"Hope!" Normal Speech

'Despair!' People's thoughts

"Truth!" Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I have as much ownership of the Danganronpa series as you do dear reader.

AN: Other tags for this story (since the site only gives you 2): Mystery/Friendship/Drama

Don't forget to vote on the poll on my profile!

Chapter 23

Desperate Times, Ultimate Measures

"Are you guys sure you're alright?" Makoto asked, eyeing everyone in the room with a frown.

"Of course we are!" And in response, Murasame Soshun spoke with a victorious smile, with his arms open wide. "Why would you think anything else?"

Makoto didn't say anything to that, and instead simply tilted his head to the side, allowing him to look at the table hiding behind Soshun's back, or to be more precise, to the people sitting around said table.

These individuals were, of course, Hope's Peak Academy's Student Council. The students responsible of working for the well-being of their fellow students, and the school itself.

From key events that the school hosted to making sure the students were keeping up with the standards set by such a prestigious school like Hope's Peak, there was no denying that Hope's Peak's Student Council had to be filled with the best of the best.

"Guh…."

And one of them was puking in a bucket right now.

"Please, no more…"

Another one had his head resting on the table while tears flowed through his eyes.

"Help help help help help."

One of the girls was just rocking herself back and forth on her seat, with a haunted look on her face.

And around them, the rest of Student Council didn't seem to be fairing much better.

Makoto gave them all a worried look, before looking back at the president, whose smile seemed to be frozen in place.

"I mean, uhh…" He honestly didn't know what to say.

"Never mind them, they just like to play like that." Soshun said as he circled one of his arms around Makoto's shoulders. "I'm glad you came however, since we do need your assistance with something."

"What is it?" He could only imagine how dire things must be for Soshun to be asking for his help, given how much he knew he didn't like getting help from students from outside the Student Council.

"Well you see, we found ourselves lacking some…manpower needed to finish everything for the Sports Festival in time." Soshun's tone was cheerful, which was a weird contrast to the current groans that he heard from the rest of the students present. "And it seems I can't make my friends here help more without getting a lawsuit or something like that."

"Fuck off." Someone's sudden yell actually made him jump, but Soshun's smile remained firmly on his lips.

"So with that in mind, I need your assistance with getting some help from other students."

"You want me to ask my class?" Makoto concluded, but his face of understanding turned into frown once he felt Soshun' hold on him become tighter.

"Not to offend your class or anything, Naegi-kun, but I only trust them for as far as I can throw them." Soshun said, his smile finally faltering and being replaced with a grimace. "Nothing personal I assure you, I also don't trust our sister class even a single bit!"

"…Fair enough." Makoto decided to not argue with that, for even though he wanted to defend his friends, he also was aware why Soshun mistrusted them as such.

"Luckily for us, we have a whole new batch of fresh students that I don't completely hate so far." And the smile was back to Soshun's face. "A batch that you know personally well, right?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Wonderful!" And now the Student Council President had both of his hand resting on his shoulders. "In that case, I'm sure you can get us someone trustable and willing to do some physical labor!"

It didn't take long for his mind to come up with the perfect individual for this.

"Hoh!"

"Alright, move it over there, Gonta-kun!"

"Gonta understands, Naegi-senpai!"

And in an incredible show of strength, he saw Gonta take the metal beam over her shoulder and move as if it weighted nothing.

"You really found someone amazing…" And to his right, Umesawa Aiko spoke in awe, with the ears of her hoodie somehow mimicking her feelings given the way they swayed from side to side. "Are you sure he's just the Ultimate Entomologist?"

"I know that feeling." He could only chuckle at her expression, remembering how he himself looked just the same the first time he had witnessed Gonta's insane strength. "But really, Gonta-kun knows about insects more than anyone else."

"He's also really kind and eager to help." Makoto continued, his smile growing bigger just as he saw Gonta assist one of the workers with their own heavy-lifting. "So Umesawa-senpai can relax around him, he won't let you down, I promise."

His words seemed to have an effect on her, given she gave a relieved sigh before nodding towards him with a small smile.

