Chapter 22: Fuyuhiko's Fairness, Natsumi's Niche

Hope's Peak Academy

Reserve Course Campus Entrance

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Afternoon

Fuyuhiko, contrary to what his looks and occupation might say about him, was a very deep thinker. It simply came with the territory of being a yakuza, not to mention he was naturally a reserved individual.

His entire life was built upon a criminal background. Violence, death, narcotics, smuggling, weapons dealing, and other unsavory forms of business were simply part of the life of a typical yakuza. Also considering the fact that the Kuzuryu Clan was no doubt the most powerful yakuza clan in all of Japan and there was no escaping life, not really. Plenty of people knew his name and face. That, and the fact that he was the heir.

Deep down, Fuyuhiko knew that his personality and disposition didn't suit the life that he was leading. Despite presenting himself as a standoffish, arrogant, and ruthless bastard, these were simply things that he projected in order to present himself as a viable threat to others. He had to do this in order to survive in the world he was born into. Failure to be willing to take some cruel measures could mean certain death.

But no matter how much he tried to justify his place in life, he could never fully bring himself to commit to the duties and responsibilities as future clan head. He didn't have to think hard about why that was the case. He simply knew that his true nature was that of a person who wanted no part in any of this. In all honesty, the things he wished he could do were things that normal people did everyday. He coveted what the average person had and they took what they had for granted.

However unfortunate his life circumstances were, Fuyuhiko wasn't one to cry about his luck in life. He had not cried once in his life since 2nd grade and he intended to keep it that way. Instead, he would devote his life to try and make himself a stronger man. While he didn't much like the life he led, there were ways that he could turn things around. No matter how bad things could get, there was always a silving lining if one looked hard enough.

Being here at Hope's Peak Academy was actually a pretty good thing. Being a government-funded academy, the Kuzuryu clan could begin making steps to a more stable and mutually-beneficial agreement with the bigwigs upstairs. It was a chance to change the image of the clan to reflect the changing times. The days where shootouts in the streets occurred on a daily basis were done. Steps had to be taken in order for the clan to keep existing.

Fuyuhiko, as future clan heir, was always searching for ways to further his goals of making his clan stand for something more than the darkness in society. Call it foolish naivety or hopeless idealism, but he didn't want to spend his entire life evading the authorities while distributing the means for people to hurt themselves and others.

But before all of that, a conversation with Hajime was in order.

And speak of the devil.

"Yo." Fuyuhiko called out.

"Hey." Hajime nodded back to him. "You need something?"

"Yeah, needed you to talk to you." Fuyuhiko gestured for the other boy to follow. "It won't take long."

"Alright." Hajime took a moment to respond. "Lead the way."

They just started walking whichever way they felt like it with no particular destination in mind. The conversation they were about to have was more important.

"Alright, so my sister wants to be a main course student." Fuyuhiko began. "But you already knew that."

"Yeah." Hajime replied. "She still gung-ho about that."

"Well, I'll be perfectly honest." Fuyuhiko sighed. "I think she would've been better as the Ultimate Yakuza, but Hope's Peak made the choice to crown me."

"Did the academy have to pick between you two?" Hajime asked.

Fuyuhiko shrugged. "Who knows. There could've been a tossup, but if there was, I don't know jack shit about it. I just know that I became the Ultimate and Natsumi didn't."

That had been a very violent day when he found out that he was going to be attending Hope's Peak Academy. To say that his sister was upset was an understatement. She was positively livid.

"Does she know how you feel about all this?" Hajime inquired next. "Or are just talking about this now?"

"No, she doesn't know about it." Fuyuhiko shook his head. "If she did know, I wouldn't need to talk to you about it."

"Right. Stupid question." Hajime snorted at himself. "So, why are you telling me this?"

"I want to talk to her about this, but I don't want to go in cold turkey." Fuyuhiko looked him in the eye. "You're the only one she talks to in the reserve course, so I figured you might have an idea. She's gotta have talked about this."

