"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 14
Generation of Harmony
Finding a new approach to his dilemma ended up being a lot easier than he thought it would.
The opportunity had pretty much fallen in his lap after all, and he was truly glad for such a thing.
If it had been left to him alone he would have probably come up with nothing considering how nervous he had been all night after a certain pair of blondes had left his home yesterday.
But hey, at least this time said nervousness didn't come from some future world-ending event.
That was progress, right?
"Naegi-senpai?"
Standing in the middle of the hallway and looking at the door of a classroom with a glassy look in his eyes, however, was not the best way to show said progress to the masses.
"S-sorry, Akamatsu-san." An apologetic smile made its way to his lips in response, one that did little to convince the Ultimate Pianist that was standing right to his left.
"Is something wrong with senpai?" The blonde asked with a frown, and just hearing that question was enough to make him think of what had been plaguing his mind ever since he woke up today.
He tried, and failed miserably too, at controlling the reddening that covered his cheeks at remembering such a thing.
Suffice to say, breakfast had been an awkward affair when your sister refused to even acknowledge your presence.
"I-I'm fine, thank you!" He squeaked out louder than necessary before trying to laugh it off with a chuckle, one that died slowly once Kaede's doubtful frown refused to leave her face, with a silent groan escaping him as a result of his own actions.
He really was the peak of smoothness today, wasn't he?
"I'm just…worried about what Oma-kun might do, that's all!" Deciding that such a thing sounded like a valid enough excuse, the Luckster did his best to avoid the narrowed gaze from the younger Ultimate.
It wasn't necessarily a lie either, for a part of him was certainly nervous about that, but that was a constant worry in the first place.
"Oh!" Although said gaze was then quick to turn into an understanding one as soon as she heard his excuse. "I don't think you need to worry too much about him, senpai. He's been tied to his chair since Saturday."
Well, when she put it like that-
"He's been what?!"
"Naegi-chan! Save me, please!"
"Can't we put the sock back in his mouth?"
"Momota-kun!"
"What!?"
"…I say we throw him out the window."
"Harukawa-san!"
What face was he supposed to put up against such a show? He was sure that he was holding onto an incredulous expression from his position at the head of the classroom, even though by now he knew he should have gotten used to strange sights.
Even so, this was the first time he had seen one of his fellow classmates with a sock in his mouth.
He wished he could also say that it was the first time he had seen someone tied to a chair, but that would have been a lie.
Not that Nagito seemed to have cared that day.
Byakuya definitely cared though…
Now was hardly the time to remember fond, albeit weird, memories however!
"I have done as you requested, Naegi-senpai." He forced himself to move his focus from the scene at the back of the classroom in order to regard the silver-haired Ultimate bowing slightly to his side.
And he could honestly feel the sheer pride oozing off the Ultimate Maid.
"Thank you for the help, Tojo-san." Off the back of his head, he knew he should have wondered why he had not seen the Ultimate Maid as of late considering how… strong-willed she could be.
In retrospect, he should have realized that by telling her to check on the Ultimate Supreme Leader as a request, that she would have taken it far more seriously than anyone else.
If he understood properly, Tojo Kirumi had stayed by her classmate's side until he had recovered his consciousness.
He didn't have it on him to tell her that she had gone a bit overboard, however, so he could only thank her for her efforts.
The young woman had already shown more than enough regret for not being able to be there for him in his time of need anyway, so he didn't need to make her feel worse
"Is this…normal?" He asked with doubt and a frown, for while he certainly spent his time with his underclassmen, it wasn't like he could watch over them every hour of every day, especially during class time of all things.
Today was just the exception of the rule.
"No…" The silver-haired beauty answered with a small tilt of her head, an answer that had him releasing a sigh of relief.
"Well as long as they-"
"It is normally worse." Kirumi continued, however, stopping his words right in their tracks. "You will probably be able to see it once everyone has arrived."
He had to grab hold of the teacher's desk just to keep his balance, but he still couldn't avoid hanging his head low in defeat. Was it their fault for acting like that? Or his own for expecting different? Not like they would be the only class with more than a few issues among their members.
God knew that was the norm around here in the first place.
