Chapter 17: Everyday Life as the Ultimate Hope


Hello once again ladies and gentlemen; boys and girls; Ultimates of all ages! wesst1 back again one again!

Let me start by saying I'm glad you all enjoyed the previous chapter. I was a little nervous about that one, given the sensitive topics that went with it.

We should be done with that for a few chapters at least, but the fallout from last chapter is about to begin. Or has already happened, since I'm still doing flashbacks, I guess.

I've been thinking about this chapter since I started this story, I just hope it's everything I envisioned.

Let's find out, shall we?


Present Day

"Come in!" Kirigiri Jin's voice called as soon as Naegi knocked.

Kirigiri wished Naegi luck before he went into her father's office. This was a big day for Naegi, and depending on what happened in the office, it could be a big day for Hope's Peak Academy.

Naegi entered and said, "Sorry if I'm late, Sir. I got a little distracted."

"Don't worry about it, Naegi-kun," Jin told him.

"We don't even question it, kid. Whatever you do, it always seems to work out for the best for everyone involved," Kizakura added.

Naegi was happy that they understood, although to be fair, he hadn't helped everyone he had come across on the way here, just a few. He didn't mention this though, they weren't here to talk about how his day had been so far.

"First, I would like to make this official. We've never done this before in the history of this school, so we don't have anything planned," Jin began.

"When you kids get titles, they usually stick," Kizakura said.

"We thought about a ceremony, but we haven't really had time to put one together," Jin continued.

"That's fine, all I really did was clean up a mess I made," Naegi said sheepishly.

"It was our mess, Naegi-kun, you just helped bring it to everyone's attention," Jin corrected.

"Just take the praise, kid, there's no one more deserving of a title like 'Ultimate Hope' than you," Kizakura told Naegi.

"I don't know about that," Naegi said sheepishly.

"Well we do," Jin responded. Remembering the other reason they were here, Jin then said, "I also want to discuss ideas for the school going forward. One in particular…"

"Does this have anything to do with the Ultimate Talent Development Plan you mentioned?" Naegi asked.

"In a way. I had the idea when you calmed that crowd," Jon explained.

"Ugh, I wish you hadn't mentioned them, Jin-kun. They had every right to be angry, but those weeks that they were here were so rough they took all the fun and flavor out of my booze," Kizakura noted.

"I wish that had been the worst of our problems," Jin deadpanned.

"I-," Naegi started as he remembered everything that had happened.

"None of what happened was your fault, Naegi-kun," Jin firmly reminded the boy. I'm the one who should have done more about the problems at the school. Instead a student had to save us, Jin thought, ashamed.


Hope's Peak Academy

Twentieth Week of Classes-Wednesday

The media had been having a field day with what had happened at Hope's Peak Elementary, not that anyone had expected different. The school had failed five of its students, and in many ways made the problems worse, so no one felt too sorry for the treatment Hope's Peak Elementary was receiving.

Unfortunately, Hope's Peak Academy was in the crosshairs too. If the elementary school where potential "Ultimates" studied had these problems, what was going on at Hope's Peak Academy? That had been the underlying question whenever the narrowly avoided tragedy at Hope's Peak Elementary was brought up on the news and in the public.

Headmaster Kirigiri had managed to pacify the public to an extent with the statement that he put out. When he informed the public that both he and Gekkogahara had been denied access to the records of the five children, most had accepted that Hope's Peak Elementary's leadership had gone behind everyone's back.

That didn't last long however, as the worst was yet to come.

A website named Hope's Leaks had been created. Madarai Besshiki, the Ultimate Hacker had threatened to release new pieces of information every week until a group of people called the Hope's Peak Steering Committee stepped down. To prove they weren't joking, they released the conversation that the Steering Committee had had with Yanagihori about Naegi and the Lil' Ultimates.

To add to the chaos at Hope's Peak Academy, it appeared that many members of the staff had never heard of the Steering Committee. This led to the students and the public asking, "Who are the Steering Committee?"

