I was surprised at how many comments I got last chapter and more surprised others have thought similar things to this. I got some interesting opinions that never crossed my mind that I will definitely keep in mind. Thanks again to all of you. After some thinking I decided to actually try my hand at doing this next chapter in the eyes of one of the warriors.

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Perfection.

It was no exaggeration that some Japanese families set their expectations for perfect grades and success higher then others. Some want it in the more extreme ways then others. They didn't accept just an okay or a pretty great on report cards as good enough but the ultimate perfect scores. When being groomed to one day stand alongside society's elite this isn't completely unreasonable or at least that's what I've been told for a long time now. This is what I know as normal or at least that is what my parents have told me I always needed to think about. My name is Nagisa Shingetsu, I'm currently enrolled in Hope's Peak elementary and for the time being my title is lil little ultimate social studies. I'm one of those children who is being groomed for exactly that.

I'm sure plenty kids are given special medicines and just as strict discipline as me to be the best they can. The shots with what they call my study helping IV tend to stand out on my almost albino skin a bit more then most. Some medinces in the past have made me sick and a few times I almost tore my blue hair off my head because of it but my parents just switched me to something else. I didn't blame them for it since it was only just a prototype so they didn't know. I also get cold fairly quick but my parents have assured me that these things are all my bodies own fault though and has nothing to do with the medicine.

It hasn't completely gone over my head that the title of ultimate social studies isn't the most impressive sounding of ones but its only part of many of my talents and hobbies. Hope's Peak elementary is kind of like a training ground in a sense for not only kids who know their talents but could have potential in having one only they haven't quite pinned it down. For example if a kid had a talent for something vague like cleaning by the time their in high school that could lead to titles like ultimate maid, health inspector, janitor, hand model, etc. Until I know for sure which of my studies I can excel at the best then lil ultimate social studies will have to do

"Okay, can someone here tell me in order which planets are closets to the sun and the farthest?" the teacher Mr. Kanto asked

Two other kids beside me shot up their hands up alongside mine but one of them was picked before I was and started listing them off.

"Mercury, Venus, Earth, Uranus,-" he started.

"Sorry Joey but that's incorrect but good try in the beginning". the teacher cut him off.

"Odd to get something we just went over yesterday wrong today but he did at least get the first 3 right. My dad wouldn't even acknowledge the amount I got wright to the wrong ones like this teacher." I thought to myself.

I raised my hand again and with a head nod from the teacher began recited the list.

"Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and finally Neptune. Even when Pluto was listed as a planet it would cross into Neptune's orbit every 20 yrs out of out of every 248 years. Pluto last crossed inside Neptune's orbit on February 7, 1979, and temporarily became the 8th planet from the Sun." I added the last part for good measure.

"That is correct , I have know doubt who here is ready for the test coming in a few weeks." said Mr. Kanto

I could hear the multiple mutterings of "teacher's pet", "show off", and "dork" after the bell rang as I was headed off to lunch. These comments didn't bother me much anymore since I knew it came from envy. Though it did keep other kids from wanting to sit near me in home room or lunch time. Save for a small group of kids I somewhat considered friends. I say somewhat cause we only really meet around either lunch or the "special" home room for troublemakers. Other then being able to bound a bit over having home troubles we never really went over to each others houses unless it was to kill time till whatever we didn't feel like dealing with at home cooled over. Don't get me wrong two out of three of them are pretty good kids. Kotoko even though she sometimes has a slightly vulgar sense of humor, has an interest in trivia that almost matches mine plus she has real potential at being a big actress one day. Jataro even though it take him time to remember what he already knows plus can occasionally take as long as kotoko in getting to his point, he is generous and tries to make us happy with some of the projects he works on.

"What's up Naggy-sa?" annoyingly called my 3rd friend Masaru.

I rolled my eyes at the comment and headed to where my friends plus Masaru were. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention him out of the three who I'll admit I sometimes want to strangle till his face matches his red hair. My talent in social studies may not be the most flashy but at least unlike with his it can make me money past the age of 38. He is loud, egotistical, lazy unless he thinks he can make a contest of something. Doesn't help that he makes up the most stupid nicknames for things. The only good thing I can say is that I do sometimes admire his ability to be bold and out of the four of us has been able to defy his parent a little or at least avoid getting hurt for a good portion of time when he can. I'd rather eat a plate of live maggots and worms before telling him that though.

Kotoko was picking peas out her mashed potatoes while reading a magazine, Masaru was going on about some prank he was going pull in gym today, and Jataro who would usually be tearing apart his favorite bbq sloppy joe they served this time of week was simply staring at the sandwich. It wasn't unusual for him to sometimes do that when he was thinking over a question or response but for him to do it while ignoring one of his favorite lunches was a bit odd. The more I watched him it seemed he wasn't so much as staring at the food but at the table with a slightly frustrated look. It was like he was having some internal debate which was a bit unlike him. If he had a question on the slightest random weird thing he usually wasn't embarrassed to vocalize it to anyone with ears that could hear it. After a few minutes of eating my own sandwich and noticing that he was still not looking or responding to anything around him I decided to take action.

