Hiro keeps his voice low. "Don't worry about us and the kiddos, Naegi-chi. We can all run fast if we need to."
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Hina glances over at Mukuro. "Shouldn't Hope's Peak security be the ones doing something?"
"If Murasame-san is involved but not the mastermind, he might still be a danger to all those people. Kyoko-san is only one person. She can't go after everyone at the same time."
The former SHSL Swimmer sighs. "Okay. But if you're not back in an hour I'm going to come find you two myself. Alright?"
"Okay. Make sure Class 78 stays put in the meantime."
"Don't worry. None of these guys'll outrun me!" The tanned athlete gives a large confident smile. "Just make sure you make it quick, Naegi."
"I'll do my best. Come on, Ikusaba-san. Let's get moving."
The pair return to the East Quadrant of the main campus to the sounds of absolute chaos. The tense standoff they passed by about an hour earlier devolved into a full-on melee. They can see HPA Security Forces along with the city's geared Riot Police Unit engaging the protestors with martial arts and rolling up as many in giant futons as they can. Though none of the police have resorted to using firearms, it was only a matter of time before the violence became too much due to the overwhelming numbers of the Reserve Course.
Makoto can see two recognizable figures in the melee – Juzo Sakakura and Kyosuke Munakata assisting the HPA Defenders in preventing the protestors from entering the administration building. Both of them look younger than they were in the Future Foundation. More importantly all their limbs were in one piece. Mukuro simply glares at them while Makoto peeks around the large scale brawl.
"I guess that's what Kyoko-san meant by their looks being surprising." Makoto sighs. "No good. We can't reach them in this mess."
Mukuro's eyes look upward. Both of them are in front of the main science building. She can spot someone looking at the violent scene on the top floor.
"Naegi-kun. Someone's in there."
Makoto looks up as well as the unidentifiable person steps back from the window out of sight.
"Someone hasn't evacuated? I wonder." He enters the building with Mukuro right behind him.
The building itself has its lights still on. Similar to the classroom buildings, the entry hallway is a mess with research papers strewn around on the floor with some of them having footprints on them. Though not as messy as what they saw before, the staff and students were most likely in a panic as they evacuated the place. Makoto sighs in relief.
"They were probably ready for the Parade to happen. Probably have the people who've been through the Tragedy to thank for the main course students surviving this time."
The SHSL Soldier keeps silent, most likely acknowledging her own role in orchestrating the original incidents in mind.
The former lucky student continues in order to find the stairs to the next level. As they walk alone in the mostly-abandoned building, Mukuro quickly moves forward and slams a figure into the wall. A shaking female voice, tearing up in terror, is accompanied by a petite hetereochromic girl with brown hair in a yellow hoodie reminiscent of a certain yellow electric rodent.
"P-Please don't hurt me!"
"Whoa, whoa! Let's not be too hasty!" Makoto starts panicking slightly. "You're one of the student council. Right?"
The girl nods vigorously while looking teary-eyed at Mukuro.
"Can you let her down now?"
The SHSL Soldier softens her glance when she moves her eyes toward Makoto and then lets her down, making the girl fall flat on her bottom. Makoto moves slowly to her and extends a hand to her.
"Sorry about that. Can we start over? My name is Makoto Naegi."
"A-Aiko…Aiko Umesawa." She takes it and the reporter helps her up.
"Are you the only one here?"
"N-No." She looks away. "Y-You don't look like Hope's Peak staff. And she doesn't look like a student. Why are you guys here?" She starts panicking again. "Please, I'll do anything, just don't hurt me!"
He gives her a pitying look. "We're just here to make sure no one else gets hurt. Is the rest of the Student Council in here?"
She shakes her head. "Most of them left already…"
"Who's still here?"
"M-Murasame-san." She looks down as soon as she mentions the name.
"Is he planning something?"
The girl bites her lip. "He's…he's going to do something horrible. The rest of us tried to talk him out of it but he won't listen. So most of us just ran away since we didn't want to also be expelled. We didn't know it was going to end up like this."
"Okay. Thanks for letting me know, Umesawa-san." He gives a small, comforting smile. "You should get out of here too. It's getting violent outside."