But the Maid had a point, however, for right now the classroom was a bit on the empty side. Only six students were here beside him after all, with the Ultimate Astronaut and Ultimate Child Caregiver only being here since they were early risers, while the Ultimate Maid herself had kept true to her duty by following the Ultimate Supreme Leader here.
And he had walked here with Kaede herself, who took her role as Class Representative quite serious so seeing her first wasn't much of a surprise in the first place.
That only left one more Ultimate in the room right now…
"Should Gonta help?" And to his left, he heard the voice of the tallest member of Class 79, with the concern dripping from his voice being nothing short of genuine. "Did Gonta do wrong by bringing Oma-kun here?"
The Luckster was then looked down by the taller figure with a look of nothing but concern and worry on his face, one that had him simply smiling in return alongside a small shake of his head.
Truly, the phrase 'big softy' had never been so accurate before, but such was the best way of describing the Ultimate Entomologist, Gokuhara Gonta
"It's fine, Gonta-kun." The Luckster patted the taller teen on his arm. "I think Oma-kun is actually enjoying himself…"
He wasn't going to start judging anyone, even if he didn't get it.
He would need to have a talk about tying up classmates to chairs though, and while he knew such a thing was something a teacher should be doing, well…
Their teacher was still bed-ridden and something in his gut told him that it was his fault somehow.
Gonta seemed to not understand at first, but after hearing the loud laugh that Kokichi released after being threatened to be thrown out of the window, the Ultimate Entomologist ended up just nodding with a tilt of his head.
"I-I swear it isn't always like this!" It was Kaede the one that decided to walk back towards Makoto while doing her best to save face, even though her deflated ahoge told a different story.
The only thing she got in response, however, was a hand on her shoulder and a smile filled with so much understanding that she was almost moved to tears.
For if there was something that Naegi Makoto could relate too, it was Akamatsu Kaede's position.
Even down to the 'tying a classmate to a chair' bit.
He was sure that Byakuya would never forgive the class for that one.
"Naegi-senpai!"
And as the door of the classroom got opened once more by the missing members of the class, something told him that Kaede had three long years ahead of herself.
"This is blasphemous! Sacrilege! I demand a recount of the-" With the door of the classroom being firmly closed in his face, the world would never know what would have left Oma Kokichi's lips at that moment.
At least, not the people remaining inside the room, for there was sure a lot of muffled sound coming from outside the room
"I'm really sorry about that, senpai." The one that had done the deed herself spoke, with the Ultimate Pianist showing clear regret in her gaze.
"I-It's fine, really!" And while he understood her feelings, he certainly wasn't going to judge the girl or anything.
Sure, he had told her to just call a few specific members of her class here, but if someone was aware of how hard it was to keep something hidden, it was definitely him.
However, based on the shifting eyes from Kaede, something told him that she wasn't apologizing just because this little meeting had leaked to all of her classmates.
The soft sensation that had glued itself to his right arm probably had something to do with on that regard.
"Hehe….!"
"Ah?!" A sudden, small spike of pain from the right side of his head finally brought his attention to the person responsible for not only said pain but also of the blush that was creeping up on his whole face with each second.
He would like to think it was an understandable reaction when you had someone like Iruma Miu holding onto your arm with no apparent issue at pressing herself as much as she could onto him.
He didn't know what disturbed him more right now though, the delighted grin that had formed herself on her lips or the fact that said expression was being aimed at a strand of hair that she had just plucked out of his head.
He made a mental note to double check everything the Ultimate Inventor might give him lately, especially the food.
"Nyahahaha…!"
Looking to his left in a vain attempt to act as if whatever was happening to his right wasn't a worrying matter only made the Luckster's embarrassment reach levels that were too high for how early it was.
Just Miu he could handle that much, even if that raised a lot of questions about himself that he would rather prefer not answering.
But having the Ultimate Artist, Yonaga Angie, patting up and down his body while laughing was simply too much for his heart!
He certainly couldn't control the yelp that escaped him once he felt the white-haired girl pinching him on an area that certainly made this beyond the allowed skinship between students.
Maybe he should have brought an adult?
"A-Angie-san…?" He asked with a small hitch on his voice, making the girl stop for a moment just to smile up at him in a way that told him she found nothing wrong with what she was doing.
