"Hope!" Normal Speech

'Despair!' People's thoughts

"Truth!" Flashbacks

Disclaimer: I have as much ownership of the Danganronpa series as you do dear reader.

AN: Thanks to both RWBYJNPR and Zephyrius29 for beta-reading this chapter.

AN2: Other tags for this story (since the site only gives you 2): Mystery/Friendship/Drama

Chapter 3

No Rest For the Lucky Ones

The first thing that reached his ears was the sound of someone humming.

It was an action filled with happiness, something that his ears were able to pick up even with his eyes closed. The person responsible for said hum almost sounded as if everything was right in the world and nothing would ever change that.

The fact that he also felt a hand slowly moving through his brown hair in a way that could only be described as soothing, combined with how reluctant he felt about disrupting the obviously content person to his side, almost made him pretend to be asleep.

But of course, more than one question about his current situation in his mind made that idea vanish as soon as it popped into his head. Was he comfortable? Absolutely, but the honest worry of now not being inside the school, even though the last thing he remembers is a certain teacher of his forcing a drink into his throat, was now urging him to open his eyes and get some answers.

Sounded like an exaggeration, but it wouldn't be the first time he closed his eyes in one place just to be in a completely different one in the next second.

Better to be safe than sorry was something that he learned to live by.

But even more importantly was the fact that he couldn't feel his trusted hoodie around his body, pretty much meaning that someone had taken it from him and left him with just his white shirt under it.

That, as he had learned during his second time at Hope's Peak Academy, was never a good thing.

But even so he knew how strange would it be if he just opened his eyes all out a sudden, so it was after a few seconds that the Luckster released a small moan on purpose in order to alert whoever was caressing his hair that he was about to wake up.

"Eh!?"

The response he got could only be described as a nervous squeak, one that made him take a guess as to who said voice belonged to. Said sound was followed by the owner of the voice retracting her hand in such a quick motion that the brown-haired almost got worried that the spike of hair resting on top of his head had hurt her or something.

That thing was surprisingly sharp.

He opened his eyes slowly just as his right hand moved towards his forehead in an attempt of calming the pain he was feeling on his head. It honestly felt as if his head met a wall or something.

Instead of meeting skin though, his fingers ended up touching the bandage that had been wrapped around his head, something that easily brought even more questions to his pounding head.

Luckily for him, he wasn't alone. He raised his upper body slowly while his right hand then moved through his hair just as his brown eyes moved from the front to the person standing to the side of the bed he was using, with a kind smile forming on his lips as soon as his hazel orbs made contact with a pair of light purple eyes.

"Tsumiki-san." He called out to the girl in a soft voice from his sitting position, something that he had learned to do whenever dealing with the purple haired girl.

Honestly, with the way the Ultimate Nurse was looking at him, with her hands clasped in front of her as her body shook for reasons he could still not comprehend, he couldn't help but compare her to a fearful deer.

He almost felt like she would flinch if he made any sudden moves.

"N-Naegi-san." Her quivering voice did little to stop the comparison in Makoto's mind to the point that he honestly started to wonder if he had done something to upset the girl. That idea was quickly shot out of his head as soon as he realized he had only recovered consciousness less than two minutes ago.

Even so, he couldn't help but to want to know what was wrong. His questions about how he ended in the infirmary room of all things could be saved for later for after he managed to calm down the older Ultimate.

It ended up being said Ultimate the one that spoke first.

"I-I'm sorry!" Mikan suddenly said in such a high-pitched, nervous tone that it caught Makoto by surprise. "I'm s-sorry for w-waking you up! I just…"

As soon as those words reached Makoto's ears they made the Luckster want to release a small sigh. He controlled himself however, knowing how the Ultimate Nurse would probably take the action if he did.

She was already looking as if someone had kicked her puppy; there was no reason to make it even worse.

"Tsumiki-san, don't worry." He spoke as gently as he could while raising his hand almost as if just to prove the girl that he wasn't going to harm her. "You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I think I should be the one apologizing here."

Mikan's expression was quick to turn into a confused frown, almost as if the words that the ahoge-haired boy said hadn't processed properly in her head. Why would he be the one apologizing? She was the one that woke him up by accident after touching his hair while he slept after all.

She hadn't been able to help it though; heck just having him here under her care was already more than enough to get her imagination going a mile per second. She was able to control herself though, mostly out of fear of upsetting him if he found out.

Even when she knew that the younger Ultimate was never one to get angry at her she still couldn't help worrying about such a thing happening. He was her closest friend after all, and if it wasn't for a certain Ultimate Imposter he would also be the only one she could actually call a friend without any doubt.

But even so she knew everyone had a limit, and even if the Luckster's kindness towards her looked to never end she still felt more than a little anxious about those smiles he kept giving her suddenly turning into an annoyed scowl.

