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

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Chapter 22

A Student's Duty is to Study

"Ugh…I'm so sorry."

"I'll admit I didn't expect you to be this…unprepared."

"I know." Makoto sighed in both frustration and embarrassment. "I've just been…a bit busy."

Celeste nodded, knowing that Makoto wasn't just saying it as an excuse, while also knowing that pointing out that he was doing more for the school than what a student should really be doing would get her nowhere.

But even so, these results were…

"While they are…less than ideal." She tried to mind her words. It was something that she wouldn't usually care, but when it came to Makoto the last thing she wanted was to make him feel worse than how he was obviously already feeling. "They are far from a lost cause. If someone like Hagakure-kun can salvage his own mediocrity, then this is nothing that can't be fixed."

He sent a grateful smile her way, knowing that she had a point. Not to offend Hiro or anything, but he wasn't exactly the savviest when it came to academics, so if even he could do enough to not fail the year, then surely so could he, right?

The logic was sound, but looking at the result of the mock tests Celeste had prepared for him was enough to make him doubt himself.

To say the results weren't pretty would be an understatement.

He had his doubts when Celeste had told him to do these mock tests, but seeing the reality of it was much more damaging.

"We might have to approach this different though…" She whispered with a hum, with the walls of her room giving them the privacy they needed for this.

"I appreciate your help, Celes-san, but maybe I should just handle it myself…" He spoke with some shame, not wanting to burden his friend with something like this.

"Nonsense." Celeste was quick to shot that idea down however. There was no way she would miss this chance, after all, not after she won it fair and square from the rest of their classmates. "I told you I would assist you and I'm not going back on my word…Unless, of course." And then she stopped to give him a look and a smile that could only be described as coy. "You don't want my help?"

His reaction was what she expected, and seeing his flustered form trying to backpedal nervously was enough to make her giggle in amusement. Being able to have these kind of moments once more with Makoto was enough to make her sigh in content, and if there were no other pressing matters she would be more than happy to just keep teasing him for the reminder of the day.

Sadly, however, they needed to get to work, especially since she had underestimated the severity of the situation at hand.

"History, Math, Chemistry and Biology." She listed out the subjects in which he had failed the mock exams she had prepared before humming while deep in thought, just as Makoto himself frowned at the tests of the subjects being highlighted, knowing that he needed to improve himself.

It made him realize just how easy he had it last year, at least on the academic side. Sure, a lot of the knowledge had gotten muddier given everything that had happened back in the future, but at least he had remembered enough so that he had been able to pass by with just a bit of help. He was far from the best in his class, but he was a comfortable middle of the road, so to speak.

But he had no future knowledge for the 2nd year subjects given at Hope's Peak, so he was left to do what any other student had to do.

To study.

He just needed to find the time for it.

Something that had become surprisingly difficult as of late.

"I guess there's only one thing that can be done." Celeste declared in a grave tone, knowing that what she was about to propose was something she wouldn't enjoy in the slightest.

And that was to get reinforcements.

Just the thought of it was enough to give her a headache, for the last thing she wanted was to have to share her alone time with Makoto. She herself was one of the top 3 students of their class when it came to their grades, only really surpassed by Kyoko and Byakuya, so she had believed she herself was more than necessary to help Makoto with this issue.

But seeing this had made her change her plans. If it was something else she probably wouldn't have cared, but this was Makoto's future she was handling here, so there was no way she would risk it just because of her pride.

Yes, she was the Ultimate Gambler, but there was nothing that would make her gamble away Makoto's well-being.

Not anymore, at least.

But her newfound plan brought over a new complication: Who should she ask for help?

She immediately discarded anyone from their own class, and instead started thinking of another specific group.

After all, who better to help them when it came to 2nd year stuff than people that had already gone through it?

And fortunately, she already had the trio of senpais that she needed for this. She could still handle math just fine, it was her best subject, but for the other three…

The things she did for Makoto.