Naegi noted that the only one who seemed to be enjoying themselves was Enoshima, who everyone was pointing out was unusually upbeat. Naegi knew why she was so happy of course, Ikusaba had warned him long ago about Enoshima, but it was only now that he thought that he was beginning to understand Enoshima.

Well, at least someone is enjoying themselves, I guess. Hopefully, there's a way to fix this, Naegi thought. Unfortunately for Naegi and for Hope's Peak as a whole, things were going to get worse before they got better.


Hope's Peak Academy

Twenty-First Week of Classes-Monday

True to his word, Madarai had released information on a new scandal. Given that Hope's Peak Academy was backed by the government, embezzlement wasn't entirely unexpected, but the amount of money that the Steering Committee had misspent was enough to cover the tuition of every Reserve Course student and there would still be enough left over to upgrade facilities every year.

The Steering Committee had yet to step down, but the Reserve Course Students and their families had begun demanding their resignation and prosecution, not that anyone could blame them. Whether it was to put the amount of money in perspective or if it was simply a PR move to get the public on their side, some of the Reserve Course Students posted their tuition receipts and the results were both instantaneous and expected. Before all of this, many people would have tried to explain the exorbitant amount as the price one paid for the Hope's Peak brand name, now though, it just made even some of the most dedicated admirers of Hope's Peak sick. It didn't help that not one Ultimate Student had been scouted from the Reserve Course, leading people to believe, correctly, that there was never any chance that Reserve Course Students would become Ultimates. That was exactly how the Steering Committee had designed it.

To his credit, Jin had handled the questions from the press well. The former headmaster, Tengan Kazuo had assisted him in this. Both had denied knowledge of the Steering Committee's malfeasance, which was true, the Steering Committee was the true power at Hope's Peak and if they didn't want the headmaster to know something, they would not know.

Naegi wasn't handling this well. He did not regret saving the children and he never would, but the darker the bags under Jin's eyes got, the guiltier Naegi felt for not having been able to save the children quietly. Enoshima's hugs and accolades didn't help either. Being congratulated for kicking off the fall of Hope's Peak Academy wasn't going to make Naegi feel better, which was probably why Enoshima was doing it.


Hope's Peak Academy

Twenty-Second Week of Classes-Monday

If the previous week had shown just how greedy the Steering Committee could be, the information Madarai released this week showed just how far the Steering Committee would go to collect Ultimate Students.

As it turned out, the money the Steering Committee had embezzled hadn't just gone to support lavish lifestyles. Given that some Ultimates were criminals given their talents, some of it had gone to bribing prosecutors and judges to keep those Ultimates out of prison or to prevent them from being investigated for as long as they were students of Hope's Peak Academy. That would have been bad enough if all of those students were like certain members of Class 77-B and Class 78 who had, for the most part, reformed, but in the past, there had been students who had used their protected status to continue committing crimes.

The parents of the students were furious that the school's governing body would allow violent criminals into the school with their own children, and rightfully so. Schools have a responsibility to the students to keep them safe and allowing known violent criminals admission was…well, counterproductive was putting it lightly.

The Ultimate Student Council had moved to condemn this behavior. Murasame Sōshun, the current Ultimate Student Council President, had called an emergency meeting to vote on a resolution condemning these illegal acts. They also took the added step of declaring that the students of Hope's Peak, Main and Reserve, were not things to collect.

Naegi managed to find a silver lining this week at least. One, the public had no idea that Genocider Syo was a student, and two, that the Student Council resolution seemed like a good first step in bringing the Main Course and the Reserve Course students together. Enoshima must have believed that too since she was much colder to Naegi this week. None of this alleviated Naegi's concerns though. I wonder if this is what people mean when they say, "No good deed goes unpunished?" Naegi thought.