Not that such a thing had happened in the year she had known the Ultimate Lucky Student of class 78 mind you.

And when it came to said Luckster…

"I mean it, Tsumiki-san." He continued with his smile, only having a small idea of what was going through the girl's mind and knowing that there were only a small handful of things he could do about it. Mikan's issues weren't things you could fix in one day after all. "I'm not completely sure of how I ended up here, but it means that you were taking care of me, right?"

A small nod was the response he got from Mikan, who seemed to have calmed down slightly by his tone.

"Then I'm the one that should be apologizing for eating up your time." He continued without missing a beat just as one of his hands played with the bandage on his head. "You should really give yourself some more credit, Tsumiki-san, you're probably the most capable one when it comes to stuff like this, and that's inside a school filled with the best of the best."

He wasn't exaggerating for he truly believed that. After studying a year with her, Makoto could safely say that the only one that came even close to Mikan in that aspect was a certain silver-haired older Ultimate.

"Y-you think that…?" The girl asked softly, giving the time traveler a weird sense of deja-vu. He was extremely sure this wasn't the first time they had this type of exchange, but that wouldn't stop him from answering once more.

"Of course!" He responded with nothing but conviction dripping from his voice. His face turned into a sheepish one soon after, with his hand moving from his head to his cheek "I don't think I would have lasted this long without you here, Tsumiki-san, with the number of times I've ended up in this place."

He even had his own bed with his name on it and everything, although he didn't know if that was a thing to feel proud about.

His words seemed to finally do the trick though, for the girl's dubious frown slowly formed into a content smile. She was even blushing from what Makoto could only guess was embarrassment; after all, he knew how it felt to just get complimented out of nowhere, even if he was just saying the truth.

With the purple-haired Ultimate seemingly more relaxed, Makoto took a second to inspect the room he was in. It was just like how he remembered it being from the last time he had landed here, which funnily enough, although it depended on whom you asked, it was not so long ago.

The white walls that surrounded the room, the half-dozen beds with sheets as clean as they could get, and of course the infinite amount of objects that even now he still didn't know that they do. He was just glad that none of them had been used on him though, since normally whatever it was that landed him here could be fixed with nothing but a small bandage.

He assumed he shouldn't be surprised by the level of quality though, after all not only was this the only infirmary room in the whole school, but it was also the Ultimate Nurse's Research Lab of all things.

He still had to get used to that one, to be honest. While he had only spent one year studying in Hope's Peak Academy before everything went to literal hell, and with those memories still being a bit hazy even after Future Foundation's help he still found it odd that he had no memories of Research Labs.

But by now he could only think of them as natural. It made enough sense in his head, as in rooms made with the sole purpose of being used by their respective Ultimate to put their talents into action and push said talents even further were just a natural part of what Hope's Peak wanted to do.

He even had his own too, although he had to control the shudder that went down his spine at the thought of that room. It was just… weird if he had to put it nicely, and this was coming from someone that had entered all the other Research Labs.

He also had to share it with the two other Ultimate Lucky Students residing right now in Hope's Peak, which meant things could get, well, chaotic would be a word to describe it.

To this day he still didn't know how someone could win a game of Russian Roulette with all the bullets inside the gun, but it was apparently a thing all right, he saw it with his own eyes so it was hard to deny it.

First things first though, and that was to get some answers. Sure, he could put two and two together easily enough, but it was better to get confirmation rather than assuming things, something that he had learned by now.

Problem was that the only one that could provide him with said information was too busy giving a silly smile to the floor while she played with her fingers as she blushed to the point that he had to wave his hand in front of her face just to get her attention once more.

"Eh? W-well that's…" The purple-haired girl mumbled as she tried to find the right words to explain to the younger Ultimate how he ended here "Kizakura-sensei brought you here, he said that you h-hit your head with a ball that came flying inside through a window…"

He could only massage the bridge of his nose in response to the older man's excuse, not only because of how ridiculous it sounded but also by the fact that, judging by Mikan's worried expression, she had believed it in its entirety.

Not that he could blame her though, after all, it would not have been the first time it even happened.

"Where's sensei then?" For how lax the man could be, even Makoto would like to think that he wouldn't just ditch a student in the infirmary and then call it a day.

"Well…" Mikan continued slowly, her gaze now low "Yukizome-sensei happened to be passing by…"

And he needed no more words to get a picture as to what happened while he was unconscious.

He closed his eyes for just a second with the intention of sending a silent prayer to the blonde man, truly hoping that he would be able to keep his job, and every part of his body if the man was lucky enough.

But with that out of the way, a more urgent matter made itself present on the Luckster's head. That matter being the fact that he was starting to feel a bit…naked without his trusted hoodie hugging his body.