"She has." Hajime sighed. "But it's hard to make sense of it considering that it's a really touch subject for her. Don't quote me on this, but I believe she basically thinks like you do. She thinks you're just as amazing as you think she's amazing."

"She said that?" Fuyuhiko was surprised at hearing this. "For real?"

"Not in those exact words, but that was the feeling I got from her." Hajime confirmed his previous words. "It's not about who's the Ultimate Yakuza. She just wants to be an ultimate so that she can stand by your side. She's really proud to have you as a brother."

"But of course she'd never tell me that to my face." Fuyuhiko muttered quietly. "We're too proud to admit we love each other."

If Hajime heard those words, he chose not to say anything about it, which was probably for the best. Yakuza were not known to talk much about feelings and emotions, not even to the people considered family.

A comfortable quiet settled between them as Fuyuhiko processed what he had just been told. It was hard to believe that his little sister would believe in him so much. She was the one that everyone believed to be the true yakuza.

"If you're trying to broach the topic, just do it." Hajime shifted the conversation forward. "You guys like being direct, so I think you should be as direct as possible."

"I'm just… she's never talked about this before." Fuyuhiko felt the hesitation in his voice. "I don't know what'll happen if I just spring it on her without warning."

"Is it really that hard to talk about?" Hajime found his companion's reluctance to be unexpected. "She's family, right? You do trust her, right?"

"Sure, but we ain't exactly a normal family." Fuyuhiko gave a mild glare. "Our parents literally try to kill each other on a consistent basis."

"Yeah, but people can't stay angry forever." Hajime offered. "I mean, you can't tell me that it's always bad, right?"

"There's enough to go around." Fuyuhiko said quietly. "And sometimes, that's all that matters."

The yakuza lived a life that was much different than that of the average civilian. It was a life that no one could ever walk away from. Even if there were those that were excommunicated from clans, the lifestyle stayed with the exiled. It wasn't something that could be forgotten with time.

The reserve course brunette couldn't really fully understand that when it came to those who lived within a clan, rules of etiquette and pride were much different than the average person. Certain rules and traditions needed to be obeyed.

"I don't have any other ideas off the top of my head." Hajime sighed lightly. "I mean, it just seems like common sense to talk it over, but what's common sense for one person might be insanity for another."

"I'm not saying that your idea won't work, but I don't think it's going to work out the way you think it is." Fuyuhiko rubbed his eyes, staring up at the sky. "I just think that with the stuff you're telling me, she'll have to be the one to approach me, that's all."

Hajime frowned for a moment, then his face lit up. "I might be able to give her a push, in that case. We're talking a lot lately, so maybe I can get her to meet you in the middle."

Fuyuhiko thought about that suggestion, then shook his head in amusement. "It's funny. Natsumi is many things. Arrogant, self-centered, and selfish, but she's got a way with pointing people in the direction she wants them to go in a very subtle way."

"Really? She can do that?" Hajime sounded very skeptical of these claims. "I don't know. I don't picture her as an influencer, not in the way that a mastermind manipulator would. I just featured that she threatened people to get things her way."

"She does that too." Fuyuhiko said. "But just because she love be upfront doesn't mean she can't be more under the table."

"Huh." Hajime contemplated that idea.

Hope - - - Despair

Peko, despite being ordered by her young master to not interact with him in a limited fashion, continued to watch over him from a distance. Although she was technically overreaching in regards to his orders, she felt that she had to do so. She had sworn a sacred duty to carry out his orders to the very end. Nothing short of death itself would stop her from obeying Fuyuhiko's directives.

Unfortunately, the young yakuza heir was far from enthusiastic about her dedication to doing as he said at all times. He was always talking about relying less on her and more on himself. She could understand why he felt this way. As the future of the Kuzuryu clan, he had many responsibilities to shoulder. Although she was his tool to do as he pleased with, she was not the one that was going to lead. He was.