Hope's Peak Academy

Twenty-Third Week of Classes-Monday

The previous week saw the Ultimate Student Council declare that the students of Hope's Peak were not things to be collected. When they had done that, perhaps some people might have been able to argue that the real power at Hope's Peak didn't actually think that they owned the students. This week, they were dissuaded of that notion when it was revealed that the Steering Committee had been selling research done by the students.

It appeared that research conducted by the students of Hope's Peak Academy fetched quite the price on the black market. Ikusaba and Kuzuryuu had been able to identify much of the material posted to Hope's Leaks as they had seen the end results themselves. Designs for inventions meant to help protect people had been used in illegal weapons. Breakthroughs in chemistry were used in the vilest of poisons. One former student, Bandai Daisaku, the former Ultimate Farmer, had identified a chemical fertilizer he had invented that had been used in explosives. There had been talk of mind control, but the research had thankfully been shut down early on.

Hope's Peak alumni from all over had not only come together to condemn the actions of the Steering Committee, but they had also lawyered up and were preparing for a class action suit once the Steering Committee was identified. Not only that, but Interpol and its member nations had launched an investigation into all of the stolen research and was looking into criminal charges against the Steering Committee. It looked like not only would the Steering Committee lose everything they had worked for but would also never take a breath of free air ever again once things ended.

Naegi was glad that the alumni would get justice and that whoever the members of the Steering Committee were, they would be brought to justice. He felt bad for the Headmaster though, as Jin was as shocked as anyone when the information was posted. Naegi was reassured that while the Steering Committee was corrupt, there were good people at Hope's Peak Academy. He hoped the public would be able to see that once they calmed down. At the moment however, the public was angry; the staff and students were demoralized; and Enoshima's smile was widening with every additional alumnus signing on to the class action suit and every additional criminal charge the Steering Committee had to look forward to.


Hope's Peak Academy

Twenty-Fourth Week of Classes-Monday

Another week had come, and new information had been posted to Hope's Leaks. This time it was recordings of conversations the Steering Committee had with the heads of random companies.

In these conversations the Steering Committee pressured the companies not to hire certain students. It wasn't long before anyone listening to the recordings discovered the reason why. Manipulating these hiring decisions gave the Steering Committee influence with more "acceptable" companies. "Acceptable" in the sense that they were connected to the Steering Committee in some way and Hope's Peak students at those companies would extend the Committee's reach.

For students in their final year at Hope's Peak, this explained a few things. Companies that they had had good relationships with had suddenly rescinded offers of employment and the students had not been able to figure out why.

Unable to ignore what was happening at a school that enjoyed so much government money and support, the Japanese government launched an investigation into these matters two weeks prior and their early findings were shocking. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare had been found to have opened fraudulent investigations into companies that would refuse to play the Steering Committee's game. A few had been run out of business defending themselves, and some CEO's had committed suicide because of it.

It wasn't all bad news though. The staff at Hope's Peak had cooperated with the investigation and had been found to be innocent of any wrongdoing. At the very least, the students were able to take comfort in the knowledge that the staff at their school had not betrayed them.

Still, the anger directed at Hope's Peak hadn't subsided. It was understandable, without knowing who or what the Steering Committee was, the public directed their anger at the school, the staff, and to an extent, the students. In some ways they were right, it should have been obvious that something was wrong, and it should never have gotten to this point.

Naegi had a feeling this was the Steering Committee's plan: be the true power at Hope's Peak with all the perks and none of the responsibilities or the consequences. Hopefully, once everyone has had a chance to calm down, they'll realize we aren't the enemy, he hoped. Naegi hated what this was doing to the school, the staff, and his peers. Morale was in freefall among everyone but one student. And maybe it was just Naegi's imagination, but that one student's laughter seemed to make the situation seem that much worse. He had a feeling that Enoshima would laugh even harder if he voiced that thought.


Hope's Peak Academy

Twenty-Fifth Week of Classes-Monday

It had all come to an end this week. The previous Thursday, cameras had been found in the Girls' Locker Rooms. It had taken a while but once the girls and the staff were convinced that none of the boys at school had placed them, the school had asked Fujisaki to trace the signals.