"Tsumiki-san, what about my clothes?" He voiced out his doubt with a small tint of red appearing on his cheeks, after all, he knew it was probably Mikan that took them off his unconscious body.

He decided to not ask her about that though, for both of their sake. Sure, he was curious as to why she would need to take his clothes if it was just a wound in the head, but who was he to question an expert on the matter?

"I-I'll go get them!" The high-pitched answer he got from the Nurse told him that he wasn't the only one embarrassed about that, something that was followed by the girl almost running to one of the desks just to retrieve the carefully folded clothes.

He could have grabbed them by himself if she had just pointed out that they were that close, but the brown-haired Ultimate decided to not comment on that as his gaze kept focusing on the nervous girl, who was already walking back towards him.

In retrospective though, he should have seen this one coming from a mile away. You would think that after seeing it happen so many times he would get used to the sight, but even then he still couldn't help but be amazed by Mikan's…skills.

"Ah…!"

Because if there was one word that could be used to describe what was happening right now, it would be clumsy.

"T-Tsumiki-san?!"

To this day he still didn't understand how someone manages to trip over nothing but air.

But it was hard to not believe it when he just saw it with his own eyes, and with the result of that being Mikan's body colliding against him, sending the two Ultimates spiraling into the floor just as Makoto's clothes were sent flying.

The end sight was something that could even be considered a work of art for some.

And even when he was involved in it, if someone asked him to explain his current position Makoto simply wouldn't be able to do so, for his own mind could barely even register what had happened, let alone think of a logical explanation for it.

After all, it wasn't every day you had the Ultimate Nurse on top of you, with her hand below your shirt and touching your mid-section, her legs firmly locked between yours and her chest pushed into your face to the point that you almost forgot how to breathe.

He was sure that his face was even releasing steam if the heat he could feel from it was any indication, not that the older Ultimate was faring any better if the way her eyes looked like swirls while her face sported the strongest blush he had ever seen in his life was any indication.

The positive side of this though, and it was something that Makoto found himself repeating in his head in a vain attempt to calm his blood pressure, was the fact that there was no one to see them in such a compromising position.

"Oh my…!"

Suffice to say, he regretted thinking that not even a second later, for the next sight that filled the corner of his eyes was of someone opening the door of the room.

His own voice came out without warning, but the only thing that could be heard was a muffled sound as a result of his face still being trapped.

The strange noises Mikan was releasing in tandem with his muffled cries did little to help.

To be honest, while there were worse people that could find them like this, he could already feel the problems this would bring.

His hazel eyes got frozen in almost fear as they looked at the black eyes of the Ultimate standing by the door of the infirmary, with said Ultimate looking down at the spectacle in front of him with a smile that was getting bigger by the second.

"Please, don't stop on my account." The Ultimate Cook, Hanamura Teruteru, said in a happy tone just as he closed the door behind him. "Just give me a few seconds and I'll even join you, my friends."

The next thing that fell on the floor was Teruteru's red scarf, something that just made Makoto's already wide eyes even bigger somehow, with nothing but panic showing in them.

"N-No one is joining anyone!" With a jerk of his head, he was finally able to pry his mouth away from certain parts of Mikan's anatomy, with the urgency in his own voice being more than obvious to anyone that heard him. "Tsumiki-senpai, Hanamura-senpai, please!"

It took almost five minutes for the situation to be fixed.

Sadly for the trio, the only happy about that was Makoto himself.

"I'm s-sorry, Naegi-san…"

"It's fine, Tsumiki-senpai, really!" Sure, he couldn't look at the older girl without blushing now, but seeing her almost sobbing in the corner of the room was doing little to help.

"I apologize too, Makoto-kun." It was Teruteru the one that spoke next just as he readjusted his scarf. "I…should not have interrupted your moment."

"It was just an accident!" The Luckster was sure that his complaints were falling on deaf ears, however, if the thumbs up he was receiving from the brown-haired older Ultimate indicated anything.

The fact that Mikan had to help her classmate with his nosebleed didn't help either.

At least he was now fully clothed once more though, so there was always that silver lining.

"What brought you here in the first place, Hanamura-senpai?" Deciding that it was best for his mental health to change the subject, the Luckster asked his question while he rubbed the Nurse's back in a vain attempt to calm her down.

"Ah, I almost forgot!" With his sudden realization, the Ultimate Cook was quick to dig into the bag resting on his back, with even Mikan giving him a curious look from her watery eyes alongside Makoto.

"Here!" And with a proud tone, Teruteru presented a small plastic container to the younger Ultimate. "I was passing by with Yukizome-sensei and I thought this would help you once you woke up."

