HEY GUYS! Pupla here!
First chapter of the year, woho! It's time to celebrate! …at least for me. Yeah, I manage to be happy just by uploading a chapter there and then. I'm one simple guy.
The usual shootout to the usual people. You know who I'm talking about right now. ;)
First thing off first, I fixed the many mistakes I've made last chapter. So if you want to read it again to relax, well, do it. I sure hope nobody had their eyes bleeding because of my rush…
Oh yeah, and I added Suzuko's part in the last chapter. In my rush, I forgot to put her… again. So go check it out if you want. Though it's nothing major this time, fortunately.
Oh, and while I'm at it, I also corrected one or two things at the 'From Her to Him Too' chapter at the very end… I just realized what I originally planned was not going to work. But I think you will realize it once the chapter I'm talking about will be out… eventually, and hopefully.
Is there any attorney I should consult just in case? XD
Secondly, I forgot to mention another fic I found interesting. It's called 'A New Hope' by Crit Fail. Basically, it's a crossover of every official DR thing. I suggest to check it out along with the other projects he is writing now.
As for the third thing…
You know what? I think I'm going to talk about it AFTER the character bio. Because it's pretty serious business (at least the way I see it), and I don't want to bother you with such serious matter. I feel like this would kill the moment because you would think of it too much.
So, without further ado, let's jump right in the chapter dedicated to our dear Luckster with the gorgeous genius with the good looks and amazing brain, Miu Iruma!
Hey Jibster, if you read this… I sure hope you'll like this.
With all of that out of the way, enjoy!
CONQUERING HOPE CHAPTER 9.5:
A GENIUS'S AWAKENING
Sometimes… luck isn't on our side.
The current meaning of this sentence is that, some days are better than others.
And unfortunately, this particular day was… not really a good one for two particular students.
On the bright side, they had people they could talk to in order to… express their feelings, to put it lightly to one of the two persons.
…even if the listeners were just kids.
"R-really? He said something like that?"
Then again, it is to be expected. Children do have some difficulties to understand some situations. And when they do, they don't know how to control their feelings.
As much as it was some cliche, Makoto knew that Jataro was among those people.
He didn't react violently, thankfully, he wasn't like that. But that didn't mean he was not surprised and worried… quite the opposite, actually.
And considering the person with who it happened… he was right in a sense.
"Yes, Jataro." Makoto winced a little. "He really tried to… you know, be charming with us. W-well, with Iruma-san, at least…"
He was a little shaken up by what happened, to be honest. Because he was both discussed by the behavior the old man showed… and tensed because of the sudden shift of tone that happened.
But even if he found that the man's attitude was disgusting, he could at least try to calm down.
After all, he was a member of the Steering Committee, and he couldn't just talk dirt on his back, even if the old man did so in front of him.
Walls had ears, after all. You never know for sure.
"Ya should have seen his smile! He was freakin' drooling just by seeing my amazing body! And he really thought I was gonna say yes!"
Same thing didn't cross Miu's mind, however, as she did not hesitate to talk dirty… as usual.
…thought, he could understand her this time. She was the one he was originally trying to flirt with to begin with, so he could easily get why she was so scandalized.
He simply hoped she was not going to use this as an excuse to say dirty words or insults.
"I thought you were going to accept for a moment, to be honest…"
"N-Nagisa?!"
The comment came indeed from Nagisa, and to say that Makoto was shocked to hear this was an understatement.
He knew he didn't like the girl too much, but he did not expect this kind of thing to get out of his mouth like that, so bluntly.
But it didn't help the Inventor's attitude at all, as she glared at him with a disgusted face. "OI! The hell you're implyin'?! A genius like me have standards, ya dimwit! 'sides, this guy has largely passed the expiration date, if ya know what I mean!"
"Yeah! Who would even date someone like him?! He's way too old for that!"
Even if he didn't understand everything, Masaru could at least agree that the bad guy here was the old man, and not Miu.
The girl was really fun to mess with when he could.
That was some sort of payback for her to say incomprehensible things all the time.
"That's because he doesn't know when to stop! I bet he's one of those people with dirty secrets! Ugh, why does this kind of pig is the one we have to respect?! They're the worst!"
This time, it was Kotoko who voiced her disgust, which could be both heard in her voice and seen on her face.
She really seemed like someone who knew what she was talking about.
…and unfortunately, that was the case.
Just thinking about… that… made Makoto's heart split in two, slowly and painfully.
No kid like her should endure the things she had to.
"Well, unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it. People like that are the one who has the most power… Monaca talks from experience."
Yes, Monaca knew that all too well indeed. The frown on her face confirmed it.
She was also a victim of her own family. Just like the other Warriors of Hope.
Which only made the Luckster sigh in sadness…
Why did those things have to happen?
"Oi oi, are ya all done yet with the long faces or what?"
Everyone turned towards the girl who seemed pretty bored at what she was seeing.
"I mean, Jesus, don't tell me you're gonna let a creepy old geezer let you down like that, kiddos!" Miu grinned at them. "Ya can't let anyone stomp on ya like that. Otherwise, people are gonna stomp on your poor little heads like it was a pile of-"
She stopped herself right on time when she saw the disapproving look on the Luckster's face.
Of course he would be careful about not letting her being too pumped up.
So she continued with a calmer yet a little nervous tone."…y-you get the idea. Don't beat your head over it."
"W-well, we're trying, but…" Jataro explained with the same tone "Those people sure are scary…"
"Yeah! They're like demons! Disgusting demons which need a good lesson about being nice!" Kotoko pouted of annoyance. "Heck, even a good kick in the butt would be a good idea!"
"You're damn right about this, shrimp!" Miu smirked at her. "Stick it to the old people! It's not like they can feel anything at this point anyway!"
"I-I don't think it's that much of a good idea…" Makoto told them with a nervous laugh. "I mean, it's the Steering Committee we're talking about…"
"Indeed. Trying to prank them, if it is even possible, would have grave consequences for all of us." Nagisa reasoned. "Besides, I doubt that saying your plan out loud is a smart move. Anyone can hear you. In case you've forgotten, we're right outside."
"It's true that saying this kind of thing in a place where people usually reunites is not really a good move." Monaca added with a little smile. "But hey, Monaca is sure that people won't complain anyway."
"Yeah! It's not like anyone like them in the first place!" Masaru declared happily. "One day, they're going to get what they deserve!"
"C-come on, guys, don't say that out loud…" Makoto tried to calm the kids down. "W-we don't want any-"
"Oi, come on, Shinabigi! Try to pull it out of you know where!" Miu stared at him with a frown, but with a smirk on her face. "Ya still need to learn to let it out, don't ya?"
"D-don't say it like that!"
"It ain't that hard! Even an idiot can do it times to times!" The Inventor then looked at the sky and shouted, "SCREW THE HIGHER UPS!"
"YEAH! SCREW THEM!"
"THAT'S WHAT THEY DESERVE ANYWAY!"
Masaru and Kotoko were the ones who joined her in her declaration, and by the look on their faces, they really seemed to be proud of what they did.
Which wasn't the case for him, though. Even if they were having fun in a sense. What if one of them heard the shout? That could lead them to serious problems. And he wouldn't want his siblings or his junior to be in trouble.
"T-they really look into it… b-but I don't think they should do it so loud…"
Fortunately, it seemed like all of his siblings were not like that.
Jataro's sentence designed him automatically as one of the calmer of the bunch, even if he seemed to be nervous as always. Along with him were Nagisa and Monaca. Thankfully, the conversation was not heard by the concerned girl.
The first one closing his eyes in disapproval. "Hmpf. They're really asking for trouble to get them at this point."
And the last one smiling at the antics of her siblings. "Monaca thinks that it's amusing. It' even great to see them get along nicely." She then looked at her brother with the same face. "Right, Naegi-onii?"
The Luckster look at her a little surprised, but closed his eyes his eyes and sighed… but it was a happy one. "Well… you're right in a sense. Things could have gotten a lot worse, with… you know what."
"I think we all do, Aniki."
"Right. But thankfully, it didn't." He snickered towards the three kids. "I was a little scared about the outcome, to be honest. But I'm glad everything worked out between the three of them."
Thankfully, the conversation was not heard by the concerned girl. And yes, he was glad that she was one of the few people who managed to get close to her.
First of all, because it allowed the kids to connect themselves with other people.
Even if they can talk with other persons now, such as Sayaka, Chiaki, Kaede, or any other likable persons, this was not always like this. Considering the Ultimates didn't take time to interact with the Elementary Course, aside from Maki because of her talent, they didn't know anyone, and thus preferred to stay with their brother when the second year began. Thankfully, he was able to help them out concerning their distrust.
He was also glad that Junko volunteered herself to help him on that fact, without any kind of second agenda behind her head.
It was good to see her trying to change for the better too. And the kids also seemed to like her the way she liked them. Didn't mean she didn't tease them for some things, but it was completely harmless.
Secondly, it gave Miu a reason to socialize with other people.
The main fault of the Ultimate Inventor was her pride. The way she talked about herself, and the way she could talk down on others was a big flaw she had, despite her claiming she was perfect, so she could get away with it. That, and the manner how she said things did not help things either.
As such, interacting with the kids made that attitude tone down. Even if it was still present with a few slip outs there and then, she was also making progress when it came to attitude, much to his reassurance.
…and much to everyone else's too, honestly.
Because even today, people around her could focus on those flaws she had. Like the most serious or shy kids, for instance.
"W-well, I don't dislike her, but…" Jataro spoke timidly. "She-she can be really rude…"
"And she's got a very bad mouth, too." Monaca added with a scolding look, but with a playful tone. "Monaca can understand why people would try to avoid her, even if she likes her. Monaca admits it can be really hard to handle her."
"I-I admit, it wasn't easy at first. I-I still remember I had trouble with her…" Makoto said with a sweatdrop, before smiling again. "But I'm glad she managed to get past her ego… to some extent, at least."
"Well, as much as I hate to say it, Aniki, it's still present. Just the way she speaks shows it clearly." Nagisa frowned lightly. "I'm actually surprised she hasn't encountered some major problems with anyone yet. Outside her own class, I mean."
"W-well, I sure hope it won't happen-"
"OI! It's you again?!"
Everyone had a surprised look on their faces, especially the Inventor, and looked towards the owner of the voice.
The owner seemed to be a Reserve Course student, because he was wearing the uniform that was attributed to them. He seemed to be on a similar height as Hajime, and he also had an ahoge, but he had Kaito's hairstyle.
And judging by the tone he was using and by the look on his face, he was not too happy to see her.
Said girl who didn't seem to recognize the person… at least at first. Then, a frown appeared on her face. "Uh? The hell are - oh, for fuck's sake, not you again…"
Makoto didn't seem to appreciate her slip up again. "Iruma-san-"
But he didn't have time to correct her as the boy narrowed her gaze at her and groaned. "I can't believe it. One time wasn't enough, apparently. I've got to cross paths with you again. Just my day…"
Now that attracted the Luckster's attention. "Uh? What do you mean?"
Nagisa was the one who spoke next, with an unsurprised tone and a glance towards Miu. "I suppose you two have met each other. And by the looks of things, you don't seem to get along that much."
"Tch! You betcha, goat boy." The Inventor looked at the student with a scowl on her face, ignoring the sharp look the young boy was giving her thanks to her nickname. "What kind of face you would do when you face a loser, uh?"
"Oh, here we go again with this crap…" the boy muttered annoyingly. "You really have a thing about trash talking the others with that facade of yours, uh? You really think that highly of yourself?"
Makoto, who was sensing an argument coming, was the one who reacted first by instructing the kids, "Everyone, cover your ears right now."
"Right, Naegi-onii."
And sure enough, just when the kids did as told…
"What the fuck are you talkin' about, dimwit?! Of course I fuckin' do! Are you so brain dead you've forgotten already?!" Miu glared at him all the while flipping him the bird. "I'm fuckin' Iruma Miu, motherfucker! The Ultimate Inventor of Hope's Peak Academy, and-"
"And the girl with golden looks and golden brain, yada-yada. I've heard it correctly the first time, no need to say it another time. I wonder how anyone can put up with you with this kind of attitude." He shook his head in disapproval and looked at Makoto. "Like this guy and his kids, for instance. How can you guys handle her? It's probably impossible."
Which surprised the Luckster lightly, but answered anyway. "O-oh… well, she's not that bad… I mean, once you learn to know her…"
"AH! Ya heard that, dumbass?!" Miu said barked confidently with a grin. "At least someone here isn't a complete moron when it comes to praising!"
Which confused the kids a little, especially Jataro who had put his hands off his ears by the time she finished, just like the others. "B-but I don't think Makoto-onii did anything right now…"
But which also contributed to the student's bad temper even further, narrowing his gaze towards the boy. "Oh for the love of… please don't tell me it's like this."
"Uh?"
"She bought you, uh? Probably because of her body or something." He then looked away annoyed. "Man, you do have the look of a guy that would fall for that."
This comment startled Makoto greatly, as a blush appeared on his face. "W-what?! What are you even-"
But before he could even speak, the kids stood right in front of their brother, with Masaru taking the lead with an angered look. "OI! Leave Nii-san out of this!"
"Yeah! You don't even know anything about him!" Kotoko joined soon after with the same tone. "What gives you the right to insult our bro like that?!"
"Nah, leave him be, kiddos." Miu tried to dissuade them to pursue their action all the while giving the boy a glare. "He's just another moron. Some jealous leech that just wants to make people bad just to make himself feel better, that's all. Nothing worth the attention."
But her sentence only made him mad, as he looked at her and took a quick stomp towards at her, raising his tone doing so. "The fuck did you just said, you bitch?! Uh?! You want repeat that again?!"
