Chapter 16: Everyday Life with Li'l Ultimates
Hello again everyone, wesst1 back again, once again!
So, this chapter is gonna be a little different. The kids are obviously going to love Makoto by the end of the chapter, but obviously not romantically. Maybe I'll have the kids break into different camps, you know supporting different girls for their new big brother, but that won't happen this chapter. Now some had suggested making Makoto the white mage, but since Jataro is already the priest in the Warriors of Hope, that would be redundant, so I'm not going to do that. Anyone who has played Final Fantasy Record Keeper would probably agree with me that Makoto would probably be a keeper like Tyro, but as far as I know, that's not a recognized role in most RPGs, so I had to pass on that.
You might be wondering why I'm bothering to do a chapter on these kids. Well, this was an idea I had from the beginning and I believed this chapter, and the one that comes after it, need to happen before I can do Chiaki, Chisa, and Junko's chapters. I have gotten reviews that seem worried that I wasn't including those three, or at least the first two, but rest assured, I am. It's just certain things needed to happen before I felt right about doing those chapters.
This will be even more important if I include Natsumi and Sato later on down the line too.
If there are any readers who read this chapter and think that I have done abuse victims a disservice or that I have done the agencies meant to stop abuse a disservice, I apologize in advance. I know this is a sensitive subject for a lot of people. I don't have first-hand knowledge of any of this, so if any parts read like I have only ever heard about child abuse, that is why. One thing I do know is bureaucrats, being one and all, so I know how bad they can be, and there are times where I make use of that this chapter. Although, Child Services in Japan are different from their US counterparts, more on that at the end, so all I can say is I tried my best. One high school student is up against powerful enemies in this case, so I like to think I got that part right.
But enough of me covering my own ass, we're here for everyone's favorite Lil' Ultimates, so…On with the show!
Present Day
Naegi had finally managed to get back to his feet after getting tackled by five blurs that were revealed to be elementary school children. Daimon Masaru, Shingetsu Nagisa, Kemuri Jataro, Utsugi Kotoko, and Monaca. Naegi was happy to see them, but he couldn't help wondering…
"What are you five doing here?"
"We weren't gonna miss this day for nothin'," Masaru said. The red-headed boy was rather excited.
"We are part of the reason this happened. It's only right that we see it through," Nagisa added. The blue haired boy also wanted to help his Mako-nii in some way after everything they had been through together.
Naegi nodded. Nagisa's parents had been affiliated with Hope's Peak Elementary, after all. Their actions had been part of what caused people to look at what else Hope's Peak Academy was hiding.
"We thought that you might be feeling nervous. Remember, just imagine the audience in their underwear! Who do you think thought of that anyway? Even if they're in their underwear, they're still watching you," Kotoko wondered as she continued on her tangent.
Naegi couldn't tell whether he should stop her and remind her his audience was just the headmaster or not.
"Monaca thinks Mako-nii will be fine as long as he remembers what to say. You do remember what to say, right Mako-nii?" Monaca asked.
"I remember," Naegi told her. Naegi had a feeling that Monaca was trying to get a reaction out of him. The girl had come a long way, but still enjoyed messing with people. Kind of like a certain fashionista he knew.
A small boy in a tan colored hoodie and jacket tugged on Naegi's sleeve and said, "You can do it, Mako-nii."
"Thanks, Jataro-kun," Naegi said as he patted the boy on the head.
"No fair, Jataro! I got here first!" Masaru yelled at his friend.
"Monaca-chan and I are ladies, we should get Mako-nii first," Kotoko argued.
Nagisa shook his head in exasperation, but he looked at Jataro with jealousy too.
"You kids sure do love Naegi-kun," Kirigiri said from the sidelines.
"You bet Kyoko-nee! Mako-nii is the greatest!" Masaru exclaimed as the other four nodded in agreement.
Naegi didn't think so. He wanted to say that he had only done what anyone would have done, but that was the problem, wasn't it? Anyone could have helped these kids, but Naegi was the only one who did. And even then, it had almost been too late. Naegi couldn't help remembering how he met these five children and how he had almost let them down.
The children couldn't help but remember how they had met Naegi and how he had become their hero.
Hope's Peak Academy-Girls' Dorm Common Area
Twelfth Week of Classes-Sunday
I wasn't often that Naegi found himself with free time, but he supposed he should have expected it. He and the others had just returned from their week at the Minato Inn the previous day so there wasn't much for him to do around the dorm. Naegi never used to mind having free time but coming to Hope's Peak changed that. Being surrounded by talented peers would make anyone self-conscious, but there was something else. Many of them knew what they wanted to do with their lives and Naegi did not. He wasn't the only one, and some had their paths forced on them, but Naegi didn't think luck, especially his, was going to factor into what he wanted to do with his life.
The sound of a can being set in front of him shook Naegi from his thoughts and he saw a can of Pepsi in front of him. Standing over him was Yukizome Chisa with a drink of her own in her hand. With a smile she asked, "Why don't you tell Sensei all about it?"
"Was I that obvious?" Naegi asked sheepishly.
"You've been staring at nothing for a while now," Yukizome told him.
"It's not pressing or anything, Sensei. It's just, a lot of my friends seem to know what they want to do with their lives and...well, I don't," Naegi told her.
"That's more common than you'd think here," Yukizome said thinking of a certain Ultimate Student Council President.
"What about you, Sensei?" Naegi asked.
"Hmm? Oh, why am I teaching at Hope's Peak Academy when I'm the former Ultimate Housekeeper?" Yukizome asked to clarify.
Naegi nodded, but said, "Don't misunderstand, I'm happy you're here…"
"You just don't understand how I got from housekeeping to teaching, right? Well, I actually started doing this for someone else. But I'm glad I did, you and all of my other little rotten oranges make every day so much fun," she said happily.
Naegi couldn't help but smile at that.
"If you're interested, you could try the 'Ultimate Mentor Program.'" Yukizome suggested.
"The what?" Naegi asked.
"Well, it's not really a mentor program, more of a student teacher's aide program, I suppose. Students from Hope's Peak Academy help out at Hope's Peak Elementary once or twice a week," Yukizome explained.
"Hope's Peak Elementary?" Naegi asked. He'd never heard of a Hope's Peak Elementary.
"Hope's Peak has an elementary school and junior high school where students who show Ultimate talent from a young age are taught. They are all expected to be a part of the Main Course when they are older," Yukizome explained.
Naegi didn't like the idea of young children being split up the way the Main Course and Reserve Course were split at Hope's Peak Academy, but he didn't think it would be good to let personal feeling get in the way of this opportunity. "You think I'd be any good at it?" Naegi asked.
"I don't see why not. You seem to enjoy taking care of people; you're patient; and my class and I heard from Owari-san that you're good with kids," Yukizome listed off.
"I don't know if I'd say that, but if you think I'd be a good fit for it, I'll try it," Naegi said embarrassed by the praise.
"If you speak with the Headmaster now, they should be able to place you this week," Yukizome said.
"I'll do that right now. Thank you, Sensei!" Naegi said as he left for the Headmaster's office.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Main Office
Twelfth Week of Classes-Monday
Yanagihori Takamine, the principal of Hope's Peak Elementary, had been going through files on applicants for the Ultimate Mentor Program when he came across one in particular. There was something he had to confirm.
Setting up a teleconference with the Hope's Peak Steering Committee was never an easy task. Though they were the real power behind anything and everything that had to do with Hope's Peak they valued their secrecy. To Yanagihori's surprise though, the first thing he heard when the four members of the Steering Committee, or at least shadows in the shape of the Steering Committee, appeared on his screen were the words, "We've been expecting you to reach out to us Yanagihori."
"Then I can skip explaining why I called and just ask 'Why?'," Yanagihori said.
"Kirigiri Jin believes that there is something about this boy," one shadow, the shorter, fat one if the movement of the shadow was any indication, said.
"Kirigiri Jin is a fool," Yanagihori responded.
"He is indeed," the tallest shadow agreed.
"But a convenient one," the shortest shadow added.
"What possible benefit could the students of Hope's Peak Elementary see from interacting with a mere 'Lucky Student?' Don't tell me Kirigiri has convinced all of you that luck is a talent?" Yanagihori asked.
"He has not," the second tallest shadow answered.
"We believe that you can solve our problem for us,'" the short, fat shadow explained.
"You are still having problems with those five, are you not?" the tallest shadow asked.
"I am," Yanagihori confirmed.
"Place the boy with them. After seeing the difference between himself and truly talented children, the boy should come to realize that he has no place at Hope's Peak Academy," the shortest shadow ordered.
"This should prevent the boy from tainting any of the more promising students as well," the second tallest shadow added.
"Their teacher can be put to use on students who are not lost causes when the boy is there as well. No need to waste resources on the boy or those five," the tallest shadow ordered before ending the meeting.
Yanagihori was still less than pleased to have a 'Lucky Student' disgrace the halls of his school, but if it was an order from the Steering Committee, he knew better than to argue. Not that it ever took much, there were few things he ever disagreed with those four on. He picked up the application again before saying to it, "Best of luck during your time here, Naegi Makoto."
Hope's Peak Elementary-Hallway
Twelfth Week of Classes-Thursday
When Naegi had arrived at Hope's Peak Elementary with the others who decided to give the Ultimate Mentor Program a try, they were greeted by the principal at the front gate. Yanagihori Takamine was a middle-aged man of below average height and above average weight. He had slicked-back black hair and a black mustache. He was wearing round-lens glasses with a golden frame, a white shirt, a black tie, and a bole-colored suit.
Naegi didn't know why, but he thought there was something off about the man. With the Headmaster, Naegi could sense a genuine care for the students at Hope's Peak Academy. Yanagihori did not give that impression, in fact Naegi got the sense that Yanagihori wanted as little to do with his students as possible.
"Naegi Makoto, it seems Headmaster Kirigiri thinks very highly of you," Yanagihori told Naegi as they walked through the halls.
"I was not aware of that, Sir. I'm nothing special," Naegi responded. He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Yanagihori mumble something like, "You've got that right."
"Well, I suppose we'll find out, won't we?" Yanagihori asked, his public mask back in place. "There's a group of students that I believe that your talent will be perfect for," Yanagihori told Naegi as he stopped in front of a door.
"Classroom 5-D?" Naegi asked as he looked at the sign near the door.
"Yes, I believe that this is the perfect class for you, Naegi-kun. Head on in when you're ready," Yanagihori said as he turned to go back to his office. Those five delinquents would deal with Naegi. Perhaps after this the Steering Committee would see fit to make him the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, maybe even make him one of them. He didn't believe luck was a talent, but Yanagihori was more than happy to make use of it.
Of course, Naegi had no idea of any of this. He was busy taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. Calm down, Makoto. Yukizome-sensei wouldn't have suggested this, and the Headmaster wouldn't have approved this if they didn't think you could do it, right? he asked himself. Once he was as calm as he believed he was going to be, Naegi opened the door.
"Sorry for the intrusion! My name is Naegi Makoto and I'm from Hope's Peak Academy," Naegi said as he bowed once he opened the door.
"Ah Naegi-kun, it's nice to meet you. I'm Moroboshi Rinko, I'm in charge of this classroom," a kind, but nervous looking woman said as she saw Naegi. "There is something I need to take care of, why don't you and the students get acquainted," Moroboshi said as she excused herself.
No sooner had the teacher left than a boy with red hair stood up and announced, "I'm the super, duper leader that unites the Warriors of Hope with a bang! Daimon Masaru! My special subject is P.E., so they call me Li'l Ultimate P.E.! I'm the P.E. King who can do every exercise ever! Running nonstop 24/7/365 is easy as pie! Oh, I almost forgot! My job in the Warriors of Hope is the Hero!"
A boy with blue hair soon followed the first boy's lead and said, "I apologize for my friend's outburst. My name is Shingetsu Nagisa. In the Warriors of Hope, I act as the vice leader and Sage. I am known as Li'l Ultimate Social Studies. Of course, Social Studies is but one area of my expertise. I excel at all scholarly pursuits. I am labeled Li'l Ultimate Social Studies because I was raised to be among society's elite. And… I suppose I am a babysitter of sorts for the Warriors of Hope… Monaca excluded."
A boy in a mask that seemed to be made from leftover scraps of leather spoke next. "You know how when you stare into moving bicycle spokes, you get all scared? Like, for some reason, you imagine how painful it would be to put your hand in…?" he asked.
Not really, no, Naegi thought. He wasn't sure what this boy was getting at.
"Oh, um, my name is Kemuri Jataro. And bird skin isn't yummy no matter how you cook it," the boy, Jataro, continued
Okay… Naegi wasn't sure what that part about bird skin was about and he wasn't sure he wanted to. Maybe his family had a weird diet.
"I'm really good at arts and crafts, so they call me Li'l Ultimate Art. If it's arts and crafts, leave it to me. I can remove nails, and varnish, and things…I do the Priest thing for the Warriors of Hope… Oh, and also, I wonder if aliens exist," Jataro finished.
Next, a girl with pink hair in pigtails and a hairband with devil horns introduced herself. "Ahoy! A girl! My name is Utsugi Kotoko, and I play the Fighter in the Warriors of Hope! You might think the Fighter would be a boy, but nope! I'm totally a girl! I love girly things and peeled chestnuts! If it's totally adorbs, I looove it! And I am pampered as the Li'l Ultimate Drama. But who cares about that stuff? I'm so happy to meet you!"
Finally, a green-haired girl in a wheelchair spoke. "Monaca-chan is called Towa Monaca! Monaca-chan's a Mage in the Warriors of Hope. I'm known as Li'l Ultimate Homeroom. You might think there are no Ultimates and Commons in a class like Homeroom, but there are! For me, my skill isn't really about uniting people, it's about getting them all to help me. Believe it or not, I bring together a lot of wonderful people… It would be nice if you could be a wonderful person for Monaca-chan too…"
When no one else spoke up, Naegi took a good look at the classroom. It was only those five students. Something about that seemed off to Naegi, but he decided not to question it at the moment. "Okay, I think I've got it. My name is Naegi Makoto. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student of Class 78 at Hope's Peak Academy. I'm not really sure what my class is. A Paladin or a Summoner would be really cool, but Bard characters are too. Buffs can make or break a party," Naegi said, introducing himself in a way he thought would connect with the kids.