Accepting the offering, Makoto gave the object in his hand a curious look before opening the lid, and while it was probably his imagination he could have sworn right then and there that a golden light was released from what was resting inside the package.

"Hanamura-senpai…" The Luckster said in wonder as he eyes went from the container in his hands to the smaller Ultimate. "I mean, you didn't have to bother…"

"Nonsense!" The Chef answered with enthusiasm as he fixed his hair with a small comb. "I know by heart the type of meals you prefer, Makoto-kun. This much is not a problem at all!"

The time-traveler's eyes went back to the object in his hand, and he could even feel Mikan looking at it from behind his shoulder. In theory, it wasn't much, just a set of three moderate-sized rice balls, but just looking at them was enough to make Makoto's mouth water simply by the thought of their flavor.

Getting a meal from the one recognized as the Ultimate Cook wasn't something to take lightly, after all.

"Please, do dig in now that they're fresh." And with a signal of his hands the older Ultimate encouraged Makoto with a smile, one that Makoto was quick to return with one filled with gratitude.

Sure, he knew that the Ultimate Cook could be a bit… strange sometimes when it came to rather adult matters, but he also knew that his heart was always in the right place.

No wonder his mother was so proud of him, the time-traveler though, after all he certainly remembers how much of that the woman showed when Teruteru had actually taken him to his old family dinner.

However, even if his trust in his fellow Ultimates was nearly absolute, there was still one needed course of action needed to be done whenever it came to Teruteru's food.

"Ne, Senpai," He said in a friendly tone as he grabbed the left-most rice ball. "You didn't add anything weird to them, right…?"

His question was met with silence from the Ultimate Cook, who could only match Makoto's stare with a smile, one that did little to convince the Luckster with the amount of cold sweat that was now going down Teruteru's forehead.

Makoto shared a look with Mikan, who was also sporting a worried frown. You never knew what kind of things the Chef sometimes added to his creations after all, and even if the taste of it couldn't be called anything but excellent, there was still the fact that eating something made by him came with more than a few risks.

Last time they had to quarantine everyone to their rooms in fear of what they might do in their…excited state.

The fact that the Ultimate Cook of all people had been banned from actually cooking lunch at the school's cafeteria said a lot.

"I have a meeting with Headmaster Kirigiri after this, so I just wanted to make sure." He continued with a smile, not exactly lying, but also knowing he needed to do a bit of goading if he wanted an answer. He did have to meet with the older Kirigiri however; it just wasn't something he had to do immediately.

It was one of the reasons he actually came to the school in a free day in the first place.

The shocked visage that appeared on Teruteru's face was quickly replaced by a nervous chuckle as he played with his hair, with his dark eyes moving randomly as the amount of sweat pouring from his face somehow rose.

"You… might want to skip the middle one then." The Ultimate Cook said as nonchalantly as he could, something that just got an awkward smile from the Luckster. "I mean…just in case, you never know."

'Right…' The ahoge-haired boy thought as he gave a nod of acceptance, deciding to trust the older Ultimate's words. Without anything to stop him he was quick to take a bite of the rice ball, and even if he tried he knew he would not have been able to control the moan of delight that escaped him.

With Teruteru sporting a proud smirk, Makoto even offered the remaining safe rice ball to the remaining Ultimate in the room, although it took a bit of coaxing on his part to get Mikan to accept, and even then she only accepted it if he gave her the one he had already taken a bite from.

Weird indeed, but sometimes letting things go was the best way of progressing, or so he wanted to believe.

Suffice to say, the remaining rice ball was left forgotten.

However, the amicable atmosphere that surrounded the trio was not meant to last forever, for even if it was still quite early this was still Hope's Peak Academy, a place filled with the best of the best, the true elite.

But most importantly…

A place in which people really liked to open doors with more strength than necessary.

The sudden opening of the infirmary room was just another proof of that after all, with the act itself being enough to get surprised squeaks from the trio of Ultimates residing inside as they almost jumped from their seats, with their eyes instantly drawn to the one responsible of making such a noise.

"Oh thank God…" Said person spoke in a breathless, almost terrified whisper as he did his best to catch his breath, his shoulders shaking as he looked straight at Makoto with a combined look of hope, fear, and defeat.

The next thing that the Luckster felt was someone grabbing him by the shoulders before shaking him like a rag doll, leaving Mikan and Teruteru to watch the sight in wordless shock.

"Please you have to hide me he's coming for me!" The words that left Hino Asukasei's mouth came out in a rushed stream of dread and anxiety just as the member of the Student Council kept shaking the Ultimate Lucky Student as if his life depended on it.

"W-wait, Hino-senpai, w-what h-happened?!" It was only then that the older Ultimate stopped shaking the ahoge-haired boy, but even then he refused to release the grip on his shoulders, with the eyes hidden behind his glasses still sporting nothing but fear.