Peko never voiced her feelings on the matter, but she was saddened to see Fuyuhiko put distance between himself and her. After spending practically all of their years together, for him to rather abruptly order her to change the nature of their relationship hit her much harder than she ever could have anticipated.

Our professional relationship doesn't exist at Hope's Peak Academy. We're just fellow high school students now.

Undoubtedly, these thoughts concerning Fuyuhiko would continue to play in her head for quite a while. The Ultimate Swordswoman couldn't help but think about them often. The only way that she could escape this insidious train of thought was for her to hone her talent or to meditate in absolute silence. At least then, she would gain some measure of calm and composure that she was lacking right now.

Part of the reason that Peko was feeling so jittery right now was because she had become aware that recently, her young master was becoming fast friends with Hajime Hinata. The two boys appeared to have found a way to get away. No doubt, the two of them had some common grounds in the form of Natsumi. With their mutual connection, there was no reason to believe that they were not getting along.

The relationship itself wasn't what bothered the master sword wielder. What did bother her was the potential of Fuyuhiko being more personal with someone outside of his clan, revealing his personal insecurities and weaknesses when he had people already close to him that could help him. She would not diminish Hajime's worth because he certainly was an interesting boy, but he wasn't so close that his importance rivalled that of family members and long-time servants.

Peko calmed herself down from her mental tirade. This was affecting her more than she realized. She was getting worked up over nothing in all likelihood. Her young master wasn't a fool; he wouldn't have befriended Hajime without reason to trust him. Actually, now that she thought about it, this was perhaps the first potential close male friend that Fuyuhiko had ever had. That had to be a good thing.

Realizing that her break was over, the girl with red eyes quickly took a final swig from her water bottle before she got up, picked up her bokken, and resumed her training. She had at least another half hour before she could call it a day. She was noticing a slight delay in the time it took for her to swing her blade. To the average person, such a small difference was nearly impossible to see. For the Ultimate Swordswoman, a fifth of a second could very well mean the difference between life and death.

Practice was all well and good, but Peko understood that true combat was the only way to ensure that training had any meaning. In a way, it was fortuitous that she was trained with the sword in her current occupation. As a personal assassin and hitman, she was always on call to respond to any situation that demanded a very direct approach.

Although the yakuza generally saw infighting as counterproductive to their business as well as their reputation, it wasn't unheard of for hits to be ordered against high-ranking members of rival clans. Such affairs were conducted privately and as discreetly as possible. That was where the Ultimate Swordswoman came in. Her way of the sword demanded that she get results. The yakuza were serious and so was she. That's why she never participated in competition; those were meant for sport. Her use of the blade was deadly for a reason.

Coming to Hope's Peak Academy as an Ultimate was merely window dressing, a cold reminder to the rivals of the Kuzuryu clan that if any of them dared to make a move against Fuyuhiko, they would answer to her. Thankfully, since the arrival to the academy, there had been no threats issued, no doubt because the government funded the academy. The last thing that anyone wanted was to be involved with the law. That was pretty much the worst thing to become embroiled in when it came to the yakuza. All the same, the lack of battles was forcing her to train many times harder to make up.

Perhaps I should inquire as to whether or not Nekomaru might be willing to spar. Peko mused to herself. Or maybe Akane might be just as suited.

Narrowing her eyes in concentration, she swung her blade in a simple up and down motion, the move being instinctive, but she took note of the time that it took from the beginning position to the end of it. Her entirety was solely focused on the movement of her weapon as it was brought down, then brought back up again. Over and over again did she perform this simple exercise.

So consumed was she in her training that she failed to notice the other presence in her midst. Only when a loud voice called out to her did she say anything.

"Yo, Peko-Peko!" It was Ibuki. "What's up, samurai?"

"I am not a samurai." Peko commented calmly. "I am a swordswoman."

"Don't sweat the details." Ibuki brushed off her statement. "So, like, what's the buzz up here? You learning some new techniques? Take out bad guys lately? What's up with you and Fufu? Don't tell me there's nothing going on, because I know that's a lie."