"Haha! Yeah, you look like a wimp! Bard is probably perfect for you!" Masaru exclaimed with a laugh.
Kotoko seemed to take offense to that as she threw an eraser at him and said, "Shut up, you idiot. This is why you're such a lame Hero. No bard in their right mind would praise you."
"You seemed confused earlier, Naegi-san. I assure you that this is it. According to the staff, we're the problem class of Hope's Peak Elementary," Nagisa explained.
That actually just confused Naegi more. "You seem like perfectly fine kids to me."
"Monaca-chan appreciates that, Onii-chan!" Monaca chirped happily.
"Ugh! What do I do now? I don't know how to work with this," Jataro moaned, shocked at the compliment.
Naegi spent the next few minutes trying to calm Jataro down and then get class on track for when their teacher returned. But after a while, Naegi couldn't help but say, "I wonder what's taking Moroboshi-sensei so long."
"You're probably on your own. Sensei has said she can't wait for 'some poor bastard she can dump this class on,'" Monaca said.
Naegi was taken aback by that, but asked, "Did she really say that or is that how you heard it, Monaca-chan?"
"If Monaca said it, then it's true! Monaca's hearing is so good, she can hear people screaming in space!" Masaru yelled.
"If it is true then that's a shame," Naegi said.
"Why is it a shame, Onii-chan," Kotoko asked as she stared at Naegi.
"Well…No, I shouldn't say. If I do and someone hears, I probably won't be allowed back. Maybe I can teach the class for a little bit, that is what I signed up for," Naegi said as he approached the teacher's desk.
Looks like we have a fun one this time, Monaca thought. She honestly expected Naegi would say something against Moroboshi and get dropped from the program. Using people as cheap sources of entertainment was the one joy she had in life and she was glad that her new victim would try to stick around.
The other four were interested in Naegi now two, but for a different reason. Most people put up with them because they had to, but Naegi actually seemed to care enough to play along with them and to put in actual effort.
"…Now it's just a matter of reducing value to the lowest numbers and that is how you multiply with fractions," Naegi said as he stood at Masaru's desk. He had managed to find the lesson plan for the class and once Nagisa informed him of where the class was at, Naegi had slipped into the role of educator quite well.
"I think I get it. Thanks, Naegi-sensei. You don't suck nearly as much as I thought you would," Masaru said.
"Uhh…thanks. I've never received a compliment quite like that," Naegi said, not sure how to take Masaru's words.
"What kind of manners do you have? You don't tell people you think they suck after they help you," Kotoko lectured.
"Sensei, I think I need help too. I mean, if you think I deserve it," Jataro said.
"Of course, you deserve it, why wouldn't you?" Naegi asked as he went to help Jataro. Naegi had noticed that Jataro had a very low opinion of himself. Naegi was beginning to suspect that Jataro didn't wear that mask because he thought it looked cool. He wasn't sure if he should comment on it or not. Maybe this is how he deals with new people, Naegi reasoned, although he wasn't sure he believed that. It would be wrong to jump to conclusions after just one day.
"Because he's gross," Kotoko answered cheekily.
"Kotoko-chan, that's terrible," Naegi told the girl, a disappointed look on his face as he reprimanded her.
"It's fine, he likes it," Monaca told Naegi.
"Yeah, Jataro-kun has a self-depre… Uh, self-dipro…" Masaru began, as he tried to remember the word he wanted to use.
""Self-deprecating.' He has a self-deprecating personality," Nagisa finished for the redhead.
"Yeah, one of those!" Masaru exclaimed.
"Doesn't matter, that was still uncalled for. Kotoko-chan you should apologize," Naegi said.
"Nope!" Kotoko exclaimed happily.
Naegi sighed before thinking, Alright, we'll deal with that later. He then proceeded to assist Jataro in math.
Next up, it was grammar. "Alright, for this lesson, you'll be picking out parts of sentences on these worksheets," Naegi said as he held up a tiny stack of papers. "Pick out the verb, noun, any adjectives and adverbs; and separating the subject and predicates. Monaca-chan and Jataro-kun, you are one group. Nagisa-kun and Masaru-kun, you're another. Kotoko-chan, you'll be working with me for this lesson, unless you'd like to apologize to you friend and join his group," Naegi explained.
That terrified Kotoko. In front of my friends? Is he going to be gentle with me in front of the others? Gross. I thought he was a nice guy too. Please, I don't want you to be gentle with me… Kotoko wasn't sure how long that terrifying train of thought went on before she noticed Naegi shaking her shoulder.
"Kotoko-chan! Kotoko-chan, are you alright?" Naegi asked. If he were a more cynical individual, he might have thought that Kotoko was trying to get out of apologizing. She apparently did a lot of acting, but it was that empty look in her eyes and sweat forming on her forehead that convinced Naegi that something was wrong.
"Huh?" Kotoko had come back to her senses.
"Do you need to see the nurse?" Naegi asked. Maybe she was being mean because she wasn't feeling well, he thought.
"Nurse? Oh, yeah, sure," Kotoko mumbled. So, he's not going to do it in front of everyone. That's… Kotoko wasn't sure what to think about that. On the one hand, her friends weren't going to see. On the other, this was still happening. She began to shake and hyperventilate.
"Kotoko-chan, deep breaths. Please calm down!" Naegi called trying his best to remain calm. When that didn't work, not that he had expected it to, he turned to the other kids and asked, "Where's the infirmary? I'll carry her there."
"Head towards the bathrooms and turn left," Masaru told him. Masaru may have acted arrogant, but Naegi could hear the concern in his voice. I was obvious that the boy cared about his friends.
"Thank you, Masaru-kun. I'll be back soon. All of you work on the assignment until I get back," Naegi said as he managed to get Kotoko on his back.
Monaca-chan wonders what will happen now? Is Naegi-sensei trying to be alone with Kotoko or is he really as naïve as he looks? Monaca asked herself.
I'm glad Naegi-sensei is gone, it feels weird when he's nice to me, Jataro thought.
Masaru was worried, and he really didn't completely trust Naegi yet, but he didn't know what was going on in Kotoko's mind right now, not that he would have understood.
Nagisa wanted to blame Naegi for Kotoko's breakdown, but he wouldn't exactly say what Naegi had done qualified as picking on Kotoko. And in fairness to Naegi, it had been in an effort to get her to apologize to Jataro. Something that barely qualified as punishment that could have been avoided with an apology. There must be something else going on. I guess we'll see if Naegi-sensei is different or not, Nagisa thought.
Naegi had just passed the bathrooms when he heard Kotoko say, "Here's good."
"Huh? Kotoko-chan?" Naegi said as he stopped.
"I said you can stop here," Kotoko said.
"Alright, if you can walk on your own…" Naegi wasn't sure if he should put Kotoko down after her episode, but if she was insisting, he wouldn't argue. He was the outsider here, after all.
After Naegi let her down, Kotoko walked to the entrance of the girls' bathroom and stood there, waiting.
This, of course, confused Naegi, who had momentarily forgot about Kotoko's earlier condition. "Uhh, Kotoko-chan, I can't help you go to the bathroom. I'm not allowed in there," Naegi said trying, and failing, not to make things awkward.
Wait…? What…? As confused as Naegi might have been in that moment, Kotoko was even worse. "What? No!" He doesn't want to be gentle with me? He was serious about everything? Kotoko mentally questioned.
"That was quite the performance for just needing a bathroom break," Naegi said.
Kotoko just looked embarrassed.
"In fact, I'm sure there's something else I don't know about," Naegi said as he knelt down so that he was eye level with Kotoko. "Kotoko-chan, did you not want to apologize that badly, or is there something I should know?" he asked.
Kotoko wasn't sure what to do. This was it! This was her chance! If I tell him, maybe no one will be gentle with me anymore. But… Kotoko had no idea if Naegi would believe her. It was rather crazy sounding. A mother-daughter prostitute team that her dentist father knew about and approved of? If it wasn't her own life, Kotoko probably wouldn't have believed it. It was just so…depraved. What if Naegi thought she was making things up? He seemed very nice, now that Kotoko knew she didn't need to fear him. Would that change if she told him the truth and he thought she was lying? Or even if he believed her? She'd rather feel genuine kindness for a few hours once a week than risk losing it and enduring Hell full time.
"I-I'm okay, Naegi-sensei. I just don't apologize much," Kotoko lied. Please buy that, Kotoko thought.
Naegi wasn't fully convinced, but he'd have to accept that for now. "Well, alright. If you say so. Do you want to see the nurse or are you okay to come back to class?" he asked.
"I can go back to class," Kotoko answered.
"Alright, but you still need to tell Jataro-kun you're sorry," Naegi said as he stood up.
"Okay Naegi-sensei," Kotoko said timidly. She wasn't sure if lying to Naegi was the right thing to do, but she thought it was the safer option.
When Naegi and Kotoko returned, Kotoko immediately apologized to Jataro, something that made the masked boy uncomfortable. Naegi wasn't sure if Kotoko didn't usually apologize or if there was something else, he didn't know about, but he was certainly curious. For all the good it does. I don't have the authority to look into it, Naegi told himself. Perhaps it was odd for Naegi to care so much about five children he had only just met today, but he couldn't help it. They were his responsibility right now, after all. At the same time, he had to remind himself that he couldn't just go poking into their business. He wasn't an employee; he was a guest and could be removed from the program if he overstepped his boundaries. You don't have to look to hard to notice something is up with Kotoko-chan and with Jataro-kun though, he noted.
Naegi tried to push those thoughts out of his mind, he still had a class to teach. He was never great at science, but he believed that he could teach five kids about precipitation.
"…and so, when water vapor accumulates…" Naegi began.
"What does 'accumulate' mean?" Jataro asked.
"It means it gathers together," Naegi answered.
"How does it know to do that?" Jataro asked.
"Well, gases in the air will mix together. And since moist air is lighter than an area's surrounding dry air, it's more likely to gather together and become denser…" Naegi began to say.
"What does 'dense' mean?"
"In this case, it means thick."
"How do some words have so many different meanings?"
"I can't really answer that. You would have to ask an etymologist."
"What's an etymologist?"
"They study the origin of words and how their meaning has changed over time."
Before Jataro could ask another question, the bell rang signaling the beginning of lunch.
"Looks like we didn't finish the lesson because of all of my questions, Naegi-sensei. Do you hate me now?" Jataro asked, hopefully. Alright, finally. Although, I guess I am a little sad. Naegi-sensei really does seem like a nice guy. Still, if he hates me and takes it out on all of us, then the others will hate me even more. Yeah, I guess in the end it was worth it, Jataro thought.
Naegi was perplexed by Jataro's…well, he wasn't sure if it was a need or a desire, but it Naegi did notice that Jataro seemed elated at the idea of being hated.
Upon taking a closer look at the masked boy, Naegi noticed something that he hadn't before. Jataro's clothes were too big for him. Naegi was growing concerned for the boy but held back from asking anything about the boy's home life. Maybe there was a problem with the laundry or maybe his parents were expecting a growth spurt, Naegi reasoned, although neither of those would explain Jataro's attitude. The again, Naegi was no stranger to coincidence, his place at Hope's Peak was proof of that. Perhaps there was simply a problem at home and Jataro was just not comfortable with him. Or maybe he just was afraid people didn't like him. But then why didn't Jataro care when the other children insulted him, even if it was all in jest?
There were too many questions and not enough information to go on. If things hadn't changed by the time Naegi returned next week, then he would start to worry. For now, he had a student's question to answer.
"No Jataro-kun, I don't. In fact, I'm glad that you asked all those questions. It tells me you're willing to learn and that is a good thing," Naegi told the masked boy.
"Wha-what?" Jataro asked sounding confused and Naegi thought the boy sounded…hurt? But that made no sense.
"You're an interesting one, Naegi-sensei," Monaca mumbled. Crap! she thought. She couldn't have Naegi catching on to her. It would ruin all of her fun.
"I don't think so. Not really anyway. I mean, it was my decision to come here, and I am responsible for you kids, so of course I should be patient with you. So, as long as you do your best as students, I'll do my best for the five of you," Naegi responded.
The kids were shocked. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to them. So many questions ran through their minds.
Why?
Why are you so nice to us?
Why aren't you ignoring us like everyone else?
Why do you care?
Why are you different?
"You may think it's an old cliché, and I guess it is, but children are a national treasure. The future will depend on how you five will live your lives. I want to help you five grow into fine adults, even if I can only help a little bit," Naegi told them.
Why can't you always be here?
Why can't I live with you?
Why can't everyone else like you?
"Now, you five have worked hard this morning, I think you should all enjoy your lunch before were have to get back to work," Naegi said.
"Yes Naegi-sensei!" the children replied.
The day had continued without further incident. Once the final bell rang, Moroboshi had returned to dismiss the students and Naegi. She offered no explanation as to why she had not returned and Naegi decided that it was best not to press her on it if he wanted to come back.
After dinner, Naegi had found himself in the dorm's common area thinking about the events of the day. He couldn't get Kotoko and Jataro out of his mind. Am I overthinking it? Maybe it was a one-time thing because they didn't know me. I mean all five of them were quirky in their own ways, Naegi thought.
"How was my favorite Ultimate Mentor's first day?" Yukizome's cheerful voice asked. She was eager to hear how Naegi's day had been and what the students he was working with were like.
"Oh, it was alright, Sensei. It's just…" Naegi began.
"'It's just' what?" Yukizome asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"The five students they put me with were good kids. I was a little worried when Moroboshi-sensei disappeared and didn't come back until school ended, but I managed."