He didn't blame her however, for he knew Gonta gave quite the imposing sight since his sheer physical strength could almost rival some of the strongest students at the school like Sakura.

But he also knew that Gonta was as inoffensive as someone could get, so he was more than glad that he had accepted to help him with this endeavor.

Not that it took too much convincing anyway, given how willing Gonta always was when it came to give someone a helping hand.

Luckily it seemed that things were progressing nicely, and Makoto could only hope everything would be ready before the Festival, for the sake of his senpai's mental health mostly.

"Do you mind if I stay for today, Umesawa-senpai?" But even though he trusted him completely, he felt more than a bit responsible for Gonta, given that it was him who had brought him here in the first place.

"O-of course you can stay!" He was surprised though, given the sudden outburst that he got as a response, and it seemed he wasn't the only one surprised by the way she responded, given the look he received next, accompanied by her rabbit ears dropping dramatically. "I-I mean…if you really want to…"

He nodded in confusion before smiling, something that he was grateful his senpai returned, albeit in shyer fashion, before both of their gaze went back to the proceedings in front of them, a comfortable air enveloping them both.

But unknown to them a pair of eyes had been watching them for a while now, and the growl that left the owner's lips was that of someone ready to draw blood.

"Who do they think they are?!" She hissed in frustration and anger, her fingers twitching in her hands as if she was holding herself back from strangling the air in front of her. "That good for nothing caveman and that weird-eyed little hussie…!"

She thought today had been her lucky day, with her finding Makoto by sheer coincidence. She had been more than ready to approach him, but when she saw that he was with that Neanderthal from her class, she had decided to just follow them around first.

And then end result was her back on her Research Lab with nothing but contempt on her mind because of what she saw.

How dare Gonta have Makoto's attention and trust just like that?! If he really needed someone's help, he should have asked her then! Sure, it sounded like a pain, but she was willing to ignore that if it meant Makoto would be looking at her!

Smiling at her…

Telling her how proud he was of her… maybe even getting a pat on the head from him?

And maybe even more…?

Her whole body shuddered at such a thought, to the point she even hugged herself, with an excited grin forming on her lips.

She needed that so badly right now.

Fortunately for her, she knew just what to do to get that attention.

"This baby will show them just how obsolete those dumb muscles really are!" She cracked in glee just as she focused on one of her newest ideas. Sure, the thing still needed a bit more of work before it was done, but nothing she wouldn't be able to finish in just a couple of hours!

She wouldn't have time to do proper quality testing if she wanted to show it off today though…

"Whatever." Who cares, anyway? It was an invention made by her. Testing or not, she knew it would be flawless!

And it was with such mentality that Iruma Miu started to work on her newest piece of tech, with the only intention of her heart being that of gaining her senpai's look of admiration once more.

"Man, girls are crazy…" And on a corner of the lab, unnoticed by the focused blonde, one Soda Kazuichi commented lightly while eating his lunch, once more lamenting the fact that he was forced to share Research Labs with that insane new girl.

"Here, Gonta-kun." He called out to the resting brunette, while offering the water bottle in his hand. "Try to not overwork yourself too much, alright?"

"Thank you, senpai!" Gonta's cheerful response betrayed whatever tiredness he might have felt at the moment. "But Gonta can still work, no worry!"

He smiled at Gonta's enthusiasm before patting him on the shoulder and moving to sit to his side, both of their gazes locked on the form of Aiko instructing everyone around her.

"Thank you for helping us with this, Gonta-kun." The words flowed from Makoto's mouth, earning a look of curiosity from Gonta. "You didn't really have to, so I'm glad you were willing to lend us a hand."

"Gonta just wanted to help, like how senpai helps everyone in class!" He flushed in embarrassment at Gonta's honest praise. It didn't help that he was beaming at him with such a shine in his gaze.

"Naegi-kun does like to do that." Their attention was taken away by Aiko walking over to them while a soft smile was present on her features. "He's the only reason we haven't killed Soshun-san so far!"

"She's just joking!" Makoto was quick to intervene once he saw Gonta's horrified expression. "Right, senpai?"

"…Yes, just…a joke." He could only be glad Gonta didn't seem to notice the way Aiko's smile was not reaching her now hollow eyes.