Makoto starts walking away from the girl with Mukuro giving a sharp glance at her for a moment. She then follows him.
"Please, wait!" Aiko says loudly. "Don't hurt him. H-He's still our friend."
He looks back at her. "Don't worry. I promise."
She finally returns a smile back to him. "Thank you, Naegi-san." The student council member finally runs away and they can hear the doors swing open and slam back closed.
Mukuro picks up her walking pace to be side-by-side with Makoto. "It doesn't sound like talking will work anymore."
"It doesn't mean I won't try it."
"It sounds futile, Naegi-kun."
He only chuckles softly to himself while he looks forward. She gives a curious look.
"Words definitely have an effect on people. I'm living proof of that." He looks over at her. "They've both taken away and saved lives."
They eventually make it to the main staircase. The stairs reveal themselves to be the main stairway of the building, going all the way up to the roof of the three story building. Makoto leads both of them into the third floor where he starts peering into rooms sneakily. After searching through several labs, he eventually spots a lone figure watching the fighting from a window. Mukuro taps Makoto on the shoulder and he gets out of the way. She places her hand on the door and slams into it with a powerful kick. The door falls over whatever was barricading it while she kicks it some more. The raw force scatters the debris while Soshun Murasame grasps onto a remote for dear life.
"Stay back!"
Makoto steps forward through the mess, causing Soshun to move his back against the window.
"Sorry to startle you, Murasame-san. I just wanted to talk."
The SHSL Student Council President glares at him, ready to set off the remote to whatever it was attached to. "Don't get any closer, I said!"
"That remote. Is it wired to blow up the administration building?"
He makes no motion to confirm or deny it. He just stares at the former headmaster with piercing silence.
"If I had to guess…you're waiting for whoever you're working with to show up safe and sound so you can set it off, right?"
The person with the presumed detonator only responded with his eyes opening wide but then returning to a glare.
"Murasame-san, you do know that all those people will get hurt or worse from that. Right?"
The student council's leader had a hoarse voice from the earlier screaming. He looked insulted. "Of course I know. I'm not an idiot. But this…this is justice."
"Justice? Justice for what?"
He responds with an inflamed passion. "For what this academy uses us for! The Izuru Kamakura Project, using all of us SHSL students' talents for their own image…everything! It's corrupt to the core!"
Makoto studies Soshun's face. "I think the SHSL Student Council President has enough influence to do that in a nonviolent way." His eyes narrow as if staring daggers into Soshun. "You shouldn't lie. Especially to yourself."
"Urk!" Soshun grips the detonator harder as he starts sweating. He grits his teeth as if taking a heavy blow on his body. "What the hell do you know?! You don't look like you're from the academy."
"I know enough to see that if that bomb blows, it's not going to have the effect you're hoping for." Makoto's voice raises almost into a yell. "All it'll accomplish is spreading violence! You can see that right? This isn't about rooting out corruption, this sounds like that its bold-faced revenge!"
"You don't know the first thing about this academy! All the cover-ups. All the injustice. It has to end and this is the only way!"
"I work as a reporter, Murasame-san. Believe me. I'm familiar with government cover-ups."
They carried the burden of despair for me. I have to bear the burden of hope.
Makoto continues. "You want to change things? People look up to this academy, rotten at the core or not. But that sort of change has to begin with you. Otherwise you're no more than a terrorist that only hurts others in the name of a twisted cause."
Junko Enoshima used the Reserve Course to spread Despair. She forced all of them to commit suicide.
"There are so many innocents out there! They're trying to live their lives and you can't just decide to end their lives just like that."
I am not like you. I believe in power. No matter how many I make into victims, even if it means my death, I shall destroy despair. That is my resolve!
Soshun's grip on the controller loosens as Makoto's words come out blazing like a hail of bullets. Mukuro begins to make her move but Makoto stops her by moving his arm in the way.
"If you really believe in changing things, do it in a way that you'd be proud of, Murasame-san. Not like this." Makoto moves his arm as if to reach out to him. "Please."
The student council president takes a deep breath as if the wind was knocked out of him. He shakily walks over to the reporter and places the detonator in Makoto's hand. He hands it off to Mukuro, who unsheathes her knife as she starts disassembling it.
