The school year at Hope's Peak always started out awkward. Students were invited because of their diverse talents, which naturally led to a diverse student body. At regular high schools, you could filter through hundreds of people whose names you would never learn, and you could find a small group to spend your time with. Each class had less than two dozen students, so it was impossible to avoid the people around you forever. That didn't stop some people from trying. The 78th class was hit hard with the mentality to avoid each other. Some of it was from shyness, sure, but there was also the attitudes of certain students that didn't exactly encourage friendliness, namely half the class.
That was why, during homeroom, Makoto had a plan. He had thought about it for a while, and he figured out exactly how he wanted to enact his plan. He had asked the teacher who monitored home room for approval, but soon found out that the teacher didn't really care. He took that as a "yes" and walked up to the front of the room.
"Uh, hey guys," and then the stage fright struck. A deep desire to walk back to his desk and sit down welled up inside him, but he had already made a decision, so he had to stick to it.
"Yeah, hi Makoto. What are you doing up there? You gonna ask a girl out?" Leon asked kind of mockingly. Leon and Makoto were friends, but well, Leon was Leon, and that's really all that needs to be said.
"What? No, that's not what I'm doing! I just thought that… you know, we've been in school for a couple of weeks but we don't really know each other, and that maybe, we could all introduce ourselves?" It ended off sounding like a question because he couldn't really sound demanding to his classmates without having a panic attack afterwards. That statement was followed by silence. As Makoto began to regret his actions, help came from an unexpected source.
"I believe that is a great idea!" Kiyotaka slammed his hands on his desk and stood up. "In order to have a prosperous school year, we must build a sense of camaraderie!"
"Cama-what now?" The one who interrupted him was an annoyed Mondo. Their relationship is pretty self explanatory. "And Christ, you don't have to fuckin' yell!" He said, yelling.
"Excuse me? You are in the presence of an authority, so swearing is naturally prohibited!"
Before Mondo could retort, Junko speaks up. "The comedy duo is at it again. Can't you guys just chill for like, five minutes?"
Yasuhiro just laughs. "Dude, you wanna get in the middle of their dick waving contest? Good luck."
While everyone else in the room felt it prudent not to join the conversation, the original purpose of Makoto's plan had been lost. Who could help our hero now? It seemed to be a hopeless situation.
"Are you all quite done? I believe Makoto was not done speaking." All of this was said in a neutral and bored tone, but that didn't stop Makoto from offering a grateful smile in Kyoko's direction. She hadn't spoken once outside of answering questions when called upon, so her outburst was not lost on the class as everyone fell silent. "Thank you."
"I don't want anything special, just a name, and a few things about yourself. If you don't want to, that's OK, I just wanted to try, you know?" Some of class felt a little guilty at this. They realized that they weren't really making much of an effort to get to know one another. Others couldn't get less of a shit, but at least Byakuya stayed silent.
It was Hina who spoke up. "Aww, sorry Makoto. You went up there and we just kind of ignored you. But I know, you should go first!"
"Ahaha, alright. I'm up here anyways, so why not? I'm Makoto Naegi, and I was invited to Hope's Peak because I won the lottery, so I'm the Ultimate Luckster. My favorite animals are bears, but I think I like them all." He laughs nervously at that last statement. Saying he likes bears usually gets him some weird looks, but saying he likes all animals gets some loud cries of people questioning his sexuality. Then, Mondo happened.
"Bears, dude? Come on man, I had faith in you! I totally saw a fellow dog lover when I looked at you!" Here is the dreaded argument that ends all civil conversation.
"Excuse moi, Owada, but I believe you made a mistake. Makoto definitely seemed to be the type that would appreciate the subtle beauty of cats." Seeing as the most important thing in Celeste's life was her cat, this was personal.
Before Mondo could retort, help came from an unexpected source. "Celestia, I am afraid I must disagree. Naegi exudes the aura of someone who most definitely must be a dog lover."
"Hell yeah he does!" The first time Mondo and Kiyotaka ever agreed on something was interrupted by a "language, Owada", but still, it was a start.
The argument continued, devolving into a cats vs. dogs one, with everyone besides Makoto, Byakuya, Mukuro, and Kyoko joining in. After ten minutes of this, Sakura calmly stood up and ended it all with one statement.
"I think we can all agree that among all the animals in the world, Pikachu wins the battle of adorableness." She then calmly sat down. The shock of this statement caused silence throughout the entire room. She then turned to Makoto and asked him who he wanted to go next. Before he could respond Kyoko walked to the front of the room and stood next to him.
"My name is Kyoko Kirigiri. I am the Ultimate Detective. Cats are better than dogs."
So yes, after that statement, the last half hour of homeroom was spent arguing about cats and dogs. But hey, that's what all friends talk about some point or another. The fact that no one got hurt was a miracle in itself. Well, Mondo sent Yasuhiro to the nurse when he punched him in the face, but he doesn't count. It was just that Yasuhiro was the only boy on the side of cats, (Hifumi is on the side of Pokémon) and Mondo wouldn't hit a girl, so he got the short of end of the stick.
It was a decent half hour for Makoto and Kyoko, as they managed to have some quality conversation time amidst the madness. She looked around and saw the enjoyment buried beneath the yelling and decided she could wait a little longer. At least things wouldn't be boring.
A/N: Merry late Christmas everyone! I really wanted to post this yesterday, but it also kinda didn't exist yesterday. I cleaned the house for an hour, and my family stayed over for SEVEN HOURS. God, I love you guys, but get the hell out now. I just wanna write my fanfiction. On top of that, I was with family on Christmas Eve for another six. I now know my limits and I promise that it won't take the long again.