Chapter 3: Sugar and spite

Seiko Kimura was busy working in the lab, carefully measuring out the catalyst into the solution. Putting too much would cause the reaction to happen too fast, and the resulting chemical would be a foul-smelling mess instead of a useful medicine. At exactly this time, a pale boy with wild, white hair burst into the room. Seiko poured too much catalyst, and her work for the past hour was ruined.

"DAMMIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" she shouted.

"Sorry, I'm just here to pick up the diuretic that I asked you to make yesterday…" The boy sounded apologetic, and there was no way he would know how much work she'd just lost. Seiko let it go.

"Oh right, the reactivator. It's in the store room in the back, I'll go grab it once I mix a bit more resurger. It took 45 minutes to get the last batch to condense and now it's ruined."

Before she even gathered the necessary reagents, there was a heavy knock at the door.

"Ugh, what now?" Seiko said, walking toward the door.

On the other side was Ruruka Andou and her boy-toy/childhood friend Izayoi. Also, coincidentally, Seiko's two best friends. Ruruka is halfway through sticking a pastry in Izayoi's mouth when Seiko opens the door.

"Hey guys, since it is about the worst possible time, I'm guessing you want a favor?" Seiko said flatly. She was not surprised to see either of them.

"Well, you know exams are coming up…" Ruruka said.

"You know what I'm going to say, but I'm saying it anyway. You don't need my help to pass. You could literally put some instant pudding on the table and the judges would pass you. Whatever you're asking for, it's unnecessary." Seiko droned through the same spiel she'd given Ruruka before every other exam. "Right, Izayoi?"

Izayoi responded with a thumbs up.

"I just want to give the best performance I can give! And my performance is best with your help!" Ruruka gave the same response she always gave.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"I want a super serum, some stuff to make someone into a real super hero."

"That is… impossible."

"C'mon, I know you're holding out on me. Super strength, stamina, all the physical boosters you would want."

"I do have a reanimator, which does boost physical characteristics, but it also causes a nasty rash and some vomiting a few days later at the very least."

"Plenty of time to get a passing grade! Gimme."

"Slow down there, Ruru. You're asking me to risk my neck helping you cheat on your exam. I need you to promise that you will take the fall if you get caught."

"Done! If you want some candy, you know who to call!" Ruruka sounded giddy.

"You do remember that stuff could poison me, right? The drug's in the back, I'll go grab it as soon as I get this stuff mixed and give… Wait, where did that other guy go?"

Seiko just noticed that the pale boy had disappeared. She ran over to the door and saw him walking down the hall, holding a bottle in his hand.

"Okay, so that's a problem I'll have to deal with later. Ruruka… Shit…" Seiko said, noticing that Ruruka had disappeared and the door to the store room was swinging shut.

Izayoi walked over and placed his hand on Seiko's shoulder, looking somewhat concerned.

"Yeah, I know. I really need to start locking those medicine cabinets. She should be fine though, Ruru's been through there almost as much as I have."

Izayoi takes out a metal device resembling a pepper grinder.

"Is that the pestle-and-mortar? Thanks, I might actually get all my projects done if this works as well as the other devices you've made," Seiko said.

Izayoi gave a thumbs up.

Seiko headed to the storage room to help Ruruka find the medicine she asked for. Just as she was reaching the door, Ruruka flung open the door and walked out holding a bottle.

"I got it, reactivator for super strength!" Ruruka said

"Okay, I guess it's fi- wait, what?" Seiko suddenly wished she had given her medicines more distinctive names.

"I knew I could count on you Seiko! See ya later!" Ruruka skipped past her, bringing Izayoi along as she left. Izayoi waved at Seiko as they left.

Seiko would ordinarily have chased them down and checked that they had the right chemical. However, she had half a dozen other chemicals sitting, steeping, condensing, or otherwise being processed and couldn't afford to leave her lab. The exam crunch was brutal, and she wasn't good at denying requests. She decided it would cause fewer problems if she just called Ruruka later and warned her that she may have grabbed the wrong medicine than if she abandoned her work station.

The exam crunch at Hope's peak is brutal. Seiko had slept in and the exams were starting, and now she was forced to sprint through the halls like some irresponsible scrub and pray they didn't lock the doors on her. She had prepared a dozen different pills with different effects over the past week, and she had little doubt she would pass so long as she made it in time. Then she ran into the pale boy again, this time literally.

"Oh, you're the pharmacist girl, right? Thanks, your medicine is really helping out," the boy said.