Maybe he needed to talk to Soshun about giving the other members a break from time to time?

"Are you sure you can continue, Gokuhara-kun?" It was Aiko who asked softly with a small frown. "Since this is your first day I wouldn't mind if you took it easy."

"Gonta is not tired! Gonta can keep going all day!" But Gonta's response was as expected, and as if to show that he meant it, Gonta was quick to stand up before rushing forward, and only stopping to pick up a series of metal tubes.

Both Makoto and Aiko could only look in amazement as Gonta grabbed multiple of those, more than heavy enough for them to not be able to lift them, yet Gonta was able to put them over his shoulder as if they were nothing.

"Ultimates nowadays have specs too high." And to Aiko's whisper, Makoto could only nod absentmindedly. "But even so…hmm?"

It seemed Aiko had more to say, but her words died on her lips by something else, something that Makoto noticed quickly.

"Who is that…?" She said once Gonta returned with the pillars still on his shoulder, prompting both Makoto and Gonta to look at whatever, or rather whoever, had her attention.

And both of their eyes widened at the same time.

"Iruma-san?!" They even spoke at the same time, their gaze focusing on the approaching blonde, one set of eyes showing nothing but curiosity while the other set showed dread.

"Is she another student that you convinced to help us?" Aiko asked when she saw that they both recognized the newcomer.

"Eh, not really…" Meanwhile, Makoto was trying to figure out what Miu was doing here, for he certainly couldn't' remember telling anyone besides Gonta.

And the grin that was visible on Miu's face was, for some reason, sending warning bells to his brain.

"Makoto-senpai!" And once Miu reached them, she promptly focused all of her attention on him, blatantly ignoring both her classmate and the student council member. "If you really needed then you should have asked me!"

"Iruma-san is helping?" Gonta wondered out loud, and Makoto couldn't blame him for his confusion.

He was just as confused as he was.

"This area is off limits for the students." But before he could say anything, it was Aiko who spoke in a soft tone while eyeing Miu warily. "If you weren't granted permission then you shouldn't be here…"

It was after hearing those words that Miu finally moved her gaze from Makoto, only to turn a glare right at Aiko, who could only give a nervous glance in response.

"What's with you? Don't you see I'm talking with Makoto?" Miu's words were dripping with acid strong enough that Makoto moved to intervene right after.

"W-What are you doing here, Iruma-san?" He asked as he stood between Miu and Aiko, wanting to avoid a possible fight. He knew how rude Miu could be to those that she didn't like, after all.

Which was almost everyone, now that he thought about it.

For some reason, the image of certain other blonde from his class entered his mind, but he was quick to shake that idea off.

"Umesawa-senpai is right, this is a restricted area right now." He continued while giving Aiko, who was now hiding behind him, an apologetic smile. "So you really shouldn't be here."

In fact, the only reason he and Gonta were allowed here was because they got permission from the Student Council in the first place.

"Bah!" However, Miu simply huffed in response, right before proudly hitting her chest. "Once they see what my baby can do, they're all going to be begging me to stay!"

"Baby?" He heard Aiko's confused whisper from behind him, but he was too busy giving Miu an alarmed look to respond.

He knew exactly what she was referring to when she talked about her babies, and while he had the utmost trust on her given that she was the Ultimate Inventor, he also knew firsthand just how…unique some of her inventions could truly be.

And last thing he wanted was something like that in a place like this.

"Wait, Iruma-san!"

"Ha!" But his words landed on deft ears, since the next thing Miu did was to press a button on the weird-looking backpack she had been carrying.

And the results were immediate.

"Wha….?" Aiko's flabbergasted expression matched both his and Gonta's shocked one. The responsible of that? The long, arm-looking things that suddenly sprout out of Miu's backpack.

There were four of them, all moving lazily on the air, while the one controlling said arms sported nothing but an arrogant grin.

"These bad boys can lift far, far more than what any person could ever hope to." Miu explained, watching intently at Makoto's surprised expression. She didn't want to miss the moment his gaze turned into one of adoration, after all. "Here, let me show you!"