"The teacher left!?" Yukizome was shocked by this revelation. She made it a point to remember this.
"She said she had something to take care of, but Monaca-chan thinks she was just pushing the class off onto me. I'm not sure and I don't want to start making accusations," Naegi said.
"That's fair, I guess. Did anything else happen?" Yukizome asked.
"Two things stick out in my mind," Naegi began, before explaining Kotoko's episode and Jataro's odd behavior. "…so, I don't know if I'm overthinking it, or if something is really wrong with those two. I mean, Jataro-kun's clothes were too big so that coupled with his behavior and the mask makes me wonder. And then there's Kotoko-chan. I didn't get a chance to ask if there was anything I should look out for or avoid with her, so maybe it's my fault, but I can't think of what I did to cause her to shut down and hyperventilate."
"I wish I could help, Naegi-kun, I really do, but this is beyond me," Yukizome told the boy. Then a lightbulb went off in her head before saying, "Maybe Gekkogahara-san can help!"
"Gekkogahara-san?" Naegi asked. He had no idea who that was.
"Gekkogahara Miaya is the former Ultimate Therapist. She works here as a counselor and I'm sure she'll be able to help you," Yukizome informed Naegi.
"Thank you, Sensei, I'll go meet with her tomorrow," Naegi said happily. Maybe now he would be able to get some advice on how to interact better with the kids.
Yukizome smiled, "You really got attached to those kids didn't you, Naegi-kun?"
Naegi smiled back, "Yeah, I did. I want to do the best I can for them."
Hope's Peak Academy-Gekkogahara Miaya's Office
Twelfth Week of Classes-Friday
Just as Naegi had said, he went to see Gekkogahara in her office during his lunch break. He felt fortunate that she accepted walk-ins. Naegi would never say it out loud but considering the personalities of many of the students at Hope's Peak, he felt that appointments with Gekkogahara should have been mandatory. Myself included, Naegi added mentally.
Gekkogahara Miaya was a short woman with blue hair, held by a light gray headband. She had blue eyes and long eyelashes. She wore a gray headphone and a long, dark red scarf which hid the lower part of her face. She wore a pale brown jacket, a black vest, a white dress shirt, and a black skirt. Naegi couldn't help but think Gekkogahara looked like an adult version of Monaca, complete with her own wheelchair. Except where Monaca had green eyes and hair, Gekkogahara had blue.
The only thing that Naegi had thought was odd about her was how she communicated. Naegi had been informed by Yukizome that Gekkogahara was very shy and as such, didn't speak. That was certainly odd, but if Yukizome was recommending her, then Gekkogahara must have been good at her job whether she spoke or not. Naegi's questions about how Gekkogahara spoke were answered by the PC monitor attached to her wheelchair. On the screen was a white stuffed rabbit in a magical girl costume.
"Hello. Who are you and how can I help?" the rabbit asked.
"Um, hello. I'm Naegi Makoto and is this Gekkogahara-san's office?" Naegi asked.
"Yes. This is Gekkogahara-san's office. I'm her partner, Usami! I do all the talking, but don't worry. You're in excellent hands," Usami answered.
If Naegi hadn't been warned about Gekkogahara's shyness beforehand, he might have thought that this was her way of talking down to him. A stuffed toy in a costume seemed rather… juvenile. Although, kids have been known to tell all their secrets to their stuffed toys, even some in high school, so maybe it was better if he didn't question it. "Well, it's about the Ultimate Mentor Program…" Naegi began.
"Ah yes, we see a lot of participants for the program in here. Some students just can't handle the stress of being students and teacher's aides," Usami interrupted.
"Well, that's not really it. Not yet at least," Naegi said. He then went on to explain why he was here. "…and that's the story, Gekkogahara-san."
For the first time since he had entered, Naegi saw emotion flash across Gekkogahara's face. She didn't seem to like what she had heard from him. Then, Usami spoke up, "I'll admit, it all sounds bad when taken together, Naegi-kun. I think you're right to be concerned, but for now, I think you need to take a wait and see approach. As you said, it could all be coincidence. I wish there was more I could do, but I can't diagnose students of Hope's Peak Elementary unless they're my patients. For now, be careful and observe and come talk to me if you think anything is wrong. I can offer more advice when we know more."
"Thank you, Gekkogahara-san. Usami-san. I appreciate it," Naegi said, glad that it wasn't just him overthinking things.
"It's what we're here for Naegi-kun. Our door is always open if you need us. In fact, here," Usami said as Gekkogahara approached and handed Naegi a card with her contact information on it. "Call if you need anything. If we don't answer, we'll get back to you when we can."
"Thank you. I'll be sure to keep my eyes open next time I'm with the kids," Naegi said.
Later That Evening
At the Shingetsu home, Nagisa was busy studying. This would not be unusual for an older elementary student to do, unless it was at the Shingetsu household. In this house, studying involved unhealthy hours at Nagisa's desk; IV's filled with energy supplements; bright lights to shine in Nagisa's eyes when he seemed tired; and weapons to threaten him with…all in the name of science, of course.
Nagisa's parents were teachers at Hope's Peak Elementary and they were using their son as an experiment. Nagisa wasn't lying when he said he was raised to join society's elite, but there was more to it than that. Mr. and Mrs. Shingetsu were also experimenting to see how much pressure a child could endure before the child reached their breaking point. It seemed sick, but that's only because it was.
Tonight, Nagisa seemed closer to that breaking point than ever. Trigonometry isn't an easy subject for everybody, after all. Seeing that they weren't getting the results they wanted, Mr. and Mrs. Shingetsu decided that even more drastic actions were needed.
"This is no good. This data is useless," Mr. Shingetsu began.
"Agreed. What could the problem be? The subject's abilities seem to be declining," Mrs. Shingetsu noted. Too bad she didn't note that Nagisa was operating on four hours of sleep because of their experiment.
"What could the issue be? The subject has always been responsive to these methods in the past," Mr. Shingetsu wondered
"Are our methods flawed?" Mrs. Shingetsu asked.
"No, the subject is just no good. I believe that we need to start over," Mr. Shingetsu said.
Had they cared enough to notice; they would have realized that they were speaking loudly enough for Nagisa to hear.
I'm not good enough? I've failed? No, I can meet those expectations! Just a little more time is all I need! I'll figure it out! I can do it! Father! Mother! Don't through me away! I'll prove that I can meet your expectations! I can meet Father's! Mother's! My own! Everyone's! Nagisa thought in a panic. He resolved to work harder than ever to meet any expectation, no matter how unreasonable, that people may have of him.
That Same Evening
At a nearby apartment complex, specifically the Daimon residence, there was a knock on the door. Mr. Daimon opened the door to see the owner of a nearby liquor store standing there. Next to the man, was Masaru struggling to get his shirt out of the grip to store owner.
"Mr. Daimon, it seems Masaru-kun has been stealing sake from my store. Now, I know kids are curious about alcohol, but this is unacceptable. I won't press charges this time, but if Masaru tries this again, I won't be so forgiving," the store owner said.
"I'll take care of it," Mr. Daimon grunted. As he pulled Masaru into the apartment by the arm, hard enough to leave a bruise, and slammed the door in the man's face, Masaru struggled harder to get away. He knew what was coming. "You little shit! How dare you embarrass me like this! I gave you the money to fucking buy sake!" Mr. Daimon raged, not bothering to remember that Masaru was too young to actually buy alcohol. It didn't matter. It never did. Mr. Daimon sent Masaru for sake and cigarettes in the past and the first time Masaru pointed out that he couldn't buy those, he was beaten for showing attitude. He couldn't do it legally; he couldn't just ignore his father, not if he didn't want to be beaten for not listening; so, he had no choice but to steal, and this was the result. Masaru couldn't win.
"OW! I'm sorry Dad! They wouldn't let me buy it!" Masaru said as he tried to defend himself. Both verbally and physically.
"I don't want excuses! Don't do it again!" By this time, Mr. Daimon had reached for an empty bottle and started to swing it.
"AHHH! Masaru cried as it broke over his head. "I'll try harder Dad, I promise!"
"You had better!" Mr. Daimon said as he got left his son in a heap on the floor.
As Masaru began to cry, he started thinking, I am trying Dad! They won't listen! It's not for me, it's for you! What else can I do, though? I just need to try harder not to get caught! I'll get it right Dad! I won't embarrass you anymore.
In Another Part of Towa City
At Hotel Towa in the VIP Suite, Kotoko and her mother were meeting with some "distinguished gentlemen" with "particular tastes." Kotoko was aware of why she was here. She didn't want to be, but at she was at least grateful that there was no school tomorrow. She could use the time to try to recover.
Once again, older men wanted to be "gentle" with her. These men would then cast her in productions that they were sponsoring, meaning that Kotoko could "sparkle" on stage, according to her mother. Her mother dragged her to places like this so that Kotoko would "sparkle" forever. Kotoko hated it, but she hated the idea of making her mother cry by refusing even more. The worst part was that Mrs. Utsugi was doing this and knew that she was using her daughter's love to hold the poor girl hostage. She didn't care. She was right. No matter what society said, no matter how much Kotoko hated her for it, she knew she was right. How anyone could ever reach such a conclusion is probably a mystery better left unsolved.
As bad as Mrs. Utsugi was though, she couldn't hold a candle to Mr. Utsugi. The woman was a monster, but she wasn't lying when she would say she loved her daughter, not that it makes what she was doing any better, that love was still twisted and depraved. Mr. Utsugi didn't care about his family and didn't pretend to either. He was a local dentist and was well aware of what his wife was doing and did not care. He used the money the two brought in to live it up with his dental hygienist.
Back to the nightmare that was Utsugi Kotoko's life though, these were higher profile clients than she was used to. Supposedly, these men worked for the Towa Group. Executives, members of the Board of Directors, and a younger man with long, disheveled black hair and lavender eyes. Given the respect the men were showing him, the younger man must have been important.
"Is she the one?" the younger man asked.
"She is, Sir," one of the other men confirmed.
"She's perfect! Young and quiet, just the way I like my girls!" the young man said happily as he reached out to grab the thin, white night gown that Kotoko was wearing. "Don't worry, I promise I'll be gentle," he said as he lifted the garment.
That's what I'm afraid of, Kotoko thought as she prepared for another night of hell.
Elsewhere
Guess she's not coming home tonight either, Jataro thought as once again his mother did not come home. It was like this every weekend. At least during the weekdays, she would come home at some point during the night, there was always a 50-50 chance of her either coming home or staying out until Sunday night during the weekends.
Jataro really didn't know much about his mother. He knew that she gave him his father's last name, or at least gave him the last name of the man she thought was Jataro's father. They never married, she refused to be tied down, which was also why she refused to actually take care of Jataro. She was going to be the next big…something. She could have some kid hold her back while she tried to figure out what that something was.
Jataro's mother was also the reason he wore his mask. She told him that he didn't look like other children, leading Jataro to believe that he was ugly. He couldn't confirm or deny this, he had never seen his own face.
Growl! Jataro had no time to concern himself with any of that, he had to go to sleep before his hunger got too great. His mother hadn't gone shopping for food, so Jataro had to make do with what little they still had available. The skin off of a chicken breast wasn't much, but it had worked for what he needed it for tonight. He would leave worries about breakfast for the next morning.
Ugh, bird skin just really doesn't taste yummy no matter what I do with it, Jataro thought as he laid down. He didn't know where his mother was, but he knew she was wishing for his death, she had admitted as much after a night of partying. He didn't care, hatred suited him just fine. Or that's what he told himself before he imagined a teenager in a green hoodie wishing him a good night and pleasant dreams.
Meanwhile
Monaca couldn't possibly know what the others were going through this evening, but she was faring much better by any comparison.
The days of her getting physically abused were a thing of the past once she started using a wheelchair. She had never really known love, her mother had abandoned her, leaving the head of the Towa Group to have to take care of his bastard daughter. Before her wheelchair, Monaca would receive only cold looks when she would laugh or smile and would go silent whenever she spoke. Her older half-brother Haiji never treated her like part of the family either, he believed that she would one day destroy the family. Monaca would have to thank him for that idea one day.
Though the pity that her wheelchair got her was preferable it had its downside. Monaca would always have to endure an itch on one of her legs for what always felt like an eternity whenever someone was around. Yes, Monaca was faking being a paraplegic. The idea came to her after Haiji had accidently, pushed her down the stairs. While the power her act gave her was fun, Monaca knew it didn't change much. Despite how she acted on the outside, she still felt like dying on the inside. This place wasn't a home, and these people weren't family.
But that's fine, Monaca thought, if the world doesn't want Monaca-chan, then she doesn't want it either. Monaca-chan is glad that she gets to see what people are really like, it's better to know.
So, she would continue. She would continue pretending to be a paraplegic. She would continue to manipulate people for her amusement. She would continue with her plan to one day ruin this so-called family. She didn't pick this game, but she decided that she would win it. What else was there to do?
Now, which servant does Monaca-chan want to get fired next? she asked herself as she looked around at the maids as they gossiped amongst themselves.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Classroom 5-D
Thirteenth Week of Classes-Thursday
By the time Naegi had returned to Hope's Peak Elementary, most traces of what the children had gone through over the weekend had disappeared. Kotoko and Masaru had healed up; Jataro had managed to get at least one decent meal; but the mental scars remained. Naegi had no idea of any of what had happened to the children, but he was able to notice a few things. He noticed that Jataro still had his mask and was once again wearing a shirt that was too big for him. He noticed that Nagisa was eager to participate in class. He noticed that Kotoko and Masaru were quiet but attentive. Unfortunately, these didn't raise any red flags. An expert like Gekkogahara might have caught something, but Naegi was no expert. Little things could be explained in a number of ways and even if Naegi had tried to dig deeper, there was no guarantee that the children would cooperate yet. This was only their second meeting after all. All Naegi could do is observe for now.