One would think that having surveillance cameras almost everywhere would limit such actions, but as Makoto had learned by now they might as well not exist with how little most of the students seemed to care.
"I need the proper measures for my next work." The dark-skinned girl spoke in an upbeat tone, almost as she was saying the obvious. "Atua prefers precision."
He was pretty damn sure there were better ways for doing that.
He didn't try to push them away, however, for he knew it wouldn't be fair considering what he was going to request from them.
Sure, it was technically a request from the school itself, but worrying about such details when it came to such favors wouldn't help at all.
"Knock it off you two!" Luckily for him, the Ultimate Pianist finally came to his rescue after seeing how uncomfortable he looked. Her declaration, however, was promptly ignored by her two classmates.
"H-How shameless, Naegi-senpai!" And from her position at the first row of desks, it was Chabashira Tenko who complained while glaring towards the Luckster in question, who could only return said glare with a bewildered look.
Wasn't he the victim here?
"L-Let's go before he tries to do the same to us, Yumeno-san!" The Ultimate Aikido Master's attitude certainly changed once she moved her attention to the red-head to her side.
However, said red-head simply ignored her and stayed rooted to her spot while also sporting quite the glare that she tried to hide behind her hat.
A part of the Ultimate Magician wanted nothing more than to pry away her special assistant from those two, but whenever she managed to gather up the courage to do it a certain part of the Inventor's anatomy stopped her in her tracks.
"That's cheating…" She murmured under her breath, with the annoyance showing in her eyes not being a result of Tenko's loud tone of voice this time.
Already knowing that he would get no help from the other two girls in the room, Makoto himself set his gaze on the last remaining student inside, who also just so happened to be the only other guy present.
"That's enough." A deep and firm voice was the response to his plight, one that easily gained the attention of the five girls standing in the classroom. "Makoto-senpai came here to tell us something but you're just annoying him like that."
"Huh? What the hell would a midget like you know?!" It was Miu who spoke in an aggressive tone with a glare.
However, the obviously angry expression of the blonde was quick to turn into a scared one, with Miu even moving from her spot to hide her body by standing behind Makoto, with her body even shaking as she kept a hold on the time-traveler's shoulder.
Not that Makoto really blamed her, for he knew there weren't many that could handle the sharp gaze of one Hoshi Ryoma, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, who definitely looked all but amused at the sight.
"Eh? Isn't it fine if it is with hubb-" A hand firmly clasped over her mouth, courtesy of Makoto himself, stopped Angie from continuing her words.
The Luckster did not need another misunderstanding, especially when there was someone that could throw him through a window with the greatest of ease.
Not that he believed Tenko was capable of doing such a thing, at least not to him by now, but still, better be safe than sorry.
At least Angie didn't seem upset by his actions. He didn't need more warnings about being smitten by a god of all things.
"Hoshi-kun is right." Finally finding an opening, it didn't take long for Makoto to remove himself from the two girls right before walking backward a bit to get a proper look at the six individuals inside the classroom alongside him. "I'm sorry about having to call you all, but it's an important matter about the school."
"Shouldn't Kizakura-sensei be the one to tell us?" Kaede questioned with a frown, wondering why she hadn't seen her Homeroom teacher as of late.
Of course, she knew about the amount of trust that the Luckster had around the school, but it sounded like it should be their teacher the one standing there instead of him.
"He's…busy." It was hard to give details when he didn't know them himself, but what he said was probably better than making them start fearing Chisa by telling them what he assumed had happened. "And Headmaster asked me to do it in his place."
Or rather, he had been forced by the Headmaster to do it, since excluding the absentee teacher he was the one with the most experience with this class.
It had also been part of the deal he had to agree to if he wanted the Headmaster to accept his request concerning certain green haired Li'l Ultimate.
Looks of confusion and interest danced across the younger Ultimates' eyes at his words, after all, they had been the ones picked among their classmate.
"I know we still have a couple of months before it," Makoto explained slowly. "But it's about the mid-term exams, actually."
"Exams?" Himiko wondered with a tilt of her head, vaguely remembering others mentioning those before.
"You mean the ones where we're supposed to show-off our Talents?" Ryoma understood quickly and spoke with a nod, which earned one in return from Makoto. There was also the normal part of the test that one would find in most schools sure, but he was sure he could count the number of students that actually cared about that part with his hands.
