation.
"Naegi-san was struggling with her suitcase, plus there was an accident involving spilt shampoo, she was advised to go slowly" explained Saicho politely.
"In! Go get your keys and go to your rooms! I'm done with this shit!" said the teacher rubbing his eyes, as the pair of students walked into the dormitory block and towards a table with another staff member, who handed them their keys.
"Your, names are on the doors of your rooms, every bedroom has an en suite, there's a list of mealtimes, wake up times, curfews and fire muster points, as well as dorm room rules, no boy's in girl's bedrooms, no exceptions, regardless if you're the only girl in your class group" said the woman severely.
"the communal bath will be available to girls at seven pm and eight pm for the boys, the common room is straight ahead of you as are the bedrooms and the junior dining room is to the left of you, the laundry room and communal bathroom to the right, there is a list of contraband on the notice board and luggage inspection is in twenty minutes" she continued indicating where everything is as she spoke.
The two teenagers took their keys and walked to their rooms, dragging their cases behind them, like the staff member had said all of the rooms had nameplates on them, thus it wasn't hard for Makoto to locate. Once inside Makoto looked around and took in the room, there was a large bed with plain white covers and a bright green blanket at the foot of it, a bedside table with a lamp on it, a desk and chair also with a lamp, a set of shelves and she had a large window overlooking the school grounds, with bright green curtains, in the corner was a squishy armchair as well as a standing lamp, through a door on the left side of the room was a shower, toilet, sink and toiletries cabinet. Makoto smiled, to some people this room could be considered small, but to her it was a haven of privicy, after looking around Makoto collapsed onto the bed and fell to sleep accidently leaving the door open.
A little while later, an older woman in a matron's uniform came into the room and saw the girl fast asleep on the bed, sighing she pulled the girls shoes off, pulled the blanket over her, went and opened a window slightly, then she got to work on the luggage inspection, as she checked she put things away, the speaker and Ipod on the shelf as well as two photos, one of her with a beautiful black and white border collie, and another of her with a baby she presumed was the girls sister and two blacked out adults obviously the girl's parents, she placed other items in drawers such as clothes and the first aid box, the wash bag in the bathroom, the text books, pencil case and notebook on the desk and finally the plush on the bed beside the sleeping girl, after drawing the curtains, she placed the room key on the bedside table, then quietly left the room.
It was two hours before Makoto woke up, and she didn't know what woke her up, it wasn't until she looked around and listened that she found what had woke her up, it was the doorbell for her room, getting up and stretching, she stumbled over to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by a grumpy teenager with meticulously styled red hair and an equally well maintained goatee, it was Leon Kuwata, the ultimate baseball player.
"oh hey, can I help you?"asked Makoto rubbing eyes, trying to shake the last out of the sleep out of her.
"Matron said you fell asleep, and you missed lunch, so she asked me to bring you some" he explained trying not to sound irritated or silly in front of the green-eyed girl, handing her a plate that was fully loaded with sandwiches of various different sorts, there was more than enough for the two of them to share.
"Would you like to come in and share these with me?" asked Makoto innocently, causing Leon's face to go bright red and start to splutter.
"but... the rules... boys can't go into girls bedrooms..." he began, before Makoto began to laugh.
"I'm sure they won't mind if I leave the door open" she said smiling as she ushered him in, turning the light on as she did so.
"where do you want me to sit?" Leon asked nervously, bullets of sweat rolling down his face, thinking that Makoto wanted to screw him, not that he was averse to it.
"you have the arm chair, I'll have desk chair" explained Makoto as she set the plate of sandwiches on the desk, not noticing the state the poor boy was in. The odd pair ate and chatted for a while, getting to know one another, however Makoto noticed that Leon seemed to constantly be on edge, so she finally decided to nip the problem in the bud.
"Why are you so nervous?" she finally asked looking Leon directly in the eye.
"Uhh... I'm just not used to non-sexual companionship from a girl" he admitted going fuchsia in the process.
"Well, what's wrong with it then? Or did you thing I was luring you in here just to seduce you?" asked Makoto laughing gently.
