"Oh no."
Sato took several steps back at the sight before her, clutching the now bloodied baseball bat. She didn't mean to do it. Fuyuhiko just happened to get in the way. But no matter how much she justified her actions, it wouldn't change the fact that she just took the life of Natsumi's brother. She just killed a member of the Kuzuryuu clan, and not just anyone, but the son of the current leaders. Sato knew that if they were to find out, they can and will hunt her down; especially Natsumi.
But that's only if they knew. Sparing one last glance at the body of Fuyuhiko, the girl uttered a silent apology to him before going off to get rid of all evidence that she's been there inside a garbage bag. Since she is the student assigned to take the trash out today, no one will question her when she headed her destination to the furnace outside.
Sato could only feel heaviness in her chest, watching proof of what she has done burst up in flames.
When the next day came, the atmosphere of Class 77-B grew grim with the absence of Natsumi and Peko. No one in class could really blame them. After all, they just lost a family member.
Inside, the bodyguard lowered her head as she stood by the body of the former young master, currently covered by a white sheet. She silently cursed herself for failing her duty as a tool. If only she had the power to go against his request and do as her instincts have told her; she wouldn't have lost her childhood friend, and Natsumi wouldn't have to lose her brother.
For once in her life, Peko wished that she disobeyed Fuyuhiko's orders.
Outside the morgue, the yakuza heir raised her fist, and with a cry of rage, punched the wall with it, giving it a taste of her grief. Blow after blow, Natsumi didn't give herself a room to breathe as she continued through her assault.
"If they think that they can get away with killing one of us, they're fucking wrong. I'll find the bastard responsible for this." She said as with another punch to emphasize her point, not caring about the cracks coming from her blows.
"I'll hunt down the motherfucker who did this to you like the dog they are, and when I find them, they'll wish they were never born!" Another loud crack reasonated in her ears, but it failed to reach her senses. Not even the pain coming from her abused fist could compare to her loss.
"I swear to God, I'll kill the son of a bitch with my own two hands!" Natsumi vowed, giving the wall one last punch with a sickeningly loud crack.
By the time she was finally done, the yakuza pulled her hand up to her face, now taking in the numb, stinging sensation coming from her now bloodied fist.
But Natsumi didn't care about that. All she cared about was avenging her brother, no matter what it takes.
Sato was the next victim. This morning, the girl was found dead in the girl's bathroom. Like Fuyuhiko from two nights ago, her cause of death was blunt force trauma to her head. Due to how eerily similar the two student's cause of deaths were, many students began to fear the possibility of a serial killer in school. In order to prevent mass panic and to protect the school's reputation, the higher ups of Hope's Peak covered the incident up to prevent media from picking it up. They had no trouble doing so, considering that the victims were reserve course students; it would be slightly more difficult had it been ultimate students.
But that doesn't mean they had to like the outcome.
After hearing the murder of her best friend, Mahiru began to distance herself from her classmates, only letting Hiyoko talk to her. The artist refused to let her classmates see her cry, but when it all became too much for her, she ran to the girl's bathroom.
"Mahiru!" The nurse yelled, running after her friend.
With tears threatening to drop from her eyes, Mahiru ran past Natsumi, either she didn't notice the yakuza's presence or she was too upset to care about that particular detail.
The yakuza looked back to where the two ran off before they both vanished from her sight. Natsumi hates to admit it, but as much as she hates the viridian head, she didn't deserve to die like that; neither does Mahiru deserve the pain of losing someone you knew.
This only gives her more of a reason to hunt down the bastard responsible for it.
After hearing about the incidents, Hajime wished that he could do something about it. He briefly wondered if he should go and lend an ear to his grieving classmates, but before he could step out of the classroom to do so, he was pulled back by Nagito.
"Komaeda, what are you doing?" He questioned. The volunteer shook his head.
"Hinata, I think it's best if we leave them alone for now." Nagito said. "I know that you want to help them, and I would like to as well, but with the way things are for them right now, we shouldn't bother them."
Before the guidance counselor could muster a reply, the volunteer then added, "We'll give them our condolences if they're in the mood to be in the class and talk to everyone. But for now, they just need some space."