"There's no time to explain, he's coming I can feel it." The member of the Student Council continued in a whisper just before he looked over his shoulder, almost as if expecting something to jump at him "It was supposed to be my turn this weekend, but I can't do it he won't even let me sleep please just hide me!"

Still dressed in the school uniform unlike the other Ultimates in the room, Asukasei's eyes moved erratically around the infirmary right until they landed on the locker set firmly in one of the room's corners, with his next course of action quickly forming in his mind.

There was no time to doubt.

Rushing towards the grey locker that was barely big enough for someone to fit in, the member of the Student Council gave one last desperate look to his fellow Ultimates just as a final whisper left his quivering lips.

"Help me…" And with that he shut himself inside the closet filled with cleaning tools, leaving three clearly shocked teenagers in his wake, with said Ultimates then sharing a look between them filled with nothing but bewilderment.

Just what in the world could have left someone like Hino Asukasei in such a state? While such a question appeared in both Mikan's and Teruteru's mind, it was Makoto that was assuming the worst already.

Luckily, although right there it would depend to who you asked, the answers to their doubts came once the door was opened once more with a firm strength, although carefully enough to not make such a forceful sound like the one before.

This time the one that opened the door swept through the room from left to right with his gaze, almost like a lookout tower trying to find the infiltrating enemy.

"Tsumiki-senpai, Hanamura-senpai, please excuse my rudeness." The first words that came out of his mouth was a small greeting as soon as his eyes landed on the two older Ultimates to the side, with his tone being as serious as it could get.

However said tone, alongside his no-nonsense expression, were shattered as soon as his red eyes landed on the remaining Ultimate in the room, with his whole form expressing shock once he noticed the bandages around the Luckster's head.

"Naegi-kun!" The newcomer made a beeline towards the sitting time-traveler, almost like a missile going straight at its objective, with said Luckster having no time to react before another hand landed firmly on his shoulder, although luckily for him this time he was not shaken around like a toy. "What happened to you? Are you alright? Who did this?!"

"Ishimaru-kun, calm down!" Makoto was quick to come to his senses though, as he tried to calm the increasingly worried Ultimate Moral Compass of his class. "It was just an accident and I'm better now."

In his opinion, it was better to just let things vague instead of repeating whatever lie certain blonde teacher of them had said.

"Just an accident, you say…" It seemed the red-eyed Ultimate struggled to accept such a simple answer, even when he knew it was most likely the truth, after all not only he didn't believe his best friend to be capable of lying to him, but he also knew how the Ultimate Lucky Student of his class could be prone to get caught in rather…unusual accidents.

But even so, he couldn't help but worry about the smaller Ultimate's wellbeing. After all, wasn't it his responsibility to watch over his classmates? But even beyond that, Makoto's safety was something more personal to him, something that was already making him rearrange his current plans in his head.

It wouldn't do him good to just abandon his future vice-president of the Student Council in his time of need, after all.

It truly didn't take him long to reach a conclusion.

"Senpais!" With a sudden yell, Kiyotaka was fast to turn towards the older Ultimates once more, with his rise in tone and firm stare being enough to leave the two students of class 77 more than a bit nervous, especially a certain nurse. "I thank you for taking care of my classmate, but I must insist on taking over such duties by myself."

And as soon as those words rang true, Makoto could have sworn he heard a small whimper coming from a certain locker.

Not like he had any time to focus on that though.

"Wait, Ishimaru-kun," With a hand on his shoulder Makoto was quick to speak while sporting a frown. "I appreciate your concern, but Tsumiki-senpai and Hanamura-senpai already helped a lot," Turning his frown into a grateful smile, the Luckster continued. "And I think you're already busy enough without having to worry about me."

The spiky-haired Ultimate simply looked down at the Luckster's eyes for a few seconds, almost as if trying to find something in those hazel eyes. It ended with him simply closing his eyes and releasing a sigh though, alongside a small nod of his head.

"You're right." Kiyotaka spoke in a low tone, normally unbefitting of the Ultimate Moral Compass "I was trying to find Hino-senpai to ask him some more questions, but I haven't been able to find him today."

Alright, now Makoto was more than sure that a small sob had left that locker.

However, whatever thought he had about Kiyotaka agreeing with him was blown out of the window as soon as he opened his red eyes once more, which showed nothing but firm determination.

"However, how can I do such a thing if it means ignoring my friend when he needs me?!" The shout of conviction that left Kiyotaka only made Makoto hung his head, truly feeling touched by the sentiment but also kind of defeated.

"B-but, I…" Surprisingly enough it was Mikan the one that tried to speak next, while Teruteru for his part was seemingly more than happy with simply watching from his chair, although the looks the Ultimate Cook was giving the closet in the corner was enough to give the Ultimate hiding inside a shiver down his spine.