The perpetrator had done a decent job at hiding, clearly, they knew how to protect themselves online, but in the end, Fujisaki had tracked them down and the school had given the information to the police. Once arrested, the mystery pervert's computer was searched, and it was discovered that he knew quite a lot about Hope's Peak Academy. The pervert had a lot of contact with three other men, who were searched as people of interest in the case and would have been cleared of wrongdoing.

"Would have" being the key. Madarai, whoever they were, had decided that their fun was over and doxxed the Steering Committee. As luck would have it, the mystery pervert and his colleagues were the Steering Committee. It was an embarrassing end to their careers, all four of them envied a famous foreign mobster who had evaded his taxes, at least there was some dignity in getting caught that way.

They didn't go down alone though as the Steering Committee had named names of various government officials who had been complicit in what they had been doing. All weekend, it had seemed as though every hour brought with it a new list of resignations and indictments.

It had become the biggest scandal in Japan, the repercussions of which would probably be felt for some time. Thankfully, the arrest of the Steering Committee had seemed to calm the public, at least a little. A good number of those affected had decided that now they could let the legal process play out, although they still planned to make their feelings toward the former Steering Committee heard. With half of their number gone, many at Hope's Peak were hoping that the crowd that had become a fixture outside of their front gate would dissipate soon.


Hope's Peak Academy

Twenty-Sixth Week of Classes-Friday

The crowd had not dissipated. It hadn't grown much larger, although the crowd did seem different. Some had tried to scale the wall surrounding Hope's Peak, but the rest of the crowd had stopped them before security had gotten the chance.

That hadn't stopped them though, in fact the only grew more and more bold. Today, they tried to break through the front gate, and it seemed that the agitators would succeed. To make matters worse, the frustration of the rest of the crowd had finally boiled over and they weren't stopping their more aggressive allies.

Security was on standby, but everyone was hoping that there was no confrontation in the future.

It wasn't just the crowd and security that had had enough, the staff and the student body felt the exact same way, this had gone on long enough.

Naegi in particular had given this situation a great deal of thought over the past few weeks. He felt at least partly responsible, his actions at Hope's Peak Elementary kicked off the chain of events that brought everyone here. There were a lot of things he wanted to say: to the staff; to the crowd; to his peers. Naegi wasn't one who suffered from delusions of grandeur, if anything he usually thought too little of himself, if you asked his friends at least. This was different though; he might actually be the only one who could end this. This time, he had something most at Hope's Peak didn't have, an outsider's perspective. One would argue that the Reserve Course offered that, and in many ways it did, but Naegi was different in one distinct way. Where the Reserve Course was kept separate, Naegi was a "normal" who had found himself mixed in with, and in most cases accepted by, society newest version of demigods.

Naegi steeled his nerves and attempted to get the everyone's attention.

"Excuse me!" he yelled.

Nothing. If anyone had heard him, no one acknowledged that they had.

Naegi then whistled as loud as he could. The result was the same. As Naegi tried to think of another way to get everyone's attention two noises caught everyone's attention. A gunshot and an explosion. Naegi turned to see Ikusaba behind him. In her hand was a flare gun. Probably a souvenir from her time in Fenrir.

"You only get one chance. Make it count," Ikusaba told him. As she said that, the other girls and the rest of their peers came up behind her. Although none of them said it, Naegi had the impression that they believed he would succeed.

Wish I was that confidant in me, Naegi thought as he gulped and began to speak.

"Hello everyone! My name is Naegi Makoto and I'm a student here at Hope's Peak Academy. Some of you may remember me, I'm the one who doesn't seem to be able to do things without making the news," Naegi laughed awkwardly.

That got a laugh out of some in the crowd. Others whispered to each other, "He's the one who saved those kids." There were some who said, "I remember him. He was at the Novoselic Embassy." And still others recognized Naegi from the viral video of him punching Fukuyama.