Suffice to say, he was also contained within that small category of students.
"Yes. Normally the school does it privately in front of the Headmaster and some of the best individuals on their respective fields." For one to keep their title of Ultimate, nothing but the best of performances was accepted for an institution like Hope's Peak Academy.
While his own exam was definitely different from the norm, he had seen his classmates and senpais showing their skill to the school more than once by now, so he definitely knew how demanding the exam itself was.
However, he wasn't here to tell them about that, for he was sure that they either understood it by now or that their confidence about their craft wouldn't let them worry in the first place.
"Normally?" It was Kaede the one that picked up on his wording, earning a smile from the ahoge-haired boy.
"Yes, that's what I wanted to explain actually." He continued without missing a beat. "While most will have the private treatment, the school also knows how important it is to show to the world what makes Hope's Peak special in the first place."
In the end, it came to the fact that the school needed the approval of the general public to keep functioning. Even excluding the necessary donations to keep the school itself running, for a place that prided itself for hosting the future hopes of the world, the approval of not only the country but of the world was nothing short of necessary.
"That's why each year a few select groups of students from each class are picked to have a more… public sort of exam. One that's even open to the general public, to display that all the efforts going into the school aren't being wasted."
Last year, it had certainly been quite the sight to see some of his classmates and senpais pretty much filling all that came to see them with awe. Even his own parents and little sister had been left nothing short of impressed.
"Ah, I remember something like that!" Kaede spoke once more, certainly remembering hearing about it on the past. It was hard not to when you had both the Ultimate Pop Sensation and the Ultimate Musician playing in the same place.
"W-wait…" A sudden realization hit Miu, however, one that seemed to slowly dawn on the rest of her classmates. "That means… we were picked for that?!"
"Y-yes! Normally, the school tries to pick the more…showy type of talents to represent their class, and you six were picked from this one…It's not a forced thing, though! You can refuse if you want, I'm sure I can explain it to the Headmaster." Makoto continued, trying his best to explain it properly before right before he showed them all a smile filled with pride.
"I think it would be great though since I know how amazing you all are!" Finally finishing off his speech, Makoto was quick to take a few deep breaths, not expecting an immediate answer considering how he knew not everyone could perform properly in front of a great audience.
"I can do it!"
The first answer, however, came not even a minute later in the form of a clearly happy Angie, who even went as far as to raise her hand to make sure she was paid proper attention.
"Really?" He asked in surprise, for as far as he knew Angie wasn't one to do her art in public.
And why was a bad feeling suddenly forming itself on the pit of his stomach?
"Of course! That way the grace of Atua will be shown even more!" The white-haired girl was all smiles for just a moment before a look of concentration appeared on her face. "I will need some help."
"Help? I'm sure the school…"
"No no." Angie shook her finger right in front of the Luckster's face. "It has to be Naegi-senpai. I want Naegi-senpai to be my model that day."
He blinked confusedly at her right before the meaning of her words finally caught on his ears. It was extremely rare for Angie to ask something for herself instead of asking it in the name of Atua, so against such an earnest request, what else could he do but to accept?
He knew he would probably panic a bit, but he was sure that if it was Angie, then the final work would be-
"It will be a nude sculpture!"
-not suited for kids it seemed.
"Can I go too?!" The only thing that distracted him from the embarrassing feeling that he got from such a petition was the sudden cry that escaped Miu.
"S-senpai…?"
"Disgusting…"
And why was Kaede now refusing to look at him while Tenko watched him as if he was the worst type of scum in the world?
Was that saliva dripping out of Himiko's mouth?
He decided not to ask.
"There won't be any nude sculpture!" He declared firmly. "Or painting, nothing nude, Angie-san!" He continued once he saw the girl opening her mouth to ask something else, but she ended up just pouting a bit at his words before clasping her hands and putting them on her cheek.
"As long as Makoto-senpai helps me then." With her words of acceptance, he ended up just sighing before nodding. He knew that such a day would be hectic as hell, but considering how his own exam was supposed to go he was sure he would have the time to help her.