"Hey Jataro? Is something wrong? You haven't said anything to Masaru about his story or if you could have Kotoko's peas." I commented.

At the mention of both their names they stopped what they were doing and also seemed to realize just how quiet he was being. All our eyes now on him seemed to bring him back to life as he looked up as if something great just dawned on him. He looked at us one by one then nodded to himself as if finally agreeing to something good. He grabbed his sloppy joe and took a few unhealthy large bites before standing up and out of his seat.

"Um, can you guys come with me for a second? I discovered something and think you should all see it at once". Jataro finally said.

"Eww, this better not be like the time you found half a dead dog and wanted to give it back to its owner is it?"asked Kotoko

"What? But I thought the owner would like to know where the front of his dog was if all he had of him was it's pooping parts. Don't worry though, it shouldn't be that bad". Jataro replied then simply walked off.

Like I said earlier, even though his mind wasn't always right his heart was in the right place.

"5 bucks says its either something he made without permission from the school again or something smelly he found. Race ya there!" Masaru laughed then ran after Jataro.

Kotoko scoffed at the remark then looked at me with a curious expression likely about what I thought could be going on. I couldn't think of an answer since this was Jataro after all. I just shrugged my shoulders and we followed them outside up to the large oak tree where we decided to make a pack as friends. We called ourselves the warriors of hope because we wanted to bring hope to one another's lives by keeping in touch where we could. Jataro even crafted us a group logo that looked like a compass that we could wear like a dress pin. Once we got behind the tree he took a few breaths before finally telling us what was going on.

"Okay umm, yesterday I had a bit of an accident with a car..." he began slowly

My mind instantly started to panic at what he might say next. Why would his parents let him go to school after getting hit by a car? He should of been called off sick or something. His mom I can see doing this but why would his dad agree?

"Did you get some cool cast under your clothes for it or melt any faces when they had to take your mask off?" Masaru blurted out first.

"Masaru! That's seriously the first thing you think of asking when one of us is hit by a car?! Jeez, you are such a jerk sometimes." Kotoko voiced my thoughts exactly.

"What's wrong with the question? He still looks like he has all his limbs plus he always goes on about how he could "melt faces" with his looks." Masaru said oblivious to how uncaring that sounded.

I was about to sucker punch him in the throat for it until Jataro made a surprising comment.

"Well technically he's half right about the second thing he said." he said.

"WHAT REALLY?!" we all exclaimed.

"Well yeah I met these 2 teens at the hospital and they saw me with my mask off. Neither of them melted and I saw myself for the first time to. I've never really met many teens before but they were real nice to me. We talked and they even gave me some ice cream when they took me home. Did you guys know they sell gelato style ice cream around here now in that shop down the street? " jataro explained.

"They gave you ice cream? So your face really doesn't look a mutant puss monster or what?" Masaru asked.

Before either me or Kotoko could chastise back at him for that remark Jataro took off his mask. To say we were shocked was an understatement. I myself never really thought he might have more then some bad form of cleft lip or something minor that his parents put a mask over while overreacting to it but what I saw was just a completely normal kind of a pretty boy face. Other then a visible little scratch on his cheek he looked nothing out of the ordinary. Kotoko was the first of us to respond.

"Oh my gosh, your look super adorbs!" she squealed.

"Wow now at least 2 out of the 4 of us can definitely land a girlfriend in the future. Tough break Nagisa." Masaru said with a grin.

Ignoring his comment I asked what had been on my mind after he mentioned the part about being in a car accident.

"So what did you and the girls talk about?" I asked.

Jataro then explained everything he told the girls who apparently were from the main high school connected with our elementary school. They were a musician and nurse who said that his mother had a sick sense of humor as the likely the real reason he was made to wear his mask. He told us how oddly good it felt to tell someone else besides just us about his problems. None of us honestly thought telling other adults or an adult-about-to-be would help our situation but it seemed to bring some odd pep in Jataro. Both took him home and convinced his parents that being both a high school club while also part of a tutoring program could help him out. I had heard about this program myself but my parents had tutors come from outside town sometimes. Since they usually didn't feel I needed more practice with the subjects given after a while and would leave I never really thought of ones closer by like Hope's Peak Academy.

Reaching into his backpack Jataro fished out a few fliers with the Hope's Peak high school image on it. It was an ad telling details about Hope's Peak high school program for kids of all ages. He handed us each one before explaining why.

"Big sis Ibuki said I should hand these out to any friends of mine that might need tutoring or someone like me for both that and to getting out the house." said Jataro.

We all stood there silent for bit just staring at the papers in our hands. Each of us thinking over what we just learned and a taboo thought planted itself into each of our minds that we never really would of contemplated up till now. Even if they were strict and sometimes violent to us we never really questioned what our parents motives in their actions came from. All of us though maybe it was just what some adults call "tough love" when a parent is harsh in order improve a kids behavior. For Jataro's mom it was simply a cruel joke for her own amusement. Who knows why his dad allowed it but the main thing was that the motive for one of his parents wasn't truly because he didn't look like other boys so it was all a lie. Did that mean all our parents could of been telling us lies up to this point? If so then what was the truth? What could be my parents truth? I've sometimes felt like they make me work harder then humanly healthy but not for any sadistic reasons. When I've sometimes taken longer breaks then they want me to or take to long to eat my meals they have punished me with in various tools and being locked in a very cold time out room. Again though they never seemed like they got any sick thrill from the process.