Naegi took a deep breath and continued, "You may not believe this, but most of us found out about what's been going on behind the scenes here around the same time you all did. To be fair, there were a few things we might have suspected, but nothing concrete until now. I don't think any of us can blame anyone here for being angry."

That got the crowd nodding in agreement, but they still had no idea where Naegi was going with this.

As if to answer that particular question Naegi said, "I came here to say that I understand."

That just confused everyone more.

Naegi went on to clarify what he meant. "What I mean is, until the school year started, I believed that Hope's Peak Academy was everything we imagined it to be: Perfect. This is a school where the best of the best go. Where the leaders of tomorrow come to develop their talents for the good of the whole world. I believed that 'hope' was made here."

People went back to nodding at Naegi's words. Komaeda, who had not come to support Naegi, but to watch the unworthy masses get pushed off of the sacred ground that was Hope's Peak Academy, was nodding the most vigorously while saying, "Absolutely. Even though we're worthless, even Lucky Students know that." He didn't know it yet, but he was in for a shock.

"When I got my letter saying that I was this year's Ultimate Lucky Student, I was going to turn it down. I thought there was someone more deserving out there that it should have gone to. That might be true, but I'm glad that I didn't. I don't have an Ultimate talent but with a few exceptions, no one tried to make me feel like I don't belong here. I always looked at Hope's Peak as some otherworldly, almost divine place with students who were beyond human. The reality is that we have the same worries and insecurities as any other teenagers."

Naegi turned to his friends before saying, "Some of us came here with something to prove."

Owada and Ishimaru nodded at that.

"Some of us are afraid that we'll be left behind and forgotten."

Maizono and Pekoyama looked down.

"Maybe some came here looking for the next big challenge."

Asahina, Ogami, Owari, and Nidai looked at each other.

"A few of us don't want to follow the path that's been laid out for us."

Kuwata scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"And some of us aren't sure what we want to be."

Ikusaba smiled when Naegi said that.

"What I'm trying to say is that we really aren't all that different from what you'd expect from any other school. Although if you believe the hype surrounding Hope's Peak, you would never have guessed that. And that is how we got here."

"I'm not sure how or when it happened, but Hope's Peak went from being a school where student with Ultimate talents are educated and studied to being the school that makes students with Ultimate talent successful. Honestly, I found that odd, the students were already the best when they came here, what could more could Hope's Peak do for them. That aside, the Steering Committee took advantage of that image to get away with their crimes. It's almost like the Ultimate Motte-and-Bailey Fallacy, isn't it? They claim that everything that happens here is for hope. They extort students; they steal their research; they perv on high school girls; but you better not call them on it or you're against hope!"

That got another laugh out of everyone listening.

"That's part of why we're all angry isn't it? Because we know that the school should have done better. It can and we can. I believe Headmaster Kirigiri and the staff when they say that they had no idea that any of this was happening. In my time here I've spoken with many members of the staff here and I assure you that they are good and honest people. And if you give them and us another chance something like this will never happen again. We still have work to do, you'll get no argument from me! There are still people with ties to the Steering Committee to weed out. We have to do right by our fellow students in the Reserve Course. And I hope that you'll all be willing to give us the chance to be the Academy of Hope you believed us to be," Naegi said as he bowed his head. He could think of nothing else to say.

Naegi's words seemed to have the desired effect, the crowd seemed to have calmed down. Some in the crowd had begun to leave, but those that remained had begun cheering. "Ultimate Hero! Ultimate Hope!"

"Huh? No, I don't think-," Naegi began before getting cut off by the crowd's cheers.

"Let them cheer for you, Naegi-kun. You certainly deserve it," Jin said as he came up to Naegi. Jin had also come to address the crowd and was feeling much better about his chances after Naegi had spoken. Jin took a deep breath before he spoke into a megaphone he had brought. "This brave student is right. If you give us the chance, we will make things right. I ask for your patience while we work to do so, but I assure you it will happen. I've been giving the matter quite a bit of thought over the past couple weeks…"

Naegi thought that it would be best if he left and allowed the Headmaster to be the center of attention. As he made his over to his friends, Kizakura stopped him and said, "That took a lot of balls there, kid. You should be proud of yourself."