"You're a lucky guy Leon, I'm not into baseball players at all, don't ask me why, however had you been on the equine scene I would have bloody well ruined you!" she exclaimed jokingly, only to see a horrified look appear on his face.
"oh, don't look at me like that! I'm just playing with you!" she continued, slapping the back of his head "and besides it's going to be a fairly lonely school year for me, if I'm the only girl in the class and you boys are afraid to talk to me"
"ok" was the only Leon could say before an uneasy smile appeared on his face, Makoto started to giggle and Leon began to laugh at how silly the conversation had become.
When the matron arrived in the corridor she could see through the door, the two students laughing and sharing sandwiches, she loudly cleared her throat, "I'm so glad you're beginning to make friends Makoto but it's time for Mr Kuwata to join the rest of the boys in unpacking their bags" she said, mock sternly, Leon quickly got up and left the room, eye's to the floor in an attempt to avoid the older woman's gaze. Once Leon had left, the matron smiled and turned to Makoto.
"while I'm disappointed in the fact that you decided to flout the no boy's in girls' bedrooms rule, perhaps it's for the best," the matron began to say.
"We we're only having sandwiches matron" Makoto exclaimed before matron put a hand up to silence her.
"because it's going to be a somewhat lonely year with you being the only girl in your class group, without us making social interaction difficult for you" continued matron, "and preventing any spontaneity that may occur, it may wear on you if you have to go to the common room every time you need to interact with someone thus removing the spontaneity and damaging any social capablities you may need".
"So? What are you saying?" asked Makoto warily of the matron's words.
"I'm saying, as long as you keep your door open when you are entertaining guests, I will not enforce the policy, in these dorms, I'm queen, my word goes" explained the Matron smiling as she exited the room, conveniently forgetting to shut the door behind her.
Once the older woman was gone, Makoto breathed a sigh of relief, she walked over to the shelf, where the matron had placed her Ipod and speaker, took them down and placed them on her bedside table, plugging the speaker into the wall and attaching the Ipod to the speaker, while she sifted through the playlists to the one she wanted, within a few moments she had found what she wanted, her musical and stage show playlist, in seconds the first notes from seasons of love began to echo through the room and in to part of the corridor. Makoto sighed and went about straightening up her room and moving her possessions into what she considered the right places, the only item remaining in its original place was the plushie of the border collie on her bed, while she was organising her thing she had begun to sing along to the song, each of the words resonating with in the depths from his heart, reminding her of her hopes and her dreams.
Little did she know, others who were passing by could hear her music playing and came over to investigate, only to leave with the words in their heads like an ear worm, its lesson echoing in their hearts, however only two people were not affected one being Jun who found himself nauseated at the hope filled lyrics, and the other was Byakuya who found the music irritating and beneath him, he was tempted to go and tell Makoto off for listening to such sentimental drivel and to put something else on, however when he tried to act on his inclinations he was stopped by Keyo who told him to leave her be and that everyone had their own way of settling in, Byakuya simply scoffed and retreated back to his room to put his headphones on, he couldn't be bothered with those he thought were plebeians.
A couple of hours later, Makoto was satisfied that her room was as she liked it, she decided to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the school. Once night had fallen, a tired Makoto trudged her way into the dining hall and plonked herself in between Taka and Chihiro, Chihiro turned to Makoto and smiled at her shyly, Taka on the other hand frowned at her, Makoto wondered if it was because it was the fact that she was the last person to arrive, that was until began to speak to her.
"why did you make us wait? You were two minutes late!" yelled Taka even though he was right next to her.
"I was exploring, and getting my bearings so I know where to go, it simply took me a little while to find my way back" explained Makoto wincing at how loud Taka was as well as shaking slightly at how his attitude quickly resembled that of her mothers, however Makoto didn't want to make a nuisance of herself by asking to swap with someone. However, Mondo of all people noticed her feelings unease and got out of his seat next to Keyo and Mukuro and walked over to Makoto and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jump.
"Hey Naegi, swap..." he began until he saw an odd look on Makoto's face, "don't look at me like that! I saw that he was making you nervous" he explained, finally convincing Makoto to move into the vacated seat.