"…and so, that's why we're here, Hanamura-senpai." She finished explaining in an even tone, doing her best to hide whatever personal feelings she had towards the Ultimate Chef in front of her.

The, as far as she knew, best student from his class when it came to Chemistry.

"Sorry about this, Teruteru-senpai." Makoto followed up with an apologetic tone. "You don't have to bother if you're too busy or anything!"

"Hmmm…" The only response they got, however, was a small hum, just as Teruteru moved from one side of the room to another, his face one of concentration.

For a lot of people, such concentrated look on Teruteru's face was extremely rare, to the point Celeste was actually surprised, given the things that she knew about the Ultimate Chef, but for Makoto he could only offer a smile, knowing that this was simply his senpai when he was doing what he loved.

They were in his Research Lab, after all, with them being surrounded by different cooking stations. They kept a safe distance to not disturb the owner of this room while he used the tools around him like the expert he was, and Celeste had to admit that, even with the reputation one Hanamura Teruteru had, this was an impressive sight.

And considering she herself had tasted Teruteru's fine meals whenever he served them during lunch break, she certainly could not complain about the quality of it either.

But even so, if there was something she didn't like, it was being ignored so blatantly like this. She had believed that getting his support would be easy given the…appreciation that most of their senpais had towards Makoto, but maybe she had misjudged something?

It seemed the impatience she had was showing on her face though, since she soon felt Makoto's hand resting on her shoulder, followed by him actually giving her a wink, something that caught her off guard.

What was he-

"Here, I hope you enjoy it!"

The next thing she knew; her nostrils were filled with such a lovely smell that she could almost feel her mouth water.

She of course controlled herself in order to not display such uncouth sight, but even so she couldn't deny that the meal being presented towards her both looked and smelled nothing short of delicious, and Makoto offering her a fork just a second later wasn't helping with her self-control.

"Please, do eat before it gets cold." Finally, it was Teruteru's repeated invitation the one that sealed the deal.

Ten seconds later, both her and Makoto were in a state of nothing but bliss, courtesy of the rich flavor going through their tongues. It was such that she actually had to keep herself from letting the smallest of moans leave her mouth.

To her side, Makoto had no issues with letting his own sounds of content being heard.

"This is something that Teruteru-senpai likes to do whenever anyone comes here." Makoto answered her unvoiced question. "He doesn't let anyone leave without eating first.

"Well of course." Next, it was Teruteru himself the one that spoke with nothing but pride in his tone. "When I was given this place I was told to treat as I would any restaurant of mine, and no one that enters those is allowed to leave without feeling satisfied."

She nodded in understanding, her previous frustration now fading, although she still felt they weren't any closer to do what she came her to do in the first place.

"Now c'mon, we shouldn't be wasting the day away!"

"Excuse me?" She asked in confusion while Teruteru put his arm around Makoto's shoulders.

"You say Makoto over here needs help, correct? Then say no more." He explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If I can help him then I'll help, as simple as that."

For reasons beyond her, the smile he then sent towards her favorite Luckster sent warning alarms down her head, but deciding that it was better to not look at a horse gift in the mouth, especially with how honestly moved Makoto looked, she could only mutter words of gratitude in response.

One down, two more to go.

"You are a brave one if you decided to come to me for assistance, you creature of the night."

And her headache increased once more.

Why were the ones she needed also the weirdest ones?!

The fact that Makoto was simply playing with the guy's hamster wasn't helping much, although he did offer an apologetic smile, at the very least.

"Gundham-senpai, Celes-san isn't a bad person-"

"Her kind are masters of deceive, Makoto! Do not let yourself be seduced by her tricks."

She actually couldn't contain the scoff that left her lips. As if seducing Makoto was an easy thing to do.

He was lucky she found his obliviousness cute.

She shook her head, knowing that this wasn't the time for such thoughts. Maybe if her original plan of teaching Makoto by herself had continued, she could have continued to entertain such ideas, but alas right now she had her focus somewhere else.