"Kyaa?!"
"Eeep?!"
This was more than enough to make the kids nervous, as they took a step back. Masaru and Kotoko were nervous yet still tried to look brave towards the student, while Nagisa and Monaca were by Makoto's side, a frown on the former's face, and the later trying to reassure Jataro, who was now scared and went behind his big brother to protect himself. That was probably a normal reaction for kids, Makoto thought.
But the same couldn't be said for Miu, for she joined Jataro behind the Luckster's back, seeming as afraid as the little boy.
Even after knowing her for a little while, it was still very unusual when she did… and the physical contact from behind didn't help either.
"W-what the heck is wrong with you, shooting like that?!" Miu yelled angrily, but afraid at the student. "Seriously, you need to calm your tits down!"
"Then maybe you should think twice before saying anything, you idiot!" The student glared at her. "Seriously, you had it coming from that attitude you pulled earlier when I and the others talked to you when you showed your stuff."
That got Makoto's attention. "Uh? You mean…"
"Oh, Monaca gets it now! Iruma-onee was being loud and rude earlier when you met her, right?" Monaca said, also putting the two together. "That's why you two don't seem to get along too well."
"W-who would want to anyway?!" Miu pointed at him, angry at him, but still a little shaken. "N-nobody like jealous losers! There's the worst kind of suckers in this God damn planet!"
Again, Makoto wasn't too pleased about her tongue right now. "Iruma-san, please…"
But nobody seemed to pay attention, considering it was the student who spoke next. "Tch! If I'm a sucker, then what about you, uh? Always talking mighty of yourself while looking down on others. Sounds pretty low to me. And especially after you react so cowardly when someone stands up to you, which is really not hard to do."
The girl glared at him, getting a little worked up by his sentence. "You really want me to-"
"Which makes me think, are you retarded or something?"
But that attitude quickly dropped when she heard the next words, as she looked stunned by the sentence.
And the pain could be heard in her voice when she spoke next. "W…what?"
Which made Makoto speak, also dumbfounded by what he just heard. "W-what?! Hey! That was uncalled for!"
And which made the kids react in indignation. Kotoko taking the led this time. "Yeah! What gives, you big meanie?!"
"What? I'm simply asking here." The boy said unimpressed by their reaction. "And by the looks of it, you don't seem to have asked yourself that question. Or to have asked her, anyway."
"That's because it's not something to ask! Not like that!" Makoto defended her. "Where is that coming from anyway?!"
"Yeah! You really are lame when it comes to talking to people!" Masaru agreed. "Even I know that you can't treat a girl like that! It's just rude and so unworthy of being called cool!"
"…the sentiment may be appreciated, Masaru, but I don't think it should be your main concern here…" Nagisa deadpanned.
But the student was clearly not convinced. "Oh, come on. You mean to tell me it's alright for her to talk shit to me and the others, but I can't return the favor? You weren't even there when it happened!"
"That doesn't change anything!" Makoto tried to speak again. "Yes, what she did was wrong, but you can't just do the same thing and think it's okay!"
Miu was grumbling behind him. "T-the asshole deserved it anyway…"
But unfortunately, the boy heard it. And he was not happy.
"What do you mean, I deserved it, you bitch?!" He shouted angrily. "You were the one who insulted everyone back there! Want me to remind you the things you said to us, uh?! You said we were a bunch of incompetent, breath-stealing, virgin losers! How the fuck is that okay, uh?!"
"W-what?!" Makoto was shocked to hear all of this, and turned towards Miu. "I-Iruma-san… is that…"
The Inventor frowned when he questioned her. "What?! They were the one who started! They kept questioning my genius when I showed them my genius!"
"R-really?" The Luckster looked at her, before he realized something. "W-wait, are you saying that-
"Well, maybe we wouldn't have questioned it if it wasn't so weird!" The boy defended himself. "I mean, seriously, a thing that allows you to eat and read while you sleep?! What kind of people can think of that?!"
"Well, geniuses, duh-doy!" Miu responded. "Do you know how much time people lose by sleeping?! I told you, those inventions exist solely to pass that problem! No one thought of this before me!"
"Maybe, but how can we even know if those inventions work?! You didn't even want to make us a demonstration!"
"Maybe because you can actually find those in the market, you dumbass! Everything is on my website, Goddamnit! There's no way you could have missed it! I'm the most popular genius right now!"
"Well, I didn't! And you know why?! 'cause I don't pass my time searching for this kind of shit!"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"
"Eeeek?!"
"U-uh?!
The two teenagers stopped their arguments immediately, as Miu backed away from Makoto again, as she did not expect him to shoot like that.
The kids were also a little surprised at the outburst, especially Jataro, who joined Miu's side in a nervous way.
As for the Reserve Course student, he also seemed a little surprised at what happened, but he seemed a little more annoyed at the fact that someone interrupted him in his rant.
"Are you guys listening to yourselves?! You could at least try not to sound rude! There are kids here, you know!" The Luckster said, a little angry at both of them, before looking at Miu with a disapproval look. "I think I told you not to curse in front of them, Iruma-san!"
"H-hey, it's not like I did it on purpose!" Miu tried to argue, but still a little scared after what happened. "That bastard asked for it!"
"…you know what, we'll talk about it later." Makoto sighed tiredly, before looking back at the other boy. "And as for you, you can't just lash out at people like that! I understand the fact that you're mad at her, but being this rude is not going to solve anything!"
Letting some time before answering, the boy didn't seem convinced in the slightest. "So you're telling me you're taking her side?" He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch! Typical. I guess you can say that it's an Ultimate thing."
"I told you, this has nothing to do with-"
"Say what you want, but it's not gonna change anything for me. You're all in the same boat anyway." The boy shrugged rudely. "You're lucky us Reserve Course students can't approach you in normal time, otherwise… I'm pretty sure some people would love to have a serious conversation with some of you."
At this, he glared back at Miu, who slowly approached Makoto again in fear. That was exactly what he wanted to see. "Y… you shithead…"
"Go ahead and insult me. That's probably one of the only things you know to do anyway. Aside from building shit and using others from your own benefits."
"Enough."
This time, the teenager was silenced by Makoto's voice, but this time, the voice didn't look nervous. Instead… it had a serious, even determined tone in it. And the look on his face told him that he was not going to back down this time. Especially not when he started to approach the student.
"I think you've talked badly about her enough. I don't encourage what she did, but I can't let what you did slide either." Makoto said while stopping right in front of him. "So here's what's going to happen. Either you apology… or you leave before I might do or say something I will regret."
The student looked clearly shocked at what he just said, but not in a good way. "A… are you serious right now? You want ME to apology to HER?!"
"You've heard me. You've also been rude, and I can't let you insult my friend while I stand here and do nothing about it." The Luckster said firmly. "It's like I said. You have a choice. Make the one you believe is right."
The boy narrowed his eyes at this. "…you know what? Fine. I already knew that coming to this stupid even was a bad idea. So much for a week to help us. I guess when you're an Ultimate, you would rather stick with other freaks no matter what."
And with those last hurtful words, the Reserve Course student left them, leaving a relieved Inventor who sighed, five astonished kids who were still a little shaken up by what happened…
And a sad Luckster who sighed. Not of relief, but of frustration.
He didn't want that to happen. As the hopeful person he was, he would have liked it if the two people managed to find common ground. Unfortunately, this did not happen.
Then again, considering what happened earlier from what he's heard, he cannot say he did not expect this outcome. Didn't change the fact that he would have loved to avoid this.
And it wasn't just because of their argument. It also reflected on his fears about what some students would think.
He remembered he had this discussion with Kazuo last week. He knew that the old man told him not to worry, and that whatever would be the outcome, he should not feel responsible for them feeling bad.
But it was hard not to feel bad when someone did not appreciate the result of the best work he could possibly do. Even if it wasn't official.
What's more, the confrontation also confirmed another of his fears further, something he saw since he met Hajime, Natsumi and Mikasa.
There were some rifts made between the Main and Reserve Courses students. Those rifts were seemingly fed by either some of the Ultimate's ideals or personalities, or by the regular students' jealousy over the Main Course.
This student was an example of that fact. He didn't know about this right away, but he managed to put the two together.
This was the student Miu was talking about earlier. The one who told the Inventor off about her inventions, and who did it again.
It was also the same voice he heard on Monday. The voice who spoke during the Headmaster's speech, and who seemed unconvinced by his words.
He already suspected that some people were not pleased by the idea, but now he had the confirmation that some people really thought they would never have a common ground between the two courses. This argument was a proof of it.
And instead of resolving things, he just made things worse. He knew that.
But he just couldn't let him scare his siblings without doing nothing. Because he knew that they were tense. He knew how they were, after all.
And he couldn't let him vent his frustration on one of his friends like that.
…though, in retrospect, she wasn't completely innocent either.
"Phew… it' over. He's gone now." Jataro sighed in relief. "H-he sure was scary…"
"And rude, too! He didn't need to be so mean about it!" Kotoko pouted angrily. "I'm just glad he won't bother us anymore!"
"You said it, girly." Miu looked on the side with a grumpy look. "Did you hear ho this guy just showed off and tried to talk shit abou-"
"Iruma-san."
The girl stopped immediately in her tracks, as she knew this tone all too well.
It was the tone that the Luckster used whenever she did something bad.
And even if he didn't use it often, when it did, it always scared her because she was not used to it.
She looked at Makoto with a nervous glance. "Y-yeah? What is it?"
"I wanted you to apologize too, you know."
To this, the girl laughed with spit coming out of her mouth. "AH! As if!" She then looked at him with a grin. "Nice one, Shinabigi."
But the boy kept staring at her intensely, as if he wanted to tell her something.
Then, she saw it. The resolve in his eyes.
And as soon as she did, her smile faded away, and it was replaced with nervousness and stupor. "W-wait… are you serious right now?"
"Does it look like I'm joking?" he answered, before sighing. "Honestly, Iruma-san, I thought we talked about this before. There's no need to talk dirt to others, so why did you do it anyway?"
"HEY! He's the one who started, I keep telling ya!" The Inventor defended herself, looking scandalized at his sentence. "It's not my fault that douchebag opened it first!"
"Did it really need that you needed to insult him back?" The Luckster didn't look convinced in the slightest. "I know you like to talk like that, and that you don't like to be talked that way, but you can't always have your way with people."
"Why the fu- I mean, why the hell not?!" Miu restrained herself at the last minute. "A genius like me doesn't have to deal with this kind of crap! It's not my fault if this moron can't understand my genius!"
Makoto could only sigh again at the sight of the Inventor's attitude. Even if she managed to tone it down a bit, her language a still a problem, mixed with her pride that was also an issue which they were working on, with slow results.
And this did not please everyone, as he had witnessed with the Reserve Course student.
Heck, even those around her could really be annoyed by that attitude. Even some of Makoto's siblings.
Like Nagisa, who sighed in annoyance at this. "Here we go again… I'm honestly surprised nobody snapped at her sooner."
"Monaca is sure that it did happen, but not in the same intensity." Monaca followed, with a reprimanding look on her face. "Monaca can't completely blame them for doing so, though. Even if it was wrong to insult her, Iruma-onee sure is a rude one."
"Yeah, especially for a girl." Masaru looked at the gang. "I mean, I've never heard a girl swear like her before. And so much, too."
"You gremlins know I can hear you, right?"
Of course they did. The look on their faces when they looked at Miu was enough proof of that.
But what confused them was the fact that she was looking on the side, with a frown on her face.
Apparently, they said something wrong, judging by the thing she just called them. And the tone certainly wanted to be insulting, but it sounded… tired. Maybe even sad.
Makoto noticed it, of course. He knew this face all too well.
It was the face of someone who was hiding her pain, and who was self-aware of the situation, despite her words.
And seeing one of his friends like this… it was not something he liked to see, even if she was partly in the wrong.
BRRRR!
"Uh?" But before he could do anything, he heard a familiar sound, along with feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket. Once he saw the screen, he looked at his junior sympathetically and said, "Sorry, I've got to take his one. It's my sister."
Once he said that, he took the call. "Yeah? Hey, Komaru? What's up?"
While the kids were also wondering what the subject of conversation between the Naegi siblings was, Miu couldn't help but give the boy a quick glance.
So he was going to also ask her to apologize to the asshole? Despite hearing him insult her? In front of his face?
Yeah, no. The douche was maybe cute and nice, but he definitely could be dumb sometimes. And this time was one of them.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I haven't forgotten. Can we skip to the part of why you're calling already? Is there a problem?"
Then again, he was like that to everyone. Well, at least, he tried. When she saw him for the first time, she didn't think he would be anything useful as a tutor, let alone a class representative…
But she had to hand it to him, he was doing a… decent job at best. He could be here for them each time because he was busy with his own bunch of nutjobs, but hey, at least he was trying to do it right.
Unless a certain teacher of hers.
"Really? …well, I guess it can't be helped then."
Really, what the fuck was that school thinking, bringing a drunkfuck as a teacher?! Not only he was a lazy ass, but each time he went near her, she could smell the alcohol in his mouth!
…well, at least, when she was not forced into those stupid school activities, he let her do her own things. Which meant thinking about future inventions that would revolutionize the world… or find something to make her feel high.
Drugs or anything mature, she wouldn't give a fuck.
What? Too irresponsible? Too risky?
Give her a fucking break, damn it! She works her ass all day and night to think about what to do next to make the world a better place! The least people could do was to let her get off however she liked!
Plus, she was a genius! She was fuckin' Iruma Miu! The girl whose good looks and golden brain will go down in history! She could get away with whatever the fuck she said or do! Because she fuckin' rule!
…even if she toned it down a little.
And yes, a certain Bakamatsu along a certain Shinabigi were a part responsible for this.