The evening meal went off without a hitch, almost everyone was a buzz, talking about where they came from and what they wanted to be, however the only person who was silent was Makoto, she was tired and Taka's outburst had made her anxious, she just wanted to eat her dinner and go to bed. Once she was finished, she got up and left without a word, however she didn't know that Sakuya had followed her into the common room.
"Are you ok Makoto?" he asked trying to once again to reconnect with his old friend.
"I'm fine" she replied quietly as she headed towards the bedrooms.
"Taka is intense, isn't he?" asked Sakuya, smiling weakly.
"you could say that" answered Makoto trying to avoid the subject. This caused Sakuya to sigh in frustation and he decided to finally come out with what he wanted to say.
"he reminded you of her didn't he" he stated, noticing Makoto flinch, "I thought so, he made uncomfortable didn't he?".
Makoto nodded sadly as they arrived at her door, she fumbled for her key not noticing at how badly her hand where shaking leading her to drop it at her feet. At hearing a cry of frustration, Sakuya bent over, picked up the key and placed it in the lock and turned it, letting Makoto into her room, Makoto walked in taking her key and shut the door, and got ready for bed. Meanwhile Sakuya was slumped against Makoto's door, slowly sinking to the floor his heart sinking more and more each second, he was hoping that when he had enough mony he could use it to get Makoto away from her mother, not that Makoto would ask for help especially from him, however he didn't account that she'd be the lucky lottery student, but it calmed him somewhat that she was free from her mother for now.
Makoto on the other hand was crying silent tears, she was disgusted with herself for comparing her classmate with her abuser, she walked to her bathroom, pulling her clothes off along the way, first was her blazer and shirt then her skirt, leggings and shoes then finally followed by her long silk gloves, exposing an alarming number of cuts and burns littering her arms, all of them self-inflicted. Makoto didn't bother to look at them, instead reaching for her new wash bag, fishing out the soap, shampoo and a sponge as well as a slim antique lacquered glove box containing six cut-throat razors and strop, she had played on her mother's vanity when she obtained them, when on holiday in London, Makoto had spotted the razors in the window of a Fleet street antique shop, and her mother bought them if only to shut her up, the dealer was shocked and actively tried to dissuade Mrs Naegi from buying them pointing to engraved monograms on the bone handles, Makoto smiled at the memories.
Flash back two years:
"Are you sure you want these miss? Beauty is not worth death" asked the Dealer worriedly.
"Why wouldn't I want them, they'll provide a closer shave and they are beautiful" replied Makoto, as she watched her mother pulling her purse in order to pay for them.
"These razors have a sordid history, you must understand, they were used in several murders and accidental deaths" he explained too Makoto softly.
"what do you mean?" asked Makoto looking at the razors again.
"They belonged to Sweeny Todd the demon barber" he explained telling Makoto the horror story, "again I must ask you are you sure that you want them?"
"Yes, yes I do" was her only reply.
Flash back end
Makoto broke out of her thoughts after a few moments, sighing she took the strop out of the box and hung it up on the back of the door and proceeded to prepare a razor for her task, however just as she was about to make the first cut in month her doorbell rang causing her to nearly scream in frustration. Grabbing her dressing-gowns she walked out of the bathroom razor in hand and opened the door only to be greeted by Keyo who looked unnerved at the razor.
"Yes..." asked Makoto.
"I wanted to see if you're alright" he explained eyes still glued to the razor.
"It's for my legs" explained Makoto angrilly.
"Oh, well are you alright? you didn't seem comfortable at dinner" he asked again.
"I'm fine, now can I get back to my shower and shave?" replied Makoto suddenly losing the urge to cut herself for now, it made her realise she had for control and her sanctuarary no matter how small it was, it would become her haven.
Keyo nodded and left, not knowing he'd inadvertently prevented Makoto's destructive habit on this occasion, Makoto sighed and decided just to follow through with what she told Keyo, a hot shower and a nice close shave, before settling down to sleep for that night, hoping that tomorrow wouldn't be as bad as today was.