And luckily, she knew how to play this game well enough.

"Is that so?" She drawled in an almost bored tone. "In that case, surely it would be safer is you came along, no? Just so you're sure I haven't…sunk my teeth on dear Naegi-kun here."

She had to admit, the way Makoto blushed at her words made actually having to say such spiel worth it.

"Hoh?" And by the way Gundham's eyes narrowed she was sure her words had done the trick. "And you think threatening my partner in front of me is without consequences?"

"Your partner?" She sounded honestly offended by such declaration, and she had to admit, a part of her was. "I'll have you know you aren't the only one Naegi-kun has made a…contract with."

"…At least they're getting along" And to the side, Makoto couldn't help but comment, getting strange looks not only from Teruteru on his side, but even from the hamsters playing on his head.

"Makoto!"

"Yes?!"

"We'll talk about you doing dealings with these kind of beings after we finish the current predicament, you hear me?!"

"…Got it?" Honestly, Makoto had no idea how even such a conversation would go, but for some reason he felt like a child being admonished by their parents.

"Does that mean you will help us?" Celeste continued with a smirk, only earning a glare and huff from Gundham.

"Foolish girl." This time, it was Gundham the one smirking while Celeste only regarded him with a carefully raised eyebrow. "Unlike what you have, Makoto and I are bound by our souls. If he needs my assistance then I will be there, your attempts at goading me notwithstanding."

Celeste could only purse her lips in response before nodding gracefully. It seemed she had underestimated the Ultimate Breeder even if just slightly, but that was fine as long as he came to help.

The embarrassed blush that had appeared on Makoto's face in obvious response to his words, however, were not making him win any favor towards her.

But even so, that only left one more to recruit, and from what she knew about this person, it would much less of a headache to get her help.

It was something she really needed right now, since she could do without a migraine today.

"Ufufufu…!"

"Uh…."

She was definitely getting a migraine today, wasn't she?

And to think that after dealing with the two nut-jobs she had recruited already, it would be the blonde, seemingly level-headed woman known as the Ultimate Princess the one that would have her growing increasingly irate by the second.

She knew Sonia was…dangerous, in a specific way. The same way most of the girls in her own class were, as in, their particular interest in Makoto was obvious for anyone to see.

Except Makoto of course, which was a blessing and a curse at the same time.

But since Makoto needed the help she supposed sharing some of her time with him with Sonia wasn't the worst thing in the world, especially since, as far as she knew, Sonia Nevermind wasn't particularly bold in that regard.

But if that was the case then…

"You should have told me sooner that you were having issues with your studies."

"I-I didn't want to impose…"

Why was Sonia latched so firmly to Makoto's arm like that?! And those doe eyes she was making at him, and the not so subtle touches she could see from here…it was if she was trying to make her intent as obvious as possible.

And on some level, such thing wouldn't have upset her that much. She didn't like it, but if she started cursing every time a girl threw herself at Makoto she would have been left with a sore throat a long time ago.

No, what bothered her was Makoto himself.

She had expected the same reaction he usually gave whenever he saw her in such situations. A blush here, a stutter there, and nervousness all around. Funnily enough he only seemed to act composed when it came to Junko of all people.

And right now she did get to see such reaction, but at the same time it was completely different.

Maybe others would have missed it, but she could tell right away something was wrong, and if she had to say what gave it away, it was the way Makoto was looking at Sonia.

He couldn't even look at her for more than a few seconds before having to look somewhere else, and the smile Sonia wore soon after made it obvious that she knew the reason why.

Something that she knew would have to learn too soon enough.

But right now…

"Huh?" Makoto looked at her in surprise, a result of her swiftly linking her right arm with his free left one.

"Surely you wouldn't mind escorting me too, right?" She asked in a sweet tone while batting her eyelashes, in a way that she knew would have lesser man being putty at her hands.

