Prologue:

February 13, Thursday

Naegi Makoto, the Super High School-Level Lucky Student of the seventy-eighth class, one of the very few individuals in the entire nation of Japan, and for that matter, the entire world, who was able to currently attend the most high-class academe for fostering the greatest hopes of mankind. If anyone were to graduate from Hope's Peak Academy, none could deny that they were guaranteed success outside of it, and evidence of this were its alumni scattered around the globe, carrying accomplishments that rivaled history's greats.

Whatever the case may have been for those that had graduated from Hope's Peak, all of them had previously been just high schoolers, though incredibly privileged to be where they were. As such, they all had to go through one of the most daunting of teenage experiences, regardless of how high their position was as a student of Hope's Peak, and the name of that terrible phenomenon was,

Valentine's Day.

And Naegi Makoto was no different.

It had been several months since he started the school year there in the most prestigious of academes and a hint of normalcy had started to form around his daily life, at least, as much as his luck would allow it. If one would ask him if he was any bit luckier than an average person, Naegi would be hard-pressed to agree, even if he was an Ultimate High Schooler, because unlike his predecessor, Komaeda Nagito of the seventy-seventh class, the world around him did not bend to give fortune to the younger of the two. In fact, Naegi would much rather agree that he had more strokes of bad luck than good in his everyday life.

Hope's Peak Academy had a much different interpretation however, as compared to the brunette who saw his luck as simply random with a sprinkle of misfortune. Instead, the higher-ups of the academy had enough evidence from observing the boy that it merited him his continued stay rather than outright expulsion for not being able to display as blatant a luck as Komaeda Nagito. And it was this particular luck of his that led him to net more than a few hearts in Hope's Peak Academy, not that the boy was any bit aware of his luck in that department.

Being as average as anyone would come, his earlier years in Nekuro Roku Junior High had gotten him the exact opposite circumstances, meaning that the only girl who ever gave him chocolates on Valentine's was his little sister. It was safe to say that he didn't have much expectations this time around, in his mind, the girls of Hope's Peak were leagues above a normal schoolgirl, and so their standards of relationship material had to have been outside of what an average boy was capable of.

If he didn't have any luck with the normal girls he had been around with before he had become a student of Hope's Peak, then what were the chances now?

'So, Naegi, got anyone asking you out on a date tomorrow!?'

Sending back a text message to Kuwata Leon, the Super High School-Level Baseball Player, a classmate and friend of his, telling him truthfully that he'd received nothing of that sort.

'Haha no way, I'd be happy to just get some chocolates!'

'You're serious!? Can't believe not even Maizono-chan asked you out!'

Naegi blushed, he had gotten very much close with Maizono Sayaka, the Super High School-Level Idol, but he didn't believe it was to a point where she'd ever invite him on a date. There were times where she looked like she hinting at something, asking him if he had a girlfriend or not, or if he had a crush on anybody, but he didn't want to be conceited and get the idea that she actually liked him. That was a trap some of his friends in junior high had fallen to, and the end result never looked pretty.

'N-no way, Kuwata-kun, we're just friends…'

'Ah! But I'd bet you'd want to be her boyfriend, eh, Naegi?'

'W-who wouldn't want to be Maizono-san's boyfriend!?'

'Maybe Yamada, and I'm pretty sure you know why…'

'R-right… Anyway, how about you, Kuwata-kun? Any plans tomorrow?'

'I'll be asking out that girl, you remember?'

'Uhhh… which one?'

'Hahaha! I'm not as much of a hit as you are with the girls here, but thanks Naegi!'

This wasn't the first time that the Ultimate Baseball Player had alluded to him that there were girls in the school that had a crush on him but Naegi could never come to really believe it. From the Ultimate Idol to his other close female friends, Kirigiri Kyoko and Ikusaba Mukuro, the Super High School-Level Detective and the Super High School-Level Soldier, respectively. Kuwata and even some of his other male friends in his class would tease him about getting their attention but it never seemed as if they were interested in him like that.

It also didn't help that the latter of the three mentioned would brutally beat the guys down if she ever caught wind of that conversation being made. In Naegi's mind, what else could that have been besides revulsion of the idea that she was romantically interested in him? It couldn't possibly be anything but that.

"Right?"

Average person that he may have been, Naegi Makoto was by no means imperceptive of what was around him, and the prestigious school had sharply tuned him in the right direction since classes had begun, surprising himself of how keen his intellect actually was after seeing how well he compared to the more intelligent bunch of his class. Of course, he never came close in the certain aspects that they did dominate in, but he strangely made up for it in other aspects where they weren't so adept in.