Soshun's voice sounds weak. "I always thought my speech skills were super high school level, but yours is a whole other level." He looks down. "I almost did something I couldn't take back."
"What drove you to this?"
Soshun Murasame looks at Makoto with a softer expression. "A classmate of mine. He did the bidding of the Steering Committee but when the Hope Cultivation Project failed they threw him away. He was expelled. Erased. It was like he became a dead man."
"Did this classmate of yours give you the bombs?"
The SHSL Student Council President shook his head. "No, the bombs were given to us by someone in our sister class. 77-B. The SHSL Lucky Student of our year."
Makoto immediately knew who it was. Nagito Komeada.
"Supposedly he was going to use them on the gym to stop the exams from happening to save his class. I wasn't sure on the details, but then he decided against it. My expelled classmate then asked for the bombs and he gave them to us to use saying that if the true Super High School Level Hope was around then he was confident that everything would turn out alright."
It seemed that Nagito was another one like Makoto. Someone who remembers things from their timeline.
"We didn't know what he was talking about to be honest. I learned that if the Izuru Kamakura project was successful, that's the title they were going to give to that student. But that student is dead."
Makoto hummed as Mukuro finished off making the detonator useless. "Who was the student that got expelled?"
Soshun looked at Makoto for a few moments. "…his name is…"
Kyoko headed alone to the languages building. Though she would be annoyed at the SHSL Secret Agent's perverted tendencies, she couldn't discount his skill at information gathering. Given that Yuto Kamishiro wanted to be acknowledged more than anything for his accomplishments (especially from a pretty lady) it didn't take much convincing him to assist her with her investigation of the terrorist attacks on the Steering Committee.
Moving through the abandoned hallways, she eventually comes across Yuto. He appears to be standing perfectly still. Immediately Kyoko feels that something is wrong – the talent of the SHSL Secret Agent allows him to remain undetected. More than likely he would've tried to flip her skirt or something with her responding with a swift punch to the head. But there he was, standing out in the open. Kyoko steeled herself for what was awaiting her. She moved toward him and managed to reach his position. The former SHSL detective tapped the boy on the shoulder and he fell down, limp.
She immediately stepped back and felt a sharp sensation flying against her cheek. She narrowly dodged a thrown scalpel, leaving behind a cut. The medical tool slams into a nearby wall, leaving it stuck deep in it. Kyoko looks toward where it was and sees a male figure running out of a nearby open classroom. She gives chase.
The sound of flip flops and boots echo throughout the hallways as Kyoko chases the suspect. The former deputy headmistress draws her gun and fires at the runaway. One of the shots grazes against the man's shoulder causing a curse to come out of the assailant's mouth. He throws a few more medical tools at her while going into an open classroom. She slides under the thrown objects to avoid the deadly impact and runs into the room after.
The classroom appears empty. The windows haven't been damaged. She scans the room while blood drips from her own injury. Immediately she feels deadly pressure around her neck as the hunted figure wraps his hands around it. Responding with an elbow into the person, she chucks the man into the ground. Not giving the person the chance to recover, she responds in kind by placing her right boot on the person's neck.
The man looked messy. His shirt was untucked with an unloosened tie and he was wearing flip flops. His black hair was not neat and his teeth was gritting from the pressure of Kyoko on his neck.
"Shit…" He manages to barely speak. "The princess isn't as prim as I thought she'd be."
Kyoko, not dignifying the insult with a response, reaches for handcuffs. She moves her foot and slams it into his back while restraining the criminal.
"Yasuke Matsuda. You're coming with me."
"Not like I have a choice, Kirigiri-hime."
She forces him back up and starts dragging him out of the classroom. Coming back outside with her quarry in tow, a familiar woman in a suit with an apron waits outside for her.
Yasuke smirks. "So the glorified maid was here too."
"Hmph." Chisa Yukizome puts her hands on her hips. "I came by since I had a bad feeling." She pulls out a bandage from a first aid kit she brought and places it on Kyoko's cut. Then she moves over to Yasuke and rips off a bit of his shirt to wrap gauze around the grazed injury of his. He keeps looking toward the administration building. They can hear a megaphone being sounded off at the top of another building.