And then, without waiting for a response, the mechanical limps followed her unsaid order, and moved swiftly towards Gonta, who left a gasp of surprised once they reached him.

Or rather, the heavy objects still resting on his shoulder.

"Wow…" There was nothing but awe in Gonta's voice once Miu's invention managed to take one of the tubes away from him with seemingly no issue with its weight.

"That's…impressive." Aiko followed with her own words, although her tone was also laced with worry given the way the girl just let the arms hang above her.

"It is, isn't it?" It was Makoto's words however, the ones that got the biggest response from Miu.

She was pretty much vibrating on the spot, with an excited smirk forming on her lips.

This was it then, right? The moment she had been waiting for, and something no one could take away from her right here and now.

It would make it all worth it! Having to tolerate other taking away Makoto's time and attention from her, it almost made her pull her hair out every day

Why couldn't he make some time for her too, like before?

But none of that would matter now that he was seeing just how amazing she was, and the smile she saw slowly form on his face even had her cheeks heating up, with the anticipation of more igniting a fire inside her.

But right before she could get what she really wanted.

"Watch out!" Aiko's scream was the only warning Miu got, which forced her to look up, just in time to see to see one of the metal tubes that her prototype has been holding now falling directly towards her.

Her invention has failed.

The next thing Miu felt was a body colliding with hers, in an apparent attempt to shield her from the hit.

It was Makoto.

But just as it almost reached them, it was stopped right on its path before it reached them, with it being so close that a shadow was being casted over them.

"Are you alright?!" It was Gonta's frantic tone that reached Makoto and Miu right after.

Gonta also just happened to have been able to catch the falling object with his bare hands right before it had hit them, with it being so close that it filled Miu's gaze as her shaky eyes looked over Makoto's shoulder.

"We are…" As for Makoto, his words were accompanied by a shaky breath, although he did his best to turn his frown into a shaky smile. "You're a life saver, Gonta-kun. Thank you."

"Iruma-san?" His gaze then landed on the girl he was hugging tightly, who had been nothing but silent for the past few seconds, now that he could blame her for that, for even in his grasp he could feel her shaking, and the paleness that had taken her face could not be mistaken for anything else.

But once her eyes matched his own, Makoto was prepared for a plethora of different responses.

But even then, the sheer terror that he could see in her gaze truly caught him by surprise.

"W-wait!" The fact that she then pushed him away roughly, with the only reason for him not tripping being Gonta who kept him steady, right before she ran away as fast as possible did little to help him understand the situation at hand.

"Iruma-san!" His cries, however, fell on deaf ears once more, with his gaze glued onto the girl's back as she disappeared inside the walls of Hope's Peak.

"Oh thank god you're here!"

When he arrived, the one that greeted him was an obviously ticked off Kazuichi.

"What happened?" He asked immediately. It seemed his hunch had been correct. He could only be glad he had decided to check her Research Lab first instead of her room.

She did love spending time here, after all. That much he was aware of.

"I don't know!" Kazuichi spoke with a huff. "Iruma just bargained in and yelled at me to get out! She even started throwing things at me, who the hell does that?!"

He could only cringe slightly after hearing that, a pained expression forming on his face as he looked at the closer door of the Lab.

To say he was worried about Miu would be an understatement.

"I'm sure she didn't' mean it." He was quick to defend her, knowing that her relationship with Kazuichi was rocky at best because of her attitude. "We just had an…accident earlier."

"If you say so…" Kazuichi certainly didn't sound convinced, but he let it go with a shrug. "You'll handle it then? I rather her not break anything important there."

"Of course." He nodded without hesitation, which Kazuichi returned before bringing out a card from his pocket.

"Knock yourself out then." He took the key-card from Kazuichi's hand. "I'll go see if Sonia-san is free then."

He could only give a tense smile as Kazuichi left, a pang of guilt hitting him right there and there in response to his words.

He sighed soon after though. One problem at the time, and right now it was Miu who needed him the most.

So it was with a look of determination that he swiped the card on the lock, the door opening without a hitch right after.