As long as he didn't get too busy with other things…
"W-wait! I want help too!" It seemed something finally clicked in Miu's mind, however, for the blonde was then quick to speak in a demanding tone. "Not fair you're helping bat-shit crazy here but not me!"
"Soda-senpai will be there to help you, Iruma-san." Makoto tried to explain, but the only thing it got was a disgusted expression from the Inventor.
"That just makes it worse!" She then crossed her arms over her chest while openly frowning. "If you aren't there then I'm not doing that crap!"
"I…" He stared confusedly since he had been more than sure that if anyone would have agreed it would have been Miu with how much she liked to brag.
"I'll be sure to be there then…" He ended up accepting though, truly hoping that by doing such a thing the blonde's relationship with the rest of her class would improve somewhat.
It wasn't like it could get worse in the first place though.
"You promise?" Miu looked at him from the corner of her eyes while playing with the tips of her blonde locks with her fingers.
How the girl went from scarily outspoken to shy in a matter of seconds was simply beyond him, but the only thing he could do against such a face was to accept.
He would like to think that the way her eyes light up in such a child-like joy made it worth.
"S-senpai!" From across the room, it was Himiko the one that suddenly called out his name with a bit of pink covering her pale cheeks. "My magic… it becomes stronger when senpai is around… because of his mana…that's why, I…"
"I'll be sure to be there for Yumeno-san too." With each word, he knew he was just digging up an even bigger grave, but with how shy the Ultimate Magician could be sometimes he knew that offering her a bit of support was the least he could do.
A growl coming from Tenko told him that his decision wasn't appreciated by everyone, however.
"Don't worry, Chabashira-san. Ogami-san will be performing alongside you that day." Already knowing how Tenko would react if he tried to offer his help too, Makoto decided to use what he knew would get the Aikido Master back on a good mood.
"O-Ogami-senpai?!" The black-haired girl seemed shocked by the mention of her idol. A smile of excitement was quick to blossom on her lips right before it turned back into a frown, one that was followed by her giving the Luckster a tense nod of acceptance.
For if it was with Ogami Sakura, there was no way she could have said no!
"Guys, you're putting too much pressure on Naegi-senpai!" Kaede followed with a reproachful tone and a hand on her forehead. It wasn't like she didn't understand the feeling, but even so! "You can't have him running around all day like that!"
"Huh?" At hearing those words it was Miu the one that looked at Kaede as if she had just said the stupidest thing in the world. "Don't try and act all high and mighty with me! You were thinking of asking the same, weren't you?!"
"Eh? I, well I mean…" Seemingly caught off guard by Miu's words, Kaede's ahoge ended up standing straight, just as tense as the girl it belonged to, right it before it deflated as soon as the girl simply looked down while putting her right hand over her other arm.
"I mean, it would be great if senpai could be there…" The girl whispered without even realizing it, her eyes widening as soon as she processed what had just left her lips, with nothing but embarrassing fueling her flushed cheeks. "B-but senpai is already too busy! I can do it by myself, really!"
"…your event would actually be one of the last ones, Akamatsu-san, like Maizono-san's and Mioda-senpai's." A disarming smile appeared on Makoto's lips. "So I'm definitely going to be there!"
He decided to not mention the part in which he was sure that even if he tried to miss it, he would end up getting dragged along by a certain Ultimate Musician.
"Really?" Sure, it would hardly be the first time the Ultimate Pianist played in front of an audience, and she certainly had no issues when doing so by now, especially for her class…
"Of course! I would never miss it with Akamatsu-san there!"
"I-I see…" But even so, was it so bad that those words of reassurance made her heart skip a beat in a way she wasn't used to?
She certainly didn't dislike it…
If only she could handle her class properly so that her senpai didn't have to do it for her…
"Makoto-senpai." The deep voice of Ryoma actually followed after that, earning a raised eyebrow at the downcast form of the younger Ultimate.
And without saying anything else, the Ultimate Tennis Pro moved to leave the classroom in silence. With those actions, the time-traveler caught on what he had to do, a look of alarm crossing his eyes before his feet dragged his body in order to follow the smaller Ultimate.
"Akamatsu-san, go ahead without me, alright?" And with those words, the time-traveler left the room in order to follow Ryoma, leaving the four girls on the classroom.