In all honesty, contending with the hurricane of energy that was the Ultimate Musician was an incredibly arduous effort. The two of them hardly spoke and there was a reason for that; the sword master had not the right personality nor the sufficient amount of energy to engage in any sort of lengthy dialogue. Still, politeness was necessary.

"Why are you here?" Peko mustered up her most even voice possible. "Or did you happen to wander here during one of your runs?"

"Bingo bongo!" Ibuki held two thumbs-ups. "You're so smart, girl! Yeah, yeah, I was doing some sprinting to get the noggin going! I need to think up some cool new things to teach Hajime!"

Now that was something that was attention-grabbing. The Reserve Course student in question was, to the knowledge of everyone in class 77-B, going around and picking up some things from each of their talents.

It usually was not in her own nature to be curious about a great many things, but in the case of Hajime, the Kuzuryu assassin had a vested interest in what he did considering she had spent enough time with him imparting some of her own skills.

"How fast is he progressing?" Peko inquired, lowering her bokken. "Does he show potential with music?"

"Hells, yeah he does!" Ibuki's grin widened. "He's got lots of potential! Who knows what he could do with it if he keeps it up! Ibuki is thinking we should do lots of head swings, maybe a 1000. Then we can roll out eyeballs-"

Ignoring the rambling that was currently going on, the most important detail that the silver-haired teenager took away was that Hajime had potential in music, an interesting idea to roll around mentally.

"-and that's my plan!" Ibuki seemed to be at the end of her own words. "So, what do you think, Peko-Peko?"

"I believe he may have great potential as well." Peko commented, pretending that the conversation was linear. "He shows promise with wielding a sword from what I can see."

"Hmm." Ibuki closed her eyes and crossed her arms under her chest. "A sword-wielding, bass-strumming Hajime? Now that sounds like something AWESOME! Let's make it a reality!"

"I will pass on your suggestion." Peko said without missing a beat. "Now if you will excuse me, I must return to my training."

"Okie dokie!" Ibuki didn't seem perturbed at having been turned down. "Ibuki needs to run some more, be free like the wind!"

Just as fast as the multi-colored girl came, she went in a flash. The Ultimate Swordswoman waited a few moments, confirming absolute silence, then held her bokken at the ready position.

Peko swung numerously for the next hour.

Despair - - - Hope

Natsumi knew that the Reserve Course wasn't filled with exceptional people, that much was plainly obvious when looking at the standards that were in place for entry into this part of Hope's Peak Academy. Mediocrity was expected here because unlike the Ultimates, every student in the Reserve Course had to take an entrance exam and provide their academic accomplishments in order to gain entry. In other words, every student on this side wasn't really special in spite of the name of the academy.

Yet somehow the boys and girls here liked to toot their own horn, calling themselves exceptional or a cut above the crowd simply because they could say that they attended Hope's Peak Academy, deluding themselves from the reality that the only reason that they were here at the end of the day was that mommy and daddy paid a pretty penny to get them here. It wasn't an accomplishment coming to the most prestigious high school in Japan because of money. It was an embarrassment, a lie, a hollow bragging right.

Natsumi knew this from the bottom of her heart, and she also made sure to keep reminding herself of that fact day in and day out. For some people, it might be too painful to constantly force themselves to face the reality that they were not extraordinary, merely an average person with no sense of identity. The yakuza within her always abided by a code of honor. Even though this rule of conduct applied more so to tangible actions rather than personal character, she made no exceptions.

A beautiful lie is nothing to be proud of. The blonde girl would always tell herself. I would rather live with a painful truth.

One thing was for sure: she would one day leave the Reserve Course and become a student of the Main Course. That desire had been with her since day one, that much had not changed. The problem was that she wasn't sure what steps she should take to achieve that goal. Her last serious conversation with Hajime had gotten her thinking more deeply about her reasons for coming to Hope's Peak Academy.