"Yeah, don't worry, they're with me. I'll just take them somewhere while you deal with your own thing, okay? I'm not going to goof off this time, promise."
Currently, the same doofus was apparently talking to his sister on the phone, probably talking about what happened to her… and what he is going to do.
And by the look of things, he wanted to bring the kids somewhere, much to their curiosity.
"…you know what, I'll just end the call now. See you later."
With that, the boy ended the call, looking slightly… annoyed.
Even she was curious. Did his sis said something stupid?
"U-uh, Onii-san?" Jataro was the first one to ask. "I-is something wrong?"
"That was Komaru right now." He eyed while eyeing the kids. "She said she had some last minute errand to do at school. She just had the time to call me, and… ell, she's basically leaving you guys to me."
"Umm… it's indeed a little surprising, but I can work with that." Nagisa wondered, before asking, "And let me guess: She talked about the bet from this morning, right? Is that why you look displeased?"
"…"
"I'll take this silence as a yes."
"Oh? A bet you made with your sis, Shinabigi?" Miu grinned a little. "What were the odds anyway?"
"…I'll just say that it was for something stupid." Was Makoto's simple answer. "No need to get into the details."
"Nii-san is just sour about being tricked is all!" Masaru grinned. "Nee-san really tricked him good this time."
"She did well indeed." Monaca giggled. "Poor Naegi-onii didn't stand a chance against his own sister's treachery. Not that it's bad or anything."
"Kids, please…"
The poor Luckster could only look at them with a fake, hurt look, but it faded away as soon as he saw those smiles on their faces.
How could he hold it against them with a face like that?
Letting them have fun was safer for him.
"So, what are we going to do now, Makoto-nii?" Kotoko asked him. "Do you have any idea of what to do?"
"Actually, I do. And truth be told, that's kind of a good thing. I just need Iruma-san's permission is all."
That got Miu's attention as she looked at him curiously. "Uh? You had something involving me, Shinabigi?"
"Oh! So you wanted to go to her house or something like that?" The Lil' P.E. grinned at this. "I like the sound of it."
"…I do question it, though." The Lil' Social Studies raised his voice with an eyebrow on his. "Why do you want to go there?"
"Well, I thought about seeing the designs of her past inventions. You know, in order to know her better." He spoke before looking at the Inventor and giving her a small smile. "I think we all need something to forget what happened earlier."
"I-I'm not against it, b-but…" The Lil' Art said timidly. "I-I'm not sure… are we going to be a bother?"
"Nah, I guess it's fine if you twerps hang out at my place." The Inventor smirked at them. "Just don't wreck my stuff and we're good."
"Don't worry, we swear we are going to be good!" The Lil' Homeroom smiled at her. "In fact, Monaca think she could also see some interesting in your blueprints, if you don't mind of course!"
"Oh? An ambitious gal who also wants to rock the world, uh? I like the sound of that, kiddo!" Miu grinned again. "But I'm warning ya, as long as I'm around, you're jut gonna be number two!"
"If this is a challenge, Monaca might accept it when she gets older!"
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kotoko said, pumping her fist up with an excited tone. "Let's go have some fun!"
"You betcha! Follow the genius's lead, twerps!"
"YEAH!"
And with that, the kids all followed Miu who leaded the way, sounding really happy to know that someone was going to give her some attention. That's what he needed after what happened.
And that's exactly what Makoto wanted to see.
He couldn't see her face because he was behind the group just to make sure they were going to be okay, but he heard it.
He heard that she sounded happier right now. Like, really happy.
If he could make her happy by simply giving her attention, then he would do it.
…then again, it wasn't like it was his only goal this time.
He wasn't lying when he said that he wanted to know her more. It was something he wanted to do for a while now. Heck, the girl's personality and quirks caught his eyes quickly.
In both a good and bad way, let's be honest.
Her intelligence was exceptional, even if it was centered around… bizarre themes. For the originality of her work, she was really deserving of the word genius, he thought.
Thankfully, Kiyotaka was not here to hear that now.
But he did hear her once, and he knew how it ended for both of them.
On one hand, he couldn't let his classmate scare a junior by shooting his indignations right on her face. Not only that was rude, but it was against his own code of not disrupting the school's community.
Even if he toned it down a bit, it was also still a problem, even after a year and half. Another mental note to check on him another day.
But on the other hand… he couldn't completely blame him either. He was just a part of the problem.
The girl's pride and vulgar language were big problems as well. That, he learned it the very first day. What he already knew was that she was going to encounter problems with many people in the academy, to which he was proven right.
And today, he had another proof to the list.
Which convinced him more than here had to be a special reason for her behavior.
He's seen this before, after all. His past experience with the various students helped him a lot. Different talent, personalities, quirks… he had gained more confidence when it came to analyses things and people. At least, in his opinion.
Perhaps it was a side effect of hanging out with the Ultimate Detective as well. Who knows?
Either way, he couldn't help but notice the weird pattern the Inventor had. And as time passed, he was more and more convinced that there was a special reason behind this way of thinking she had. Another one, which was of course not the one Miu gave him and everyone else.
And with the little incident that happened today with her and the Reserve Course student… he thought indeed it was a good thing that Komaru couldn't come pick them up today.
For this was an occasion to get to the bottom of this.
"Here goes, twerps! Welcome to the Realm of Awesomeness of the genius herself! Pretty cool, right?"
"Wow… that's so cool!"
"B-but a little scary, too…"
"There's so much stuff there! How?!"
"…I admit, I'm surprised in a good way…"
"That's really amazing, Iruma-onee!"
"Kyahyahyahya! Of course it is! It's my house, so everything I own rules, after all! Because I rule!"
The Inventor's signature laugh could be heard in the house. And there was a good reason why. The audience the girl had at the moment was really surprised at what they saw.
Well, Masaru and Kotoko sure were. Monaca was seen smiling at her while Nagisa observed his surroundings and Jataro looked around, a little nervous at the sight.
Not that it was a bad thing, but… it was surely not what they expected.
The Luckster certainly couldn't blame the kids to feel dumbfounded, he thought. Seeing a house belonging to someone like Miu was… special, to say the least.
For what he saw was a room with a… mixed up one for sure.
On one hand, the house had that sci-fi vibe, with a lot of things that would belong to a scientist. In fact, it looked a lot like her own Research Lab at Hope's Peak Academy. Oh, thankfully, there were no tools like chainsaws, drills or anything like that, but there was some kind of machine with many 'hands' attached on it. The light effects certainly didn't help the atmosphere either.
But what did break this atmosphere… were the products all over the room.
For what caught his mind after the machine… was a poster of Super Sentai posing.
And it was just an example to cite many others. The number of products that were related to kid shows was really surprising. He didn't know that Miu was into this kind of stuff. Not that it was a bad thing, of course, but this surprise was successful in his eyes.
Perhaps she and Ryouta from the Student Council could hang out which each other because of their same interests…
Or maybe not. There would be even more arguments, he thought.
The Seamster didn't need a more vulgar Aiko on his side.
"Oi, Shinabigi! Quite dreaming around my awesome body and speak your mind! What the hell do you think?"
Makoto snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Miu talk to him directly. Judging by the look on her face, she was also waiting for an answer from him. Which was fair to him, after all. He was the one who came up with the idea to begin with.
So he simply ignored the first comment she made and said with a little smile, "W-well, I think it's pretty cool, Iruma-san. I mean, I kind of expected something like this, to be honest, but… I didn't think it would be like that-"
"AH! So you admit it went beyond your expectations, uh?! I freakin' knew it!" Miu grinned even further. "Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Of course a normie would be amazed at seeing a genius's house!"
That made him laugh awkwardly. "I-I guess, yes…"
But Nagisa didn't take that too lightly as he glared at her. "What do you mean by 'normie', Iruma-san? Are you insulting Aniki, by any chance? Because I won't have it."
"Oh, come on, you know what I mean!" The Inventor looked at him with a deadpan expression. "He said himself that he was just some normal dude! I'm just stating facts here. No need to get yourself worked up over this, goat boy!"
"Again with the nickname?"
"Guys, please let's not make a sense over nothing!" Makoto went between the two before anything would escalate out of control. There, he eyed Nagisa with a little smile. "She's right, I told her, Nagisa. I don't mind, so don't worry about it, okay?"
The boy looked a little reluctant at following his brother's instructions, but nodded. "Alright. If you say so."
"I-I've got a question, if you don't mind…" Jataro raised his voice. "W-why is there so many child products? N-not that it's a bad thing, but… you really like kids show?"
"Ah, that? Yeah, I dunno what people think much of it." Miu snorted and looked away. "They say those things are only for kiddos like ya. But when ya see all the bullcrap that'd on TV, in comparison, those programs are freakin' life-saviors!" She then began to bark at no one in particular. "No kiddin', who the hell can stand that reality-show stuff, uh?! Just thinking about it, I feel like my brain's gonna blow all over the place!"
Makoto sweatdropped at this. "W-well, I see your point…"
"No way! You've got that figurine too!" Masaru look envious and pointed his finger at a Steel Samurai figurine. "How did you get it?! I've been looking for this one since forever!"
"Oh? You envious, kiddo? Well, let's just say it was a bit of genius luck is all!" Miu stopped her ranting and grinned even more. "I happened to have been offered this little jewel for one of my contributions for some kind of project! Pretty neat, uh?"
The teasing worked perfectly on the boy. "Not fair! Why do people offer you the coolest things?!"
"Oh, silly Masaru, don't be sad!" Monaca tried to reassure him. "One day, someone will offer you a figurine too if you do something right!"
"And something not stupid, preferably." Kotoko snickered with a hand in front of her smiling mouth. "I bet he would do anything too reckless just to gain attention.
"OI! Seriously, this is getting annoying!"
And thus, another argument started between Kotoko and Masaru, the two under the gazes of the other persons in the house. Jataro could only look at them with nervousness, not knowing what to do, Nagisa sighed in defeat as he was used to this by now, while Monaca only smiled at the sigh.
As for their brother, he only smiled at the scene. One could say he should stop them from having another argument at a friend's house, but he couldn't really be too mad at them.
Besides, Miu didn't seem to bother it too much. In fact, she seemed to… enjoy it?
"Ah… kiddos who argues… yeah, good times, I guess…"
Yup, her not so silent whispering confirmed that. But her reasoning seemed… really off, to be honest.
Good thing he had brought the kids, he thought.
The Inventor then looked at Monaca and said, "So, number one wannabe! You said you were interested in some stuff I made, right?"
"Well, yes!" Monaca said happily. "Monaca would be quite pleased to see your work! Surely, you've done a lot of wonderful things aside from what you've shown us at school!"
"And you would be damn right about it, kiddo!" The girl grinned before walking to a door of the room. "Don't move, shrimps! I'll be back in a minute!"
And with her leaving, it left the little group to contemplate the room once again, still processing everything."
"Wow… I-I didn't think it would be like this." Jataro commented. "I-I mean, i-it's so flashy and kind of scary of one side, but on the other… it seems so… so…"
"Childish?" Nagisa interrupted him. "Well, I can definitely relate. To be honest with everyone, I thought I was going to step into a mad woman's house. And while it's… partially the case-"
"Nagisa…"
"I-I know, Aniki," the younger boy nodded carefully at the disapproval look his older brother was giving him, "b-but I was also going to say that while it gave me that feeling, I can't help but feel that despite her… personality, she has a… childish attitude. As if she is a normal kid. N-not that it is necessarily bad, but it's… certainly not what I expected from her…"
"I understand you on that part. I'll admit, I'm just as surprised as you are." Makoto's gaze softened at this. "I mean, I don't know her for too long, so I guess I can't really say I had some kind of expectations to begin with, but… well, while I did have some idea in mind, I didn't have the toys merchandise in it…"
"Well, I think it's pretty cool!" Kotoko beamed happily. "Hey, maybe she has some other cool things we never saw! I'd like to see her collection!"
That reaction did not please Masaru, who looked away and crossed his arms. "It's probably not interesting anyway…"
But he only dug his grave further in front of the girl who did not miss the opportunity. "Oh, stop being such a whiny brat! You're just jealous because she has things you don't!"
"Of course not!"
"Now, now, everyone, now is not the time for another quarrel." Monaca tried to calm down the two. "We can simply ask Iruma-onee to show us, I'm sure it would please her too!"
"You talkin' about me?"
And with that, everyone turned toward the Inventor who went back in the room… with quite the equipment on her back. And also on her legs.
Which of course impressed the kids, in a good way this time.
"Wow! So cool!"
"W-what is that?!"
"I don't know, but it sure looks amazing!"
"I suppose it is expected of her talent…"
"Well, Monaca think it still looks really impressive!"
"Ah! Of course it is, shrimps! You're talkin' about the genius Iruma Miu, the girl who came up with this, after all!"
The Inventor was grinning at them, a prideful aura meaning from her.
For when she entered, she had a metal backpack hanging from her shoulders that has two long metal arms extending from it, with one of the hands holding some blueprints, probably those to the machine.
"Kyahyahyahya! You should see the look on your faces! It's freaking priceless!" Miu did once again her signature laugh, before looking at Makoto. "Oi, Shinabigi! You're still on the boat with them, too?! Didn't I show you that crap the other day?!"
"W-well, yeah, but…" Makoto laughed nervously. "Y-you know, seeing it for real is still impressive…"
"Eh. I can work with that. At least you're a good public." The Inventor smirked, before walking towards the wheelchaired girl and presented her the blueprints on the table. "There, little apprentice! Want me to cook you the details, or you think you can get your head on this one?"
"Oh, Monaca thinks she can handle this, thank you!" The little girl smiled, before looking at the papers. "Wow, it sure looks really interesting! How did you come up with that!"