"Hey, that's mine!" The silence didn't last much though, since an almost teary-eyed Miu ended up picking a fight with a laughing Angie for what, to Kaede's eyes, looked like…
Was that hair?
"You…really don't have to accept if you don't want to, Hoshi-kun…" Makoto spoke softly as he looked down at the hat-wearing teen who simply stood by the wall of the hall with his arms crossed over his chest and his face set on a frown.
"It would be my first game in front of an audience in a long time…" Ryoma whispered, barely high enough for Makoto to hear it properly, but as soon as he did he simply nodded in response, knowing how such a thing was a sensitive subject for the younger Ultimate.
"I won't force you to do anything, but…" A sad smile appeared on the ahoge-haired boy's face, one that caught the attention of the Tennis Pro quite easily. "I really want for everyone to see Hoshi-kun as I saw him that day…"
"Ho? Is that another challenge, Makoto? You sure have spirit." The small smirk that appeared on Ryoma's face actually made Makoto chuckle a bit, for playing tennis against someone like Hoshi Ryoma had been one heck of an experience.
"If it would help Hoshi-kun then, I would love to be your opponent again." He knew it would be as one-sided as it got, but as long as he was able to see that same spirit Ryoma has shown him that day, he certainly wouldn't mind!
"If it is with you then…maybe…" Ryoma's smirk slowly turned into a softer expression right before the Tennis Pro moved away from the wall, with his hand grabbing the small stick that had been resting on his ear before putting it between his lips. "I'll need to think about it but… I hope you don't regret your words."
For some reason, the memory of a tennis ball hitting his face started popping into his mind.
"Sorry for showing you such an uncool sight, senpai." Actual regret slipped from Ryoma's voice.
"Kukuku, there is nothing uncool about expressing oneself, Hoshi-san."
However, it wasn't Makoto the one that answered first, but rather the words came out of a sleek voice that chose said moment to walk out of the corner of the hallway, almost as if he had been waiting for his cue to appear.
"Shinguji-kun?!" The first one to react was Makoto, who could only look at the Ultimate Anthropologist in shock, while Ryoma simply limited himself to give the newcomer a rather sharp glance.
"How long were you eavesdropping?" Ryoma asked in a tone that Makoto knew would make most shiver on their spot.
"I assure you that I just arrived, Hoshi-san." Shinguji Korekiyo, however, was not one to be intimidated, so even against such an open hostility he still did nothing but to tilt his head slightly. "Whatever it was that you discussed, it remains between the two of you."
A small snort left Ryoma in response, with the intensity of his stare lessening only the smallest fraction.
"I'll give you your answer later, senpai." And with a pat on the still surprised Luckster, the Ultimate Tennis Pro was quick to leave, with his retreating form being the center of Makoto's attention until he left the hallway.
"Your ability to tame even the more unruly figures never ceases to amaze me, Naegi-senpai." Makoto's attention was then moved to the black-haired Ultimate that had just appeared, however. "Truly, it makes for quite the spectacles from time to time."
"Thank you…?" He decided to take that one as a compliment, something that simply earned a low chuckle from the mask-wearing Ultimate. "But how did you…?"
"After we returned to the classroom and found no sign of senpai there, we all decided to go and search for you by ourselves. " Korekiyo explained easily while walking closer to the Luckster. "I was simply lucky enough to find you first, senpai…Or maybe it was your own luck? Your abilities can sometimes defy all logic approach, after all."
It was definitely better to just take all those comments as compliments, Naegi Makoto decided that day. He wasn't sure if his mental stability would hold up otherwise.
"It truly is a lucky occasion if I might say." And with those words, the yellow-eyed young man ended up putting a bandaged hand right on the Luckster's shoulder. "Since I find myself in the need of your…assistance, Naegi-senpai."
Makoto could only stare confusedly at hearing such a thing for among his underclassmen the one standing alongside him was one of the few that never really asked anything from him, so to hear such a request from him…
"You mean…?" His body tensed a bit under Korekiyo's grip, with the conclusion that had reached Makoto's mind being confirmed by Korekiyo's slight nod.
"Your help means more to me than you can think of, senpai." The Ultimate Anthropologist spoke with a sigh. "I fear I myself am not enough to qualm her loneliness."