"Geez man, I can hear your yells from outside!"

Sadly for the Nurse, she was interrupted by another voice that came from outside of the room, which could only be heard in the first place since the door had been left open.

"Yo, Makoto-chi!" The owner of said voice made himself known by sticking his head inside the room with a grin plastered on his face and a wave of his hand towards his classmate. "I knew I'd find you here."

"Hagakure-kun?" If Kiyotaka's sudden presence had been a surprise to the time-traveler, then the sudden entrance of the Ultimate Clairvoyant was nothing short of a shock.

Now he was starting to feel bad for the owner of this particular Research Lab, especially with the anxious looks the older girl was giving each time someone new entered her sanctuary without her permission.

He didn't even bother asking how the oldest student in the school knew that he was here, after all, he had learned a long time ago to not underestimate Yasuhiro's talent, even if a lot of his friends thought of him as nothing but a sham.

That and, well, by now he knew that a lot of his friends tended to look for him here in case they didn't find him anywhere else.

He didn't know how to feel about that one.

Just like how he didn't know how to feel about Yasuhiro's next words.

"C'mon buddy, I need to show you something cool." While draping an arm around the Luckster's neck, Yasuhiro was quick to try to take Makoto out of the room, catching said brown-haired teen by surprise.

Not that his actions were received nicely, mind you.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Hagakure-kun." First it was Teruteru himself who stood between the Ultimate Clairvoyant and the door, alongside a challenging smile present on his lips.

"I agree." It was then that Kiyotaka put a hand on his classmate's shoulder, forcing him to release his hold on the Luckster. "In case you haven't realized, Naegi-kun is in no condition to be moving around just like that!"

'I just hit my head on the floor, you guys…' Is what Makoto wanted to say, while also swearing to himself to never drink anything that a certain blonde teacher could offer him. Once was clearly more than enough if this was the result, and he hadn't even agreed to that one!

"Huh…?" While for his part Yasuhiro simply looked at both Kiyotaka and Teruteru as if they were missing the most obvious thing in the world right before he shook his head in obvious disappointment. "That's exactly why I have to take him out of here!"

And now it was both Kiyotaka and Teruteru the ones looking at the older man as if he had lost his mind, which to both Ultimates was actually a real concern.

"Because I," Yasuhiro continued, completely ignoring the stares he was receiving from everyone inside the room, even from the locker in the corner. "Have seen it already!" He then pointed right at Kiyotaka, who could only glare in response. "You are going to make Makoto-chi do something dumb like cleaning all the hallways with just a rug!"

"And you!" His finger was now set on the Ultimate Cook. "Are just going to drug him, again!" In Teruteru's defense, he did seem a bit apprehensive about that, although he still preferred to simply frown in response.

"As Makoto-chi's best friend I can't let you get away with that!" By the end of if the Ultimate Clairvoyant looked quite proud of himself if the grin he sported was anything to go by, however, it was his final words that finally broke whatever patience was left inside the two other Ultimates.

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to have the school in its best condition!" While giving one step the Ultimate Moral Compass spoke with firmness. "And it is certainly better than your lazy attitude for everything, which I might add should not be allowed in our school environment!"

"That was just one time!" Teruteru followed suit as he inched closer, with his face now sporting quite the red color. "And I never heard you complaining whenever you tried my meals!"

"And what do you mean by his best friend?!" They both even spoke in unison at the last part, with the two now inching closer by the second to the point that Yasuhiro was actually starting to sweat as he walked backward slowly.

As for the two watching the show…

"I am so sorry for this, Tsumiki-senpai."

"N-no, it's fine, Naegi-san."

"I'm pretty sure it isn't…"

Their roles had, at some point, reversed without them noticing; with the Luckster pretty much begging for forgiveness for what he considered was his fault while the Ultimate Nurse did her best to convince him of the contrary.

However, with the spectacle that Makoto was seeing, he knew that it was better if he did something now before Mikan's Lab became a broken mess.

"Guys, please." He was quick to move in between the tri of Ultimates, even if it meant ignoring Mikan's concern for his safety. In the back of his head, he also felt slightly relieved that Mukuro wasn't watching over him at the moment, for he could only guess what would happen if she was here.

"I'm really better now, see?" Makoto spoke with a smile just as he quickly got rid of the bandage around his head, with his brown eyes moving from one of his friends to the other one to make sure they understood. "There's really no need to worry, Tsumiki-senpai was already doing a great job helping me."

His words not only made the Ultimate Nurse look down at her feet with a small smile on her lips, but it also got Kiyotaka, Yasuhiro and Teruteru to look at the girl in question, and for a moment there Makoto honestly thought that they were taking his words to heart.