He couldn't deny one fact however: The room did look someone had thrown a bunch of stuff randomly. Sure, this place was never the most organized one to begin with, but right now he was starting to realize Kazuichi had not been exaggerating at all.

Luckily, he didn't have to look around for too long to find the one responsible.

He found her sitting on the other side of the room, against the wall, her knees drawn in and her arms around them, hugging them tightly to herself, and even as he approached her slowly, he could see her body trembling every few seconds.

If he had to be honest, it took a lot of his self-control to not simply rush in towards her, but previous experiences had taught him better than to do that. The slower, more careful approach was sometimes the better one, even if it was a difficult one for him when he saw someone he cared in such a state.

But even so he pushed on, only faltering slightly once he saw her body tense when he got close enough to her, an obvious sign that she had finally noticed his presence.

She didn't utter a single word however, which he took as a sign to keep moving forward.

He only stopped once he had reached her, and even then the only thing he did was to carefully sit beside her, close enough so that their shoulders were almost touching.

He still remained silent however, since even though he had gotten this far, he still hadn't come up with what he wanted to say.

It was a conflictive thought, for in one hand he wanted to make sure she was feeling well, but he also wanted to admonish her at the very least, given what had happened.

But doing so wasn't easy, since he was more than aware just how truly sensitive Miu could be.

It was quite the contrast with the sharp tong and prideful behavior she liked to display around most people.

But because he knew her, he knew he needed to be more careful. He didn't want to hurt her, after all, so his words needed to be picked carefully if he didn't want her to take them in the wrong way and do something crazy.

…again.

So when he opened his mouth after minutes of silence, it was because he had finally found what he wanted to say.

"Please don't leave me."

But his words never left his lips, for it was Miu's sudden whisper the one that broke the silence between them, with the sorrowful tone that filled her voice being enough to make him swallow anything that he was going to say.

"Please, don't leave me." She repeated once more, this time her voice being both louder and more desperate as she hugged her legs tighter. "Please, don't hate me…"

"You know I will never hate you." His response was immediate, his concerned gaze focused on her. "I told you that before, didn't I?"

And then, before he could say more, Miu had latched herself to his arm with her hands in a grip so strong that he almost winced.

"You promise?" She muttered softly, with her forehead now resting on his shoulder, still blocking her expression from his view.

"Of course…" His answer was just as soft, and in return he felt her nodding against his shoulder, with the silence that followed right after being far less tense than before.

But they weren't done, and as both her friend and senpai, he knew he needed to keep on.

"What were you trying to do?" He asked carefully, first wanting to understand her intentions properly. Straight up altruism wasn't exactly a Miu thing, so there had to be something else.

He felt her tense against him for just a moment, so he remained quiet, giving her the chance to sort out his thoughts. She wasn't the best liar anyway, which was quite something coming from him, so he would probably know if she wasn't being honest.

"I wanted to a-amaze you…" Her words were soft, earning a surprised look. "S-so you would look at me more than anyone else…"

He…. actually hadn't expected that answer.

Of course, he had assumed that she had done it to show off, but he had also thought that it had more to do with the simple act of showing off rather than to who.

In other words, he had underestimated Miu's attachment towards him.

He almost shook his head at that thought. Wouldn't be the first time he had misjudged a girl's emotions, given his current issue with Sonia.

It wasn't like he didn't know Miu could be…clingy. This was the girl that bargained into his room without his permission just to do…strange things, after all, but he had believed that once she became a student at Hope's Peak, she would be able to make more friends which would have helped with that issue.

Of course it seemed he had been wrong, but his heart went out to certain Ultimate Pianist who he knew was still trying his best.

"And your invention?" He followed up, eyeing the silver backpack that was lying at one of the tables close to them.

"I didn't test it properly before using it." Such was her response, her voice quivering soon right after. "Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not." Whatever anger he had felt had been swiftly replaced with worry by now, but even so he knew something had to be done. He was this girl' senpai, after all, and he had promised not only to the Headmaster, but to himself too, that he would be looking out for all of class 79.

Celes' words from the other day, however, echoed on his head at such a thought. He knew that what he was doing was pretty preposterous, and even though he had told her that it had been the Headmaster that had convinced him of such, the truth was a bit more complicated than that.