However, that wasn't enough to say that he had become any less dense to suggestive hints or invitations as any girl would have wanted, often passing them off as just the quirkiness of the Ultimate he was talking to, or not wanting to misunderstand what his friends were saying and disregarding them as anything beyond friendly.

'If you say so, Kuwata-kun, but which girl is it?'

'Who? The girls that like you or are you talking about who I'm asking out?'

'…Both?'

'I'm asking out that girl from that hair salon, you remember right?'

'Oh! Her!'

'Yeah, yeah, the only-okay-looking one but she's got those sweet curves!'

'Kuwata-kun!'

'Kidding, I'm kidding!'

Naegi wasn't convinced.

'Forget about it, Naegi! Let's talk about who you might be getting chocolates from tomorrow!'

'Fine…'

'Three are definitely for sure, so don't worry about getting nothing!'

'Is it Maizono-san, Kirigiri-san, and Ikusaba-san?'

'Eh!? You're finally realizing it!?'

'No! Not like that!'

'Ahhh… those poor girls…'

'Kuwata-kun!'

'Calm dooown! Just keep it mind when you get their chocolates tomorrow.'

'Yeah, sure, I'll take note of it.'

'Hmph, you'd better! Me and the other guys keep telling you but ya never listen!'

'Alright, I get it…'

'Nice! Now let's talk about the other girls that like you!'

'T-there's more?'

'Oh, you've got no idea.'

'You can't be for real…'

'They're not as obvious about it, so maybe I'm not!'

'…'

'I'm telling you, man. You won't believe how many valentines you'll get tomorrow!'

'…Oh yeah? Give me a few names then.'

'Celeste-san.'

'Okay, now I know you're joking.'

'Tsumiki-senpai.'

'Just because I keep getting into the nurse's office doesn't mean she likes me!'

'Yeah, it might mean that you like her hahaha!'

'Kuwata-kun!'

'Nanami-senpai.'

'We're class representatives, she talks to me about her class, not about liking me!'

'Akamatsu-san.'

'Again… just class representatives talking about each of our classes…'

'Harukawa-san.'

'…That would be kinda nice…'

'Sonia-senpai.'

'Oh, you're back to joking?'

'Pekoyama-senpai.'

'…It's getting a little too late to be still telling me jokes, Kuwata-kun.'

'Yukizome-sensei.'

'…Goodnight, Kuwata-kun.'

'Hey! You didn't get to hear all of them!'

'I'll take my chances.'

'Pfft, fine, the chocolates will probably taste better if you don't expect who it's from.'

Sending another goodnight to the Ultimate Baseball Player, a much more serious one, and then a following message to not forget the homework that was due the next day, Makoto put down his phone before getting up from his chair. He'd been at his desk for hours and he needed a good stretch, most of it had been spent on doing the assignments due the next week in advance since he'd be going back home for the weekend and wanted to relax as much as he could there with his sister.

As much as he was in the mood for a small bite to eat before eventually getting to bed, he had been barred from entering the dorm's kitchen for obvious reasons, the girls were most likely busy making special handmade chocolate, a cute and popular trend among ladies in Valentine's.

Looking at the clock in his room telling him that it was already past eleven, Naegi went to his bathroom to freshen up and brush his teeth, he needed as much sleep as he could have but as soon as he finished preparing for what he needed the next day, shutting off his lights and settling onto his bed, the conversation he had with Kuwata was still fresh and buzzing in his head.

That hadn't been the only text conversation he had with his friends that night, earlier on in the night he had chatted with plenty of his other male friends like Owada Mondo, the Super High School-Level Gang Leader, and Hagakure Yasuhiro, the Super High School-Level Shaman. While the two mentioned had been mostly uninterested in tomorrow's special occasion, they also hadn't denied having any plans after classes, but more importantly, they, as well as every other guy he'd talked to, fully expected Naegi to get 'lucky' on Valentine's.

Even one of the few friends he had made from the Hope's Peak's Reserve Course students thought that Naegi would undoubtedly get a confession by the end of the day, and Hinata Hajime was a realist through and through, he wouldn't say anything that was skeptical at best.

It was difficult not to be excited for the next day after seeing what they all had to say about him apparently being quite the catch for the ladies of Hope's Peak, but Naegi couldn't understand why they would figured such a thing. He couldn't exactly reject it since it was true that he'd befriended almost every Ultimate currently in the school in one way or another, it just wasn't enough to convince him that they saw him outside a friendly light.

Reflecting a little on his time there in Hope's Peak, the first people he'd come to form strong bonds with would have to be his classmates, he recalled it like it had been yesterday. He'd worn his favorite dull-green hoodie and a black jacket over it to make himself look less like a lost kid swept up somewhere he didn't belong. It was overwhelming when he met them all for the first time, genuine Ultimates that he'd only read about in internet forums.