"Anyone else would have…" Naegi began.

"But they didn't. You did," Kizakura told him.

"Thank you, Sensei," Naegi said.

"Don't mention it. And don't go too far, you kids need to hear what Jin-kun has to say too."

Naegi nodded and went over to his friends, he was exhausted. He'd have liked to go lie down, but he stayed and listened to what the Headmaster told the crowd. The Ultimate Talent Development Program certainly sounded interesting. Main and Reserve Course students would work together to help the Reserve Course students find their talents. Naegi was glad that the Headmaster was already trying to fix things.

Later, when Naegi went to congratulate him, Jin had said, "None of this would have been possible without you, Naegi-kun. If you hadn't spoken first, I don't think I'd have been able to confront those people, much less get them to listen.

Naegi wanted to say it was nothing, but Kizakura told him to, "Just accept the praise."

Jin did have one more thing to say to Naegi. "Once everything calms down, we'll make it official," he said.

"Make what official?" Naegi asked.

"Your new title. Those were right, you really do deserve to be called the "Ultimate Hope."

Kizakura once again had to tell Naegi to accept the praise.


Present

Naegi still thought a new title was more than a bit much. He hadn't done anything that great, he just did what he always did: He said what he thought needed to be said and he did it in an understanding way.

As if reading Naegi's mind, Kizakura spoke up. "Do I need to record it and have it play on a loop? Just accept it, kid."

"He's right, Naegi-kun. Ever since you arrived at this school, you've helped everyone. As Headmaster, I'm ashamed to say that I've been so focused on the talents of my students to the point that I've ignored everything else about them. Their behavior, their well-being, their needs. I shouldn't have left that responsibility to a student," Jin said.

"It's not your fault, Headmaster. Running Hope's Peak Academy can't be easy," Naegi said in an attempt to reassure Jin that he was a good Headmaster.

"Even so, the point I was trying to make is that everything you've done, whether you've meant to or not, had helped the students and the school. I did call you in today to tell you that you are now the Ultimate Hope, but I wanted to also suggest something," Jin told Naegi.

"Suggest what?" Naegi asked.


Jin's offer still had Naegi in shock. Naegi was grateful that the Headmaster didn't need an answer right away. He had given Naegi until graduation to make his decision, although, given how this year had been going, Naegi had a feeling that the rest of this year and the next two would go by too fast for him to really think about the matter.

Maybe I should ask everyone else what they think, he thought. Ultimately, it was Naegi's decision, but different perspectives couldn't hurt.

"Hey Naegi-kun!" a voice called.

Naegi looked over to see Hinata Hajime and Nanami Chiaki sitting on a nearby bench, playing videogames. Well, Hinata was playing, Nanami was also napping while she played.

"Hey you two," Naegi waved.

Naegi's voice woke Nanami, who, with more energy than most people saw from the Ultimate Gamer, patted the space next to her and said, "Naegi-kun, come play with us!"

Naegi was a little reluctant to accept the invitation. Not because of Nanami, but because of Hinata. Naegi liked Hinata well enough, but it wasn't that long ago that the older boy resented Naegi. Things had gotten better, but neither one would say that they were close. Nanami's affection for Naegi didn't help the relationship between the two boys.

Naegi had decided that he wouldn't bring up the Headmaster's offer to these two. In this case, asking for advice could hurt.


I know, it's a short chapter and I do apologize for that. But this chapter needed to happen for future chapters to make sense. Or at least make sense in the way I have planned them.

Naegi's speech wasn't close to the filibuster scene from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" but I didn't think it was too bad.