After all, Jin had only gone along with it because he himself had suggested it to him.

From helping with the recruitment to making sure they were adapting well to the school, it all something that he had decided to do whole heartedly.

And the reason why? Simply put…

It was the very least he could do.

So when he carefully removed himself from Miu's grasp, while offering her a reassuring smile when she sent him a panicked look, and then moved towards the table where Miu's failed invention rested, it was to keep doing what he had promised himself to do.

To help them.

"You'll finish this thing then." He declared while patting the backpack, earning a bewildered look from Miu. "And then we'll work from there."

It was the very least he could do.

And no one could convince him otherwise.

"W-What is she doing h-here?" Aiko's words of trepidation were the first thing that greeted him the next time he came back to the off-limits area.

The reason for her obvious worry being, of course, the downtrodden Miu that was following him.

"You told me you needed all the help you could get." He said as he put a hand on Miu's shoulder, who slightly jumped at the contact. "and Iruma-san here can help plenty!"

Of course, they only received a doubtful glare from Aiko, one that would probably have more of an effect if she wasn't using Gonta's body as a shield right at the moment.

At the very least, Gonta looked more than happy to see them, so that's always a nice thing.

"Can she?" Aiko challenged, eyeing Miu with mistrust. "Because last time-"

"I'm vouching for her this time." He interrupted, with a smile of confidence going from Aiko to Miu. "Her invention will make things be done in no time!"

And since Makoto went back to focus his gaze on Aiko, he missed the way Miu's cheek flared red and the embarrassed smile she now sported.

'Did he tame her or something?' Aiko, however, did not.

"Gonta trusts Iruma-san too!" Surprisingly though, Gonta' cheerful tone followed right after. "She can make amazing things, Aiko-senpai!"

For Aiko it was hard to ignore Gonta's earnest expression, which Makoto found quite nostalgic if he was being honest.

"Do you promise it won't cause another accident?" Aiko's question was aimed straight at Miu, who only huffed in response.

"It won't." Miu answered with a bit of bite in her tone, for even though she understood why Aiko was acting like that, it didn't mean she liked someone like her doubting her abilities.

"R-really, it won't!" The look she received from Makoto right after though, was enough to get her to backtrack and talk in a politer tone.

"…Fine, then." Aiko concluded with a sigh. "But only because Naegi-kun is putting his trust in you…but we'll start with small things just to be safe."

"Thank you for this, senpai!" Makoto's words of gratitude were aimed directly at Aiko, who could only follow Miu's example and look away in embarrassment, with the ears of her hoodie dropping in a vain attempt of hiding her face.

"Follow along then." Aiko spoke as she turned away from them, and while the first one to follow along would have been Gonta, he was stopped someone tapping him on his arm.

That someone being Miu.

"Iruma-san?" Gonta' spoke with obvious confusion, for the blonde was too busy now glaring at the ground below her, her gaze shifting from the sole of her foot to Makoto, who was standing away from them, giving her an encouraging smile.

"…Thank you…" Miu whispered quietly, as if not wanting anyone else to hear her. "For saving us before, I mean…"

And as Gonta's confused expression turned into a joyful one, which was mirrored by Miu's annoyed harrumph, Makoto could do nothing but shake his head with a smile.

'Baby steps.' He thought, wondering just how many times he would be using that phrase.

Plenty, if he had to take a guess.

A bit later than expected, but here's the new chapter. No V3 character in last chapter so this one balances out, and yes, I did pick Aiko out of the Student Council just because of her hoodie.

Now, might be sooner than expected given the previous pattern, but next chapter will be another flashback one, this time featuring the winner of the first poll I made a long, way too long time ago. First place ended up being a decisive victory, which is funny since 2nd place was a tie.

Hopefully next chapter won't take too long, but flashback ones are harder to write personally, and since this is a character you all voted I want to make sure it is a good chapter, so fingers crossed.

Once more, thank you all your having read thus far, and for your follow/favorite and of course, your reviews. I won't lie, I love those.

Next Chapter: In the eyes of Nanami Chiaki.