"I'm a genius, duh-doi! I've got plenty of time to think of this kind of crap!" The girl answered, but didn't seem too annoyed like she was with others. "'sides, that one's the prototype I made, nothing much!"
"A prototype? Really?"
"Uh, if I remind correctly, Iruma-san," Makoto spoke next to them, "you said its main function was to help clean up… while you're asleep, right?"
The inventor had another grin on her face. "Ah! So ya do remember some things, Shinabigi! And a good thing too, I won't have to repeat myself for the twerps here!"
"P-please don't call them that…"
"I expected this, to be honest. Though I suppose it has its utilities in some situations…" Nagisa rolled his eyes. "But you're going to have to explain why all of your stuff involve sleeping."
"What? You mean to tell me ya don't know?" The girl looked at him with an annoyed look. "And you're supposed to be the brain of the group?"
"Excuse me?!"
"I-Iruma-san…"
"You mean to tell me you never thought of all the time you've wasted on sleeping?!" The girl started her rant, without a care about anything around them. "Just so you know, my inventions did have great use with those who bought it! And they were pretty satisfied, unlike those bastards from Hope's Peak!"
"Well, maybe you should review your method of selling!" The boy defended himself. "I did agree that you did a good job with all of this, but if people are displeased at you then maybe there is a reason!"
"BAH! As if! You want me to get down on their level?! No way this is happening any time soon!"
"Then don't act surprised if people get offended if you talk to them like that!"
"Alright, that's enough, you two!"
This time, the yell wasn't as powerful as the other times, but it was enough to make everyone silence and look at the Luckster, who was the one who raised his voice.
"Don't you guys hear yourselves?! That's exactly what we were trying to avoid in the first place!" Makoto tried to reason. "We were here to have a good time together, but instead, you just go and argue over the tiniest things!"
"B-but it's not my fault! He started again!" The Inventor stuttered. "You heard him talk crap about me! It's pretty important for me, Shinabigi! You know that!"
"I know, but I'm sure this was not what he meant. He was simply… trying to help you in his own way." He tried to reassure her, before eyeing Nagisa. "You know I told you not to go and use that tone on others, Nagisa. I understand that you mean well, but that doesn't mean you have to go that way."
"B-but…" The boy stuttered, before looking down on his feet as he saw his brother was not going to have it. "I-I'm sorry…"
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Iruma-san. She's the one who's concerned after all."
"R-right…" The boy still looked on the ground, but changed his direction towards Miu. "S…sorry, Iruma-san."
The girl hesitated a little moment, before looking on the side, a frown on her face, clenching her teeth. "Tch! Fine. I guess I can let it slide for once."
That didn't convince Makoto too much, though. "…are you going to be okay? You seem kind of… tired."
The girl didn't say anything. She just crossed her arms, staying like his for a little while.
"I-Iruma-san?"
Then, she turned her back on them. "…I'm going to my room look for something. Hey, Shinabigi. I might need your help to bring some stuff here. Don't make me wait."
And with that, she left the room, leaving the little group to themselves again.
Only this time… Makoto knew that something is wrong.
And the kids too.
"U-uh… I think she got upset…" Jataro spoke his mind first, looking worried about the girl. "I-I hope she's going to get better."
"Nice move, idiot!" Kotoko was quick to blame Nagisa as she sent him a glare. "You made her feel uncomfortable with us!"
"I-I didn't think she would take it like that…"
"Well, she did!" Masaru joined Kotoko. "Sometimes, you really should keep your thoughts in your mouth!"
"Everyone, I doubt that blaming Nagisa-chan will solve everything!" Monaca came to his defense. "Plus, I'm sure he understood what he did was wrong!"
"She's right, everyone. I think you should give your brother a break." Makoto also came along. "You can't just jump on the gun like that with people, even if they did something wrong."
The boy seemed to like being defended at first, but it quickly faded away when he remembered the position he was in.
Could he really blame the others for their attitude towards him? When he acted no better with Miu? Granted, his actions were justified, at least for him, but did he needed to say it like that? With the tone he used?
He may be stubborn, but even he could see when he did something wrong.
But before he could say anything, he noticed his brother's shadow was going away. He then lifted up his head and asked, "A-are you going to go and see her?"
"Yes. And I'm sorry, Nagisa, but I think it would be safer to talk to her after I'm done." The Luckster turned his head towards him and gave him and everyone else a comforting smile. "Don't worry too much. I'll try to talk to her, okay? You guys stay here and try to forget about everything. Just don't go overboard."
"O…okay…"
The answer was of course hesitant from the kids, and especially from Nagisa, but it was enough for the Luckster to go do his own thing.
A friend in need was a friend in need, after all.
And so, he entered the corridor Miu took a few moments ago, and he saw some doors in it. Not knowing where her room was, he decided to opt for the most logical option there was, at least for him, was to check on the room at the end.
So he went there and knocked to the door.
KNOCK KNOCK!
"Uh? Who the fuck is there?!"
That was… not what he expected, honestly. Why did she sound so… surprise and frightened?
"Uh, it's me, Iruma-san."
"Oh… well, get in here!"
Now she sounded more… agitated than before. What was going on inside her head right now?
With this question in mind, Makoto opened the door.
And to be honest… he thought he was done with surprises for the day. But he had just been proven wrong.
This time, the room he was inside was a very large one, with another weird mix-up. There was a lot of thing belonging into a sci-fi movie, like some sort of radio near the desk, and there were other kid show-related merchandise, like a figurine of Kamariki Joe on the bedside, for instance.
But what shocked him the most… was the fact that the bedroom… also looked like… a hospital room. Or at least an infirmary room.
With all the lights the room had, he was confused at first, but he realized the evident resemblance once he got the two together. For instance, when he saw the bed, which the girl was sitting on with something in her hands, he immediately knew that it was a hospital bed, where sick people were taken care of. He has seen the infirmary many times before, so this kind of detail jumped on his eyes immediately.
And truth be told, he would have expected people like Tsumiki to have a room like that.
But Miu? The Ultimate inventor? That was something he did not see coming.
There had to be a meaning of this.
Why did her room look like this?
Was there… any kind of symbol behind this? Surely there was a good reason for this… right?"
"What are you even doing here, Shinabigi?"
The girl's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. And it also worried him to great degrees.
He's heard the tone of someone hiding their frustration before.
And that was mainly the reason why he was here.
So he simply tried to speak with a reassuring voice. "W-well, I came to check on you, Iruma-san…"
"That ain't the question, dumbass." The girl then turned towards him, giving him an annoyed glance. "I meant why did ya come here? Shouldn't you keep an eye on the kids?"
The Luckster looked a little shocked at this. "B-but… didn't you say you needed my help?"
"…I did?"
"You said you might need my help to bring some things in the living room. So… here I am."
"…oh, right. I did say that."
But even if she looked away, he could still tell that she did not feel convinced.
Or rather… it was something else.
But… why was she behaving like this? She told him that she might need his help just a few minutes ago, and now she looked… distrustful of him. As if she forgot just after the words left her mouth, and then thought he just made it up.
Even coming from her, that was too weird… unless…
"I-Iruma-san… are you mad at what happened?"
Nothing. The girl just stayed silent, her gaze continuously on the device she had on her legs. Apparently, it was… the Eye-Drop Contacts. The very first invention she made.
Odd. He thought she considered them as a failure. Perhaps she kept them out of respect?
Seeing he had still no reaction from the girl, he began to approach her cautiously. "L-look, if it's because of what happened with Nagisa, I'm sorry, and know that he is too. I swear, he doesn't mean any harm. He's just… how should I put this…"
"Different."
"U-uh?" The boy looked startled at the Inventor's voice. "W-what did you say?"
"Jeez, are your ears as full as your asshole?" the girl continued, not hiding her annoyance this time, but still not moving her head. "I said he's different."
"D-different… from what?"
"From the other kids, dumbass!" This time, she looked at him, shocking him a little at how serious and frustrated she sounded. "I mean, look at the other kids around him. They're supposed to be dumb but happy-go-lucky in general! But here is this kid, being serious and sappy all the damn time, as if he thought he knew everything about the world!"
Makoto was not pleased with what she was saying about his siblings, especially Nagisa, but he remembered they just had an argument before. "I-I told you, he doesn't mean harm. He just has a very different view of things…"
"Well, that's exactly the problem!" The girl did not calm at all at this. "How the fuck can you say you've seen and known everything about the damn world, when the only thing you know is the comfort of his house?! That's as bullshit as those who live as relaxed as if they're asleep!"
"I-Iruma-san, please…"
"And I get it, okay?! I get that it's your little shit brother, even if he's adopted, but damn it! You should do more than just scold him and forget! I mean, Jesus Christ! I know I've been said I'm haughty and shit, but at least I'm a genius! What's his excuse for being snobby like that, uh?!"
"Iruma-san-"
"You're gonna make me believe he's been bullied by his parents to be a perfect genius and can't trust anyone because of that?!"
…
…
Silence.
Complete, and utter, silence, followed after that shout.
That, along with Makoto's sad, yet sincere face, gave the girl a hint about what she said, which calmed her down a little. "Wait… really? That's what happened?"
On top of behind really smart, she was very perceptive. She could catch hints very quickly and put the two together.
That, the Luckster learned rather late compared to the rest, but it was always welcome for him.
…well, a better moment would have been better than now, but now that the cat was out of the bag…
"…I'm not going to fully detail you what happened to him, or rather, what he told me. But yeah, it's true." Makoto told her calmly, but seriously. "And I know that he's not lying to me. I've got even some pieces of evidence that proves it."
The girl kept looking at him with an astonished look, starting to feel a little anxious. "B-but… w-why? Why the fuck would anyone-"
"He told me it was because his parents wanted… the perfect son, or something like that." The Luckster explained. "They had a very… toxic mindset, I will tell you that much. The things he had to go through because of them… I don't think you want to know what kind of pain it gives."
"…holy shit…"
"Do you understand now, Iruma-san?" Makoto asked her, looking directly at her eyes. "You're right in a sense. I don't think normal children should be like this. But Nagisa had to suffer a lot, and that's not something normal either. So after that, I can understand why he doesn't trust people too much after this. Or at least, why he doesn't trust grownups." He chuckled lightly at this. "Heck, at first, I had to receive the same treatment. It didn't stop us from being close today, but things weren't easy. Now I know why."
Miu looked down, not saying anything. Apparently, she was reflecting on his words.
Not that it was a bad thing, on the contrary, but… he didn't remember seeing do as such before.
Maybe she was improving in that department?
"Besides, when you're raised with a certain way, it can easily affect your behavior and way of thinking." Makoto proceeded with a little smile. "I mean, just look at Gokuhara-san of your class and Togami-kun of mine. Two different backgrounds with their specific effects. Can we really blame them for being the way they are because of their social birth condition?" He then frowned slightly. Not that it fully excuse some of Togami-kun's actions…"
"Yeah, the dude seems like a total dick if ya ask me." Miu spoke with some grunt. "Always acting mighty and shit…"
"Can't really contradict you there."
"But now… I kind of feel like one, too."
"Uh?"
The Luckster looked surprised at the Inventor. Did she… really said that?
"Hey, don't look surprised." The girl stared at him annoyed. "Even I know when I've fucked up. And coming from a genius like me, that means something, right?"
That comment made him chuckle awkwardly. "I-I guess it does…"
"Jesus…" the girl sighed and then spoke more calmly. "Okay, serious talk? It sucks what happened to him. I'll give you that. But… that's not the idea I made myself of kids, ya know? I mean, to me, they're supposed to be noisy and annoying… the good kind of annoying. Always wanting to grab attention from everyone, just to make sure they won't get into trouble… yeah, that sounds like a cliché, but that's how I see ting here. So seeing him trying to behave like an adult… it pisses me off to no end. That's why I exploded earlier."
"Well, he wasn't really innocent either, I'll give you that too." Makoto smiled at the exchange, before trying to sound serious. "But like I said, you can't really blame him entirely for having that way of thinking. Even if I'm here now, he grew with this way of thinking."
"Yeah, figures…" Miu sighed again. "So I guess we owe each other an apology after this shit?"
"You do, yes. He did say sorry once, but I think he will be more sincere if he sees you do it first."
"Works for me. Kid's still got time ahead of him, after all."
"That's good to hear." Makoto smiled at her, before chuckling lightly.
Which didn't go unnoticed by Miu who looked at him curiously. "Uh? Something funny in mind, Shinabigi?"
"I just thought of something. You know, maybe I shouldn't say it, but… you seem to go easy on kids."
"Well, duh-doy! They're still young, you know!" Miu raised an eyebrow at him. "Ya can't really force the pleasure in them! Otherwise it would just explode! Literally!"
…yeah, that kind of thing was THE thing he had to work on the most.
"R-right…" Makoto deadpanned, trying to forget what she said. "But, I mean, you seem to have more… restraints with kids. As opposed to with us."
"Uh?" The girl looked surprised, before she frowned slightly. "Oh, don't tell me… that's what it's about?"
"Uh?" And Makoto noticed it immediately. "W-what's wrong? Did I say… something wrong?"
"More like something stupid, yeah!" The girl narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Ya can't compare them to my shitty classmates, Shinabigi! Those are two kind of people ya just can't compare!"
That baffled him slightly. "I…I can't?
"Because of their ages, dumbass!" She began to explain, not bothering to hide her irritation. "It's like I said before! My classmates are a bunch of grownups who've learned to have thick skin, for the most part anyways! But those kids here know next to nothing to the world we're in! So of course I would go easy on them!"