"Reserve Course Students…no, fellow students of Hope's Peak Academy. My name is Soshun Murasame, current Student Council President."
The nearby melee stops as everyone looks up.
Soshun continues. "I wanted to thank you all for showing that you're truly passionate about changing this school for the better. I also wanted to apologize on behalf of the main course for how we treat you. The school administration can't ignore us anymore. A lot of us SHSLs also feel the same way. We want to make this school into something we can all be proud of. But this brawl won't solve anything. The only way we can change things is by working together. Whether you're faculty, in the main course, or even in the reserve course – we need to put our heads together to find a real solution. So, I implore everyone to stop this mindless violence at once. Return home for now so we can cool our heads and finally talk with each other. You all made your message clear to the world."
Many of the Reserve Course's fire was smoldered after an impassioned speech. Though a few remained to continue in protest, many of them started to walk away. The three near the language building could see two people accompanying the SHSL Student Council President.
Chisa smiled. "Wow, Makoto-kun really pulled through, huh?"
Kyoko simply continued to pull Yasuke toward the administration building. "Come on. You have a lot to answer for."
The trio passed through the leaving protestors and the police rounding up the more troublesome students. Kyosuke and Juzo stood waiting for them as things were being cleaned up.
Kyosuke kept composed. "Good work, Kirigiri-san."
Juzo moved to take the suspect into his custody. "Tch. So this guy's behind it all? Figures."
"Careful, Juzo-kun. He's injured." Chisa crosses her arms. "He'll probably need Mikan-chan to make sure it doesn't get worse."
"That's more than this shit deserves, Yukizome. Time to interrogate." He pulls Yasuke roughly.
The four members of Hope's Peak faculty move the injured Yasuke into an unused office while many of those who were left inside are leaving for the day. Most likely to take a good vacation to forget about what happened today.
"Alright, fess up." Juzo slams a fist into a desk. "You're responsible for all this right? There's nothing you can say that will get you off the hook."
Yasuke responds by rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I have rights, Sakakura."
"Why you little…!"
Kyosuke raises a hand before Juzo can make a punch.
Kyoko immediately follows with a question. "What happened to Yuto Kamishiro…you did that, didn't you? Judging by how he was found, I suspect you snapped his neck."
"I'm sure the autopsy will tell all the tales, princess. Especially when you fudge some things here and there."
"I only work on facts, Matsuda. Though I imagine my word is meaningless due to what happened to you."
Yasuke grits his teeth. "Guess you aren't as blind as I thought."
Kyosuke sighs. "You were one of the students expelled after the Hope Cultivation Project's failure, correct?"
"Yeah. I was a student. Now I'm as good as dead."
The room goes quiet. They all immediately knew what his words meant – what college or respected medical facility would take on a former SHSL Neurologist expelled from one of the world's foremost prepatory academies in the world? Just like what happened to Ruruka Ando it would prove to warp and twist people with disastrous results.
Kyoko decided to continue. "So that was your motive. Revenge against the Steering Committee and the headmaster for not only using your talent, but taking away everything that you've achieved from the failure of the Izuru Kamakura Project."
"I'm a petty bastard. Gonna execute me now? After all, a few people were silenced already. What's one more?"
Chisa looked sympathetic. "You've done horrible things but we're not going to do horrible things to you."
Kyosuke crosses his arms. "You will be punished. What exactly that'll be would be up to the headmaster."
"Heh. Then you know what the outcome will be."
Kyoko looks at him devoid of emotion. "Perhaps. However, I can already see that it's eating up your conscience."
"Since when did you become the SHSL Psychologist?"
"You've already asked for punishment." Kyoko crosses her arms. "I doubt you'll ask for leniency when the time comes."
"Who were your collaborators?" Kyosuke interrupted. "I've heard that Soshun Murasame and some sympathetic members of the student council were involved. Did you have an outside collaborator?"
"Just that weirdo from 77-B. I got the bombs from him."
Chisa began thinking. "Weird. He hasn't attended class for a few months now. The practical exam is soon so I was going to go looking for him myself."