At the moment though, Naegi was writing a math problem on the board at the front of the room. Today it was multiplication and division with decimals. "Now, does anyone want to try to…" Naegi began.
"I can solve it, Naegi-sensei!" Nagisa exclaimed as he raised his hand.
"Okay Nagisa-kun," Naegi said as he stepped aside so Nagisa could get at the problem.
I can do this. Mother, Father, I'm no failure, Nagisa thought as he went through the steps to solve the problem. As soon as he finished, he stepped aside and said, "I've finished Naegi-sensei."
Naegi looked at Nagisa's answer. "Hmm, that's close, Nagisa-kun."
"Wha-what?" Nagisa asked, clearly distressed by this information.
Naegi noticed the tone in Nagisa's voice, but he had no idea just how upset the boy really was. He was under the impression that Nagisa was just embarrassed that he had gotten the answer wrong in front of his friends. In an attempt to help Nagisa, Naegi said, "The decimal point is in the wrong place, it's not a big deal. Lots of people have problems with it. I know I did." While Naegi was speaking, he made to correct the answer, but a small hand stopped him.
Nagisa had grabbed Naegi's wrist and said, "Give me another chance Naegi-sensei. I can get it right."
"Nagisa-kun, it's fine. Like I said, it's not a big deal," Naegi said. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the hand Nagisa grabbed him with begin to shake.
Naegi looked and it wasn't just Nagisa's hand that was shaking. "A harder one then! I can do it now. I see where I went wrong."
For the first time today, Naegi took a closer look at Nagisa. The shaking by itself was cause for concern, but Naegi also saw that there were dark circles under Nagisa's eyes. "Nagisa-kun, you don't look so well. Maybe you should…" Naegi began.
"I'll be fine! I just need to show you that I understand the lesson! No subject is to hard! No amount of pressure is too much!" Nagisa rambled.
"Nagisa-kun! Calm down!" Naegi yelled as he shook Nagisa in an attempt to snap the boy out of his breakdown.
Nagisa came back to reality, but he was still shaking a bit. "I-I c-can…"
"You can come with me to the infirmary," Naegi interrupted.
"No! I…" Nagisa began.
"This isn't up for debate," Naegi said as he lifted Nagisa onto his back. Nagisa must have been more tired than he realized since his resistance attempts only amounted to short, weak, pushes. Addressing the other students, Naegi said, "While we're gone, go over pages 100 and 101 in your math textbooks. I should be back soon."
When Naegi had reached the infirmary with Nagisa, he explained the situation to the nurse, a woman named Shinozaki Yoshie. Shinozaki was more than happy to let Nagisa stay and catch up on the sleep he had obviously missed and didn't ask a lot of questions, something both Naegi and Nagisa were grateful for. Naegi because he had no idea how to explain Moroboshi abandoning her class and Nagisa because he didn't want people to know why he was overworking himself.
Nagisa made himself comfortable as Naegi spoke with Shinozaki, finally accepting that Naegi wasn't going to let him continue with class in his current condition. I suppose a little rest wouldn't hurt, Nagisa reasoned. Before he closed his eyes, Naegi had come over to his side.
"Nagisa-kun, Shinozaki-sensei has informed me that your parents are teachers here. Do you want me to let them know that you're…?" Naegi began to ask.
"NO!" Nagisa shouted, wide awake. Seeing that Naegi was taken aback by the outburst, Nagisa calmly said, "No, I wouldn't want to interrupt them." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the reason.
Naegi couldn't help thinking that there was more to Nagisa's outburst than just not wanting to interrupt his parents, although he knew Nagisa to be a considerate boy. "I don't think they'll mind if it's to tell them that their son isn't feeling well," Naegi countered.
"They'll stop me if they know I'm staying up so late," Nagisa half lied. His parents had set aside time for Nagisa to sleep, brief though it was. They would probably object if they knew Nagisa was deviating from their schedule. Not out of concern for their son's health, but out of concern for what it would do to their data.
"Nagisa-kun, it's admirable that you want to work so hard at your age, but you're going to undo all of that hard work if you burn yourself out. Your health and well-being are more important than schoolwork," Naegi explained.
Nagisa hated that he was lying to Naegi, as young as he was, Nagisa knew there was something wrong about being dishonest with someone so kind. It was with a guilty conscience that he said, "Thank you, Naegi-sensei. For looking out for me."
"Of course, I'm looking out for you. Remember, I'm here because I want to help you kids," Naegi said as he ruffled Nagisa's hair.
Nagisa's exhaustion finally won out and the boy drifted off to sleep. Naegi was glad for that. He didn't want to leave the others unattended for too long. Though he was quite fond of them, kids were kids, and even the best-behaved kids could get excited about destructive or dangerous ideas without adult supervision.
"Thank you for this Shinozaki-sensei. I need to get back to class now, so I'm leaving Nagisa-kun to you," Naegi told the nurse.
"Of course, Naegi-kun, was it?" Seeing Naegi nod in confirmation, Shinozaki continued, "I'll wake him up in time for lunch."
Naegi nodded once more before heading back to the classroom to attend to the other four children.
Thankfully, the classroom was still intact when Naegi returned. For a class of alleged troublemakers, the children never made much trouble, Naegi noticed. Once Naegi had picked up where he left off with the lesson things proceeded smoothly. Fifteen minutes before lunch, Nagisa came back looking much better than he had earlier.
Once the children had left to enjoy recess and lunch, Naegi sat down at Moroboshi's desk and pulled out a notebook he had brought to record his observations. While he usually trusted his memory, he wanted to be sure he remembered all that he could so that he could give Gekkogahara a more complete picture.
As he was writing about Nagisa's frightened reaction to the idea of informing his parents of his trip to the infirmary, Naegi heard a tap at the window. This window wasn't good for light as most of it was obscured by a large bush. Naegi did notice that it made a good hiding spot, there was certainly enough room to hide between the bush and the wall of the building. Naegi noticed a familiar handle in the window, it was one belonging to Monaca's wheelchair. Deciding that was enough of a reason to see what was going on, Naegi made his way over to the window.
Monaca couldn't take it anymore. She had trained herself so that she could usually ignore such things at school, but today, her foot was the victim of a particularly stubborn and annoying itch. Monaca made her way behind a bush near the school building and lifted her leg so that she could reach her foot. After she slid her shoe off and began furiously scratching said foot the window opened and a voice asked, "Monaca-chan?"
Monaca froze. In her haste she had forgotten to check if there was anyone in the classroom who could see her. Why did he have to find out? Monaca thought. She didn't dislike Naegi, but she wasn't as impressed with him as she had been the other day. He was too nice, too optimistic, too well-adjusted. He had no weaknesses she could exploit, none that were obvious. Eavesdropping on him had yielded nothing and the bug she had planted on him the first day didn't allow her to hear anything fun. And now he had something on her, and it was her own fault.
"Monaca-chan, why would you pretend to be a paraplegic?" Naegi asked. Naegi had heard of faking injuries, he thought that even kids wouldn't fake paralysis. This was definitely going in his observation journal.
"Oh, you know, ha ha, Monaca-chan has her reasons," Monaca laughed nervously as she said this. Had this not taken her by surprise, she might have been able to come up with something better. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. It was supposed to end in a dramatic reveal after her father and brother saw all of their hard work come crashing down around them.
"I guess I'll have to accept that for now," Naegi said. He couldn't help feeling disappointed. Even as a joke, he believed Monaca was old enough to understand that pretending to be paralyzed wasn't something that someone should do. Although he wasn't able to determine why Monaca had done this, whether it was a joke or if she really did have a good reason, so he tried not to be too disappointed in his student.
"You aren't going to tell on Monaca-chan?" Monaca asked in surprise. She had been ready to make a deal with him, it wasn't like she couldn't afford it. Despite her family's efforts to forget, Monaca was a Towa after all. She wasn't sure if Naegi was just too nice or too dumb for his own good.
"I don't know why you're doing it. If it's a joke, you need to stop. If you do have your reasons, I'll trust you, but I wish you'd tell me or someone you trust why you're doing this," Naegi told her.
You're too naïve, Naegi-sensei. Monaca-chan doesn't trust others. It's the only lesson Father and Onii-san taught me, Monaca thought. "Monaca-chan has plans to stop, Sensei, don't worry about that," Monaca informed Naegi.
"Alright, but Monaca if there's something wrong, you can tell me. I might be able to help. Or at least I might know someone who can," Naegi told her.
Not against the Towa Family you can't, Monaca thought. It was sad, but it was probably true. The Towas were right up there with the Togamis in terms of power, influence, and money. Naegi would need to pull off a miracle to stand a chance against them. "Monaca-chan is fine, Sensei. It's all under control," Monaca said.
Naegi wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the way that sounded. However, he could see that he wasn't going to get more out of Monaca, so he let it go. "Alright, enjoy the rest of your break Monaca-chan," he said.
"I will Naegi-sensei!" Monaca said with her mask of cheerfulness back in place. She had said that, but she had begun to feel sick afterwards, she actually felt guilty for not being honest with Naegi. I must be getting soft, she thought. Even though knew she couldn't, Monaca wished she had told Naegi everything, she wanted to believe that he could help her.
The rest of the day continued smoothly. Naegi was glad that there hadn't been any major problems with Kotoko, Masaru, or Jataro, worrying about Nagisa and learning Monaca's secret had been enough for him.
"I'm thinking of coming here more than once a week," Naegi announced a few minutes before the last bell rang.
"Really?!" five excited voices asked. Well, four were excited, one just was able to fake it.
"Really. As long as you five and the school are okay with it. I still need to talk to your principal and Headmaster Kirigiri about it," Naegi explained.
The children really did hope that Naegi would be spending more time with them, even Monaca if she was honest about it. In only two days he had become the only bit of light in their dark lives, not that he knew that. They believed that Naegi would try to help them, but either out of loyalty to their parents or fear of losing Naegi, they could never tell him that.
"I'm hoping to be back Monday if I can get approval, but if not, I'll be back next Thursday," Naegi told them. He really did want to spend more time with the children, but he was also hoping that by spending more time with them, he would be able to build trust and gain a better understanding of the children and their lives outside of school. Naegi's concerns from his first day at Hope's Peak Elementary had not diminished and in the cases of Nagisa and Monaca, they had grown. He was going to take those concerns to Gekkogahara as soon as he could.
As soon as the bell rang, the children headed for the classroom door, but not before they spoke to Naegi.
"Good luck, Sensei!" Masaru said as he ran out the door.
"I hope to see you back soon," Nagisa said before he went to push Monaca's wheelchair.
"Do your best for Monaca-chan, Sensei!" Monaca chirped happily as Nagisa wheeled her after Masaru.
"Even though you don't hate me, I really would like it if you were here more often," Jataro said as he waved good-bye.
Naegi felt someone grab him. Kotoko had come up to give him a hug and say, "Be sure you get approval, Sensei. Disappointing cute little girls is so not adorbs!"
After Kotoko had left, Naegi couldn't help but smile. I didn't know those kids were so fond of me, Naegi thought. After he gathered his things, Naegi headed for the main office. As long as he was her, he reasoned, he might as well try to get the principal's approval.
Hope's Peak Academy-Gekkogahara Miaya's Office
Thirteenth Week of Classes-Friday
Naegi had gotten approval to add days to his time at Hope's Peak Elementary. Principal Yanagihori and Moroboshi-sensei seemed thrilled at the idea, although Naegi had the feeling it wasn't because they enjoyed having him around. Headmaster Kirigiri had approved, but only of one extra day. Naegi was a still a student himself, and although attendance wasn't necessary, Jin wasn't one to encourage students to miss class, good cause or not. With that out of the way, Naegi had headed straight to Gekkogahara's office to report what had happened at Hope's Peak Elementary yesterday.
Even though there were innocent explanations for Nagisa's behavior Naegi still reported it. It might be important later, he reasoned. He really wanted to know what Gekkogahara's opinion on Monaca's behavior.
"She's pretending to not have use of her legs?" Usami asked in Gekkogahara's place.
"I saw her move her leg to scratch her foot with my own eyes," Naegi reported. Flipping through his notes, Naegi added, "She said she 'has plans to stop' and that she 'had it all under control.'"
"That sounds…" Usami began as Gekkogahara tried to find the right word.
Naegi had no idea that a proxy like Usami was able to trail off like that but took the opportunity to finish the sentence for her. "Ominous?" he suggested.
"I was going to say worrisome," Usami said.
"Should I report this?" Naegi asked. He had a feeling that Monaca's act was a bad sign, even though he tried to believe that she was just playing around. Hearing Gekkogahara's opinion now had Naegi fearing for Monaca's safety.
"Hold off on that for now. You said her last name was Towa, correct? If she's a member of the Towa family, it may just be her way of trying to get attention. Her father does run a huge conglomerate after all. She may have just been scared when you caught her, and she didn't think about how her words sounded. I understand your concerns Naegi-kun, but just like with Young Nagisa, there are innocent explanations for this too. You might be correct and if you are I hope to be forgiven for dragging my feet, so to speak, on this, but it think we need more information before we can reach any conclusions," Usami explained.
"I suppose so. I know you're the expert Gekkogahara-san, but I just have a bad feeling," Naegi said.
"That's fine. It means you care about these children. I hope I haven't given you the impression that I'm not concerned. But it's difficult to determine abuse in cases that aren't glaringly obvious, and we don't have methods to determine which children are at high risk and are currently being maltreated. I wish things were different, Naegi-kun. I wish there was a way to give you peace of mind and make sure that those children are alright. But I can't think of anything outside of home visits that would do that and neither one of us has the authority for that," Usami told him.
"I know," Naegi admitted.
"But I still think that you are doing the right thing. Keep your eyes and ears open and continue building trust. If there's something wrong, I'm sure you'll catch it. And remember that my door is always open for you," Usami said.