Later after school

I was taking a shortcut through the park to clear my head and think about if my parents would agree to having me tutored by a local academy like Hope's Peak. While I was walking I suddenly heard dogs barking and a man screaming at them to stop. Looking to my right I saw a fairly old looking man chasing after 2 dogs that were fighting. One was a lean and tall with light brown fur and it had an exotic look to it. It was limping on its hind leg while trying to fight back an equally tall looking Dalmatian. The brown one was the only of the 2 with a collar so it was clear which was the old man's dog. Overcome with a need to help the old man and dog I did the first thing that came to mind. I pulled out my emergency whistle out. Then started grabbing some nearby rocks I started throwing them while blowing the whistle as loud as I could. This spooked the other dog enough that it decided to flee and leave the pair alone.

"Oh thank you young sir for the assistance. I would of used my young master's dog whistle to stop this but Seth here was running like a bat out of hell when that other dog came and stole his favorite toy. By the time I realized I needed the whistle I lost it while trying to chase them." the old man said

Now that he was up close I got a better look at him. He was short with a stern looking expression on his face and pale blue eyes. His fairly long hair was completely white and combed backwards. He also had a white beard running down from his temples all the way across his chin, as well as a thin grey mustache. By his attire and fact he used the term "young master" it was safe to assume he was someone's butler.

He then looked at his watch and called the dog named Seth over.

"Terribly sorry but I need to go take Seth to his scheduled vet appointment for his leg. My name is Aloysius Pennyworth by the way and let me know if you ever find my whistle or Seth's toy could you?" Mr. Pennyworth asked while hurrying off.

"That was kind of odd but he seemed like a nice old man." I thought to myself.

I looked up and noticed that the sky was turning a bit grey. A few drops of rain hit my nose and my first thought was to hurry home but I didn't want to let the toy or whistle of the dog get messed up in rain. Luckily I didn't have to search to long before finding them in a nearby destroyed bush that they likely ran through earlier. The toy was a purple squeaky bone with a number to call if lost printed on it. More rain was starting to fall so I ran home before getting to read the whole address.

At the Shingetsu's house

"Father? Mother? I'm home from school. Could you both come down here please?" I called out into the house as soon as I got in. Silence responded back for a few minutes before I could hear the footsteps of both coming into the living room. Even though he isn't all to muscular my father Kazuya Shingetsu is a tall man at 6 ft and kind of intimating when he glares at people with his piercing sky blue eyes that match my own. His hair is a darker blue then mine though but for the most part I've been told I pretty much look like a paler miniature version of him. My mother Kana shingetsu is only slightly shorter then him, brown eyes and with a slight tan to her skin straight carrot top hair. My dad is a one of the science teachers at my school and does research on human behavior. He hasn't told me exactly what his latest projects are but has told me that me getting perfect scores through now till I've completed both high school and college will help one of them somehow.

"Did you get your grades back for that Language class yet son?"My dad asked.

"Not yet but they should be here next week. I'm glad you brought up class though. I wanted to show you something I got from school this morning." I said this with a hopefully convincing smile as I pulled out the sheet of paper and handed it to them.

"Hope's peak academy tutoring program? Hmm, I'll admit I thought about signing you up for the program once but with the types of delinquents I've heard they've started accepting over the years I'm not sure what type of unsavory characters they might stick you with. That and the fields they might have you study might not be relevant to what you need." Father commented.

"But this program only let's teens who excel best at tutoring kids in the subjects they need. They wouldn't just stick me with just anybody doing a crazy unrelated school subject. Even if they do have someone teaching me something I'm not studying at my school you yourself have said its best to learn a few new facts ahead of others. That knowing new material before others can help me succeed in future studies all the more right?" I pleaded.

"Hmm, he makes a fair enough argument dear since we did say that." Mother said.

"Your mother and I will have to discuss it further later but for now I'll have to think on it." Father replied

"Thank you! You won't regret it I promise it." I said then hurried up stairs.

Even though I said they wouldn't regret it I wasn't a 100% sure myself if they or I might regret this choice. I've never thought of myself as a bratty or needy kid and all I ever wanted from my parents was to meet their expectations of me. Maybe in the end my friends parents will turn out to be the only ones with alternative reasons for their actions and mine really are just simply so strict to this extreme out of love. In the back of my mind though maybe I truly know the reason I want to go through with this program is because somewhere in the agenda of my life they could be hiding a despair inducing truth. Would I be truly prepared for such a truth? I couldn't answer that just yet.

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Well I'm glad to have finally updated. How do you think with using a character's POV? Should I try it next chapter as well? Let me know and share my fic with your friends.^_^.