"Hey, hold on. You sure that's it? Not some crazy childhood friend?" Juzo towers over Yasuke. "Enoshima, right?"
Yasuke looked confused. "That model? I've never met her in my life. Besides my childhood friend…"
His facial expression turned into anger. "Look, that person doesn't even attend Hope's Peak Academy. If you drag 'em into this shit I swear…"
The Class 74 trio exchanged confused looks. Kyoko moved to the door. "I believe our questioning is done here." She pulls out her phone and looks over a text. "The headmaster has instructed security to take him to a cell until further notice."
"Tch. Damn it." Juzo kicks the desk. "Fine. I'll handle this."
The former SHSL Boxer drags the mastermind out of the room leaving Kyosuke, Chisa and Kyoko in the room.
Kyosuke turns toward the detective. "Was he telling the truth, Kirigiri-san?"
Kyoko nods. "It's similar to how Maizono-san didn't recognize Makoto-kun when she saw him. It seems whoever was behind this strange merging of timelines deliberately cut certain connections." She thought about how Yui did not recognize her when she passed by at the park.
"Perhaps whoever is Matsuda's childhood friend now might know something about that. I'll have to question him about that later." Kyosuke makes his way over to the door.
Kyoko shakes her head. "I doubt you'll make any progress in that line of questioning. After all, he went to desperate lengths in order to protect Junko Enoshima in our timeline."
"Fair enough. He's someone who has essentially lost everything."
Chisa sighs. "No, he's just lost all hope. He may not be brainwashed like I was, but I know that look anywhere."
"Indeed. Someone who has lost all hope… they fight without regard for their own well-being." Kyosuke gives a gentle look at Chisa.
Makoto and Mukuro escort Soshun to the administration building. The SHSL Student Council President looks at both of them.
"I won't waste this chance. The protests will rage again if I don't make good on my word."
"Good luck, Murasame-san." Makoto smiles. "I believe you can really do what you said. Just remember what you're doing it for."
"I will. Thank you, Naegi-san." He bows to them both as he enters the building, ready to submit to questioning. He passes by the quartet of the Hope's Peak Academy investigation team and only gives them a silent look of determination. Juzo looks over toward Makoto and immediately sees Mukuro.
"You!" He walks briskly toward the SHSL soldier.
"Wait, Sakakura-san!" Makoto steps in between them.
"I may not want to kill you anymore, Makoto Naegi, but what that girl did is practically unforgiveable. If you get in my way I won't have mercy!"
Mukuro's eyes narrow as she prepares herself to fight. Chisa, however, stands next to Makoto.
"Yukizome?! What are you doing?" Juzo's fist clenches hard to show off the bone. "Did you forget what she did to you? What she made us all go through with her demon sister?"
"We just quieted down a protest without bloodshed and now you want to spill blood here? I'm not saying you should forgive this rotten orange." She makes a glance at Mukuro. "But having spent some time with that demon woman in that theater… well… to be honest, being related to her is punishment enough."
Mukuro grits her teeth as she wants to defend her sister.
"Tch! So what, we just let her roam free?! She's SHSL Despair, remember?"
Kyosuke makes his way over. "I've been told she's a ward of the SHSL Hope. Is this true, Naegi-san?"
"Er…well, yeah. She's been living with me for the past few days."
The former SHSL Student Council President smirks. "I see your bad habits haven't stopped. Do you intend to bring all of SHSL Despair under your wing again?"
Chisa giggles. "Well, I could use the help."
Juzo facepalms and sighs. "Seriously? Even you, Munakata?"
"While I disagree with Naegi-san on things, he has a good, albeit naïve, head on his shoulders. His efforts tend to pay off. I suspect with the SHSL Soldier's help you were able to reach Soshun Murasame."
Mukuro looked away. "I barely did anything."
"Ah, well, I'm not very strong by myself. She managed to take down the barricade that kept everyone else out of where Murasame-san was hiding." Makoto laughed nervously.
"I see. Thank you both. Many lives were saved today. I'd like to talk to you both, along with Hagakure-san and Asahina-san. We have much to discuss."