"I'm always glad to help, but…" A frown appeared on his face while he could also feel the grip Korekiyo had on his shoulder becoming stronger. "What about your classmates? I'm sure they could help too if you asked them…"
"I fear that none of them are trustable enough, senpai." Korekiyo waved his other hand in front of his face, almost as if trying to wave away the idea, right before he planted said hand on his own cheek. "Akamatsu-san looks promising though… But I'll have to make sure she doesn't bring Saihara-kun with her, I would rather keep the boys away from her."
Makoto could only nod, more than aware of how protective the Ultimate Anthropologist could be when it came to his remaining family member.
A part of him felt touched that he was the only male that he would allow close to his sister, but the other part of him almost had him hanging his head in shame, for in the end he knew it wasn't only a matter of trust, but also the simple fact that he wasn't seen as a man by the Shinguji siblings.
It definitely did wonders for his pride, to say the least.
Loud sounds of struggle started reaching Makoto's ears soon after that, almost as if an actual stampede was moving through the halls close to where he was. A mild look of panic flashed through his face right before the hand that had been holding his shoulder moved to pat his back, with another low chuckle escaping Korekiyo's lips.
"I'm sure you have places to be, Naegi-senpai, so least I can do is to distract my rowdy classmates." The black-haired teen moved away from the Luckster in the direction the noise was starting to become louder. "Don't forget we will be waiting anxiously on the weekend, you already know where to find us."
A silent prayer ended up leaving Makoto towards the young man that was giving his life to save him that day.
But Korekiyo had been right, he did need to be somewhere else right now, and he was sure that Kaede, among others, were already waiting for him there.
While moving in long strides he took out his phone, and with a few movements, he brought the device to his ear.
It didn't take very long for his call to be answered.
"Sakakura-san? Can we move the meeting up a bit; I need to ask you something important."
Kirigiri Jin might be the only one he had told his secret to.
But that didn't mean he didn't have other allies inside Hope's Peak.
This AN has slight V3 spoilers. Just a small heads up.
And with this chapter all the V3 characters have appeared at least once, some with more focus than others I'll admit. Poor Gonta, he's one of my favorites but this chapter wasn't for him.
It seems that with the previous chapter a lot of people were left confused by what Novoselic tradition I referred to in the said chapter. I was honestly just going to explain it here and be done with it, but I decided that it wouldn't be fun like that, so you can expect for said subject to be brought up in the near future by another character for those that want the explanation. Think of it as another mystery for the time being.
And with that being said...
One of the things I really didn't want to do was to change the backstory of the characters. This becomes especially troublesome for the V3 characters, as those that have played the game might be aware off, and the one that shows this the most for me is definitely Kiyo, with Kirumi being a close second.
Suffice to say, that part of Kirumi's backstory obviously isn't present here. You know what part I'm referring to.
With other characters like Syo, Mukuro, Ryoma, and Maki, the circumstances surrounding their past actions can work in favor of their relationships with Makoto. With Kiyo, at least for me, there isn't much to do besides making him a villain if I were to just leave him as V3 gave him to us.
I won't actually change the backstory that V3 gave us, but rather, as this chapter hinted at, Makoto has met Kiyo at a point on his life before his sister died. It is the best compromise that I found in order to keep most of Kiyo's character without opening a can of worms.
Doesn't mean Kiyo can't reach the same state that he showed in V3 though, but I can only give Makoto so many killer friends so early in the story.
With that explanation out of the way, this chapter worked mostly to set up future events that have been hinted before. V3 characters allow me to flesh out this version of Hope's Peak Academy more so that I can put Makoto and company through different situations. As a review pointed out, most of the story will cover Makoto's 2nd year, which gives time for plenty of special events like how V3 showed in the Talent Development mode.
If anyone wants to know already what the next arc is all about, you can look no further than to chapter 5 (or 6 if you by the site's way of labeling them). We still have a few more chapters before that though.
I'm also glad the little omake from the last chapter was well received. For that, I'll throw a bone and say that they won't be there just for laughs. I will probably put one up every 2 chapters for anyone that is interested in that.
Once more, thank you all for the continuous support in the form of follows, favorites, views and of course reviews. I never expected for this story to become so popular, and it is all thanks to you readers.
Next Chapter: New Approach.