As for the Steering Committee's crimes, human experimentation can't be the only thing they did. I mean, it probably is expensive, but at the very least embezzlement has to be involved somewhere. I just couldn't see them going from 0 to crimes against humanity, I just think it had to be a path paved with other crimes and undesirable behavior.

Oh, before I forget. From Wikipedia: "The motte-and-bailey fallacy (named after the motte-and-bailey castle) is a form of argument and an informal fallacy where an arguer conflates two positions which share similarities, one modest and easy to defend (the "motte") and one much more controversial (the "bailey"). The arguer advances the controversial position, but when challenged, they insist that they are only advancing the more modest position. Upon retreating to the motte, the arguer can claim that the bailey has not been refuted (because the critic refused to attack the motte) or that the critic is unreasonable (by equating an attack on the bailey with an attack on the motte)."

I think it fits. Although in this case it inserts a third person or group advancing the "bailey" and someone else equating a critique of that as an attack on the "motte."

Komaeda: Hope is good.

Person: Yes.

Steering Committee commits crimes claiming it is for Hope's Peak.

Person: Hey! They're breaking the law!

Komaeda: Why do you hate hope?

Maybe I missed the mark with that, but I don't think I did.

More details about the Ultimate Talent Development Plan will come later, so look forward to that.

I think I'm gonna take a break for a while, but I'll try to be back soon. I don't know why, but when I want to make a chapter short, I have a harder time finishing.

Chiaki is next. Then Chisa. Then Junko. And so on… Yeah, I haven't thought that far ahead yet.

Rather, Chiaki would be next, but the chapter isn't over quite yet.


Somewhere in Japan

Far away from Hope's Peak Academy was a prison like one could find anywhere. However, in this very ordinary prison were some rather extraordinary inmates.

Naegi may have believed that he was the reason for the rough patch that Hope's Peak Academy had gone through, but really, it was the fault of these inmates.

Mrs. Utsugi was in her cell, rocking back and forth in a fetal position mumbling, "For my daughter. It was out of love; can't you see that?" over and over again.

Mr. and Mrs. Shingetsu were in the middle of a debate.

"Were our methods flawed?" Mrs. Shingetsu asked.

"No, it was the subject," Mr. Shingetsu replied.

"Perhaps, but we can't ignore interference from outside factors."

"True."

Towa Haiji, having tired of hearing a different version of this conversation every other day, yelled from his cell, "It was that little shit in the hoodie! We get it! Shut the hell up!"

In another part of the prison, four inmates in four separate cells were communicating in morse code.

*Have any of you had any luck?* a short old man tapped.

*No,* the second tallest man replied.

*I have yet to hear anything,* the second shortest man tapped.

*I have* the second tallest tapped.

*And…?* the other three asked.

*We may have a candidate,* the second tallest answered.

*The boy has made enemies,* the tallest noted.

*Indeed. And they will be of use to us, whether they realize it or not,* the shortest added.

*Is there any way this can be traced back to us?* the second shortest asked.

*I have been assured that precautions are being taken. No one will ever see it coming. Now, we must wait,* the second tallest answered.

*We have nothing else to do,* the shortest pointed out.

*We will destroy Hope's Peak before we let that boy taint it further,* the tallest declared.

The guards called for lights out, thereby ending the conversation. It seemed as though Hope's Peak wasn't free of the Steering Committee just yet.


A conspiracy is afoot, and its target is Makoto. Who else is involved? Who is this mysterious "candidate"? Will Puri Puri Prisoner pay any of these inmates a visit? In this story, Haiji deserves it, but probably not.

Does Japan even have PMITA prisons or is that strictly an American thing? I guess it doesn't matter since I made it co-ed, but I don't know. Maybe I don't want an answer to that.

Anyway, expect more of these at the end of the next couple chapters. The new enemy is on his way. I probably just gave away his identity with his gender alone. Ah well, what could it hurt. He still hasn't shown up, but he has been mentioned. Guesses are welcome, but not required to leave reviews.

Until next time, stay frosty.