Juzo spat and stared daggers at Mukuro. "Fine. I'll tolerate this for now. But I've got my eye on you." He turns to Makoto. "Also get your damn cars off the walkways and into the parking garage!"
The Class 74 trio return inside the building while Kyoko stays with them.
"Are you okay, Kyoko-san?" Makoto looks at the bandage.
"I'm fine. It shouldn't scar. I see you had your own plans when I left you. Come on. We shouldn't keep them waiting. I'll show you guys where the staff parking garage is."
The former Class 78 trio make their way back to the base camp where Hiro is waiting with a huge grin on his face while Hina was hanging out with the rest of the class.
"Dude! Naegi-chi! I don't know what you did, but I made a killing today! Sold out, baby."
Makoto narrows his eyes. "Seriously…?"
"Yeah, they were all pretty tired and hungry from all that protesting. Nice work, dude!"
Taka moves quickly to the returning group. "I do not know what you accomplished, but it seems everything ended peacefully. Thank you! Order can now return to our school lives."
The reporter waves it off. "I'm just glad you're all safe. It was looking bad for a while there."
Leon grins with a thumbs up. "Dude! We saw the whole thing on livestream. It was pretty radical. You were standing there with the prez and everything."
Makoto could only blush bashfully. "L-Look, the important thing now is that you can all go back to your dorms. I'm sure you guys are tired out. Plus, uh…we need to talk to some people." He glances at both Hina and Hiro.
Mondo frowns. "Aw, crap. Guess that's the shitty thing about being an adult. Good luck with the cops, I guess. If you need people to speak for you, I'm ready to defend you. I swear it as a man."
"Me too. You've done good things, all of you." Sayaka smiles.
Kyoko looks at them with her emotionless stare. "We appreciate the help. But you all should get back to your dorms. The campus will be on high alert for the rest of the day. Stay out of trouble."
"Of course! Class 78, let us get going!" Taka leads the class back to the Southern Quadrant of the academy.
Mukuro only gives a long stare as the class walks away. She almost went along with them out of habit, but forced herself to stay still.
The eight people who were from a separate timeline find themselves together in what appeared to be Kyosuke's office.
Makoto breaks the silence. "So…you've become the deputy headmaster this time around?"
"Indeed." Kyosuke answers from behind his desk. "Being sent off to that offshore location was a way to keep me controlled back then. Office politics. However, when the Steering Committee went missing, it allowed me this opportunity."
Kyoko continues. "All members of the Steering Committee have been confirmed deceased. Most likely due to Yasuke Matsuda's machinations."
Makoto looked down. "I see."
Juzo cleared his throat. "Well, if you didn't stop him, Murasame probably would be in a cell too now. Or worse. If he set those bombs off, that would've been his one and only crime."
Hiro rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, well, guess that's some good news right?"
The deputy headmaster nodded. "Murasame-kun has been very cooperative with our questioning. However, he knows nothing about Matsuda's childhood friend. It seems he's withheld that information from everyone in Class 77-A. And, as Kirigiri-san has warned us previously, he refuses to answer any questions about that mystery person."
"So Enoshima isn't his childhood friend here?"
"No. It seems they have no connection to one another."
Makoto looks disappointed. "I was hoping there was. He might've known where she disappeared to."
Hina is shocked. "Wait, what?! You don't know where she is?"
The former lucky student shakes his head. "Her penthouse is on the market and apparently she resigned via To-Witter earlier this morning from the fashion business."
Chisa looks at Mukuro. "So she's gone completely off-grid. And you don't know where she is?"
The freckled girl shakes her head. "We…haven't talked."
Juzo kicks the door. "Damn it! Who knows what that crazy bitch is up to?!"
Makoto interrupts them. "Yukizome-san, I wanted to ask something. Do you know where Komeada-san is?"
"No, Makoto-kun. I haven't seen him for a few months. He basically disappeared like Enoshima did."
"At the very least we can throw out the possibility that they are working together. Even as a member of SHSL Despair, he still pursued hope. In a far more destructive fashion, of course, but I doubt he would be willingly working with her free of her influence." Kyoko continued. "However, I do believe he may be connected to the strange conception of this world."