Gekkogahara did believe Naegi's bad feeling was right. There was much of what he had told her that she didn't think sounded right, but as long as alternate explanations existed, they needed to be cautious, especially when she considered that at one of the children came from a well-connected family. She had been trying to pull files on the five children herself but was met with great difficulty. Hope's Peak Elementary's responses to her requests essentially amounted to "Mind your own damn business!" Odd, considering that if these students were at Hope's Peak Elementary, those files were more than likely going to find their way to Hope's Peak Academy one day anyway. But Gekkogahara wasn't sure it was a desire for privacy or something else.
"Thank you, Gekkogahara-san. Usami-san. I'll keep observing for now. I guess I'll see you Tuesday," Naegi said as he left. Naegi knew he was going to worry about the children, but he also knew there wasn't much he could do right now. He'd go about his life, but his students would remain in the back of his mind as he did. He was sure that if something was wrong, he'd be able to help them, he would just need to be patient for now, no matter how hard that was.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Classroom 5-D
Fourteenth Week of Classes-Thursday
It hadn't been a great morning for the Warriors of Hope. The weekend had gone well, better than usual in fact. Their parents had been, not kind, but better than they usually were. They wouldn't find out until later that it was because of Gekkogahara's inquiries that their parents were acting like parents. It hadn't lasted long, apparently their parents could only act like proper parents for several days.
Nagisa's inhuman workload had to increase to make up for lost time; Kotoko overheard her mother scheduling meeting with men who would be "gentle" with her; Monaca was back to being ignored; Jataro's mother had disappeared so that she could go partying again; and Masaru's father was passed out drunk when Masaru left this morning after the man had forcibly dragged his son out of bed this morning. There was a bruise in the shape of his father's hand on Masaru's foot because of that, leading the boy to run slower than usual.
None of this made them any less excited though. Normally, they didn't get excited about going to school, although they preferred it to their home lives. But they were hoping that when they got to their classroom Naegi would be there waiting for them.
The children got their wish, for when they had arrived at their classroom, Naegi was explaining the new situation to Moroboshi.
"…so, it looks like I'll be coming in twice a week from now on. I'd like to come in on Mondays and Thursdays, but if that needs to change, I'll let you know," Naegi finished.
"We all appreciate it, Naegi-kun. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's something I need to speak with the Principal about," Moroboshi said as she got up and left.
Naegi didn't expect to see her again until classes ended for the day. Before he could think about the matter any further, five happy voices exclaimed, "Naegi-sensei!"
"Hi kids," Naegi said with a wave.
"I take it that you succeeded," Nagisa said.
"Your principal was all for the idea, but Headmaster Kirigiri would only approve a maximum of two days. He had a point, I am still a student myself," Naegi said.
"What days will you be in?" Kotoko asked.
"Right now? I think I'll be here Mondays and Thursdays. I'll let your teacher know if I can't come in and we can work things out from there," Naegi explained.
That satisfied the children. They all enjoyed the time they spent with Naegi, so the more days he could come teach them the better as far as they were concerned. Because with Naegi, they could at least pretend that their lives were good.
Naegi wasn't as observant as some of his friends but he had noticed that the boy was acting strange. Throughout class the boy would flinch when he stood up and when he would move, clearly in pain. When Naegi accepted that Masaru wasn't going to say anything, Naegi said, "Masaru-kun, if there's something wrong, you can tell me. You don't need to pretend that everything is okay."
"Wh-what do you mean, Naegi-sensei? The Hero of the Warriors of hope hurt? That's impossible. I'm invisible!" Masaru exclaimed.
"'Invincible,'" Nagisa corrected.
"Yeah, that. I can't get hurt," Masaru said.
"Is that so? Then what's with the pained look you've been getting when you stand up?" Naegi asked.
"Uh, w-well…" Masaru stuttered, not used to having to explain his injuries.
"If you're in pain, I can take you to the nurse. You can't always fight through the pain, sometimes you have to take it easy," Naegi said.
"I swear that I'm fine Sensei. You can't keep a good hero doOWOWOWOWOW!" Masaru screamed. When he tried to strike a heroic pose, he hit the bruised part of his foot on the leg of his chair.
"Okay, if you won't talk to me, maybe you'll talk to the nurse," Naegi said as he lifted Masaru up and carried him to the classroom door. Before he left, he said, "The rest of you, read pages 100 to 105 in your history textbooks and I'll be back soon." Once he heard four different voices say, "Hai, Sensei," he took the increasingly familiar path to the infirmary.
It took a while but both Naegi and Shinozaki managed to get Masaru to settle down so that he could be examined. When they saw the discolored flesh on Masaru's foot, Shinozaki was the first to ask, "What happened here?"
"Oh, I dropped something on it at home," Masaru lied. It wasn't a great lie, but it was the best he could come up with on the way to the infirmary.
Luckily for Masaru, the way his father had grabbed him and subsequently bruised his foot was in such a way that the bruise was mostly on the top of Masaru's foot.
To say Naegi wasn't satisfied with that answer would be an understatement. While Shinozaki was treating Masaru, Naegi tried something. On a hunch, Naegi lifted his hand, trying to match his palm up with the bruise. Naegi hated it, but the way he was holding his hand up and the bruise matched up. The only thing stopping Naegi from mentioning this was that there were no bruises in the shape of fingers so Masaru could still have been telling the truth. Naegi knew the boy had his pride, his introduction and his performance minutes ago in the classroom were proof of that. Naegi wasn't sure if he should mention his suspicions to Shinozaki or not.
It turned out that he didn't have to make that decision as Shinozaki pulled him aside and asked, "What do you think?"
"What do you mean, Shinozaki-sensei?" Naegi asked.
"I saw what you did just now. You're not convinced either," Shinozaki whispered.
"No, I'm not. Although, in the short time I've known him, I've learned how proud Masaru-kun is. I can believe that he would be secretive about an injury. I just don't know for sure," Naegi admitted.
"Hmm, that complicates things," Shinozaki said.
"I know. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions, but I can't help but think something is wrong. But it's hard to tell with 'Ultimates' even the 'Lil' Ultimates'," Naegi said.
"I know. Well, if there are any problems, you know where to find me. I'll help in whatever way I can," Shinozaki said.
"Thank you, Shinozaki-sensei," Naegi said.
"I'm just doing what any nurse and mother would do," Shinozaki told him. She then turned back to Masaru and said, "Okay Masaru-kun, you're free to go. Try to take it easy though. Otherwise you'll take longer to recover."
"I'll try, Sensei," Masaru said as he hopped off of the examination table, already disregarding Shinozaki's advice. He grunted in pain, but he didn't hurt as badly as before, the gauze on his foot absorbing most of the impact.
Shinozaki sighed and said, "I guess this is the best we're going to get."
In spite of his concerns, Naegi couldn't help but chuckle.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Classroom 5-D
Fourteenth Week of Classes-Thursday
Kotoko had no idea how she was going to get through the day. Last night, her mother had taken her to meet some men who had been "gentle" with her. That young man whom she had met a few weeks ago had wanted to meet her again. This time he had offered Mrs. Utsugi a starring role in a commercial for Kotoko in exchange for the mother and daughters "services."
Because of what had taken place and how long it took, Kotoko was sore and she was exhausted. I hate it! I hate "sparkling!" I hate it when men are "gentle" with me! Why does this keep happening? Mom, can't you see what this does to me? Kotoko asked herself.
"Kotoko-chan?"
"Huh?" Kotoko saw Naegi looking at her in concern. She could see her friends looking at her too. She guessed she shouldn't have been shocked; she had zoned out during class. It was understandable after last night, but Naegi and the other children didn't know about that.
"Are you alright? Do you need to see Shinozaki-sensei?" Naegi asked. Of course, he was worried. Kotoko looked like she could barely keep her eyes open and she seemed to be shaking. Did she have a chill or was she remembering something scary or unpleasant? Naegi didn't know but he intended to find out.
TELL HIM! Naegi-sensei can help! You can trust him! Kotoko's mind screamed. The words wouldn't come out though. She didn't want to betray her mother, no matter how much Kotoko hated what the woman made her do. She couldn't admit this in front of her friends either. What would they think? So instead, she lied and said, "I'll be okay, Naegi-sensei. I don't feel well, but it's not so bad."
Naegi didn't believe that, but he thought that maybe Kotoko just didn't want to talk about whatever was wrong in front of her friends. He'd try again later. After what happened with Masaru on Monday, Naegi was feeling very protective of these kids. If there was something wrong, he would find out and he would help. "Well…okay. But let me know if anything changes," Naegi said.
Kotoko nodded tiredly. She just had to make it through the day. She could do it. She had had a lot of practice after all. She hadn't believed it was possible, but that thought made her feel worse. Though whether it was because of how long this had been going on or because it showed no sign of ending, Kotoko didn't know.
In spite of her words, Kotoko didn't feel better as the day progressed, not that she had expected to. Once lunchtime rolled around, Kotoko had gone with her friends outside, but instead of joining in any games, she had simply found a bench in a shady spot to attempt to take a nap. It might not help the pain, but it would help with the exhaustion. After telling the others to wake her up when break ended, Kotoko laid down and shut her eyes.
In retrospect, a bench on an elementary school playground was probably a bad place to try to take a nap. It was noisy and uncomfortable and Kotoko was able to hear nearby conversations. That last one would ordinarily not be so bad; people can usually tune out background noise. It was the words being used, one word in particular, that caused a problem.
Near Kotoko, two first-grade girls were talking. One, a small girl with long, black hair in a white dress had gotten a black cat plushie for her birthday and was showing it to one of her friends.
"Is that your new plushie, Sach-chan? It's adorable."
"Yes. We can't get a real cat because Daddy is allergic, so Mommy got me this. Her name is Koko."
"Let's go show the others, they'll love her!"
"Okay. As long as they're gentle with her. She's new and…" Kotoko didn't hear anything else after that. She had begun shaking and hyperventilating. She curled into a fetal position and began rocking back and forth.
You're so cute, Kotoko-chan!
We love cute, little girls like you!
We promise to be gentle.
Gentle. Gentle! GENTLE!
"No. Please, not gentle. Anything but that." Kotoko continued muttering until she felt someone shake her.
"Kotoko-chan. Kotoko-chan! Please, snap out of it!" Naegi said as he shook the girl's shoulders. When Jataro had told him something was wrong with Kotoko, Naegi hadn't imagined that it would be this bad. He initially thought that he could snap her out of it by snapping his fingers in front of her face. When that didn't work, he had switched to shaking her. Gently at first, but the longer this went on, them more worried and desperate Naegi became.
"Monaca can help, Sensei," Monaca said as she wheeled herself forward. When Naegi moved aside, Monaca raised her hand. If he hadn't been so worried about Kotoko, Naegi might have realized what was about to happen.
*Crack*
Naegi winced. Monaca had slapped Kotoko, rather hard if the sound was anything to go by. "Monaca-chan, you're going to write Kotoko an apology for that. That sounded like it really hurt," Naegi said firmly.
"It worked though," Monaca pointed out.
It had. Naegi couldn't argue with that even if he didn't approve of it. Kotoko's breathing returned to normal and her eyes were focused again. "Kotoko-chan, we're going to the infirmary. The rest of you get back to your break," Naegi ordered as he picked Kotoko up and carried her back inside.
"It had better be the best apology ever written," Shinozaki said after Naegi had finished telling her what had happened. She was less than thrilled that Monaca had slapped Kotoko, even if it had worked.
"It's fine," Kotoko said from the bed she now occupied.
"It really isn't though," Shinozaki muttered. She wasn't going to argue with a child that was suffering, even if the child wouldn't admit it.
"Kotoko-chan, what happened before Jataro-kun got me?" Naegi asked.
"Nightmare," Kotoko said immediately. That was the answer she usually gave when anyone cared enough to ask when she heard her trigger word. It wasn't exactly a lie it was just that the nightmare was her life and not merely a dream.
Naegi didn't believe that, and judging by the look on her face, Shinozaki didn't either. "That was pretty bad for a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it? You'll feel better afterwards," Naegi said. Kotoko-chan, I want to help, but you need to let me in, Naegi mentally pleaded with the girl.
"I don't really remember much of it," Kotoko lied. She hadn't expected Naegi to continue with his questions, no one else ever did. Moroboshi usually just gave her detention for disrupting class.
"Well, if you do remember, you can talk to me about it. I'm here to help you, you know?" Naegi reminded Kotoko.
"I know, Naegi-sensei," Kotoko said. I know, but I can't tell you, she thought.
Naegi wanted to try to get Kotoko to talk more, but thought that right now, it would do more harm than good. He noticed he had been thinking that a lot lately. He only hoped that he wouldn't regret taking this approach.
Hope's Peak Academy-Girls' Dorm
Fourteenth Week of Classes-Saturday
Naegi never hated having free time so much in his life. Yesterday, he had given Saionji mouthwash that was the product of a joint project between Kimura and Ando. He didn't regret doing it, Saionji had been getting worse for quite some time. What Naegi did regret was the effect it was having on the other residents of the dorm.
Naegi couldn't help thinking of how much better behaved his students were compared to Saionji. Of course, having thought that, his mind drifted to those five. When he had started helping out at Hope's Peak Elementary, Naegi had been suspicious, but he would have accepted that there were innocent explanations for much of what he noticed about the children. Masaru's bruises and Kotoko's breakdown ended that and Naegi told Gekkogahara as much during his meetings with her this week. She agreed, but she believed that they needed more information. After a second attempt at getting the children's records failed, Gekkogahara was left with the suspicion that without irrefutable evidence, any investigation into abuse would close prematurely and "mysteriously." Without the children's cooperation or, Heaven forbid, something public and obvious, Gekkogahara didn't like her and Naegi's odds.
The sound of a can being set in front of him shook Naegi from his thoughts and he saw a can of Pepsi in front of him. Standing over him was Yukizome Chisa with a drink of her own in her hand. With a smile she asked, "Why don't you tell Sensei all about it?"