"Of course not!" The fact that Makoto only nodded while smiling however, a far contrast from the way he reacted to Sonia, which only increased her bubbling frustration.

The fact that Sonia found the moment to send a smile and a wink towards her right after, made her swear she would get to the bottom of this before it got out of hand.

"I'll admit, when you said you needed the help I didn't expect things to be like this…"

"Well…it could be worse..."

"We might need to do a ritual to help with this endeavor."

Every word felt like a punch in the gut to him, even though he knew his senpais meant well. He would admit he felt more than a bit ashamed by the worried glances they were sending his away after seeing the result of his mock tests.

He was glad there was no one else here, in the library, or else the embarrassment might have been too much.

"This is why I gathered you all." Luckily for him, Celeste took the attention away from him and towards her. "Suffice to say, Makoto failing is not acceptable, and since the real tests will begin shortly after the Sport's Festival, I decided that the tutoring should start now for his own good."

"Sorry for this, everyone…" He felt like apologizing was the least he could do, however what he got in response was a pat in the back from Teruteru, who was sitting to his left, while Sonia, to his right, actually grabbed his hand before giving it a small squeeze.

He offered both a smile, but when it came to Sonia he actually had to try his best to not let the embarrassment show in his expression. It was hard, considering how self-conscious he had become when it came to her, given what he knew now.

The pointed, sharp gaze he suddenly received from Celeste, who was sitting opposite of him, wasn't really helping either.

"I don't remember you having troubles with your grades before, Makoto." Gundham's serious tone followed soon after, his words making him tense immediately. "And I can't say the second year course is particularly harder than the first year one."

The unsaid question was obvious to his ears, especially with the nods and looks he received right after.

"He's right. You were pretty decent last year. I remember you even helped Asahina-san and Hagakure-kun from time to time." Celeste's follow up did little to help his growing discomfort. "I'm aware Tokawa-san helped you somewhat, but she also doesn't strike me as the best tutor."

Once more, all eyes were on him, silently waiting for an explanation on his falling grades, and for that second, plenty of excuses went through Makoto's head, each growing a bit sillier than the last one.

It wasn't like he could tell them that he had been so focused on this new so called Ultimate Despair that studying became the last thing in his head.

On the other hand, a simple 'I've been busy' excuse would definitely not be enough for them, he could tell by their gaze, and outright lying to them was not something he was comfortable with.

He already did that enough.

So, in his necessity for a quick excuse, he ended up sending a silent prayer to a certain man, an apology for pretty much throwing him under the figurative bus.

"W-well, I guess I've been too busy with some of the Headmaster's assignments…" He explained, while in his head thinking how it technically wasn't a lie, while also knowing it was the only excuse that would get most people to not try to ask questions further.

And judging by the looks he was receiving, it seemed they were accepting his words.

They did not look happy, however.

"Honestly, Headmaster Kirigiri shouldn't be needing for a student to do the amount of things he has you doing." Celestia spoke with a huff, actually earning nods from the older Ultimates presents. "Some things I can understand since you are our Class Manager, but having to also look out for an entire new group of students? Preposterous."

"Well t-that's…"

"The Reserve Course students shouldn't be needing the assistance of a fellow students, Main Course or not. This is why we have teachers." It was Teruteru the one that followed up with words of his own.

"B-but-"

"I heard he even had you assisting the recruitment process of the new class." And then Sonia followed suit, this time making him shut his own mouth. When they put it like that, it was hard to defend the Headmaster, at least from their perspective.

After all, he himself had volunteered for all those things for more than obvious reasons.

Thankfully, he wasn't without an explanation.

"It all counts towards my Talent Evaluation, so there really isn't much that I can do about it." Such was his response, and he could only be thankful that Headmaster Kirigiri had found the perfect loophole in case anyone was to ask too many questions about the matter.