Natsumi idolized her brother; no matter what the Kuzuryu clan said about him, she knew that he was a truly amazing person. He had rightfully earned the title of Ultimate Yakuza, she believed. Frankly speaking, she was not the least bit bitter about being beaten out by her brother in this regard. She supported him to the best of her ability and in turn, he looked out for her as well. If only she could stand on the same stage as he did, then she would be even more happy with her life.

But in order to do that, she would need to have a talent that Hope's Peak Academy would recognize. That meant she needed to get off her ass and think of something that she could do with herself. That was easier said than done though. Aside from being the Ultimate Little Sister, she didn't know what else she was good for.

Thankfully, that's why she had a friend in the Reserve Course.

"Hey, so I've been thinking about stuff." Natsumi broke the shared silence. "And I've got a question: what exactly are you trying to do by learning from the other Ultimates?"

Hajime looked up at her. "What am I doing with them? I couldn't tell you that, and I'm not saying that to be lazy. It's simply because I really don't know."

"That doesn't make any sense, dumbass." Natsumi flicked his hair. "Nobody just does anything just because. What's your angle?"

"Put me on the spot, why don't you." Hajime only showed minor annoyance before he took a moment to find a suitable answer. "Fine, I guess that… I'm doing what I can to learn from them because… I was tired of doing nothing."

Natsumi took a moment to comprehend his words fully, then her eyes lit up in realization. "You figured out that doing something, anything, was better than just sitting with your thumb up your ass, am I right?"

"Yeah, sure, we'll go with that." Hajime agreed with her reasoning, although likely not with her words. "It's like… I was at a fork in the road. I had two choices: either resign myself to being mediocre for the rest of my life… or actually try to change my life by doing things I've never done before."

"And? How do you think it's working for you?" Natsumi pressed him for more. "Are you ready to give the middle finger to the world?"

"It's not like I have a problem with the world itself." Hajime looked out the window, his gaze resolute. "No matter how pessimistic I was in the past, I would never blame anyone for my shortcomings. Now, I just need to focus on improving myself."

"Hmph." Natsumi gave a light snort, although she could agree with his sentiment.

Hajime returned his attention to her. "So how is all of this related to the 'stuff' that you mentioned earlier? What's been going through your mind?"

"You know, the usual shit." Natsumi shrugged her shoulders, her pride demanding that she be nonchalant. "Talent, Ultimates, you know what I'm talking about. That and that I'm trying to figure out what I can do to develop a talent."

"...I think you're in a much better position then I am to find a talent." Hajime said, which prompted her to give him a questioning look, requiring him to explain his words. "Okay, think about it like this. You grew up with Fuyuhiko in the same household. You two grew up in the same world. There must be something there for you to start off with."

Natsumi adopted a reflective look. "Yeah, even though our lives can get fucked up at a moment's notice, we couldn't afford to be stupid. Idiots are the first ones that screwed over big time, but how does that help me get a talent?"

"I would think that your life would offer you some idea about what you're good at, or at least what's worth trying out." Hajime tapped his hands on his desk a few times. "My life has been so average that I could never find a talent myself. That's why I've been relying on the Ultimates so much to help me find what I'm good at. You've been a yakuza your entire life, so you can't say that your life is boring."

"Point." Natsumi mumbled without much resistance. "So use my connections and see what I can come up with."

Although his logic was sound, she was reluctant to be so reliant upon the clan. Many times over, she had made it clear to her parents and to Fuyuhiko that she wanted nothing to do with leading the clan. Her concern was that if she took an interest in anything related to the clan, however peripheral, it might give the clan the impression that she had changed her mind about not wanting to take over as head. The last thing she wanted to do was create a rift between herself and her brother.

"You don't sound that enthusiastic about the idea." Hajime picked up on her lackluster response. "What's up?"

"It's nothing." Natsumi didn't feel ready to talk about this. "I'll… think about it."