Mukuro looks at the detective. "Was he the one who 'locked' me in the old school building?"
"I can't say for sure yet, but it seems as if he remembers everything like we do. And yet he's avoiding all of us. I assume he has ulterior motive."
Makoto turns over to her. "Do the rest of Class 77-B remember?"
Chisa shakes her head. "It's like they're back to being the rotten oranges that I knew. I guess it's a form of mercy."
The reporter thought for a few moments. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask…does Hajime Hinata attend Hope's Peak?"
Kyosuke gives him a blank stare and then turns to his laptop. There's a tense silence while he searches. After a few minutes, he looks back at Makoto.
"No, he does not. There's no registration of him in either the Reserve Course or the Main Course. Even in the restricted files of expelled or deceased students."
Kyoko taps her chin. "Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda. This can't be a coincidence."
Hina crosses her arms. "Well, isn't he supposed to be some kinda superman because of the Izuru Kamakura thingy? If anyone could mess with time it'd be that guy."
Kyosuke places his hand on his chin. "That would make sense, yes. But why? And how?"
"I guess we have to find both him and Komeada-san to get to the bottom of this. And figure out where Enoshima went off to." Makoto looks out of a window. "Just more mysteries to solve, right Kyoko-san?"
"Indeed. Now that we've exchanged all information… I trust that this meeting is over, Munakata-san?"
"It is. Thank you all for your time. Though the headmaster wishes to meet the unsung heroes of Hope's Peak himself in a few moments." Kyosuke then looks at Makoto. "After that meeting, I'd like to have a word with you."
"Of course."
Kyoko stood up. "I'll take them to the headmaster." The rest of the Class 78 group follow her.
The administration building was very clean and sterile covered in white wall and white tile with a few office workers shuffling between the offices – those unlucky enough to be deemed completely necessary to operations and unable to go home. It only takes them a few minutes of walking to eventually reach Jin Kirigiri's office. Waiting for the five of them was not only the aforementioned headmaster but his close friend and confidant, Koichi Kizakura. When they all walk in, the unofficial talent scout of Hope's Peak Academy had his eyes widened.
Kyoko raises an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Kizakura-san?"
"Ah, well, didn't think so many beautiful people were gonna walk into the room all at once."
Makoto couldn't help but feel he was lying. He recalls that Koichi was a man of great intuition with the ability to sense a person's potential. He was personally responsible for finding certain individuals who populated Class 78, like Celestia Ludenburg, as well as recruitment during his tenure in the Future Foundation.
Jin stood up from his desk and walked over to the group. "My name is Jin Kirigiri, the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. I wanted to thank you all personally for your help during this crisis."
Hiro looks bashful and grins from ear to ear. "Aw, shucks! We didn't do much, right? Just being a bunch of good guys."
Koichi smirks. "You got the look of a snake oil salesman."
"H-Hey, hold on. My fortunes are 100% legit. They're right 30% of the time!"
"So you got a talent, don't you? Guess I was spot on."
"E-Er, well…" Hiro couldn't really respond to that.
Jin gives a small smile. "Now, now. Please don't give them a hard time, Koichi-kun. You all seem familiar with my daughter."
Hina gives a big smile. "Yeah, we're old friends of hers. I'm Aoi Asahina."
"And I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure. Want a fortune read? Let me know! It's not too expensive, I promise."
"Mukuro Ikusaba."
Makoto gives a cautious smile. "Makoto Naegi. It's nice to finally meet you."
Koichi takes a sip from his personal canteen. He looks over all of them. "So you look like you can win gold medals in your sleep. This girl with the freckles has a pretty scary look to her…like a hitman or a mercenary. And this guy…"
He just looks Makoto up and down. "Huh. At first glance he seems pretty normal. But… being able to talk down Murasame-kun like that…heh. You're one of those guys who just hides what they are until it needs to show up, huh?"
"Erm… I don't know about that. But I appreciate the compliment."
"Oh-ho-ho! You should watch out for this one, Jin. He probably has your daughter's heart!"
Kyoko rolls her eyes. "Are you quite done, Kizakura-san?"