After all, a key element of being an Ultimate was that of the development of your Talent. Hope's Peak had little patience for those that didn't keep developing on the fields that they had mastered, and for most talents such evaluation was pretty straight-forward enough.

But for the Ultimate Lucky Students, such evaluations were a bit more…nuanced, given the nature of their talent.

And it was there where Headmaster Kirigiri could pretty much make him do whatever he wanted and then justify it by saying it served to develop his talent.

"You haven't had a stroke so far. If that isn't luck, then I don't know what is." He could still remember those words from the Headmaster himself, and while at the time he had believed it to be a joke, as of late…

Maybe he was onto something there?

"Well, we'll gain nothing by wasting time arguing about that." Surprisingly, it was Celestia the one that threw him a bone. Maybe she saw how uncomfortable he was feeling about the subject? "We came here to help Naegi-kun study and that's what we'll do."

What Celestia failed to mention, however, was just how she was already planning on bringing up the subject to the only other Kirigiri that she knew off.

"There is no earthly technique that will allow us to cover the entire material in one day." Gundham spoke next. "Unless you expect Naegi here to sell his humanity for such privilege?"

"What I was thinking." Celestia continued nonplused. "Is that we would organize meetings like these multiple times each week to make sure Naegi-kun is learning properly."

"Wait a minute!" But as soon as he heard those words, Makoto didn't hold his own voice this time. This was the first time he was hearing about that plan, after all. "I can't ask you to do that! You're all busy already and the festival is coming and-"

"I'll make sure to prepare something light for our next meeting then." Howewer, Teruteru answered as if Makoto had said nothing at all.

"Wait, senpai-"

"We should look for our old tests and use them for more mock tests."

"Sonia-senpai you shouldn't-"

"We might as well settle all the details now that we're gathered."

"Guys c'mon-"

"It is settled then."

"Are you even listening to me?!" They were, in fact, not, something that became increasingly apparent the more they talked among each other about this suddenly created study group.

"I supposed that settles most of it then." Celestia spoke in a relieved tone, more than glad that things had gone smoothly. It seemed their desire to help Makoto was genuine enough, even if said Luckster didn't look exactly pleased at them for deciding to help him without his agreement.

She actually couldn't control the smirk that appeared on her lips at that. Maybe he now knew how she, and she was sure many others, felt whenever he decided to worm himself into their lives.

Not that she was complaining of course, far from that in fact.

"Since we're here already." Sonia spoke next, earning hers, and everyone else's attention, including a defeated-looking Makoto. "We could review these tests more thoroughly to see what Makoto-san's most prominent issues seem to be."

Celestia could only nod at that, since it was something that she had wanted to ask for too, while for his part, Makoto didn't even try to voice out a complain this time, only accepting the help with a nod.

That was good, Celestia decided, since it would make things go smoother. In fact, given everything, she had to admit that she also found herself content with the reached agreements. For how…strange most of their senpais could be, it seemed that they were more than willing to focus if it involved helping Makoto.

There was actually only one problem, in fact…

"…!"

And said problem looked like a kicked puppy.

"Naegi-kun." Her voice was tired and had to keep herself from rubbing her forehead. It seemed her plan of just ignoring it until it went away had not worked at all. "Could you turn around for just a moment, please?"

"Sure?" Makoto said as he blinked in confusion. "But why do you want me to-Is that Yukizome-sensei?"

She sure was, although why she was currently hiding behind one of the bookshelves while giving a teared up look at their table was beyond him.

"She has been following us for a while now, actually."

"She has?!" He honestly hadn't noticed, and judging by the looks he received from everyone else, it seemed he was the only one.

"What did you do to her?" Gundham questioned in a sharp tone, only earning roll from Celestia's eyes.

"Nothing at all." She answered truthfully. "Yukizome-sensei is just being…Yukizome-sensei."

"Maybe she wants to help us but is being too shy about it." Teruteru concluded, almost earning a snort from Celestia. As if anyone with the gal to try and date one of her students could be considered shy.