He did a scan of her face and she could see that he knew that something was bothering her. He was far too perceptive to not notice these things. It frustrated her that he could discern these small details.

"You're too fucking perceptive for your own good." Natsumi flicked his hair again. "Stop trying to psycho-analyze me."

"You asked for my opinion. I gave it." Hajime was almost indifferent to her antics. "And I don't just say this stuff without knowing what I'm talking about."

"Bzzzt! Wrong answer." Natsumi closed her hand into a fist and lightly tapped him on the forehead. "You're supposed to say 'yes, ma'am' like a good little underling."

"I'm sorry, last I checked, I'm not a member of the Kuzuryu clan." Hajime pointed out with an unimpressed look. "So you'll forgive me if I don't fall in line."

"Tsk." Natsumi made a show of appearing unhappy, but she didn't really mean it. "Goddamn bastard."

In all seriousness, she was going to give his words some more consideration. She had a long way to go before she could ever compare herself to Fuyuhiko and be satisfied, but that was a good thing. It would be a much more rewarding experience for her if she accomplished a challenging goal.

However, before she turned to her clan for aid, she would look within herself to see if she possessed something of her own. She had already asked for too much asking her old man to allow her to come here. She needed to prove not only to the clan but to herself that she could do things on her own.

Natsumi brushed a hand through her hair.

Hope - - - Despair

Chisa had royally messed up big time and in hindsight, she should have realized that she had messed up.

When she had used the 'liberated' cardkey of one of the board members to access information regarding Hajime, she had made the mistake of not going all the way. She could've just gotten the information she needed and ended things right then and there. Whatever dirty laundry Hope's Peak Academy was hiding, she could've had it all, then reported it back to Kyosuke. He would've used that information and done some good with it. He would know what to do.

Now Chisa couldn't even access the databanks. With her unauthorized access, she had effectively made her mission all the more difficult. Now everyone with access to the academy's systems would not only need a key card, but they would also need a separate password, DNA scan, and eye scanner. Basically, she had only a few random bits and pieces to work with and still nothing to show for it.

And the former Ultimate Housekeeper had only herself to blame for this blunder. Because of her simple fear of potentially causing a mess that could disrupt the life of her students, she was afraid to take that necessary final step.

Juzo had informed her about all of these developments and he no doubt had deduced what had gone on himself. He didn't say anything about the matter, so for now, he was probably going to remain silent on the matter. The next time, he most likely wouldn't be nearly as forgiving.

Why am I so conflicted about this? Chisa thought miserably to herself. I thought I was willing and able to do anything Kyosuke asked me to do.

She knew the reason why she had backed out. She had come to develop a certain fondness for the children that were under her care. Whether she knew it or not, class 77-B was now her responsibility. In a way, she considered them an extension of her own family. The idea that they might get hurt in any way tore at her heart.

But perhaps the most heartrending factor in all of this was Hajime. No matter how she looked at it, his life would undoubtedly be changed no matter what would happen. Whether the oblivious boy knew it or not, Hope's Peak Academy had its sights on him for reasons beyond her understanding.

If Chisa was being really honest with herself, she had a real soft spot for Hajime. Considering the time she had spent with him both inside and outside of Hope's Peak, there was no way she didn't develop some sort of attachment to him. He was a good kid at heart with a lot of promise and potential. She wanted to know where he would go next, see what he would accomplish in his future, and watch him succeed. He was an underdog in all of this and she was rooting for him.

Hajime, please keep being strong. You may not realize it yet, but you're already an amazing person.

Your eyes do not deceive you. I have returned for a time.

I don't know how much I'll be writing in light of my new status as an active duty US Army Soldier, but I certainly will keep up the work as best as I can. This story isn't my most popular, but it's the one I like the most.

I don't have anything for details concerning this chapter. After just getting back, all of my work is a bit alien to me and it might be that way for a bit.

If any of you have burning questions, check out my profile page or PM me.

Happy New Years!

-Ktyou