"Y-you did say something about Nagisa's project earlier…"
"That wasn't against him and ya know it!" Miu exclaimed while looking away with an annoyed look. "'sides, school's not a place for smart people. Waste of time if you ask me… But it's like I told ya, if I dropped out, all the dudes who whack it to my pictures would get so lo - UUMPH?!"
"N-not so loud, Iruma-san!" Makoto quickly put his hand in front of her mouth. "T-they could hear us! What if they hear us?!"
The girl quickly blusedh and backed her head away. "W-wow… y-you need to warn me when you do that."
'…why is she blushing?'
That's the thought that Makoto had once he saw it. And he would be lying if he said he was not blushing himself.
Shel looked so cute when she was like that…
'S-snap out of it, me! You're not supposed to do that right now!' The Luckster thought, blinking at the process of what happened, before trying to seem serious again. "W-well, it's your fault for saying that kind of thing in the first place! W-why do you always have to say things like that!"
"Uh? W-what are you talking about?" he Inventor looked more confident again. "You hear me say it before. When you're fuckin' Iruma Miu, you can get away with sayin' all kind of awful shit!" She then laughed the way she usually did. "Oh yeah! 'cuz I fuckin' rule!"
"W-well, you do it less than often, so-"
"Yeah, 'cuz ya and Bakamatsu force me to tone it down!" Miu glared at him. "Seriously, I get it for the kids, but they're grown ups, for crying out loud! Surely they've heard what's a cunnilin-"
"Iruma-san."
"Eeeek?!" The Inventor looked at Makoto, who was frowning at her. "D-did I say something bad again?"
"You were about to." Was his simple answer. "I just told you, the kids could be listening. They don't need to hear that kind of thing at their ages."
The girl meekly looked away. "F-fine, I get it…"
"Thanks. I appreciate it." The Luckster sighed. "Sorry to sound so quick about this, but I… I just don't understand. And I would like to understand why you behave like this…"
"Well, at least, I'm original." The Inventor grunted. "Better that than a boring, unremarkable girl with no talent at all…"
Makoto sighed at hearing this. Here she as, insulting him without a care in the world… again.
So much for trying to know her… well, he did learn some surprising facts about her, but honestly, that was not what he hoped-
"And to think I was like that before that accident…"
"Uh?"
No that caught up his attention alright.
And the girl seemed to realize too late what she said, as she looked a little tense. "W-wait… you heard that last part? D-did I say that out loud?"
"I-Iruma-san?" Makoto looked at her a little worriedly. "D-did something happened to you? W-what kind of accident you had?"
The girl looked a little hesitant at first, but then… grinned.
"He… you're a good strategist, ya know that, Shinabigi?"
"Uh?"
She then looked at him with the same smile. "You wanted to know more of me because you thought I was so awesome! That's why you came up with that idea of coming to my place with the kids! Am I right on this one?"
"W-what?!" Makoto was surprised. "H-how did you know?"
"AH! I fuckin' called it! My awesomeness has no limits!" The girl's grin was even more apparent. "I didn't think you would have the balls to do something like that, Shinabigi! Hiding your real intentions to get closer to a genius like me… it's pretty dirty business!"
"I-I know, but-"
"Not that I'm mad at ya, goofus! Any other normie would have done it in your place!" The girl spoke seemingly… happy at the turn of events. "And ya know how horny I get when someone wants to know more of me! I mean, you're the one who came back to me the more!"
"I-Iruma-san, I told you not to-"
"SO!" The girl suddenly shouted, completely ignoring his protest. "Ya wanna know my secret, Shinabigi! Be ready, 'cuz you're gonna be the first one I'll tell! So feel honored!"
"R-really?" Makoto seemed really surprised. So she had a secret she is willing to share with him? Talk about a rebound.
Perhaps he was going to get his answers after all.
…though for some reason, he had a feeling he wouldn't be pleased by what he was going to hear.
…well, it was a risk to take. It was Miu he was talking to after all.
With that in mind, Makoto prepared himself and spoke. "All right, I'm all ears, Iruma-san. What happened?"
"Well, I don't think you're gonna believe me, but…"
"Uh?"
"I used to be like that, ya know. Boring, unremarkable, talentless… The kind of girl you would encounter on any corner." The girl looked at him with an annoyed look. "Incredible, right? I mean, for a genius to be born that way…"
"I… don't think there's anything wrong to be born that way." Makoto sweatdropped at her confession. "I mean, I mean, everybody has to start somewhere."
The Inventor gave him an odd look. "…so you ain't weirded out hearing that?"
"Uh, no? Is there any reason why I should be?"
"…meh, I guess you're right." Miu looked away. "I mean, you're kind of like that, in a sense…"
Comment which made Makoto cough in awkwardness. "S-sure…"
"I said in a sense, dumbass! Listen carefully when I speak, damn it!" Miu shouted at him, before coughing. "Anyway, yeah. Back in the day, I used to be like that."
"Uh-uh."
"Until that day, when I became an augmented human."
…
…
Makoto just looked at her, dumbfounded at what he just heard. "Uh… e-excuse me?"
"Yeah, I know! Pretty fuckin' cool, ain't that right?!" The girl grinned, before looking on the side, with some annoyance. "Could have done it without that incident, though…"
So, she thought of herself as… an augmented human? Did she mean a cyborg, or something like that? Because of an incident she had? Was it the reason she had a hospital bed? To honor her start?
Weird. Definitely weird.
…well, he was not as surprised as anyone would, he supposed. Considering he has encountered a senior who thinks of himself as the future lord of this world, for only citing an example.
He sincerely hoped that Gundham would not hear that, otherwise, he might be into some trouble with him later.
…and he did not forget a certain junior's constant lies and fake stories. Much to pretty much everyone's annoyance.
One day, Kokichi will certainly put himself into more trouble than before. And when it will happen, because he knew this day was going to happen… he would be screwed.
All Makoto could hope for was to stop him before it was too late.
"Oi, Shinabigi! You listenin'?"
Miu's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, before he nodded awkwardly. "Y-yeah, Iruma-san. I was just… processing what you told me is all."
"Seriously? You still over this?" The Inventor said, in a… somewhat amused tone. "Well, can't really blame ya, I guess. I remember I was like that too after the surgery, and-"
"W-what?! Surgery?!" That sentence surprised Makoto, and not in a good way. "Iruma-san, what happened to you?!"
"Eeeek?!" Miu backed away instantly seeing his quick reaction. "W-why are you reacting like that?! Y-you almost gave me a heart attack!"
The Luckster stood here for a very short moment, before inhaling some air in order to calm himself. "…sorry about this, Iruma-san. But… I really freaked out when you said that."
"W-well, warn me next time you do that, goddamnit!" The girl said, gaining her confidence back, before growling a little. "Geez… now ya interrupted me. Where was I again?"
"Uh, the part you said you had a surgery…" Makoto answered, getting a little uneasy. "How bad was it?"
"Oh, right…" The girl looked at him, still a little annoyed at what just happened. "Pretty bad, if you want me to be honest. Long story short, I ended up in a coma."
That made Makoto gasp in shocked horror. "I-Iruma-san!"
"Let me finish before losing it! I know this is real life and death shit, but can't you contain yourself for two minutes?!" The Inventor shoot a glare at him, which was enough to make him stop, and let her continue in a cough. "Yeah, anyway, after the surgery, I barely managed to regain consciousness, and ever since, I've been chock-full of ideas for all kinds of inventions! And I had the brains, skills, and physical talent to make those inventions a reality!" She then looked at Makoto for his answer. "But that's weird, isn't it? I mean, think about it. It's weird, right?"
"It's… weird all right." Was Makoto's simple, but awkward answer.
"So," Miu concluded, "I've come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, an augmented human."
"An augmented… human."
"That's right!" The Inventor declared. "The surgery augmented me somehow! That's how I survived the coma!"
That was… very unlikely for Makoto. He guessed that it made sense for Miu, but not for him.
Because if the surgery transformed her into an evolved form, then it would have awoken her immediately after, right? Yet, by what she just said, she barely made it back in the land of the living again… that didn't make much sense!
But he kept his cool… at least exteriorly. Interiorly, he was beginning to freak out.
So he asked her, "B-but… why would you think that? I mean, you do look human to me…"
"Sure, I do normal human stuff like eat and take shits, but… I mean, look at Ki-Bo. If someone can make a robot that passes for human, then it wouldn't be weird if I was an augmented human!" She began to laugh the way she usually did. "Kyashya! This is amazing!"
"W-wait, what?!" The Luckster looked at her shocked. "I-is this a thing to get excited about?!"
"Of course! Superpowers are within my reach!" She grinned happily. "Or should I say, literally within me! Yeah, that's it! I got the power inside me! We better start cutting me open!"
"What?!" Makoto shouted in panic this time. "But you would die!"
"I'm an augmented human! It'll take more than disembowelment to kill me!" She declared again before laughing. "Kyashyashya! I just gotta jam this baby into me!"
"Wait, stop!"
"Eek?!"
The girl stopped immediately when she felt Makoto's hands on her shoulders, grabbing them tightly, which was hurting her slightly.
And when she saw his serious expression… she knew he was not kidding around this time.
"I don't care if you're augmented or not!" The boy shouted at her. "You're still human! A living, breathing being, Miu! So you can't hurt yourself like this!"
"W-wha…" The girl was now as red as a tomato at the sudden contact, and tried to get away from his gaze. "W-what are you even saying? H-how can I… satisfy my lust for research?"
"So you mean to tell me you would risk your life for something like this?!" The Luckster was not giving up on her. "Iruma-san, I'm going to be bluntly honest with you. That kind of thing you say? That's exactly the same kind of thing Komeda-senpai would say!"
At the mention of the boy's name, she looked at him shocked. "W-what?! Y-you compare me to that weirdo?!"
"I'm sorry, but when you say that, yes! When I met him, he kept talking about hope all the time, and I can understand why his class was bothered by this. But he even told me he would sacrifice his life in the name of hope! I talked to him many times about this, but he still keeps being like this at times, even today!" He explained, sometimes speaking a little louder than he intended. "And when you say that kind of thing, it has this same feeling of willing self-harm! And there's no way I can let you do that kind of things!"
Miu began to stutter even more, as she began to shake and some drool appeared on the corner of her mouth. "W-why… why are you lookin' at me like that?"
"Uh?"
"W-why are you giving me that look?!" The Inventor turned towards him with her red face, but an angry, or at least stressed, look. "W-who the fuck do you think you are, telling me what to do or not, uh?! You're not a genius, I am! This ain't you're fuckin' problem!"
"It is! You're my friend!"
"So what?! This decision didn't involve you in the first place!" She really began to narrow her eyes.
"You don't need to worry about me!"
"Well, I do! How can I not when you say things like this?!"
"Well, you shouldn't, plain and simple! I'm a grownup girl, damn it! I can take care of myself, alright?!" Her irritation seemed to reach a peak. "Damn it, what the fuck is wrong with you, uh?! Why do you act so nice and shit one moment and then yell at me the next?! Why do you act as if you're worried about me?!"
"Because I care about you, that's why!"
…
…
The next words that came out of the Luckster's mouth slowly, but surely, stopped the Inventor's anger, vanishing from her face.
Instead, her once narrowed eyes widened very slowly, as her conscious realized what he just said, and her expression went from angry, to baffled. Shocked. Astonished.
No word could possibly describe the upcoming mess, that was Miu Iruma's mind right now.
"I know this sound cliche to you, Iruma-san. I know we don't know each other for long. And I know I can't fully convince you now just with my words."
His face was serious, but at the same time, it was… calm.
"But I do care about. Like everyone else. You are important to me."
And his voice. His once panicked, worried tone, was now… sincere. Sweet, even.
"And I wouldn't forgive myself if I were not able to help a friend in need like you right now."
It was as if he somehow managed to absorb any kind of negativity in the room, to replace it with… warmth.
"Because I know you need help, Iruma-san. You need someone to help you… to be here for you."
And his kind, gentle words were not helping things, either.
"So, please, Iruma-san…"
But what was the finisher for her…
"Let me be there for you."
Was his voice. That voice he had… she could feel the power behind it.
The emotions, the distress, the concern… everything was real in this voice. Including the care he had for her. That seemed obvious for her.
…and she also felt something else within her quickly after realizing it. And one thing was sure: it was coming at her real quick.
"T-the windows…"
"U-uh?"
The poor girl's face went even redder, if that was possible, as sweat rapidly appeared on her face. "O-open the window, goddamnit! It's so hot in here! W-why isn't it so hot in here?!"
Reaction which made the Luckster panic a bit. "I-Iruma-san?!"
"I-I told you to open the windows, damn it! I feel way too hot!" The girl yelled, tossing the Eye-Drop Contacts on the side, and throwing her head on her pillow. "D-don't just stay here, dumbass! D-do something about it! Open the windows, start the air con, leave the room, rip off my clothes, or yours, or both if ya want, anything! Just make it stop!"
"O-okay…" Makoto replied awkwardly as he heard her words very clearly. He went to the windows side, opened them and pushed a button which he supposed was the curtain's, which effectively prompted them up. He then went to another side of the room and pushed another button, which in turn started the air conditioner.
Yeah, doing both that. He knew this was not really necessary, but hey, she asked him to do it. In this state, it was better for him to listen.
…well, not to every of her requests. He was surely not going to rip off her clothes, or his.
So, he just kept looking at her in her bed. As he expected, she was an utter mess. Her head was still burrowed in the pillow, but he could still hear her trying to recompose herself, taking deep breaths.
He may have pushed things a little too far with her.
Though it was in the heat of the moment. He did not want to yell at her the way he did at first.
But what she said… it was just… disrespectful of herself, thinking of herself as nothing more but an experience to mankind and not a living being. He has heard that kind of speech before.
Not just from Nagito's mouth, but also from Peko.