Thankfully, once classes had begun, he somehow wormed his way into being the entire class' mutual friend, even managing to befriend the most uncooperative and anti-social of them. And he sort of had to owe it to his talent, which he couldn't even begin to understand, as his bad luck had gotten him wrapped up in the messes of his classmates.

From almost becoming an involuntary organ donor because the Ultimate Shaman had gotten involved with the wrong people, to becoming part of the Ultimate Gang Leader's bikers and then subsequently crashing into something on the road, landing him right into the Ultimate Nurse's office. Whatever troubles his classmates had, Naegi would unintentionally find himself in it, and being the type of person that he was, offer what help he could give.

This particular behavior was what netted him endearment from his class, and after a few months into the year, endearment from the rest of the Main Course student body. He was particularly close with the seventy-seventh class, as his luck dragged him into their business as well.

"Err… the second seventy-seventh class…"

Naegi was more than confused at why there were two seventy-seventh classes, but he didn't question it too hard in his head, the students from either of them were just about equal in strangeness anyways. The only difference was that the first seventy-seventh class students were more… subtle than the second seventy-seventh class.

Nonetheless, it was the fact that he was friends with so many people, and for this matter, girls, that made him hopeful about getting at least one valentine tomorrow. He may have been setting himself up for a little disappointment but he was just too optimistic to really care about it. And besides, if he didn't have any luck tomorrow, then he'd be happy enough to get closer with everyone in his second year.

With those positive thoughts in mind, Naegi Makoto drifted off into a calm and peaceful slumber, completely unaware of what troubles were brewing in the background, yet somehow, he'd be trusted to sort it all out before tomorrow would end.

Perhaps even Lady Luck herself was captivated enough with the boy to prevent any tragedies from happening this time around.

Posted this because I was curious if it was an interesting story to readers. Leave a review of what you thought, those encourage me and stuff.

This was purposely much, much shorter than anything I've posted and it disgusts me but it's a prologue that only features Naegi's thoughts, I can't really stretch it out without mentioning stuff that I'd rather be in the actual chapters. A future chapter one would likely be 10k-20k words.

Regardless, I'll be writing out the entire thing for fun. Hopefully I finish before Valentine's so that I can post every chapter on that day [that means the next update won't be for a while].

Minor Edit: Leon doesn't use honorifics for any of his classmates (except for Sayaka, where he uses '-chan'). Even though it feels weird not to add a '-kun' after Naegi's name. I'll leave the honorifics where he's addressing people outside of his class though.

Below is the context for this story.

Non-Despair, so that means that the 76th Class would be the third year students graduating (Seiko, Ruruka, and Sonosuke aren't expelled) and let's just say that asides from the mentioned students, the rest of the class is made up of the Student Council members minus the the student council president (since there are only 16 students allowed per class and they surprisingly make seven boys [just add an extra background character there] and eight girls).

The 77-A Class exists and are normally functioning, they aren't dead from events that happened in canon or in Togami (because I haven't read those novels). And no this doesn't mean that Junko and Yasuke Matsuda are any closer than "friends." And since the Tragedy didn't happen, they prob don't even know each other.

The Class of 77-B and 78 are, of course, as they are. Hajime, however, isn't replacing Ryota Mitarai, and so is chilling in the non-brainwashed Reserve Course. Whether the Kamakura project happened... I'm still thinking that over.

For the purpose of having the Ultimate Academy students in V3 to be part of this story, let us say that they are instead the Class of 78-B, technical underclassmen (because I want them to refer the regular class of 78 as their senpais).

Why not just Class 79? Because high school in Japan is only three years and it wouldn't make sense if there's a fourth class while all three are still there. Plus, since there's two 77 Classes, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that Hope's Peak was just having an expansion of students.

When and where? It is the 78th Class' first year in Hope's Peak and are in the New School Building, February of that year. If you've ever watched D3, you might've seen the East Side of Hope's Peak Academy's campus (where the tall building stands at the center), that's where the story will mostly take place. Unfortunately, we don't get really get a good look of the entire West Side, the North Side only has the Old School Building, and (as far as I know) not shown what the South Side looks like at all.

Pairings? I'm sure I made it clear enough in Leon and Makoto's text messages. This is a harem-fic. The only girl that I wouldn't include is Sakura, and not for her looks (because I could opt to use how she used to look like) but because her story with Kenshiro was too pure, I'd feel like shit if I did anything there.

Why did I make this complicated? Because I obsess over details that deviate from canon.