Chapter Eleven: ...or Perhaps Not
12th of March, 2011
After a well-needed lunch with Sayaka, Leon, Hina, and Sakura, Makoto decided to explore the campus a little more by himself. He wanted to get his bearings before too long, the thought of getting lost sounding so embarrassing he would avoid it at all costs.
That, after strolling outside for a while, brought him to the school's library. A gigantic library.
They sure don't half-ass things at Hope's Peak... Makoto thought with an amused smile as he stepped inside the building and kept quiet. Those bookshelves are like the archives of the old wizards you see in fiction... There are probably enough books to last you about a million lifetimes here...
The Ultimate Lucky Student began to look around, trying to understand how the library was organized. Needless to say, he was far from used to libraries so enormous, so it would most likely take time. Unfortunately, his former high school wasn't nearly as imposing as Hope's Peak Academy when it came to infrastructure.
Let's see... Novels are this way, these are history books, and this section has science books...
Mindlessly, Makoto walked to the novel section, noticing some other students either reading in peace and quiet or consulting the many books at their disposal. He saw many of them were wearing the same black uniform. After connecting the dots, he figured it was the uniform of the so-called Reserve Course. However, as he carefreely walked around, the boy failed to check his surroundings.
"A-Aaah!"
"E-Eeek...!"
Makoto was forced to step back and stop daydreaming as he ran head-first into someone, bumping his forehead against whoever's head this was.
"B-B-Be a little more c-careful, w-will you...?!" stuttered a girl of average stature with thick purple braids running down her back, looking at Makoto with grey eyes full of animosity. "I-I know I may not h-have much presence, but y-you should still have n-noticed me...!"
Wow, talk about rude... Makoto thought. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to run into you." He bowed, his eyes catching sight of the pile of books in the girl's hands as he did. "W-Wait, you are...!"
"W-W-What...? D-Do you think I-I'm ugly or something...?!"
The boy waved his hands around in disapproval. "N-No, not at all!" Geez, I would never think that! "I-I just remembered you from the orientation ceremony this morning! You're the famous author, Toko Fukawa, aren't you?! Your novels are absolute hits!"
"Y-Yeah, well, n-no need to shout it for e-everybody to hear..." Toko said in a low voice, giving Makoto a disapproving stare. "I-I'm surprised y-you even r-remembered me... M-Maybe you just r-remembered how u-ugly I am, huh...?!"
"H-Hey, t-that's not it at all! It's just..." He pointed to the books in her hands. "I saw you were holding a copy of So Lingers the Ocean, and I made the connection!"
"I-I-I'm sure you never e-even read it...!"
Makoto blushed. "W-Well, um..."
He had not actually read the thing. The Ultimate Lucky Student was not precisely into romance novels – or novels at all, as he was more into something that started with an 'm' and ended with 'anga.' Still, Toko's books were so widely known he had come across her name many times. Meeting her in person was... surprising, to put it lightly.
"I-I knew it..." she muttered. "Y-You only pretend like you c-care, anyway..."
Fukawa-san sure isn't friendly... There goes my theory about all my classmates being nice and all, I guess... Furthermore, she seems very... insecure... "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Fukawa-san," Makoto said with a smile. "I'm Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student."
"I-I-I'm sure you're just l-lying to make me feel b-better..." Toko stuttered meanly, although her eyes softened a little. "B-B-But I guess it's g-good to meet you, t-too... I-I'm the Ultimate Writing Prodigy..."
It wasn't a smile (far from it), but Makoto noticed the seeds of trust starting to appear on Toko's face. She was on edge, and the boy would be lying if he knew why – and he wouldn't dare try to make a hazardous guess. Yet, it appeared a part of the novelist would trust him.
"If the two of you plebians are quite finished, maybe you could move out of the way? Besides, haven't you been taught to keep your voice down inside a library, you commoners? Was your education really that pitiful?"
Toko was startled, and Makoto was caught off guard as a taller boy with blonde hair and glasses framing his face stared at them impatiently. His arms were crossed as he held a book with one hand and tapped his arm with the fingers of the other.
"S-Sorry," Makoto apologized and moved away. "P-Please go ahead."