But he thought that at least, Peko believed as such, and was only confronted toward the reality when it as too late. That was why he didn't mention her.
As opposed to Nagito, whose stubborn attitude could be a handful, even for him.
…though he took the time to wonder: was it really what she thought? Was she this convinced to be… that? Or as there something more behind this?
Regardless, he might have gone overboard with her.
So he walked towards the door, not before casting her a worried look. "I-I'll be watching the kids I-if you need me-"
"Stay."
"Uh?"
"I-I told you to stay." He heard her speak loud enough. "In here… with me."
"R-really?" He said surprised, turning towards her. "B-but you said-"
"Forget what I said, okay?!" She shouted a little irritated, looking at him very briefly, before looking on the side again. "Y-you said you would be here for me, r-right? S-so… stay here. Please."
The shock was apparent on his face for sure. Yes, the girl was a wreck right now. But, despite telling him to leave, not directly but still… she came back on her words?
…not that he minded too much. He did say he would be there for her if she needed him. So that's what he was going to do. Say her and speak to her when she will be calmed down.
"…alright." Makoto said simply, before taking a chair and sitting on it, their back facing each other. "Tell me when you're ready to talk."
A simple grumble was his simple answer. Better than nothing, he guessed.
Now, all he could do was wait…
…and hoping the kids were not doing anything wrong.
"Can you hear them now?"
"No. Everything went silent."
"I didn't get what that girl said, though… surgery? Augmented human? What is this?"
"Monaca guesses she had to go through a lot, too."
"*sigh*"
Behind the door, another display was having its course.
And that display was the five Warriors of Hope waiting patiently, yet nervously, for the two teenagers to come out, with Masaru and Kotoko who had their head stuck on the door, trying to hear the conversation the two had, while Jataro, Nagisa and Monaca, were waiting behind them, with worried look on their faces.
"They sure made a loud mess earlier…" Masaru whispered along with the rest of his siblings. "I thought they were going to fight…"
"I-I don't think Onii-san would have gone for it…" Jataro spoke fearfully. "B-but I don't know about Iruma-san. S-she sounded really angry…"
"And for good reasons…" Kotoko voiced her opinion, sending another glare at Nagisa. "You really need to think before opening it, Nagisa."
"I know. I really do this time." Nagisa spoke, clearly not proud of what he did, before looking determined. "But… I simply hope Aniki is doing okay. I… I just don't want anything bad happening to him."
"Monaca think you shouldn't worry, Nagisa-chan."
Everyone turned towards Monaca, who was surprisingly not as worried ass the others.
"Uh?" Nagisa seemed a little confused. "W-what do you mean by that, Monaca?"
"Y-you really seem happy about everything, Monaca-san." Jataro spoke. "I-Is there a reason for that?"
"Well, Monaca is not happy about the situation per say. We could have all avoided this." Monaca explained before smiling. "But it's going to be okay. If things turned to be so quiet this time, then it must mean he's talking to her. It's Naegi-onii we're talking about."
The kids contemplated her words carefully, before Kotoko giggled quietly in agreement, reflecting everyone else's small smiles. "You're right! Makoto-nii is going to comfort her for sure! He's the best when it comes to talking to people!"
"Yeah! And if that's not enough, well-" Masaru said, before leaning more in the door. "Wait! I think I heard them!"
"Really?!" Kotoko did the same. "What are they saying?!"
Everyone kept quiet, in order to hear from their two members to report for their important mission.
Everything was quiet in Miu's room. For at least two good minutes, Makoto only heard the sound of breathing coming from her mouth…
Also, he could hear some mumbling coming from the door. Looks like the kids heard everything. That was easy to guess considering the noise they made during their argument. He would have to make sure they were not worried about everything. But that will have to wait until Miu began to talk again.
In the meantime, he had time to look at what was on the desk near the chair he was sitting in. He didn't touch anything of course, because he considered it would be rude, but he decided to take a look at the plans he saw.
And very surprisingly… he noticed that the plans from the Eye Drop Contacts were right at the end of the table. They were positioned as if it was some kind of model for her. Yet, he remembered her saying she considered them as a failure.
He supposed there was some kind of meaning to this… just like the story he has heard from Miu.
Then, he noticed a glimpse of light on the corner of his eye. When he turned toward it, he saw the invention laying on the floor, where Miu tossed it in panic.
That made him get up from his seat and go toward the item. Once he was in front of it, he kneeled in order to take a closer look.
One of the contacts were cracked. Apparently, the Inventor threw it with enough force to break it a little, leaving a fissure in both of them.
"You're that interested in those?"
Once he got up, he heard Miu's voice behind him. Slowly, he turned his head towards her to see her looking at him. She had gathered enough courage to lift up her had a little, but only her eyes moved towards his direction.
To which Makoto answered, "Well, you're the one who made it. Of course it interests me."
Silence, again.
And that was a signal for Makoto to talk again. "Are you going to be alright? I mean, I hope I didn't upset you too much-"
"I-it's fine… I-I'm not that upset."
The voice of Miu was a little shaky, but she had stopped trembling so violently like before, so she seemed to have indeed calmed down a bit.
"B-but you know," the girl continued, "y-you don't have to be worried about me. E-even if I'm human, I can handle it. You know why."
"I know, yes. You're really smart, so you can handle a lot of things." Makoto answered, sitting back on the chair, looking at her. "But you said it yourself. Every genius needs some support once in a while, and that's what I'm trying to do."
"Ugh… foot in the mouth…" The Inventor grumbled under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear.
That made him smile very lightly, as he put the contacts near the model. "You know, Iruma-san… for a failure, those contacts really seem to be important for you."
"Well, duh-doy. Everybody needs to start somewhere." The girl aid a little annoyed. "You've got to have some sort of respect for the thing which allowed you to start."
"Well, I'm sorry to say this but you… kind of make it looks like you actually don't respect them."
That comment made her rose slowly from her position. "Oi, I've got some common sense, ya know. Without those, I wouldn't be talkin' to ya right now, would I?"
"No, I don't think you would." Makoto sighed a little. "But… it really is an important symbol to you, isn't it?"
"Uh?"
"The mark of your own start, I mean. The beginning of your career as an inventor. Am I right?"
That made the girl roll her eyes. "Are you deaf? That's exactly what I-"
"I suppose the same can be said for your bed, right?"
No that baffled the Inventor. "W… what?"
"I mean, for you, the surgery is the cause of your sudden high intelligence, right?" Makoto began to explain. "So you thought that you had to honor the birth of the genius you became, didn't you?"
"U-uh… r-right, I guess…" Miu began to be a little nervous. "W-what are you getting at?"
"Well… what if you remained the same?"
"Uh?"
"What if you had kept the same personality?" The Luckster questioned. "What if you didn't receive the intelligence, the ideas of creating those things? What if you remained… well, average?"
The girl looked a little uneasy at this. "W-well… I wouldn't be here, obviously. I keep telling ya…"
"Well… I think you would still be… you."
The girl was silenced at this. She slowly send her gaze at Makoto, with widening eyes. "W… what are you-"
"I mean… well… how should I put this…" Makoto wondered, before looking at Miu right in her eyes. "You are you, Iruma-san. You are you own person. Sure, maybe the surgery had something to do with this, but… it really doesn't matter to me, you know?"
"W-what?" The girl stuttered, her saliva, red face and shakiness coming back. "W… b-but… y-you're not making any fuckin' sense… i-it's because of that surgery that I-"
"Maybe you would have become a great genius without it, you know."
Again, the girl silenced herself at this, her surprised as evident as her blush.
"You say that you needed to go through a surgery to become a genius. And I say that maybe you would have managed to find those ideas of your own." Makoto continued, taking the Eye Drop Contacts in his right hand and showing. "You're the one who came up with it. So I believe there had to be something special in you to do all of that stuff you made. Maybe you already that personality before, just… not to the same extent… maybe we would have been friends without the transformation."
He stopped himself for a minute, letting the girl digest what she heard. She seemed… calmer than she was before. Her eyes were focused on the boys in front of her, in a calm, yet astonished way. She stopped shaking, her breathing was more controlled, and even some of her spit disappeared a little.
Her blush, on the other hand, seemed more pronounced, but her heartbeat seemed more… relaxed. When before, it was pounding violently like a compressor, hurting her to the point of giving her suffocation, the pounding here was also fast, but this time… it felt right.
"I mean, we managed to be friends with the transformation, so it must mean something." The Luckster continued, completely unaware of what was going on in her head. "I know you have difficulties with communicating with others… but if we managed to get along naturally, doesn't it matter?"
But once again, what was the finisher… was his smile.
"So, you don't need to look down on yourself. You're still you. A genius, and a friend of mine. That's what matters."
That smile he gave her class the day they began their first year together.
She didn't the first time because she had not thought much of it back then, but now, she didn't know if it was because it was just in front of her or anything else, but … she could actually feel it.
The sincerity. The impact. And most importantly… the warmth. It was as if he somehow absorbed any kind of bad feelings she once had in a black hole, and then replaced it… with a much more relaxing ambiance in the room. And also within her. And this time… she was beginning to like that.
"Eh… not bad at all."
"Uh?"
He saw the girl smirking at him. "I told ya you weren't that bad as an assistant, didn't I?"
"I-I think you did, yes…"
"Well, ya just confirmed it further." The girl reasoned with some stuttering in her voice. "Ya know, you say the craziest shit when you talk… and you look…" she blushed at the last part. "Kind of cool, I admit."
Which took the Luckster by surprise and made him blush. "W-what?"
"Come on, Shinabigi!" the Inventor laughed lightly. "Don't get aroused each time someone compliments ya poor ass!"
"I-I'm not aroused!" Makoto almost shouted, his face red of embarrassment. "I-I just… didn't expect you to say something like this!"
"What, you think I expected you to say this kind of shit?!" Miu rebutted with the same embarrassed tone. "Yy-ou really suck at this… seriously, you need to work on your confessions."
"W-what?!" That flustered the poor Luckster even more. "I-I didn't-"
"Here ya fuckin' go again… I knew this shit was going to work on ya, Shinabigi!" Miu laughed again lightly, but not doing as she usually did. She then wrapped an arm on his shoulder. "How the fuck can you be a stuttering mess when you looked so calm just a moment ago, uh?!"
"I-I guess…" Makoto calmed down a bit, laughing awkwardly. "It was in the heat of the moment…"
"Not that it's a bad thing, ya know. Ya can be scary, but overall, you're just a doofus." Miu smirked at him. "Enjoying what you see?"
"Uh?"
"Come on, you ain't that dense, right?"
He looked at her, before noticing that she had put his head a little closer to her chest, which made him widen his eyes with a blush on his face and look away immediately. "I-Iruma-san…"
"Kyashya! Come on, don't be like that! Any other idiot would love to be in your position!" The girl proclaimed, before winking at him. "Come to think of it, I think a girl' body might be your weakness."
"I-I'm just a simple man… o-or rather, a teenager…"
"Doesn't change the fact that you're hilarious when you're like that." Miu said with the same smirks. "Reminds me of one of the times you and Bakamatsu came to me with one of your shitty lectures at the beginning." She then rolled her eyes. "Yup, great fuckin' times…"
That surprised Makoto a little, who looked at Miu's face. "Uh? W-which one exactly?"
"Ya know, when she tried to give me the 'big boobs ain't everything' shit talk! And you managed t had a good look on her, uh?!"
That made him blush o embarrassment even more and turn away quickly. "I-I would have preferred to forget it…"
"What is it, prev ahoge and sour tits!? You better have a damn good reason for buggin' THIS beautiful genius!"
"P-perv ahoge?"
"S-sour… tits…"
That… was a way to great people, both Makoto and Kaede mentally noted in a sarcastic tone.
Then again, considering it was Miu they were talking to, it was to be expected.
But Makoto had some important business to tell her, as it was related to the exams they will have to go through right before summer. Sure, there was still a lot of time, considering they were still at the beginning of the new year, but it was the instructions he has been given.
As for Kaede, she wanted to get to know her classmates better, as the year just started, and Miu was one of the last people she had to talk to yet. But considering the first impression they received from her, she knew that she was going to be one of the most troublesome for sure. So she also thought that Makoto would have some trouble with her, and offered him some help.
…and she was right to be worried, as she will soon discover. The girl was in her Research Lab, and she seemed to be as arrogant as she was the first day.
Makoto started. "W-well, I had to find you because I've received the instructions for your exams. I was worried when Akamatsu-san told me you were absent from classes frequently, recently…"
"Duh-doy! From what I remember, classes are supposed to be optional here!" Miu gave him a glare. "I've got better shit to do than losing my fuckin' time in useless classes! I mean, the exams are gonna be me building some stupid shit, right?"
"Y-yeah, but-"
"See?! So I've got no reason to go there anymore!"
"B-but-"
"Come on, Iruma-san!" Kaede tried to sound nice, unconsciously interrupting Makoto. "It's maybe optional, but we've heard the other teachers about it, especially Yukizome-sensei. You know how they seem against it. Besides, you've heard what she said about bonding, too…"
"Well, they ain't the ones who make the rules here!" The Inventor said unconvinced. "Didn't they say it was to develop our talent or some shit like that?! Well, that's what I'm tryin' to do right now, dumpy tits!"
Which didn't please the Pianist too much either. "Dumpy tits…"
"Come on, girls, don't start an argument now…" Makoto tried to stop them, only to be ignored.
"'sides, classes are boring anyway. With such a fuckin' drunker as a teacher, and some dumbasses classmates… how 'bout they start doin' or talkin' about something that'll interest me?" she continued insulting everyone without a care, before giving a look at Kaede. "Like ya, Bakamatsu! You got no boobs and nothin' interestin' to say! You're fuckin' hopeless!"