That thought only lasted less than two seconds, however.

"I really must insist on staying…just to be sure nothing inappropriate happens."

"Yeah, no offense here but I think she's even worse…"

Each word felt like a stab to the young woman's heart to the point that she was left in speechless shock, her whole body trembling slightly.

Makoto's palm met his own face almost instinctually.

Teruteru's final words didn't help much either.

"I have no idea what you lot are talking about," The Ultimate Cook said with confidence just as he rubbed his chin. "Tsumiki-san's skills are the best I've ever seen in my life!"

With the way he spoke, alongside the wiggle of his eyebrows and the small droplets of blood already going down his nose, there was to mistake as to which skills Teruteru was referring to.

"Guys c'mon!" Makoto's complaint was followed by the sound of Mikan pretty much collapsing on her knees with her mouth open, although no sound escaped her lips as if she was frozen in shock.

"Yelling so much that you can hear it from the hallway, isn't it too early to act this spoiled?"

Now that voice was actually enough to make everyone inside the room nervous, except for a still frozen Mikan that is. The owner of said voice was quick to enter the room with a smile on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest.

And while she was giving them all a look filled with kindness, the reproach in her tone could not have been mistaken for anything else, and it was enough to leave the ones responsible for Mikan's current state in looks of worry.

"Yukizome-sensei…" It was Makoto the one that spoke first, with his voice showing just how relieved he was with the presence of the Hope's Peak teacher, who also sported the title of Ultimate Housekeeper.

After all, when things got so bad that even he couldn't calm his fellow Ultimates by himself, he knew he could always count on Yukizome Chisa for help.

In response, the orange-haired young woman moved towards the fallen Mikan from behind her, more specifically the second door of the Research Lab that she had used to enter. Once she got close enough she ended up putting one of her hands on top of the Nurse's head, which actually got the purple-haired girl to look up at the smiling woman.

"Don't pay attention to them, Tsumiki-chan. Boys sometimes say things without really meaning it…" She spoke briefly to the girl before giving the young men in front of her, with the exception of Makoto himself, a challenging look. "…right?"

"Of course!" It was Makoto who took advantage of Chisa's words to save the situation, and whatever was left of Mikan's self-esteem. "I'm sure they were just joking!"

A chorus of apologies followed soon after that, with Kiyotaka's being the one that shows the more remorse considering the other two didn't even know what part of what they had said had been wrong.

It was something at least, and at the moment Makoto was just glad that Mikan's tears had dried by now. She still looked more than a bit anxious, but right now it was better than the alternative.

He made a silent promise to make it up to her as soon as he could however; after all, he was pretty sure that this one was his fault.

At least the issue was over, or so he wanted to believe.

The fact that his arm was grabbed tightly by the newest addition to the group told him otherwise, however.

"I must agree that this is not the best environment for someone to recover though." The green-eyed woman spoke in a serious tone. "With so much yelling you can't expect someone to recover properly. You should all really reflect on that."

The two Ultimates of class 78, alongside their senpai, couldn't really deny that statement and simply found themselves looking down in shame. Not that Chisa's serious face lasted for long though, since it was quickly replaced with a cheerful smile just as she started pulling Makoto's arms without a warning.

"That's why I'll be taking care of Makoto-kun for the moment."

"Eh?" Without even realizing it, the duo of teacher and student were already halfway out the room, with any attempt that the Luckster had of breaking free from the teacher's grasp being met with an even stronger grip from her part.

"I'll be sure to take good care of him, so you don't have to worry, Tsumiki-chan."

"W-wait, sensei…!" Whatever complains Makoto could have became less hearable for the Ultimates remaining in the room the further he was taken away from the room thanks to the teacher, and while the remaining young man's inside couldn't find it in them to complain about her decision it was Mikan the one that looked the most devastated with the Luckster's departure.

She would have said something if she had actually found the correct words, but now the only thing she could do was to look hopelessly at the door her teacher has just walked through alongside her favorite Luckster.

"H-hey, did someone leave a window open or something?" It was Yasuhiro the one that spoke suddenly just after he felt a small chill going down his spine, and going by what he could see he wasn't the only one feeling like that.

Before they could respond him though, the sound of metal hitting a wall echoed loudly in the room, drawing everyone's surprised faces, with the exception of Mikan that kept her eyes glued to the door, to the corner from which the sound came from.

"Did you all really just let Yukizome-sensei leave with Naegi? Alone?!"

The words of the sweating and huffing Hino Asukasei hit the group like a lightning, with them not even bothering questioning why was a member of the Student Council hiding inside a closet of all things.