"Hmph."
The unknown boy lightly pushed Toko out of the way and proceeded forward, not giving the two of them another glance. He headed towards the exit at a dignified pace.
He looks familiar, too... Let's see... Makoto began to list the names in his mind. After crossing those of the people he had already met, it quickly came to him. T-That's it! He was at the orientation ceremony this morning, too!
"H-Hold on!" he urged, trying to keep his voice low yet audible. The Ultimate Lucky Student sped up a little, quickly catching up to the blonde boy. "I-I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be in Class 78th? I think I saw you at the orientation ceremony this morning. My name's Makoto Naegi, and I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student. It's nice to meet you."
"Byakuya Togami."
"..."
"..."
"..." Makoto sweatdropped. "I-Is... that all...?"
"What else is there to say? I don't care about you, and I don't want a commoner like you to care about me in any other way than to accept my superiority over you."
Sheesh, I'd read about this guy being rude, but this is above anything I could have imagined! Makoto thought, struggling to hide his flabbergasted face of shock. "M-Maybe you could at least tell me what your Ultimate Talent is...?" he tried.
Byakuya pushed his glasses up his nose and smirked. "I suppose that will help show you how much greater I am than the likes of you. Very well, I am the Ultimate Affluent Progeny and heir to the prestigious Togami Empire."
"H-Hey, d-don't ignore me like t-that...!"
The two boys were interrupted as Toko caught up to them, lightly panting. She glared daggers at Makoto before her eyes turned to the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.
"I-I was talking to h-him, you b-brat...!" she told Byakuya. "R-Rude...!"
"O-Oh, my..." A look of surprise entered Byakuya's eyes. "I knew I would be dealing with the lowly masses here, but I didn't think the students here lacked showers." He pointed at the writer. "You, whoever you are, stink!"
"H-Hey, that's me-"
"A-And what if I d-do...?! W-What's it to you, a-anyway...?!"
"Your stench is an insult to the Togami name, that's all," Byakuya replied casually, the start of Makoto's outburst quickly forgotten. "I can hardly tolerate plebians like you, but you might be the worst I've encountered yet. Go away, and don't approach me again."
With that, Byakuya walked away from Toko and Makoto. The latter stayed put, too stunned to move an inch. With such a barrage of insults, the Ultimate Lucky Student was sure you could prevent floodings! Furthermore, it was clear the young heir was merely being bluntly honest, as proved by his lack of hesitation before he spoke.
He absolutely meant every word. That was pretty scary.
Well, that was something... "Fukawa-san, are you okay-?"
"S-Shut up..." he heard Toko mutter, the corner of her eyes glistering with tears. Makoto could see her anger was building up. He could hardly blame her. "I-I'll... I-I'll..."
After that, Makoto could almost fill in the blank on his own. It could be "make him say sorry!", "kick his ass!" or maybe even "kill him!" depending on precisely how furious the girl was.
"I-I'll marry him...!"
*GASP*
Makoto nearly choked on his breath as his gasp resonated through the library walls. He stared at Toko with wide eyes full of confusion, thinking of putting his pinky inside his ear to ensure his eardrums weren't clogged.
"W-What did you just say...?!" he asked. "D-Did you say...?"
"I-I don't have time for you...! I-I need to catch up to him...!"
Before he could say another word, the novelist was already running towards the exit, getting reprimanded by the librarian for being too loud on her way out. Makoto blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what the heck he had just seen unfold.
That... was weird.
It took him a moment to recover from his surprise. Makoto knew his former high school life had been ordinary at best and boring at worst. After all... he considered himself ordinary at best and boring at worst. Coming to Hope's Peak was bound to change that.
However, he would have been lying if he'd said he had imagined anything even remotely close to that.
Fukawa-san and Togami-kun... Both their names are well-known, but very little is actually known about them, as they never appear in the media... And after that, I think I can see why...
Makoto sweatdropped.
Socialization isn't really their thing, is it...?
With a pretty good grasp on the answer to that question, Makoto picked up a few books from the library and headed back to his dorm, choosing to focus on tonight's party instead.
To be continued...