Déjà vu, Naegi thought. Naegi had avoided discussing Hope's Peak Elementary with everyone besides Gekkogahara. It wasn't that he didn't trust the girls or Yukizome, but they had their own problems to deal with, he didn't want to burden them with things he couldn't prove. That and there was always the possibility that what he was trying to do would find its way to the parents of the children, causing him to miss his chance to help them.
Then again, Yukizome had pointed him towards Hope's Peak Elementary, he figured he should at least tell her how things were going. Maybe she had some advice for him.
"Sensei, I think my students are in trouble," Naegi told her.
"What do you mean?" Yukizome asked, smile quickly leaving her face.
"Well, it all started on my first day at Hope's Peak Elementary. When I got there…" Naegi began as he recounted everything that had happened since that first day. Naegi finished by saying, "…and that's the story, Yukizome-sensei."
Silence.
"Yukizome-sensei?" Naegi asked as he looked over at Yukizome.
Yukizome was still there. She had her hair covering her eyes and she was shaking, then Naegi felt it. Rage. Yukizome was pissed, and Naegi was hoping she wasn't mad at how he was handling the situation.
"How? How can anyone do this to children?" Yukizome asked in a whisper. Naegi actually wish she had screamed; it would have actually been less terrifying.
"I don't know. I can't even be sure if I'm right. I wish I knew more," Naegi lamented.
Yukizome calmed herself and said to Naegi, "Don't second guess yourself. Naegi-kun, in the entire time you've been at Hope's Peak, you've shown that you have a knack for being where you need to be and doing what needs to be done. I don't know if that's your luck or something else, but you should have a little more faith in yourself."
Naegi blushed at the praise before saying, "Thank you, Yukizome-sensei."
"No problem, Naegi-kun. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Yukizome trailed off as she got up to leave.
When Yukizome left, the pressure in the room left with her. Naegi hoped that no one had the misfortune of being on the receiving end when Yukizome worked off that anger. His mind then drifted back to what Yukizome had said. I "have a knack for being where you need to be and doing what needs to be done." I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I have no idea what to do now. Taking what I know about the people I'm trying to help and winging it isn't going to cut it here, Naegi thought. Naegi then shook his head and thought, Stressing over it won't help. The chance will come. Until then, I should focus on the problems I can fix while being there for the kids.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Classroom 5-D
Fifteenth Week of Classes-Monday
Jataro was not having a good day. That wasn't true, he had been having bad days for a while now. His mother had disappeared during the weekend again and had not restocked the fridge. To make matters worse, she had not left money for food. This had happened before, but it seemed to be occurring much more frequently lately. Jataro was having trouble remembering when the last time he had gone to bed with a full stomach had been and as a result, he was losing a lot of weight. That would concern anyone, but Jataro's worries focused mostly on the weight he lost in his face.
My mask keeps slipping, he mentally complained. His mask had slid and covered his eyes at least a dozen times in the past half hour. Jataro was beginning to fear it would slide off. I can't let anyone see me! I'm too hideous! They'll disintegrate and then I won't have anyone to hate me?! That childish logic would have been endearing and cute if it hadn't been about a fifth grader wanting people to hate him.
Naegi had heard growling stomachs but didn't think much of it. Lunch was in a few minutes, so it wasn't entirely unexpected. And if he was being honest, he was looking forward to lunch too.
When the bell finally did ring for lunch, the children went to eat and then enjoy their break like always. Today was going to be different though, as Kotoko had tied the loose straps on Jataro's mask to different desks when no one was looking. Kotoko obviously expected Jataro to struggle with the straps, but she was about to be disappointed. Jataro had lost so much weight in his face that his mask slipped right off.
When the mask came off, Jataro froze. He felt his face, hoping that he was just imagining what had just happened. He was not. To make matters worse, everyone was staring at him, eyes wide open in shock. Oh no! They saw me! They'll melt! Or disintegrate! Or…something! I don't know but it will be bad! Jataro mentally screamed.
The first to speak was Masaru. "You liar! You told us you were ugly!"
"Huh?" Jataro had no idea what he was talking about. Of course, he was ugly. Why else would his mother make him where that mask?
"Not fair! You're a boy! You can't be more beautiful than Monaca-chan and me!" Kotoko yelled.
"What are you talking about? I am ugly!" Jataro argued.
Nagisa, model student and poster child of preparedness and practicality that he was, asked Kotoko or Monaca for a mirror and proceeded to show Jataro that he wasn't ugly.
When Jataro saw his face, he was stunned. Was this some kind of joke? He wasn't ugly, not even close.
Naegi had been shocked to see Jataro's true face, but not because he believed that the boy was ugly. He was shocked at how underfed the boy was. Despite his concerns, Naegi did take a good look at Jataro's appearance. The boy had light, brown hair and his features made him look a bit like a cross between Naegi's classmates, Fujisaki and Togami, albeit younger by over half a decade.
I hope Syo-san isn't into younger men. Just to be safe, she can never know about this, Naegi told himself. Focusing once again on Jataro, Naegi went over to the boy and asked, "Have you been eating properly?"
"Uhh…" Jataro trailed off, trying to think of a lie.
"What are you having for lunch?"
"Uhh…"
"Do your parents know you haven't been eating?" Naegi asked.
"It's just me and my mom. She's been really busy lately," Jataro answered. That might have been true, he had no idea what his mother was doing, but he was sure she was busy with it.
Naegi didn't like that answer, but it seemed plausible. Naegi knew the families of many Reserve Course students took on considerable amounts of debt to get their children into Hope's Peak Academy. These children may have been "Lil' Ultimates" but they still had to be scouted in the future to get to Hope's Peak Academy, which Naegi took to mean that either they hadn't been scouted to attend Hope's Peak Elementary or enrollment worked differently here.
If Jataro's mother was paying tuition on top of being a single parent, Naegi supposed that would explain a few things. The mask: the kids' claim that Jataro had called himself ugly; and Jataro's surprise at his own appearance still went unanswered, but Naegi would concern himself with those later. Right now, Jataro needed to eat.
"What does everyone say to takeout? I saw a Spicy Ramen nearby and I think they deliver," Naegi suggested.
The answer Naegi got was five cries of, "Yay!"
The food arrived rather quickly, and Naegi and the delivery driver had no problems with school staff, both of which Naegi was grateful for.
One thing he wasn't grateful for was the bill. It wasn't that the kids weren't worth it, they most certainly were, it was just as a student himself, Naegi's funds were rather limited. He didn't want to have to order food twice a week, but he did want to be sure that Jataro would eat. While Naegi pondered whether or not his parents would be willing to increase the money they sent him, Naegi felt something, or rather someone, nudge him.
"Doesn't it taste good, Naegi-sensei?" Jataro asked. Naegi had been so deep in thought that he hadn't eaten much ramen. He hadn't really noticed, but apparently Jataro did. Naegi couldn't fathom why such a sweet child would want people to hate him.
"It's fine, Jataro-kun. I just have a few things on my mind," Naegi answered.
"Like what?"
Naegi wasn't sure how to answer that. The last thing he wanted these children to think is that he thought of them as burdens. None of this was their fault. As Naegi thought of what to say, he remembered the look on the kids' faces as the ramen arrived and as they ate. They just looked so happy, like they were eating the greatest food in the universe. As Naegi remembered, he came to a decision. The cost was worth it. After what he had seen with these children: the odd behavior; the breakdowns; the injuries; and Naegi's concerns, it was worth it. Naegi had no idea whether or not he would have to buy the children lunch every time he came to Hope's Peak Elementary, so there was no point worrying about it. Even if that was going to happen, it was worth it.
What Naegi didn't know was that it was less about the food itself and more that someone, in this case, the children's' beloved Naegi-sensei, had done something for them, they could have cared less about what was actually ordered.
"Actually, Jataro-kun, I think I found my answer. There's no need for me to worry," Naegi told the boy.
"Oh, okay. I'm glad to hear that, Naegi-sensei," Jataro replied.
Naegi ruffled the boy's hair playfully and said, "Thanks for helping me find my answer. How's the food, by the way?"
"It's really good," Jataro said.
Naegi was glad to hear that.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Classroom 5-D
Sixteenth Week of Classes-Thursday
Naegi felt guilty coming back to Hope's Peak Elementary after not coming in on Monday. The school didn't care that much, at least that was the impression that they gave him over the phone, but they weren't the ones' whose opinions concerned Naegi at the moment. Nothing had jumped out at Naegi the last time he was in the classroom that made him believe that the children were in immediate danger, but Naegi still felt like he was abandoning them.
Who would make sure that Masaru wasn't injured?
Who would make sure that Jataro was eating properly?
Who would make sure that Nagisa wasn't pushing himself too hard?
Who would help Kotoko when she was having a breakdown?
Who would keep an eye on Monaca?
Yeah, I should have snuck over here on Monday regardless of what Kimura-senpai told me, Naegi told himself as he stepped into the classroom. Once Moroboshi had left, the children started demanding answers.
"Naegi-sensei!" Masaru shouted.
"Why weren't you here?!" Kotoko asked.
Naegi explained as much as he could, there had been problems on Sunday and that Kimura had wanted him to stay close to the Academy the following day. Her medicines hadn't completely healed Naegi's shoulder from the Novoselic Embassy Incident and she was curious about his reaction her other medicines.
"'Medicines'? Did you get sick?" Jataro asked.
"Oh, a friend of mine was in trouble and I got hurt trying to help her. It wasn't a big deal," Naegi answered. He hoped the children didn't ask for more details, although Naegi had a feeling that they knew about that side of society, he wasn't going to tell them more about it if he could avoid it.
"You should be more careful, Naegi-sensei," Monaca told him.
"You're older than us, you should set an example and not be so reckless," Nagisa lectured.
"I'll try, but in my defense, it was an emergency," Naegi explained sheepishly. He hadn't expected to get lectured by fifth graders today.
"Not good enough! Say that you're sorry for making us worry about you!" Kotoko ordered.
"I am. I never try to make people worry about me, it just sort of happens. I am sorry though," Naegi said.
Kotoko pouted, but she seemed to accept that.
Class had proceeded without further incident. Naegi was actually glad for a calmer day at Hope's Peak Elementary. These kids deserved to enjoy the innocence that went with childhood. And they did enjoy it, from the lessons to Naegi ordering them lunch again, they did enjoy it. It was good that they did, because calm never lasts as long as we would like and sometimes it can end in the most terrible ways.
Hope's Peak Academy-Headmaster's Office
Seventeenth Week of Classes-Wednesday
Naegi wished he had done this sooner. In fact, he probably would have done this sooner, but Gekkogahara had only just informed him that she was trying to pull the files on his students and had been met with resistance.
Naegi wasn't sure if anything would come of this, Kirigiri Jin was the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, not Hope's Peak Elementary. Still, if the students in the elementary program were "Ultimates" that were expected to attend Hope's Peak Academy one day, then the Headmaster and, more importantly, the talent scouts, must hold some power over the other schools. At least Naegi hoped that was the case.
"So Naegi-kun, you wanted to discuss Hope's Peak Elementary?" Jin asked.
"Yes Sir."
"The kids aren't too much for you, are they?" Kizakura asked.
"No, it's nothing like that. It's…" Naegi began.
"'Just' what?" the two men asked.
"Well, I've been discussing this with Gekkogahara-san, and I think there's something very wrong with Class 5-D," Naegi said.
"Kids too wild for you?" Kizakura asked. It was an honest question. Naegi seemed like the type who would get eaten alive by young children.
"I phrased that poorly, what I meant was that I think the children are being abused at home," Naegi said.
"That's a serious accusation, Naegi-kun. Can you prove it?" Jin asked.
"Not definitively, but given what I've seen, I can't ignore the possibility," Naegi said.
"Why don't you fill us in?" Jin suggested.
So, he did. Naegi went through everything that had happened since he started the Ultimate Mentor Program. He told them about Moroboshi abandoning her students on his first day. He told them about Kotoko's breakdowns. He told them about Masaru's injuries. And he told them about Jataro and Monaca's strange behavior.
Throughout Naegi's story, Jin face had gone blank, He drew on every one of his father's lessons that he had bothered to retain in order to keep himself from doing something he would regret. Jin wished every day that he could have spent more time with Kyoko, the thought that there were parents who not only took their children for granted, but purposefully caused them to suffer infuriated the man.
Kizakura seemed to fare better, unless you knew the man. He hadn't taken a single drink throughout Naegi's story, even though the longer it went on the more he felt like he needed one.
Naegi noticed the change in the room once he had finished. He hoped that meant that there was something that they could do.
"Does Yanagihori know about this?" Jin asked. The tone in his voice reminded Naegi of an angry Kirigiri Kyoko.
"I've been trying since my second week there. Then when I asked to come in more, I tried to bring up Moroboshi-sensei's numerous disappearances and what I had noticed up to that point, but he told me he was too busy. Since then, I think he's been avoiding me. I even tried to tell him to tell Moroboshi-sensei to make sure Jataro-kun had something for lunch when I wasn't able to be there last Monday, if he got my message, neither he or Moroboshi-sensei have told me," Naegi informed them.
"I think you're doing the right thing kid, but what do you want us to do?" Kizakura asked. Both he and Jin were aware that they had limited sway over Hope's Peak Elementary. Less if the Steering Committee decided to get involved.
"Well, Gekkogahara has had trouble getting the files on the children and I was thinking that since these kids would need to be scouted to attend Hope's Peak Academy that maybe Hope's Peak Elementary will be more willing to let Kizakura-san see them," Naegi explained.
"I can try, though that might put the parents on alert if there's even anything damning in those files," Kizakura warned.
"I understand. I also thought that you both deserved to know what's going on. Anything that involves Hope's Peak is always big news and as much as I'd prefer not to cause the school problems, if it comes down to choosing between those five and Hope's Peak's reputation, I'm choosing those five," Naegi told them.