"That sounds like a grand idea!" The sheer enthusiasm in Sonia's voice was clear for everyone, with Celestia almost forgetting just how close the members of class 77 were with this particular teacher. "If someone can help with this, is Yukizome-sensei! Don't you think so, Makoto-san, Ludenberg-san?"

And Celestia knew she was doomed the moment Makoto sent her a smile that was pretty much begging for her to agree.

It wasn't like she particularly disliked the teacher, but she was simply too childish for her own good, and that was excluding the amount of…situations she had found herself with Makoto of all people.

But they did have a point, for she was still a teacher, right? Maybe she would act her part once she realized the matter at hand.

So in the end she could only throw a resigned nod towards Makoto, to which he returned with a smile full of gratefulness.

"Yukizome-sensei, could you-"

"I'm here!"

Not even five seconds and Celestia was already regretting her decision.

And why on heaven's name was she posing like a hero doing her debut entrance?!

Sakakura Juzo was a man that took his duties extremely seriously.

His no-nonsense attitude might make him hard to be approached off by others, but he wasn't one to ignore the important things that needed to be done.

That was why he took his job as the head of security of Hope's Peak Academy with nothing but seriousness, even though said job was nothing but a cover to keep an eye on the school itself, and those leading it.

He wasn't the only one with such mission of course, and even though he sometimes didn't see eye-to-eye with Chisa a lot of the time, she was still a trusted friend.

Not that he would ever tell her that, knowing just how childish she would get.

So when he got a message from Chisa herself, now at almost midnight, saying that she needed him in the library as soon as possible and that it was an emergency, he bolted straight out of his usual patrol route and went directly to the library.

He hadn't forgotten that there was a suspicious person evading Hope's Peak watchful eye still around, and if that person was trying to do something to Chisa…

He would kill them

"Ohhh, aren't they so cuuuuute?!"

He was going to kill her.

He'll give her credit, for not many people could keep such a happy look while he glared at them in anger, but Chisa was somehow more preoccupied with taking pictures of her sleeping students to even notice his worsening mood.

"Don't you think they're adorable-it hurts it hurts!"

Of course it hurt, since he was currently pressing both of his hands on the sides of her head.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" He growled out, ignoring Chisa's continuous cry of pain. "You made me think something actually important was going on, you stupid ditz." He even felt inclined to break her phone right there and there, but knowing she would only make him buy a new one later was the only thing that stopped him.

"What kind of teacher even takes pictures of their sleeping students?!" He continued with a hiss.

"A f-f-fun o-one…?" The fact that she had the gall to crack a joke in her position, he almost felt impressed.

Instead, he just applied even more pressure, much to Chisa's dismay.

"That was rude…" And it was only after a few more seconds that Chisa was finally free to rub her aching head, just as she pouted at the still obviously angry Juzo.

"Rude? You should be glad I didn't do more for interrupting my job." He grunted out with a roll of his eyes.

"W-well… Isn't it making sure no one is out after curfew also part of your job?!" Chisa spoke in triumph with a smug tone, one that almost had him smacking her at the back of her head.

"First of all, they all were with a teacher, you if I might add, so they weren't breaking any rules." He said as if it was the most obvious thing, only managing to crack Chise' victorious visage. "Second, rules say students can stay at the library and on their labs for as long they want as long as they ask for permission first, which as far as I know they did."

Now Chisa looked like a child being admonished by her older brother, but Juzo still wasn't done.

"And lastly, Naegi is with them." He finished, acting as if that sentence alone explained everything.

Which, to be fair, it actually did.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually…" The frown that appeared on Chisa's face was serious enough that is actually caught Juzo of guard.

"But not here." She told him, to which he could only wonder what had happened for Chisa to be like this.

"You're going to leave them like that?" Juzo asked as they moved to leave, earning a slight smile in return.