Hajime sighed. "I see what you mean, Komaeda. But, I can't just sit here and do nothing. I feel like I'm failing everyone if I don't do something."
Nagito placed a hand on his shoulder. "You aren't failing anyone, Hinata. However, you should know that not everyone will open up to you in a matter of seconds if you dig from them. Some will even be resentful if they feel that you're digging too much into their personal space. It takes time before they share you something personal to them."
"I guess you're right." Hajime admitted, finally giving in.
Playing video games with him may have let you become friends with him. A deeper part of Chiaki's mind told her. But it certainly didn't help him live.
It's childish to blame yourself for an incident that wasn't even in your control, but the reserve course student couldn't help but feel partly responsible for the events that transpired. Losing Fuyuhiko hurt, and while she didn't know Sato that much, she knows that somewhere, the viridian-haired girl's family and friends are grieving for her.
What she's about to do is not only stupid, but also risks getting herself expelled from the reserve course, or worse. Chiaki wasn't happy at all when she discovered that the school not only covered up the incident; they also refused to conduct any investigations. The reserve course student wonders if this is the small, selfish part in her, but she knows that she won't let the perpetrator of the crime wander free, whoever they might be.
When she reached the building of the main course, she could see an adult man in front of the gates. Judging from his uniform, it's easy to guess that he's a security guard. The student weighed her options: on one hand, she could try sneaking inside the gate, which is incredibly risky even if Metal Gear did teach her a few things, and even if she tried, there's always the chance of the security guard catching her before she could even get in, which shouldn't be a chore considering how he's built. On the other hand, she could try asking to be let inside instead, which not only is stupid, but also runs the chance of the man yelling at her to go away before she could even say a word.
Taking a deep breath, Chiaki approached the entrance, and praying that this will work, attempted to sneak her way in. Rather predictably, the security guard immediately took notice of her presence, and yelled, "Hey!"
She nearly jumped at the volume of his voice. "Get lost, kid. Only Ultimates could get in." He said rather gruffly, intending to make her go away. But even so, the reserve course student steeled her resolve; she'll do something right for once.
Stepping forward, she asked, "Why won't Hope's Peak do something about the murders?"
The man growled in annoyance and said, "That shit doesn't concern you at all. Now get away from here."
She would be lying if she said that the security guard didn't intimidate her at all. As a matter of fact, even from a distance she could feel herself slightly shake at the presence of the man bigger than her. But, she has to try!
The moment she tried to force her way in, she didn't even manage to move an inch from her spot before the man grabbed her by the collar of her blouse, pulling her up so that they could meet at an eye level, and then pinned her to the wall. Even though he wasn't choking her, Chiaki couldn't help but gasp for air as she struggled under him.
"I tried asking you nicely," He said as his features darkened. "But you just had to be a stubborn little brat."
The student continued to futilely struggle against his hold. In a matter of instinct, Chiaki raised her right hand and attempted to punch the man in the face. To her dread, he managed to catch her fist without even batting an eyelid.
It wasn't very effective...
"Are you trying to play hero?" His question sounded more like a statement, staring the student down in her eyes. "If there's one thing that pisses me off more than anything, it's when people who don't know their place stick their noses in businesses that don't concern them."
Throwing her punch back to her, Chiaki felt herself fall over on the cold pavement. Before she could try to get up, she felt the security guard's foot crush her back, forcibly pinning her down. She bit back a cry of pain as the man pressed it deeper, ensuring that she doesn't escape.
"People like you only stick close to the Ultimates because you think that by being with them, you could at least be worth something." She wanted to yell on how wrong he was, but deep down, she knew he had a point.
"But the truth is, the only good you talentless people could ever be for is following them around like goldfish crap!" He added harshly as he momentarily lifted his foot off her, only to deliver a swift kick to her gut.
Chiaki cried out in pain, feeling her body slide away from the hard blow, both physically and verbally. As she braced herself for another round of beating, a voice she thought that she'll never hear again intervened.