The Luckster saw the Pianist's eyes twitching in anger. He knew now this was only a matter of seconds before things would go out of hands.
But unfortunately, he couldn't react in time.
"Kyashyashya! Poor widdle Kaede and her sad, sour, dumpy tits!"
That was the last straw for Kaede, who shouted indignantly "Wha—!? Who you calling sad, sour, dumpy tits, huh!?"
"Eeek?!" Miu backed down in fear immediately. "W-what the—!? Don't shout all of a sudden… You know how fuckin' rude that is?"
"Well, you were the rude one here, Iruma-san." Makoto reprimanded her with a stern look. "You can't just insult people like that."
"Exactly! I was holding it in, but you just have to open your mouth like that!" Kaede agreed in a very angry tone. "Seriously, this needs to stop, Iruma-san!"
That made the Inventor stop for a little while. "Uh? I get it. Don't tell me…"
"Uh?"
"You're jealous of my fine sexy body! Kyashyashya!"
Which made the two other teenagers blush out of embarrassment, with Makoto speaking first. "W… what are you even talking about?!"
"God, Iruma-san! Some things are best left unsaid!" Kaede said really annoyed and embarrassed. "And why do you concern yourself with your body of all things?!"
"Bah! Jealous bitch talking here, muffintop!" The Inventor grinned further. "Pianists don't hafta do any physical or mental activity. That's why they're all fatasses, huh?"
"Uh, girls…"
"T-that's complete nonsense! Is having a great body that important?!"
"Duh-doy! A woman can't get anywhere in life unless she's got big tits! Small, pathetic tits are only popular among a certain class of creepers…" Miu then eyed her in a suspicious, yet amused way. "Wait a minute… You're not tryin' to attract those creepy fucks, are you, mini titties?"
"G-girls?"
"Ugh! Stop calling me that! They're pretty big too, ya know!"
And just like that, the pianist put her hand over her mouth, as if she realized something.
That something would be that Makoto was just next to them.
And when she looked at him with a red, sweating face, she saw he had the same face, with swirling eyes, not really knowing what to do or say, instead just opening and closing his mouth like a fish.
So she tried to speak herself. "N-no… I-I didn't-"
"Yeah? Feelin' pretty confident about that? Then lemme get a feeling!"
But since she turned towards the poor Luckster, she didn't see the Inventor coming right behind her and grope her… right in front of him.
"Eeeek?!" Kaede almost jumped at the contact. "W-w-what do you think you're doing?!"
"Checking out if it's the real deal, duh-doy!" Miu answered, not stopping her movement. "Those fake tits aren't foolin' me! What's your secret? Pads, stuffing, or silicon?"
"T-they're real!"
"I-I…" Makoto stuttered, before covering his nose and turning his back to them. "I-I'll go see if someone else needs my help!"
"W-wait!" Kaede tried to reach to him, but it was too late, as she saw the short boy running away from the Research Lab… which contributed to her anger, as she managed to free herself from Miu's grip and sapped he hands away as she covered her own chest with her left arm. "What the hell goes in your head?!"
"Eeek?!" And as expected now, the girl backed down seeing her angered face. "What the hell? What's your problem? We're both chicks, aren't we?"
"That doesn't matter! Why did you do that?! And in front of senpai on top of that!"
"So what? He sure must have loved the sight!" The girl grinned again. "Every ahoge guys are freak pervs! I've seen enough guys like them on TV to know!"
"And what kind of program?!"
"…a-anime?"
The Pianist could not believe what she was hearing. First Shuichi with the hat, and now Makoto with the ahoge?! Because of some anime character on top of that?!
"…you know what? We'll talk about this later. But you're seriously not getting away with this one!" Kaede warned her, before running towards the door as well. "Naegi-senpai! Wait!"
And with that, the Inventor was left alone in her lab… grinning to herself.
"AH! Worth it! I fuckin' rule!"
"Oh yeah! That one is definitely one of my favorites!" Miu grinned even more.
"Y-you really seem to enjoy messing with people…" Makoto said embarrassingly.
"Ya know it! Ya should have seen your faces!" The Inventor laughed at seeing his face. "That was fuckin' priceless!"
"Y-you shouldn't have done this. A-Akamatsu-san was so embarrassed to talk to me about that incident…"
"And ya continuously apologized to her like a dumbass. Yeah, so I've been told." Miu's smirk calmed down a little. "Playin' with ya is really fun, ya know? I can get why the gremlin cock sure loves to screw you all over."
"O-Ouma-kun is one thing, sure, but-"
"But in all seriousness… ya seem more worth the effort."
"Uh?" The Luckster looked at her to see him… smile at him. Calmly, and genuinely. Which was so… unusual coming from her.
"I mean, at first, I thought that you were some kind of perv." The Inventor explained casually. "Ya know what I said about ahoge dudes, right?"
"I-I do, yes…" the Luckster grimaced at this. "I mean, I've never done anything indecent before…"
"Yeah, sure…" the girl rolled her eyes, before smiling a little. "But like I told ya, you ain't half bad. I mean, chaos and shit still happens, and I still prefer to do my own stuff alone, sure, but without you and Bakamatsu to try to back up things behind instead of the drunk geezer, I guess things would be worse now…"
"I'm just doing my job…"
"But you're doin' it fine if y ask me." Miu grinned at him. "Just look at what happened right now. I was a mess, and ya fixed it. I mean, sure, you did say some crazy shit at the moment, but ya fixed it. It was nice to feel so calm, I've gotta hand it to ya." The Inventor tightened her arm around his neck slightly to get him closer. "So, yeah… it's official."
"Uh?" Makoto looked at her a little confused. "What's official?"
"AH! Secret for now!" The genius winked at him again. "Wouldn't like to kill the suspense now, would I?"
KNOCK KNOCK!
"Aniki? Iruma-san? Are you both okay? Can we enter?"
"Ah! There go your brats!" Miu turned towards the door with a little grin. "Wondered where the hell you went!"
"U-uh… where did you think they were?" Makoto asked with a sweatdrop. "I told them to wait for us… but they probably heard everything, too…"
"Well, guess they decided to stick around here. At least I'm sure they didn't touch my stuff." Miu told him before addressing herself to the kids. "You can enter, you know!"
And with that, the door opened, revealing the Warriors of Hope, who had a small smile on their faces.
"A-are you both okay?" Jataro explained meekly. "W-we heard some shootings coming from your room, a-and we were worried…"
"But as we can see, everything went just fine!" Kotoko smiled at both of them. "Makoto-nii did his magic again!"
"See, everyone! Monaca told you we didn't have to be worried!" Monaca giggled at the display. "We hve to be more trustful of Naegi-onii!"
"Well, I'm just glad everything is okay now!" Masaru grinned. "I mean, you two sure argued for some time, ya know, Nii-san!"
"You're right, Aniki." Nagisa spoke, before gazing Miu with a sympathetic look. "Iruma-san… I know I acted like an immature child this time, but-"
He was stopped when he felt the Inventor's hand on his head, messing with his hair, which made him look up at her to see her smile a little.
"Hey, don't beat the bunch about it, Einstein." The girl grinned at his face. I'm gonna say it again in case you didn't hear: I'm not the kind of chick who hold it against kids, as smartass as they try to be."
Which made the boy look surprised, but looked serious again. "But even still… I feel like I should still make it up to you." He then eyed Makoto with the corner of his eyes. "I feel like it's the right thing to do."
Seeing this, Makoto couldn't but smile proudly at the boy. For he knew he wanted to do the good thing on his own.
It was one of the many things he liked about them: the fact that they learned so quickly.
"You really wanna go that way, uh?" The Inventor paused for a moment before smiling. "Well, fine. Then you can go with the wheelchaired girl here to take some lessons with me. How good does that sound?"
"Oh, yes! That's really a good idea! You can see some interesting stuff with us!" Monaca looked at him with a smile. "Come on, Nagisa-chan! Monaca promises you'll like it!"
Seeing his secret crush smiling at him that way made him blush and smile, looking away from them. "W-well, I suppose I can work with that…"
"Alright! So it's decided then!" Miu declared happily, pumping her fist in the air. "Hope you're ready, world, 'cause Miu Iruma and her apprentices are comin' to rock you out! Kyashyashya!"
"Yay!" Monaca followed the gesture. "We're going to show what we can do!"
"Hell yeah, we will!" The girl then kneeled down to Nagisa's head and whispered, "You've gotta do what it takes to impress your girlfriend over there, goat boy."
Which made him blush out of embarrassment and look at her go next to Monaca, not believing what he just heard. "W-what?!"
And the poor boy didn't realize he spoke too loud, as the three other kids sans Monaca looked at him with a curious look, with Jataro asking first, "Uh? What's wrong, Nagisa-kun? You're red all of the sudden…"
"Oh my God… she told you something embarrassing!" Kotoko laughed next to him. "Go on! Spill the beans!"
"Just look at his face!" Masaru joined her in the teasing. "I bet it involved Monaca-san! Isn't that right?"
"S-stop it, all of you!" Nagisa shouted in an irritated tone, hiding his blushing face to everyone with his two hands. "W-why are you always doing this to me?!"
"Now, now, everyone," Monaca defended him sweetly, "we talked about this. There is no need to embarrass him any further. Monaca believes he deserves some slack now."
That did not prevent the laughs to happen, but at least the mood was far better than it was before. Jataro had a weak smile looking at Masaru and Kotoko laughing at Nagisa's behavior, while Monaca simply giggled at the sight with Miu laughing on her side. Even Nagisa seemed to appreciate it, because Makoto has seen a little smile form itself on his face for a very brief moment before his two siblings pressed the matter, much to his annoyance.
All in all, everyone was finally having a good time together.
And seeing all of those smiles made him smile himself.
Because he won't have it any other way.
BRRRR!
Suddenly, the boy felt his pocket vibrate with a familiar sound. He of course knew what it was, and when he got his phone out of it to see the one calling him, he eyed Miu. "It's my sister. She's probably done what she had to do, and would like to pick me up with the kids."
That made the girl roll her yes, but with a smile. "Well, tell her my address, I guess. Can't let your sis get lost, can I now?"
"Thanks."
Once he took the call, the girl looked at the kids with a smirk. "So, kiddos, I think we all had enough depressive crap for today. How about we go watch something on TV, uh?"
"R-really?" Jataro asked. "S-so… we're going to watch TV while waiting for Onee-san?"
"Yeah, Komaru, everything is fine. Don't worry about it, okay?"
"But what do you want us to watch?" Nagisa asked curiously. "Is I going to be some kind of engineering stuff or something like that?"
"Please don't start with that again…"
"Nah, you twerps wouldn't get a thing. Besides, I think all that work crap made us a little too tense." Miu reasoned. "I've got some got shows for ya brats. How about that?"
"Shows?" Masaru questioned. "As if… anime for us?"
"Yeah, I'm at a friend's house right now. She's one of my juniors."
"So we're going to watch kid show? Works for me!" Kotoko said in glee. "I wonder what kind of stuff you have!"
"Not to mention, Monaca wonders how your TV works!" Monaca followed. "She bet you did a lot of things on it!"
"D-do you really need to tell me to behave?"
"You bet! So let's hit the show on the road!" Miu declared, before looking at Makoto. "Oi, Shinabigi! I'll take the kids to watch some stuff on TV!"
"O-okay, Iruma-san! I'll join you once I'm done!" Makoto turned to her before going back on his call. "Sorry, you were saying?"
"Alright, kids, let the genius lead the way! Though I don't think your brain's going to have that much trouble memorizing where it is." Miu took the lead on this once, taking Monaca's wheelchair, something she has not done before, and then eyed Nagisa. "Alright, Einstein! You lead the way!"
"A-alright, I suppose…" Nagisa spoke, a little distraught by her contradiction, but deciding against speaking his opinion. He, along the others, left the room, leaving the Luckster to finish his call.
"I know you're worried, but I'm here, okay? And even if Iruma-san can be a handful, she's not a bad person
And apparently, she seemed to be really worried about the safety of her younger siblings…
Even if she pushed some pressure on her brother's shoulder. She was also worried about him, of course, but the difference was, she knew he could take care of himself.
Plus, she didn't know much about Miu. Aside from the fact that she seemed rude… Not someone she would let her kids with if you asked her. Thing was, she was not in charge with them, so it couldn't be helped.
"Don't worry, we're just going to watch something, cartoons, I think. We'll talk about this later, okay?"
The Luckster smiled at hearing her sigh in relief. Her caring side was really something he appreciated. Even if she showed it more towards the kids now, but it was completely normal.
"Alright. See you later, Komaru."
With that, he ended the conversation, leaving the room to join the others… with a particular thought in mind.
'I just hope she won't show them anything indecent…'
"Welp, here was the first episode. So, what do you shrimps thought?"
"Well, I think that was fun! Especially the times when the puppet boy lectured that idiot!"
"B-but did he have to be naked at first?! I-it was a little embarrassing to see…"
"Well, I've seen worse, personally. And I don't think it was that bad."
"It was… a little too childish. But I suppose I can understand why people liked it."
"Well, the important thing is everyone had a good time. Right, Naegi-onii?"
Yes, everyone had a good time, Makoto confirmed with a nod and a smile
…though Jataro had a point, the moment when Gash Bell appeared on screen the first time naked was a little surprising for him.
…then again, he's seen worse.
"You took the words out of my mouth, Monaca." The Luckster smiled at her. "Plus, even if this scene was a little shocking at first, I see the good morals it's trying to teach the kids."
"Oh yeah!" Kotoko beamed in joy. "And the spells from the book looked really like a good idea! I would like to see more of this!"