"As you should," Jin said with a nod. As much as he wanted to pretend that they didn't exist, he knew that Hope's Peak Academy had problems and clearly it had spread to Hope's Peak Elementary. He hoped that if this did turn into a scandal that Hope's Peak would survive it. Hope's Peak had allowed the problem to fester, so it fell Hope's Peak to make things right.
"If anything changes, I'll be sure to let you both know," Naegi said as he left the office.
Jin and Kizakura nodded. They both had work to do. They couldn't very well leave everything up to a student.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Classroom 5-D
Eighteenth Week of Classes-Thursday
It was hot. Unseasonably so. The sudden heat wave hit Classroom 5-D the same day they were having problems with the air conditioner. It had gotten to the point where Naegi had taken off his jacket and opened his hoodie. He was glad that Jataro had stopped wearing his mask at school, the poor boy would have gotten heat stroke.
There was one student though, that was having trouble with the heat. Nagisa was still wearing his jacket and with his long-sleeved shirt and his scarf. The boy had turned red and was sweating like crazy but refused to do anything about it. He wouldn't take off the jacket. He wouldn't unbutton and roll up his sleeves. He hadn't taken off his scarf and was attempting to cover as much of his face with it as he could, probably in an attempt hide how hot he was.
"Nagisa-kun, wouldn't you feel better without your jacket?" Naegi asked.
"I'm fine, Naegi-sensei. Thank you though," Nagisa answered.
"Your face is all red though," Jataro pointed out.
"And you're sweating" Monaca added.
"I'll be alright," Nagisa told them.
"I'll get it off!" Masaru shouted as he jumped up and ran at Nagisa.
"I'll hold him!" Kotoko called out as she grabbed her blue-haired friend.
"Let go!" Nagisa yelled as he struggled. Kotoko must have taken her role as "Fighter" very seriously because she was able to hold onto Nagisa quiet easily, or maybe the heat had sapped Nagisa's energy, Naegi couldn't tell. But before he could tell the two to leave Nagisa alone, Nagisa's jacket and scarf were on the floor and Kotoko and Masaru had unbuttoned and begun to roll up Nagisa's sleeves until something stopped them.
There were track marks all over both of Nagisa's arms.
"Nagisa, what happened?" Jataro asked.
"Nothing!" Nagisa shouted in annoyance.
"Where did you get those?" Masaru asked.
"None of your business!" Nagisa yelled again.
"Let me see," Naegi said as he came over to Nagisa.
"Sensei…" Nagisa began to say.
"Please," Naegi begged.
Nagisa relented and held out his arms. Naegi saw that some of the marks were fresh and some were very old. Whatever caused these didn't just start and they didn't all appear at the same time. He would need to talk to someone with medical experience. "Nagisa-kun, I think we should have Shinozaki-sensei look at these."
"No!" Nagisa shouted as he pulled his arms away and tried to cover them.
"Nagisa-kun, I just want her to look. If she has to do more than that, I'm sure she'll be gentle," Naegi said. And just like that, he had another student in need.
It first started with heavy breathing. Naegi looked up and saw Kotoko clutching herself. Her eyes had lost focus and she was hyperventilating. She had started to shake and sweat.
"Kotoko-chan, what's wrong?" Naegi asked in a panic.
"Not 'gentle!' Please, not 'gentle!' Anything but that!" Kotoko muttered.
"Gentle?" What could cause this kind of reaction to the word "gentle?" It doesn't matter, I caused this, I need to calm her down, Naegi thought. He placed his hands on Kotoko's shoulders and said, "Kotoko-chan, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you. I'm sorry I used that word. I didn't know."
Kotoko must have heard him, because she then asked, "No one is going to be 'gentle' with me?"
Naegi once again pondered what that meant but still said, "Not as long as I'm here."
Kotoko settled down after hearing that. Once her breathing evened out and her eyes focused again, Naegi pulled the small girl into a hug. She was shocked at first, but soon relaxed into it. It was then that she felt something wet on her shoulder.
The other four saw it too. Tears. Naegi was crying for Kotoko. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I'd never hurt any of you, I promise." His voice was soft, not quite a whisper, but not very loud. But they heard him, and they believed him. This person cared about them. Maybe even had come to love them.
They wanted to be honest with him. He was being honest with them right now and they couldn't do the same, either out of loyalty to their families or because they knew what would happen to Naegi if he tried to help them. If only they had known. Naegi may not have known what he would be up against, but even if he had, he wouldn't care. If only they had communicated better, they may have spared themselves some of the pain that was to come.
Hope's Peak Academy-Gekkogahara's Office
Eighteenth Week of Classes-Friday
Naegi had checked with Tsumiki. He had checked with Kimura. He had even checked with Shinozaki before he left Hope's Peak Elementary yesterday. There was no good explanation for the track marks on Nagisa's arms. Naegi had suggested allergy shots to Shinozaki, but between the number of marks on Nagisa's arms and the fact that he didn't come out and admit that they were caused by shots shot down that explanation. Shinozaki could find nothing in Nagisa' medical records, the ones that she could get permission to access, that would support that theory. Naegi didn't actually believe it when he had suggested the theory, but he didn't want to completely discount the possibility.
Now Naegi was with Gekkogahara asking about trigger words. Naegi's lack of knowledge of the subject of PTSD and its potential triggers were probably to blame, but "gentle" was not a word he would have ever expected to trigger anyone. At least not if what caused the trauma was outside of anyone's control, "gentle" implied, at least to Naegi, that someone Kotoko knew or trusted was involved in some way.
"Naegi-kun, I'm going to make some calls to the Towa City Child Consultation Center and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and I suggest that you do the same," Usami said for Gekkogahara.
"I will. I'm going to tell Headmaster Kirigiri about this too. I involved both him and Kizakura-san a few weeks ago, so they deserve to know what's going on," Naegi told her.
"That's probably for the best. If this can't be done quietly, the school will need to put out a statement," Usami said.
"Honestly Gekkogahara-san, I don't care if this makes the school look bad. I let this go on for too long already," Naegi responded.
"I understand. Still, be prepared for bad news. If the children don't cooperate, there's a chance that nothing will happen," Usami warned. Gekkogahara, or rather Usami, still hadn't told Naegi what an uphill battle going against Hope's Peak Elementary could be. She doubted it would discourage him, but she didn't want to risk it. Unfortunately, it was easy to ignore crimes like this when demoralized. "I'm sorry to say that you still may need more for Monaca-chan and Masaru-kun. You should be able to help Jataro-kun, Kotoko-chan, and Nagisa-kun now though," Usami informed him.
"I know," Naegi told her.
"Do you need the numbers?" Usami asked.
"Please," Naegi said. He had another call to make after those two. He wasn't sure if his grandfather had connections that would help speed this up, but he wanted to try anyway. He didn't want to waste any time if he could avoid it.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Classroom 5-D
Nineteenth Week of Classes-Monday
Naegi felt terrible. He had wanted to speak with Jin before he made a move, but when he ran into Kirigiri, his charitable nature had won out. Even though he had good reason to, Naegi was going to break up five families, he thought he should at least let the Kirigiris fix theirs. He never expected the usually composed Kirigiri Kyoko to get as emotional as she did, but he couldn't say he blamed her. He didn't blame Jin for wanting to meet later either, although he wished he had forced the issue he had come to discuss.
Naegi had called his grandfather though. Grandfather Naegi understood what his grandson was doing and offered to help in any way he could. He had also informed his grandson that a weekend probably wouldn't make a difference. Naegi Reiji had worked around bureaucrats long enough to know how they operated when the weekend was upon them. That didn't make either Naegi feel better, but it was the reality.
Naegi tried not to let his guilty conscience get to him but had a feeling that if any of the children had anything less than a perfect day today, he would probably break down.
He had gotten his wish it seemed. While he still had to order lunch, that didn't bother him. He had taken to repeating, Just a little longer. It should all be over soon, in his head. He hadn't realized that he had also taken to whispering it.
'Just a little longer'? Masaru repeated in his mind.
What will be over soon? Jataro wondered.
What does that mean? Nagisa asked himself.
Does he mean he wants to stop coming back? Why? Did we do something wrong? Kotoko thought fearfully.
I thought you were different Naegi-sensei, Monaca thought. She was surprised that it hurt so much.
The day ended with Naegi not knowing what effect his mental state had on the children. They hadn't pressed him on it. They were too afraid of the answer.
As Naegi was leaving, a small girl, no older than seven-years-old said to him, "You're someone who has the power to change fate. Don't waste that opportunity." She had long, black hair and wore a cream-colored dress. He had seen pictures of her in the Infirmary, this was Shinozaki's daughter, Sachiko.
Naegi didn't know why he responded. The girl seemed smarter that a normal child her age, but she was still only seven. Maybe because of how ominous what she said sounded or just to reaffirm his commitment, Naegi said, "I won't."
Later That Day
Naegi was glad that Jin had managed to fit him in today, but then Kirigiri Fuhito had shown up unannounced and caused further delay. When Fuhito had left, Naegi said, "I'm calling the Towa City Child Consultation Center and if that doesn't work, I'll try the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This can't wait anymore."
Jin nodded, "I understand. I trust your judgement, Naegi-kun." It felt odd saying that to a student, but so far, whenever Naegi had gotten involved this year, everything had worked out for the best, Jin wasn't going to bet against the streak.
Kizakura sighed and said, "I wish I could have gotten their files for you, kid, but I was met with resistance. I wasn't able to pull one over on the Shingetsus and once they called me out, the whole attempt fell apart."
Naegi heard the guilt in Kizakura's voice and said, "Don't let it bother you, Kizakura-san, when Gekkogahara-san couldn't get them, I didn't think anyone could. But I had to at least ask. I know I was asking a lot."
"Don't, kid. Even if I could have lost my job for this, I still would have helped. If Hope's Peak won't protect its students, then we don't deserve to be called the reputation we have," Kizakura told Naegi.
Naegi nodded and pulled out his phone. He'd felt he waited too long already, he refused to wait any longer.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Playground
Nineteenth Week of Classes-Tuesday
Last night hadn't been kind to the Warriors of Hope. The pain, the hunger, the exhaustion, the shame, and the emptiness felt so much worse than when the children could look forward to seeing Naegi. As if fate had decided that they hadn't suffered enough, last night had been a night of beatings, hunger, "entertaining" older men, Spartan studying, and neglect.
Behind the school, in a space that Masaru had dubbed the Sanctuary of Hope, the children met. They hadn't needed it for a while, not since Naegi had started teaching them. They didn't feel like the world was entirely against them when Naegi was around.
They didn't bother keeping secrets anymore, what was the point, things weren't getting any better and they couldn't get much worse. After discussing their home lives, the subject turned to Naegi.
"What do you think he meant by 'Just a little longer. It should all be over soon.'?" Kotoko asked.
"What do you think he meant? He doesn't want to deal with us anymore!" Masaru shouted.
"He might have meant something else," Jataro suggested hopefully.
"He said this the next time he was in class after he saw my arms and after Kotoko broke down. Add to it, we were just eating lunch, he couldn't have meant something else," Nagisa countered. Part of Nagisa didn't believe that. Part of him still believed that Naegi was exactly who they had thought he was, but Nagisa was hurting too much to listen to it.
Monaca had been unusually quiet. She had a plan. A plan she had been saving for when she was extra bored, but now she thought of it as less of a deadly joke and more of an answer to all of their problems. She sighed and stood up. That got everyone's attention.
"Monaca-chan…!" Kotoko exclaimed as she saw what Monaca had done.
"You can stand up?" Nagisa asked.
"Hmm, oh right, Monaca-chan was faking it," Monaca said nonchalantly.
"Why?" Jataro asked.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is, Monaca-chan has a solution to our problems," she began as she whispered her idea to the other four children.
"I don't know," Nagisa said.
"You all can do what you want, but Monaca-chan can't live like this anymore. Pretending everything is fine and not caring about what everyone else thinks. It's torture," Monaca explained.
The children contemplated the idea for a short while before Jataro asked, "Can we do it Thursday?"
"Why?" Monaca wondered.
"If Naegi-sensei comes back, I want to at least say good-bye. Even if he doesn't want to be around us anymore, he was still nice to us for a while," Jataro said sadly, as he took out some paper and a pen and began to write.
The others nodded in silent agreement. Jataro soon passed the pen and paper to each of them, each leaving a message for their beloved Naegi-sensei, even if they weren't his beloved students anymore.
Hope's Peak Elementary-Entrance
Nineteenth Week of Classes-Thursday
As soon as Naegi set foot on the grounds of Hope's Peak Elementary, he felt a chill. He remembered the little girl's words from a few days ago. "You're someone who has the power to change fate. Don't waste that opportunity." I have to get to the classroom, Naegi thought as he took off at top speed towards Classroom 5-D.
When he arrived, he saw no sign of the children, but he did see Moroboshi. "Ah Naegi-kun, good morning."
"Good morning, Moroboshi-sensei. Where are the children?" Naegi asked as he looked around for a clue to their whereabouts.
"They were here earlier. The left this for you," Moroboshi said as she handed Naegi an envelope addressed to him.
"Did they say where they were going?" Naegi asked, growing even more worried.
"I don't believe so, but class hasn't started yet, so it's fine," Moroboshi said as she got up and left.
How can someone care so little about their students? Naegi asked himself. Putting Moroboshi's attitude aside, Naegi started to read the letter, hoping the children had left some kind of clue. His face paled as he read the letter. It thanked him for being nice to them and… apologized for upsetting him? What's that about? They never upset me. Focus! This is a suicide note! Dammit kids, don't you dare die! Naegi looked over the letter again, hoping to find a clue to where they were going. Nothing. Calm down. I get here right after most students and Moroboshi-sensei saw them. They couldn't have left the building. They'd get caught if they tried anything inside the building. Could they even get to the roof though? Naegi wondered. Any school worth anything would keep the door to the roof locked and there was a fence surrounding it just to be safe. But Naegi knew that ordinary locks and fences wouldn't stop "Ultimates" even the "Lil'" kind. Not if they were determined.