"You said it yourself, they aren't breaking any rules… and they could use the rest." Chisa muttered before she looked back, a genuine smile forming on her lips at the sight.

At one point of the night they had all moved to the floor, on a more secluded area on the library. She wasn't sure who had fallen asleep first, but the result was just too adorable on her eyes.

Makoto was resting with his back against the wall, sound asleep and looking without a care in the world, while both Celestia and Teruteru were using his shoulders as their pillows.

Meanwhile, Gundham and Sonia were using Makoto's legs for themselves, and while one would assume such position weren't exactly comfortable to sleep in, Chise saw them sporting nothing but restful smiles.

A cute sight indeed.

"So, what is it?" Juzo asked once he closed the door to his office, receiving a sigh from Chisa in response. "I swear if it something stupid I'll-"

"I want us to re-open the investigation we were doing about Headmaster Kirigiri's and Naegi Makoto's relationship." Her words, said in a tone that Juzo was not used to hear from her, were enough to shut him up instantly.

"We already did that and found nothing." He reminder her, with a slight look of frustration appearing on his face, one that was mirrored by the way Chisa rubbed her forehead tiredly.

She knew he spoke the truth, for one of their missions the last couple of years had been to keep an eye on the Headmaster, so of course when the Headmaster showed an obvious…favoritism, so to speak, towards one particular student, it was something they were in charge of investigating.

The problem was, that they found…nothing.

"We know Naegi is as clean as it gets, your typical middle of the road student right until he won that lottery." Juzo continued as he moved towards his desk. "As far as we know, he only met with Kirigiri after that and then…" He finished with a shrug, since that was when things stopped to make sense.

Letting him roam around the school before he even became a student, the constant not-so-subtle meetings once he became a student, then making him help on the recruitment process of the next class, and that was all ignoring all the small things that they knew the Headmaster was making him do and then covering up… There was no denying to anyone that did their research that Naegi Makoto had nothing short of a special treatment under Kirigiri Jin's watchful eyes.

The fact that they didn't seem to be a logical explanation for that relationship though, is what had them both stumped for years now.

Didn't help that the closest thing to a plausible theory that they had was of Jin just wanting to test his daughter's possible boyfriend.

But in the end, it was something that they simply had to push to the back of their mind. Naegi Makoto was certainly inoffensive enough, so as weird as it was, it wasn't like such relationship was putting the school in danger or anything.

They definitely weren't getting a straight answer from either of them anyway, and there were other things that they needed to keep an eye off, even if it was frustrating for Juzo personally to not have an answer.

And judging by Chisa's expression, he wasn't the only one.

"But there has to be something, right?" Chisa mumbled as she bit her lip. "Maybe if we look more into it now we could-"

"We could what?" He interrupted her with a narrowed gaze. "We have our orders to just let them be for now, whether we like it or not… What even brought this on, anyway? You didn't seem to care that much before."

"Of course I cared!" She shot back with such force that Juzo actually found himself caught by surprise. "But Naegi-kun seemed to be able to handle it just fine so I let it slide…But now it's taking too much of a toll on him, and as a teacher that's not something I can ignore!"

There was nothing but determination in her gaze, and it was only now that Juzo realized that the frustration they were both feelings came from completely different places.

After all, while he took his cover seriously, in the end it was just that, a cover.

But he knew that for Chisa it was different. She genuinely loved being a teacher, and she treasured her students far more than what he believed was necessary.

And on one hand, he found that part of her annoying, and arguably compromising for the mission.

But on the other hand… that challenging, fierce look that she was sending him, like a mother lion starring down at anyone trying to hurt her cubs…

It was something he could respect.

"What are you doing?" Chisa asked once she saw Juzo take out his phone after a few seconds of silence.

"If we're doing this then, we're not doing it behind the boss' back." He said, turning her confused look into a blinding smile, one that made him grunt in response.

"He's going to be here for the Festival anyway, and if someone can get something out of the Headmaster, it's him."