"M-me too…" Jataro said with his usual voice. "I-I mean, I just hope there won't be too many scenes with that, too…"
"Well, I think we can all relate to Bash Bell." Monaca said with a smile. "But Takamine-onii's personality is also something familiar."
"…I see what you mean." Nagisa told her, nodding slowly. "A genius who learn to open up to others… something I can relate."
"Uh? That was the moral?" Miu gave them a questioning look. "I was way too focused on the kid's worm to see it! That was my favorite!" She then laughed like she usually did. "Kyashyashya! The look on the poor bastard's face! Priceless, I tell ya!"
"I know, right?!" Masaru joined her in her laugh. "I would have done the same face in his place!"
Makoto couldn't help but smile at the scene. Compared to what happened before, the mood was much brighter. Miu and the kids were bonding through a kid's program, laughing together and talking about what the anime was…
It looked like he had achieved his two goals perfectly today, which was more than enough to make him happy.
…still, a question remained in his mind. So turning towards Miu, he asked, "Say, Iruma-san… is it because you watched many kid shows at the hospital that you love it so much?"
"Well, can you blame me?" The girl looked at him with a bored look. "When you're forced to stay in the bed with nothing to do, you've gotta find something to pass time! Plus, it was the only thing positive in the damn room! Everything else was so freakin' gloomy!"
"Is that so?"
DRING!
"Ah! Must be your sis, Shinabigi!" Miu told Makoto. "Care to open the door for me? Gotta make sure to tell the two apprentices some tips."
"Sure thing, Iruma-san!" The Luckster answered with a smile, getting up and walking towards the door, opening it to indeed see Komaru behind it."
"Hey there, Onii-san!" His sister greeted him with a little smile. "So everything went well?"
"Of course it did, Komaru." Makoto smiled at her as well. "I told you, nothing bad happened. We just watched something on TV with Iruma-san. She's with them right now."
"You talkin' about me?" Miu showed herself with Nagisa and Monaca on her side.
At this, for a brief moment, Makoto swore he saw his sister examine Miu with her eyes… with the left one twitching.
But she kept smiling anyway. "So you're Iruma-san, right? Thank you for looking after my siblings and my Onii-san for me."
"Nah, t'was nothing for a genius like me." Miu answered with a grin. "'sides, I've seen worse kids. Heck, two of them are my disciples now!"
"Oh, really?" Komaru wondered with a somewhat forceful smile. "I suppose you're talking about Nagisa and Monaca?"
"Yes. She was talking about us right now." Nagisa answered with a neutral face. "Let's say we had an arrangement between the three of us."
"Yup yup. Iruma-onee is really smart, you know!" Monaca followed with a little smile. "That's why Monaca and Nagisa-chan decided to ask her for some pieces of advice!"
"Is that so? You'll tell me more when we'll be back home." The sister said as Masaru, Jataro and Kotoko were joining her side. She then looked at her brother with the same look. "Are you coming, Onii-san?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Makoto told her, before turning towards Miu. "Thank you for the favor, Iruma-san. I appreciate it."
"Nah, don't mention it." The girl replied with a smile. "I'm a genius, after all."
"I know. But don't forget about I told you, okay?" The Luckster told her with a worried, but serious look. "You don't need to be worried about things like your abilities or identity."
"Eeeh? Are you a blockhead?! What does a genius like me need to worry about!?" Miu shouted, before calming down and looking away with a blush. "…w-would it be weird if I was to be worried, though?"
"Of course not, Iruma-san! Even geniuses can worry about something, you know!" Makoto laughed at this. "And if that happens, you know that I'm here for you, okay?"
That made her eyes move on his direction, with a little smile on her face. "…t-thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Okay, Onii-san, I think we should get going." Komaru told him with a somewhat hurrying tone. "Kids, say goodbye to Iruma-san!"
"Okay! Bye, Iruma-san!"
"I've got to go now. See you tomorrow. And thanks again."
And with that, the Luckster joined his family outside, closing the door, and leaving the Inventor all by herself to her own thoughts… revolving around a certain someone."
"Eh… too bad his sis came this early." Miu said to herself, putting her hand in her pocket with a small frown, getting out some kind of ray gun out of it. "Here goes an occasion to prove my genius to him…"
But then, she smiled slightly. "Eh. Good thing I came up with this back-up plan then. The brat should have given it to him by now."
And then, she looked at the door… with some kind of tender eyes.
"Be here when I need you? Eh. I'll hold you to that… Naegi."
"A… a piece of her hair?"
"Well… I didn't have time to ask her why. Sorry, Aniki."
"It's… okay, Nagisa."
Yes, a piece of her hair in a plastic bag. That was the thing Miu asked Nagisa to offer Makoto before going. Needless to say, it was unexpected for him.
Guess there were some mysteries around Miu after all… not that he wouldn't take time to know her better.
"Why a piece of her hair, though?" Masaru questioned. "Couldn't she have given him something else?"
"I-I really don't get it either…" Jataro voiced his opinion. "D-does it means something special?"
"Well, at least she was nice!" Kotoko said happily. "I bet it's just her way to say she likes you!"
"Monaca thinks so too!" Monaca giggled. "And Monaca doesn't blame her. Naegi-onii is really someone anyone would love on their side!"
Makoto began to blush as he tried to stop the teasing. "Y-you guys-"
But Komaru has beaten him to the punch. "Now, now. Let's not bring that up in front of Onii-san, everyone. You all know how much he dislikes it."
Makoto looked surprised at this, before smiling at Komaru. "T-thanks…"
"Uum, no problem!" The girl told him, not looking at him so he could not see her frustration.
'Now they are using the kids as an excuse to get closer to my Onii-san! Some of those girls are really dangerous, and this one is really beautiful on top of that! I can't let them keep taking him from me!'
DRRRR!
"Uh?" Makoto took his phone in his pocket to see another message. And when he saw the one who sent it… he smiled at the screen f his phone.
Which Komaru noticed immediately, and turned to him with a little smile. "Uh? What's going on, Onii-san? You look happy out of sudden."
"Well… I have every reason to be."
"Uh?"
Komaru looked a little surprised at her brother… who turned back to her with a smile.
"Do you remember when I said I've met a friend from the past? Well, I couldn't talk to you before because I lacked the time, but… that same person just texted me. And I'm sure he and everyone else would love to see you again, too."
AAAAND THERE YOU GO!
Wow… well, that took longer than I thought at first. Then again, it is Miu we are talking about. It was pretty hard to come up with the ideas, let alone having interactions with other characters without sounding too OOC. Did I manage or not? Please tell me.
So, this time, I decided to go for four of Miu's free-time events. The first one with Kaede, and mainly the second with Shuichi, along with some part of the first, third and fourth. So… yeah. Almost everything is here.
Now then, I think you expect me to explain my point of view about the character. And I'm going to do that, after a quick reminder. As many of you have guessed, this chapter focused on Miu's blooming crush on our dear Luckster, because as opposed to Ibuki, she didn't have a crush in the past. Or at least, she didn't have any moments between herself and Makoto. Which is why I replaced the usual flashback by a moment with them in the present. And she won't be the only one in this case.
I'll even make this clear while I'm at it. Some characters (I suppose you know who) will have flashbacks from moments with him. Others (again, I think you have an idea about who) will have moment in the present for that.
Again, my voice, my opinion, and mine alone. Oh, and spoilers alert. LOL.
So… why was it so hard to find something that would fit her, you ask? Well… let's see right now, shall we?
MIU IRUMA
New Danganronpa V3 Killing Harmony had an excellent staff of characters overall. In fact, I would say it's the best out of all. Then again, considering the context of the game… unfortunately, we are not going to be reviewing one of its greatest characters, at least for me.
DESIGN:
When it comes to design, Miu's is… pretty okay. I mean, with the contacts on her forehead and the steampunk leggings she has, it's not too hard to see what kind of girl she is, and what domain she specializes in.
Not only that, but her hair, her eyes, even her chest (don't give me that look)… I feel like it's Junko, but with Kazuichi's talent. Am I the only one who feels like that?
And I think it's a good thing they kept this design in the end, even if two of the betas are good too. The third one is basically the closest to what we got, only she seemed much wilder with the hair, and the second one was also good in its own right, only she looked like the Ultimate Mechanic instead, or something like that. Her first beta, though? Junko and Celestia's child. I mean, the haircut looks like the gambler's somehow… right?
And before anyone asks, I'm not going to review her clothes from the prologue, because it doesn't really impact her character in-game in any way, so… why bother?
PERSONALITY:
Does it match up with who she is? Well, in this case… I would say yes, but her personality adds something more.
The first thing you will notice is that she is vulgar. Like, very vulgar. Also loud. And opened to dirty jokes, too. To the point of surpassing a character from a certain game from before. Even her Inventions have dirty names. Erect Hammer? Hookup Counter? Goin' Commando Gun? Auto-Puncher that Punches You for Telling Terrible Dirty Jokes?! What kind of name is that?!
And she is… bizarre. And not in a good way this time. Her arrogance and ego are making her hard to like her at first, and the thing is, she does this almost all the time. So I don't know about you, but hearing this kind of thing again and again coming from her mouth is seriously annoying.
…a least, her expressions when she's embarrassed or cowards her kind of funny. Though I could have worked it without the drool, you know.
Because another side of her is that, when someone talks back to her, she switches immediately to what I believe is her true personality. Though it gets boring fast too.
One of the only relationship I thought was interesting was with Ki-Bo and Monotaro in chapter 4. Which showed that she had a better approach with robot people than with real people… which bugged me to an extent. It was like she was an outcast. Then again, considering her behavior, I can't blame the others to feel uncomfortable around her. Which was why it was so challenging to write when it was her who was talking.
…oh, and cooking something in order to put a hair in it? The panties were already weird enough, but showing this just to say you can go on a date with her? Yeah, no, thanks. You didn't need to go that far.
DEVELOPMENT:
…poor genius. You probably had the least development in the whole game.
I mean, she never really changes. Never really learns anything. So when you know who we're talking at first… I can get why people don't like her.
Even her own free-time events don't do anything! A girl who had an accident which put her in a coma and became a genius after waking up? 'Why using any of this, she's the most vulgar and sex opened of the bunch, surely it will please to the fans!', Kodaka probably thought!
Yes, she had her small role in Chapter 1, when she creates a device to catch the mastermind (even if it didn't work the way they wanted), but asides from that and chapter 4, the chapter where she died, there were… nothing really interesting to see with her.
And yes, she could tell right away who the murder from Chapter 3 was, but honestly? Considering them murderer's physical appearance, it would be obvious it would happen eventually.
…well, she did prove her use at chapter five with the hammers, yes, but… why would she trust the one she tried to kill in the first place?
And why did she try to do it? Because the world needed her? Seriously? It was not even due not a motive this time! She simply freaked out and decided to kill everyone else just because of pure selfishness!
And the worst part? Despite all of her smart preparations, her plan managed to backfire! Because she has to question the one person who saw through her plans right away and used a loophole in order to get rid of her!
…though being killed by toilet paper… is actually kind of funny no that I think of it.
OVERALL:
…alas, Miu Iruma. As opposed to Ibuki, I had not this much fun with you this time around.
If you like this character (or hell, any other character I dislike), good for you! But it's simply not my case!
That's why I had trouble to write with her. The fact is that, she didn't grow on me as some other characters did.
Hiro had that goofy attitude and those moments of pure dumb attitude which made me laugh at times, and Ibuki had this energy I could really relate, and she was really a nice person who wanted to bring joy to people overall.
Miu, on the other hand, constantly viewed herself on top and insulted everyone for the heck of it, only to back down at the first sight of resistance. And her pervert moments didn't help things either. Which was why… I didn't feel that sad when she died. Surprised, yes, but not sad. So much for the fans.
That being said, even if I don't like the character too much… I think there can be some potential.
THE REASON OF HER CRUSH:
I thought that the idea of 'being reborn' after the incident was interesting, because Miu described herself as 'boring and untalented normie' before. But her new attitude probably didn't help things either, because either her intellect was misplaced, or she simply couldn't interact with others, friends or family alike, because of her pride and ego. So the question I asked myself was… how did she view herself in general?
And that's where Makoto kicks in again. Like I said, being a normal student, he can take interest in everything, and so Miu's point of view can be interesting for him. And I think he can give her the support she needs the most.
Because I believe Miu is one of the most fragile mental persons of the cast. Her trust issues (justified considering their situation) and abandonment issues in her Love Suite event are proofs of that.
That's why I'm going to use everything that has been given to her. The surgery, the kid shows… everything. I'll put my own mark on some things, and I'll make Makoto help her, of course.
And the moment I will make her the way I want… I'm confident about the fact that you'll love it.
Hear that, Jibster? This isn't the last you've seen of your waifu. And she's really gonna shine this time.
Alright, I think I've said everything about Miu. I think I rushed things a little, but I honestly didn't have much to say about the girl. What did you think? Tell me in the reviews, please.
Oh yeah, and I also have to speak about something important. I remember now.
SO!
I wanted to talk about Article 11 and 13. Yeah, those two copyright laws that want to protect their franchises. Not just on YouTube, but on the internet in general.
I don't know too much about politics, but I understood one thing, it might prevent artists to write about stuff that involves stuff that belongs to big companies.
So I suggest all of you decide to take a good look at those two laws and to vote for the things you think is right. I'm personally against it, but I could be wrong, so…
Alright, now that it is out of the way, the next chapter will be another day of the Week of Adaptation. With more characters from you know where, and it will be an occasion for Makoto to have some moments with a category of DR3 characters.
…oh boy. I wanted to talk about it for so long now. Welp, I just need to wait for one chapter and two and we'll get to the bottom of this together, alright?
And with that, on the last day of February, I say to you, see you all later!
Pupla out!