Instead, the trio moved in unison as they tried to leave through the closest door, their shame replaced with concern, now remembering that what they just had allowed to happen was a big no-no, almost like an unspoken rule inside the walls of Hope's Peak Academy.

The only thing they accomplished was starting another argument though, for they couldn't even walk through the door with all three of them trying to move at the same time.

Asukasei suddenly collapsing on the floor did little to help in the matter.

And as for the Ultimate Nurse…

She was simply too busy still staring at the free door of her Research Lab, with her fingers twitching almost randomly as no emotion showed on her face, not even on her eyes which were as empty as they could get.

Her idea of breaking some legs so that no one could take her Naegi Makoto from her was starting to sound better and better each day.

The Ultimates residing in Mikan's Research Lab weren't the only ones with clear intentions regarding certain Luckster however, for right now others were starting to make their move.

And one of them was a certain man sporting the mask of a cow, with said man walking in front of a pair of Ultimates that were looking at him with eyes of expectation.

"It seems Nidai-kun was not able to bring him today." The masked man spoke quietly just as he gave one final step, with the red eyes of his mask now boring holes in the two individuals in front of him, however, if they were scared by it then they definitely didn't show it.

"Fear not, however, for this only means it is our turn to move by ourselves." He spoke with passion while smacking a fist right into his own chest. "Let us find Naegi Makoto-kun and bring him here. Failure is not an option!"

"Yeah!" A sporty, blue-eyed girl responded with energy, which showed in the way she even raised her fist just as she spoke.

To her side, her companion simply nodded firmly, her white hair following suit. She might not voice it out, but she was no less focused on the task at hand, something that showed by the almost visible aura living her body.

"We are moving out then." And with those last words, the trio moved to find their objective: One small teen sporting an ahoge.

"To think that radar would actually help us now… I still wonder why you even have it in the first place, Keebo-kun."

"B-blame Iruma-san for that… She added it without me knowing!"

"Eh, who cares about that, Shuichi? As long as it takes us to Makoto then the rest doesn't matter!"

"Shouldn't Keebo-kun be the one leading us then, Momota-kun?"

"Less complaining, more running, Kaede!"

Class 79 was moving forward without doubting.

"And why do I have to be the one bringing him along?" The annoyance in his voice could not be mistaken for anything else, although his sentiment could also be easily detected just by the look he was giving the sitting woman in front of him.

"You can't expect us two to find him as quickly as you could." The fact that said woman didn't even speak, instead preferring to use her laptop, or to be more precise the avatar of said laptop, didn't really make him more enthusiastic about what he was supposed to do.

He wasn't a fan of speaking to digital talking rabbits, after all.

"P-please, Matsuda-senpai.." The remaining Ultimate of the trio spoke in a soft tone, only getting a small grunt from the young man just as he looked down at the feminine looking boy.

Of course, if he left someone in a wheelchair and someone that looked like a shaking leaf to do it then it might as well never get done.

"Fine, whatever." He ended up just accepting, mostly to skip the part in which they argued in favor of just getting the deed done.

He still wasn't able to hold the tired sigh that left his lips as soon as he started his search, wondering exactly at what point had his life started to spin around one Ultimate Lucky Student of all things.

He definitely blamed it on Junko and her obsession with the boy. He had never even heard of him until she brought him up, and then a few months later he becomes the only thing he ever hears about!

Sure, the kid knew a lot of helpful things about the program they were working on for someone that only had Luck as his talent, but even so!

He definitely didn't need to hear almost daily just how annoyingly cute he was whenever he glared at a certain Fashionista.

"I don't get paid enough for this." He muttered under his breath just as he stopped walking with a frown on his face as a result of what just crossed his gaze.

A group of younger students running as if their lives depended on it, with one of them looking like a robot that just came out from a manga he had just read a couple of days back.

He brought a hand up to his face to massage the bridge of his nose.

Today was going to be a long day, wasn't it?

First of all, proper thanks to both RWBYJNPR and Zephyrius29 for helping me with this chapter!

Shorter than the last one, but I guess it is a result of the chapter only having one location this time. I'll admit I was planning on adding Keebo to the chapter properly instead of just having that little bit at the end, but ended up deciding to put him in another chapter.

I'll admit I found writing Mikan hard, even though I quite like her. Same with Kiyotaka if I have to be honest, but I'll try to get the hang of them properly in the future.

A small tease at the end. Chisa could be considered the final boss for some of the Ultimates when it comes to Makoto, however the real final boss when it comes to getting his attention will appear later.

As of this chapter, this story has surpassed the 100 favorite and followers mark and for that, I can't thank you enough. Of course, thank you for all the reviews that you have left, not only do I love those, but the feedback is always appreciated.

See you all next chapter, which with any luck should come faster than this one.

Next Chapter: A library is a place of learning, not this!