"Yeah, yeah. I wish you guys were younger. Could've filled out Class 78 more."
Makoto laughs nervously. "I don't think I'd be included. The only way I'd get into a place like this is if I won a lottery."
Jin crosses his arms. "Funny you should mention that. Class 78 lacks a SHSL Lucky Student. Every time we send out the invitation to another prospect, something horrible happens."
"Y-You don't say." Makoto always knew that title was cursed.
"Still, if my daughter was in the company of such people, then I didn't have much to worry about. Though I would have preferred her to reach out to me as she was growing up."
"I don't believe I would have appreciated you as a troubled teenager, headmaster."
"Heh. I suppose so. But once again, thank you." He makes eye contact with everyone. "You're all friends of the academy. I must also apologize, since I have to attend a press conference due to the riot here. If there's anything you need, please reach out to us. I would like to repay the favor."
Kyoko speaks before anyone else. "I'll make sure they'll be taken care of."
"Good. Let's go Koichi-kun."
"Ugh. The press."
Kyoko escorts them out of the office as the two older adults make their way off to the dreaded press conference.
Hina sighs. "It's still so weird being back here."
"Tell me about it, Hina-chi."
Kyoko looked at both of them. "Do you mind if I ask you two a few questions? I need to make sure Class 78 was accounted for so I can turn that report in. I am currently on the HPA payroll after all."
"Okay, sure Kyoko-chan." Hina looks over at Makoto and Mukuro. "You have that meeting with Munakata right? Good luck, Naegi!"
Makoto sighs as they walk back to Kyosuke's office.
"Something wrong, Naegi-kun?"
"Kizakura-san was staring holes into the back of my head. I know he's protective of Kyoko-san, but seriously…"
Mukuro smiles a bit. "You started to notice that sort of thing?"
"Yeah." He glances over at her. "I guess you get hit a bunch of times in the head and you start to get sharper. Or it's just a concussion."
They arrive back at the door. Its left wide open with Chisa and Juzo nowhere to be found.
"I'll wait right out here."
"Thanks, Ikusaba-san. This shouldn't take long."
Makoto enters the office and closes the door behind him. Kyosuske looks up at him while filling in reports on his laptop. The former headmaster quickly takes a seat near the desk.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Munakata-san?"
"Naegi-san. Do you recall the overseas campus which eventually became the Future Foundation's main headquarters?"
"Yes. That should still be under construction, right?"
"It is, yes. But since I am here as the deputy headmaster, no one is currently assigned to head the new campus. I want you to be that person, Makoto Naegi."
"M-Me?"
"You were the headmaster of the rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy, were you not? Don't think I wasn't paying attention to current events while I was out in the world by myself."
"I mean, yes, I was but—"
"Naegi-san." Kyosuke looks straight at him. "While I still believe power is what is needed to change the world, you still taught me things. You can't be all powerful by yourself or with a small group of associates. You need friends, colleagues and allies. And most importantly the ability to trust those people."
Makoto continued to listen.
"Frankly, even in this world untainted by Enoshima's despair, you are the only one I can entrust that campus to. Construction on the campus won't be complete for another couple of years or so. I'd like for you to think about it."
ANote
Shirokuma: did you see the livestream? that guy looked like Makoto Naegi!
BlackCapPI: I've met him before. He's a journalist. He was reporting on DanganFES and the VR tech they had there.
Shirokuma: theres no way that guy could be the real thing, could he?
BlackCapPI: Don't be ridiculous. The first Danganronpa released so long ago. Like before either of us were even born. And that guy doesn't look a day over his 20s.
Shirokuma: i mean i guess, but that would be pretty cool right? being able to meet and talk with the characters for real?
BlackCapPI: I guess. Though I'd be really nervous. I'm a big fan after all. Like…what would I even say to them?
Shirokuma: mmm… well… actually, im inspired! im a cosplayer and this really fires me up. maybe we can't meet the real deals, but maybe i can…
BlackCapPI: Hey, that could be a SHSL talent you're talking about there. Maybe you can show me sometime?
Shirokuma: yes! i would love to. maybe you can get to see them firsthand. even critique them a bit, you know?
BlackCapPI: I'd love to.