With that in mind, Naegi ran towards the stairs, pulling out his phone and dialing the emergency number as he did. Please pick up! he begged the person who would be on the other end of the call. Please let me make it in time! he begged fate. With any luck, Monaca would still be using her wheelchair and that would slow the kids down.
Naegi's assessment of locks vs. Lil' Ultimates was correct, Jataro had made short work of the lock on the roof door. The tools he kept with him proved to be useful for much more than his various art projects.
The Warriors of Hope were now faced what they saw as their final boss, the fence surrounding the roof. Monaca had prepared for that. She had kept her wheelchair for this, at least until they got to the stairs leading to the roof, then she had seen fit to abandon it. All the better to hide bolt cutters with.
Cutters in hand, Nagisa and Masaru had gotten to work on the fence. One would have hoped that they would use this time to reconsider, but the hollow looks in their eyes told of children that had made up their minds.
With that task done, the section of fence they had cut away fell off the side of the roof, although Monaca was the only one who cared. The sooner people noticed, the sooner she could hurt her father and brother. She wished that she would be able to see it. She took that moment to curse Naegi. Without even realizing it, he had made Monaca care about her friends. Before him, Monaca would have tricked the other four into doing something like this while she backed out at the last second. But she couldn't go back, not to how she was before. She didn't think she could ignore feelings of guilt and loneliness anymore.
The other children's thoughts were simpler.
I won't get beat because I can't buy alcohol anymore!
No more men will be gentle with me!
I don't want to accept being hated again!
No more pressure! No more experiments!
As they stood over the edge, the Warriors of Hope linked hands. Well, maybe they weren't the Warriors of Hope anymore, all their hope was dead and gone. They each took deep breath before they each began to take a step forward. They thought they heard a door slam but ignored it as they took the next step, shut their eyes, and surrendered themselves to gravity.
Something felt off. They weren't falling. It was impossible to have hit the ground that fast. One by one, the children opened their eyes. Someone had stopped them from falling. "I've got you! I won't let any of you go, I promise!" a familiar voice yelled. The children looked up to see Naegi had come to save them.
To any spectators, the scene looked like something out of a comedy anime. Naegi had grabbed onto the fence with one arm and was hanging over the edge of the school building. In his other hand, he held Masaru's hand as tightly as he could. He had his legs wrapped around Monaca, Kotoko, and Jataro. His feet were under Nagisa's arms and Naegi was doing everything he could to keep his feet pointed upwards to prevent Nagisa from sliding off of them. To add to this uncomfortable looking position, Naegi was tightly gripping where the fence had been cut, with the pointed metal digging into his hand. Even worse was that it was left arm, the one he had taken Wudagest's bullet in two-and-a-half months ago. While Kimura's medicine had healed the bullet wound, if Naegi put too much pressure on his shoulder or agitated it in any way, pain shot through his whole arm. With that; the pull of gravity pulling his arm out of its socket; and the pain in his palm, Naegi had to admit, letting go and leaving his survival up to chance didn't sound like the worst idea. But it wasn't just his survival at stake. Don't let go! No matter what happens, do not let go! Naegi mentally screamed at himself.
"Naegi-sensei!" the children yelled.
"Kids, there is the worst lecture of your lives waiting for you after this is over! But right now, I'm glad that I made it in time to save you!" Naegi wheezed out. He was still out of breath from running up the stairs after them. And had no idea how he had moved fast enough to reach them in time, but he wasn't going to complain.
"Why are you here? We thought…" Nagisa began.
"I know, I read your note and you have it all wrong. I was never upset with any of you. I was mad at myself," Naegi told them.
"Why were you…?" Monaca began.
"I promise to answer any questions you kids have, after we get back on solid ground," Naegi said, informing them that this was not the time for questions.
Given the weight on the fence and the fact that it was weak from being cut, the part of the fence Naegi was clutching was peeling back. They were now all hanging over the ground completely. That was terrifying enough on its own, but the children saw something that made it worse; Naegi's hand was bleeding.
"Naegi-sensei, you can let me go," Nagisa said. He didn't want to die, but he didn't want to see Naegi in pain either.
"Me too," Kotoko added, feeling the same as Nagisa.
"You should pull yourself up," Jataro told Naegi.
Before Masaru and Monaca could join in, Naegi decided to put a stop to this. "Not without all of you."
"But…" Nagisa began.
"I know you kids have been hurting. I've been trying to do something about that. And I'm not alone, other people want to help, but we can't do it without you. When we're back on solid ground, I need you kids to tell the truth about what's been happening to all of you. You don't have to live like that anymore," Naegi told them.
That ended the children's thoughts of self-sacrifice, and Naegi was glad for it. Mostly because they were too young to think of those things, but also because Naegi needed to focus or he feared he would let go.
It only took a few more minutes before help arrived, but it felt like hours. The police, the fire department, and the EMTs were a welcome sight to children and to Naegi. The police wanted to talk to the children, but the children refused to leave Naegi's side while he was getting his hand stitched up and his shoulder fixed.
At the emergency room, the doctor working on Naegi had just finished up and said, "That should do it, young man. At least until Kimura-san can treat you. As for your hand, just how hard were you gripping that fence?"
"As hard as I needed to doctor. These five are still here, so I'd say it was the right thing to do," Naegi said. He wasn't trying to sound cool or anything, but he hadn't come down from his adrenaline high yet.
The doctor didn't seem bothered by that answer. He just laughed and clapped Naegi on his good shoulder and said, "You're alright, kid, you know that? You're alright!"
Once Naegi was cleared to go, it was the children's turn to be examined. Naegi didn't want to cause the children anymore distress, but he was glad that the doctors and nurses were so thorough, it made it much easier to address the root cause of the children's problems. He was glad that the officers taking the statements were so understanding, the children refused to talk to anyone without Naegi present, although Naegi wasn't sure if that was standard procedure in cases like this.
Naegi was glad when it was over, although he thought he handled it pretty well. He had only thrown up once. Physical and mental abuse; neglect, Spartan training; deprivation of sleep; administering controlled substances to minors, although, thankfully, Nagisa didn't seem addicted to Adderall; and child prostitution (Naegi couldn't even think about that without feeling sick again) Naegi realized that it was worse than he could have possibly imagined.
Monaca had also taken this time to come clean about her warped personality. While everyone indulges in schadenfreude every once in a while, Monaca's home life had made that her sole source of entertainment. At least until she had met Naegi. Monaca wasn't sure if this would help build a case against her family, but she needed to get it all off her chest.
When it was all over, the door to the children's room opened to show a gaggle of reporters waiting for a story. Naegi sighed, this was going to take a while. He realized that there was no way this would have been settled quietly, but for the children's sake, he had hoped that it could have been. Maybe it was for the best, at least the story wouldn't disappear.
News of the suicide attempt and the abuse the children suffered dominated headlines and news programs for quite some time. The Towa Group had tried to suppress it, but certain news organizations, that had "conveniently" been acquired by the Togami Conglomerate, kept it going.
Masaru's father, Jataro's mother, the Utsugis, the Shingetsus, Towa Haiji, and Mrs. Utsugi's clients had been investigated, arrested, and indicted at light speed. Haiji had almost managed to buy his way out of prison, but once it had been discovered that he that he become a regular client of Mrs. Utsugi and Kotoko, Mr. Towa froze his son's accounts and bail was no longer an option. Mr. Towa had avoided arrest, but once the news had begun to tank his company's stock prices, he had been found in his office with a gun in one hand and a bullet in his brain. His note cursed Monaca's mother, Monaca, Naegi, and the investors, but the main driving factor was that with the stock prices so low, the Togami Conglomerate was in the process of purchasing the company his family had worked so hard to build.
Hope's Peak Elementary had seen a shakeup in staff. Yanagihori had been forced to resign in disgrace as had Moroboshi once Naegi had told the press what had been occurring at Hope's Peak Elementary. The Prime Minister had ordered MEXT to investigate Hope's Peak Elementary to ensure that something like what had happened to the Warriors of Hope never happened again.
It has been said that every solution has its own problems, and Naegi soon learned how true that saying was. But it there would be time to worry about that later. Right now, his focus was on the children who for the first time could look forward to the future.
As it turned out, Jataro's mother was the sister of Fujisaki Taichi, making him Fujisaki Chihiro's cousin. She had dropped out of school and run away from home when she had met one of the sons of a well-connected family, claiming that she would be the next big…something. When the man's family declared him dead to the family, he had run off leaving his lover and his infant son to fend for themselves. Jataro had settled into his life new life with his uncle and cousin. Mrs. Fujisaki was happy to have someone to talk to that didn't lapse into tech jargon when asked about their day. Mrs. Fujisaki was a smart woman in her own right, but she had been an art student, not an IT major and it was nice to have someone around who shared her interest in art.
Kotoko had gone to live with her aunt on her mother's side. It had been discovered that Mr. Utsugi had begun grooming Mrs. Utsugi when she was a patient of his. He cut off all contact with her family, so it had come as a surprise to them that they even had a niece. Not that they were complaining, they feel in love with Kotoko right away.
Masaru's mother had been committed to a psychiatric hospital due to the abuse she had suffered at Mr. Daimon's hands, so until she was deemed fit to raise her son on her own, Masaru would live with her cousin, a man named Yumeno. Masaru enjoyed his new home, although his second cousin, a girl named Himiko, thought he was too loud and energetic.
Nagisa had gone to live with his paternal grandparents. The elderly couple were scientists themselves, but they possessed the morality that their son and daughter-in-law lacked.
As for Monaca, well…Her mother was as unfit as her father, maybe more so, and Naegi had mentioned that his own mother and father had always wanted a big family.
Thankfully, the children all still lived close enough together that they could still see each other every day. Naegi didn't know if it was his own luck or if the universe just decided that the children deserved a break, but he was glad for it. If there was anything that he missed from all of this, it was that he was no longer "Naegi-sensei." But he always enjoyed being "Mako-nii" so he wouldn't complain.
Naegi would have been happy if things had ended here, but as stated earlier, every solution has its own problems and the fallout from this solution was far reaching indeed.
Present
Before Naegi had time to think reminisce any further, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Kirigiri gave him a look that told him to hurry. "I'm glad you kids are here, but I need to get going. We can play later, okay?" Naegi asked.
"Warriors of Hope, we need to hold out until the Legendary Hero, Mako-nii returns!" Masaru shouted. It seemed he agreed.
"No need to shout, we heard him," Nagisa reprimanded.
"What do we do until then?" Jataro asked.
"I want to go shopping for hoodies and matching jackets. Monaca-chan and Jataro aren't the only ones who love Mako-nii!" Kotoko said.
Monaca stuck out her tongue and then said, "The best part is, mine are hand-me-downs. Otou-san and Okaa-san kept Mako-nii's hoodies and jackets. They were even the right color for me." Green was Monaca's color, no one could deny that.
Kotoko fumed at that and stomped her feet in annoyance.
Masaru thought about it and said, "I hate shopping, but Kotoko is right. We need people to know we're a guild. Warriors of Hope, move out!"
As the children left, Naegi and Kirigiri continued to their destination, the Headmaster's Office. When they arrived, Naegi took a deep breath and knocked on the door. This was it…
This is what? Find out next time in "Everyday Life as the Ultimate Hope."
As you've guessed, Makoto becomes the Ultimate Hope next chapter. I need that to happen before anything else happens, so I apologize to those of you waiting on Chiaki, Chisa, and Junko. I need to set things up so that Makoto has an enemy lurking in the shadows when the V3 girls show up, and while Tsumugi might seem obvious to some, without the Danganronpa reality show, I don't see her having a motive.
Now that I pointed that out, you all probably know who the enemy is, even if they haven't shown up yet. I hope you'll all stick with me until then.
I feel like I need to shower with steel wool after writing this chapter. The Warriors of Hope's backstories have that effect on me, I guess. I feel terrible that people actually go through things like this.
If there's a silver lining here, then the disgust I feel toward ideas I came up with probably means there's no danger of me abusing anyone. That's terrible, I'm sorry. Bad writer! Bad!
So, a few notes:
MEXT: The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, also known as MEXT, Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan.
Going to Jataro being Chihiro's cousin, he looks like a cross between Chihiro and Byakuya to me. If I were to make an origin story for him, he'd be the son of Chihiro's aunt and Byakuya's either older half-brother or an uncle, either way. I know Byakuya is the youngest of the current generation of Togamis, although, if I understand the Togami family traditions correctly, his family only acknowledges him as being a Togami son.
I liked the dynamic between Himiko and Tenko, so I had Masaru fill the energetic role until Himiko meets Tenko. I probably didn't need to explain that one, but whatever.
Sachiko and Yoshie Shinozaki as well as Yanagihori are characters from the Corpse Party franchise. I don't remember why I thought to include characters from Corpse Party, but for some reason I thought it was a good idea.
As I stated at the beginning, I'm not an expert on any nation's child protection agencies, but everything I found on the subject suggests that Japan has a bad track record when it comes to protecting children from abuse. To be fair, the most recent article I found on the subject was from 2018, so maybe things are better now. But some of the literature I found back when I started brainstorming for this chapter said that child abuse doesn't get reported because the Japanese people didn't want to butt into the neighbor's business. I tried to balance that attitude with the strong suspicion that something was wrong, but I know I still made Makoto too prudent when it came to reporting it. Add that to the eccentric personalities and behaviors of Ultimates and I suppose a lot of things that seem suspicious can probably be explained, although they still wouldn't make sense to people who don't have ultimate talents. I don't know.
I'm sure it has its flaws, but I still like this chapter. I know it took a while, but I wanted to make up for rushing the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it!
That's it for me for now. Until then, stay frosty.