"Good to hear, ow… I don't get thanks as often as you'd think… Damn, I really need to get to my exam, excuse me," Seiko grabbed the bag off the floor and dashed toward the gym. By sheer chance, Seiko had a bag that looked identical to the boy's bag. She didn't notice, nor did she notice which bag she picked up.

Seiko made it to the gym and found her seat just in time to watch Ruruka give the judges the sweets she had prepared for the occasion.

"They're more than just delicious, these cream puffs will make you feel like a super hero!" Ruruka said.

Suddenly, Seiko realized that she had forgotten to make a rather important phone call. Too late for anything to be done about it, one of the judges had already taken a bite before Seiko even thought she might be able to cry out. Seiko just had to hope that Ruruka had watered down the medicine enough that she would get a passing grade before their bowel movements started up.

"Delightful! I could eat these for every meal!" One of the judges said, a young woman who occasionally worked as a substitute teacher.

"I think I can taste the stratosphere!" Said another judge, this one a balding man in a suit. Probably one of the trustees who had volunteered.

"Yes, it feels like I'm flying!" This one was a young man, probably grabbed off the street because they needed a third judge.

Suddenly all three clutched at their stomachs and leaned down on the desk. Seiko and Izayoi ran up to the stage.

"What did you put in those things?" The balding judge asked.

"I- uh… I didn't…" Ruruka stammered.

"Did you forget to water down the medicine?" Seiko asked, keeping a hushed tone.

"Hell no, this isn't my first time using your drugs. I think you gave me the wrong stuff," Ruruka whispered back.

"Oh dear, I think she may have spilled some laxatives in the batter," Seiko said aloud, pulling up one of the stories she remembered from last year.

"Laxatives? Who puts laxatives in sweets?" the woman asked.

"Oh, poor Ruruka doesn't have nearly enough fiber in her diet. She must have spilled some of her laxatives in the puffs when she was making them. I should be able to whip up an antidote, if you guys don't mind having a mild headache in a few hours…" Seiko was sure Ruruka wouldn't mind the mild embarrassment compared to losing her place at Hope's peak. Seiko started opening her bag, and stopped when she saw the large red button.

"Seiko? What is that?" Ruruka and Izayoi were both wide-eyed, Izayoi placing a protective arm in front of Ruruka.

"Is that a detonator? So you're the one who wrote the threat! Someone grab her before she sets it off!" The balding judge was quickly starting to panic. Seiko stepped back from the bag, keeping her hands visible. Ruruka grabbed the bag, while Izayoi moved the grab Seiko.

Naturally, at this moment a dog smashed through the door to the gym, knocking it off its hinges. It dashed through the room, knocking over chairs before tackling Ruruka and causing her to hit the button. The resulting explosion demolished the gym, though since the roof was made of thin sheet metal barely anyone was actually hurt. Seiko and Ruruka were both expelled, however.

"No! This is unforgivable! It was our one chance to be great and you blew it up for nothing!" Ruruka said. Izayoi still stayed by her side, despite the fact that he wasn't expelled.

"It was an accident! I didn't know anything about those bombs!" Seiko said.

"A likely story! I won't forget this, Seiko!" And she never did. Even through the apocalypse, she held her grudge. Even with them both working to improve the future, she held her grudge. Up until they met Naegi, Ruruka didn't even consider forgiveness, and until her death she never forgot.

Jin Kirigiri was not amused. The destruction of the gym did not amuse him, nor did the expulsion of three of the school's most useful students. Chisa was in his office, trying to give her account of what happened.

"So, I am to believe that Nagito was an innocent bystander," Jin began.

Chisa did not respond.

"You see, here's the thing. We've got several eyewitnesses that say he was at the scene of the crime, and records of him buying the materials for the explosives. Inspection of the bag containing the detonator showed that it had no name on it, while the bag he was carrying at the time of the incident had the name "Seiko" stitched onto the sling," Kizakura wasn't acting drunk this time. "Nothing that couldn't be faked or explained away, but it certainly looks bad."

"He's one of my students. If he's to blame then it's my fault for being negligent," Chisa didn't look up at the two men.

"Yukizome, this is a high school, you can't be expected to take the full blame for the actions of your students. All the same, we will be administering punishments to Nagito and the teachers of class 77. Nagito Komaeda will be temporarily suspended. The main instructor," Jin glanced over at Kizakura, who hid his eyes with the brim of his hat, "will be put on probation, while you are transferred to teach the reserve course for a few weeks."

"Yes sir," Chisa didn't sound enthusiastic, but didn't argue.