"Juzo, that's enough!" The security guard, now identified as Juzo, was pushed away from her. Once she felt that the man was no longer within her distance, Chiaki forced herself to stand up and ran as best as she could, not even giving a proper look towards her savior.
"Nanami, is there something bothering you?" Hajime asked, watching his friend pack her console away into her bag.
Just earlier, he watched her stumble on her way to their meeting place. The guidance counselor was momentarily worried if she was being bullied in class, only for her to reassure him that she only fell down the stairs. It's hard to know for sure, but he's pretty sure that she didn't really fell on the stairs.
"It's nothing." Chiaki quickly replied, not even looking at him in the eye as she grabbed her bag. He knew that she's hiding something from him; it wasn't like her to be so distant towards him.
"Nanami, I'm worried about you. Please, just tell me what's wrong." He almost pleaded at that moment. "You can tell me anything."
"It's none of your business." To say that he was shocked at her rather harsh response would be an understatement. Upon seeing his hurt look, the reserve course student softened a bit and added, "I'm sorry. I'm just really tired today, that's all."
Hajime wanted to dig deeper, because he knows that there really is something bothering his friend. But then he remembered Nagito's words from earlier that day.
"You should know that not everyone will open up to you in a matter of seconds if you dig from them. Some will even be resentful if they feel that you're digging too much into their personal space. It takes time before they share you something personal to them."
Sighing in resignation, he supposed that his usual methods would do more harm than good if he tried today. Maybe his classmate was right; he should give Chiaki some space.
"Alright, I believe you." The guidance counselor affirmed, giving her a small smile. This only served to make the reserve course student feel even worse about herself, though she didn't show it.
"Hinata, I'll be going now." She said, turning to leave.
But before she could go, she heard him ask, "I'll see you here tomorrow, right?"
Those words brought back her memories of meeting him that day. Now that she thought about it, if she had never met him, she would have never found the courage to speak with Fuyuhiko. In fact, she would have never found the motivation to become someone better. Whether she likes it or not, Hajime has changed her.
With a small smile, she turned back to him and replied,
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."
Chiaki was glad that she didn't throw away the paper confirming the offer given to her just yet. So when she presented it to a security guard who isn't Juzo, she was quickly escorted inside an office.
From there, she saw a black-haired boy sneer to a nearby man and say, "This is our subject? She looks pretty underwhelming."
The man sighed and shook his head. "Please ignore him, Ms. Nanami. Matsuda here always had quite the sharp tongue, so forgive him if he might offend you."
He took his hand out. "I am Satoshi Inoue, the head of the Steering Committee of Hope's Peak Academy. You may call me Mr. Inoue for short."
The student gave his hand a reluctant shake. Now that she has a better look inside, Matsuda and Mr. Inoue weren't the only people here. An old man she hasn't met before and Headmaster Kirigiri were in here too. For some reason, the old man didn't look as enthusiastic as Mr. Inoue was.
The steering committee head then led her in front of a table, handed her a pen, and tapped a finger on the papers in front of her. "Before we could proceed with the Hope Cultivation Program, we need you to sign these in order to ensure your consent. Don't worry; we already have your parent's approval as you can see here." Mr. Inoue reassured her as he pointed at the signature her parents have signed.
But before Chiaki could sign the papers, she saw the old man give a solemn look to the headmaster, and afterwards turned his attention towards her. "My child, are you sure you want to do this?"
It was subtle, but the steering committee head shot a displeased look at the older man. Grandpa is probably worried for her safety, and she couldn't exactly blame him; they didn't give her much details about the program, besides the fact that it would give her a chance to be a better version of herself.
With her resolve steeled, Chiaki nodded and replied, "Yes. I've made up my mind."
Closing his eyes in resignation, the old man sighed and said, "Just please don't regret your decision afterwards."
She wasn't sure on what he meant by that, but for now, she focused on the task at hand and proceeded to sign the papers, sealing her deal.
From then on, Chiaki should have known that her promise with Hajime was broken from the start.
It's because from that day forward, the guidance counselor never saw her waiting for him at the fountain. Neither did she appear on the days after that.