A tired breath left her lips once she closed the door to her room, with a half-lidded gaze set on her eyes that showed the world just how exhausted she was feeling at the moment.

It had been a long day, after all, and as nice that it has been waking up and seeing Makoto's face first time in the morning, the fact that they had sleept on the floor of the library of all places was doing wonders to her back.

Them having to go to class soon after they had woken up did not help either, but skipping classes was not something she liked the do, let alone going to let Makoto do since he needed all the help that he could get.

At least the study group had started without a hitch, and she could already tell none of their senpais were going to do this in a half-assed way

She still felt more than a bit bitter about having to share her hard-earned alone time with Makoto with others, but if that was what was necessary then she really had no other choice, now did she?

"Hmm?"

She was taken out of her thoughts, however, by the sound of someone knocking at her door, only getting her to glare slightly at said door. Who could it be now? She was too tired to be dealing with something now that classes had finally ended.

Maybe if she didn't answer, they would leave?

The insisting knocking, however, told her otherwise.

So when she opened the door, she was more than ready to tell off anyone that stood on the other side.

Politely of course.

"Naegi-kun?" However, all traces of annoyances were wiped out of both her face and voice once she saw the person responsible.

"Sorry to bother you, Celes-san." Makoto greeted her with a smile.

"You know you're never a bother." She replied smoothly and with a tilt of her head. "But I'm surprised. I thought you would be going home by now."

"Well…" And now he seemed to a bit nervous, something that only made Celestia's curiosity grow more. "I was just wondering if you wanted to…you know?"

And then he showed her something that he had been holding in his hand, something that she recognized immediately, and that almost had her gasping in shock.

Not even a few minutes later, and both her and Makoto were now sitting in the middle of her room, with a small table resting between them, just as her hands moved expertly through the deck of cards that Makoto had just brought for her.

"I'll admit I'm surprised, Naegi-kun." She spoke without being able to hold the smile that now rested on her lips. "Did you finally awake a love for gambling, I wonder?"

"Nothing like that." He answered with a chuckle of his own, getting her to raise an eyebrow in question towards him. Even then though, she made sure to be careful with the cards in her hand, given how worn out she knew they were. "I just wanted to spend some time with Celes-san, that's all."

His words made her pause, with the now shuffled deck of cards resting on her hands. She looked down at it while trying, and failing miserably, to ignore the small heat that raised to her cheeks.

He probably didn't even know how much those words meant to her right now, she decided.

The fact that he came with this deck of cards, something that she had gifted him more than a year ago, and one of the few items she actually had sentimental value for…

He definitely had no idea what he was doing to her, did he?

"But I'm ready though!" He suddenly declared with a grin. "Whatever Celes-san wants to bet today, I'll match it!" And even though he spoke with confidence, she could already tell by his eyes that he had resigned himself to a soundly defeat by her hands.

In other words, this was an open chance for her.

She could probably get him to spill the beans if she played her cards right enough, or perhaps get him to play along with one of her whims?

She could even get him to confess whatever was happening between him and the Ultimate Princess…

It was an obvious chance, an easy one for her to exploit, something that she knew she would have grasped without a second thought before.

But right now…

"In that case, why don't we just play for fun then?"

And truly, the incredulous look she received in response was enough to get a chuckle out of her lips.

He truly looked the cutest when he was clueless.

"Eh? A-Are you sure?"

"Positive." She confirmed with a nod, not blaming him for his confusion. "Now go on, your turn to split the cards."

After all, when was the last time she actively decided to play without betting anything? When was the last time she had a game just for the fun of it, and with nothing on the line?

For someone like her, the Ultimate Gambler, she knew it sounded preposterous.

But right now…she didn't need to.

She was happy.

And she didn't want this treasured moment to be ruined.

Just like the last time she had decided to just…enjoy the moment and simply play a game.

A moment that had also involved the young man in front of her, one that she wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.

After all, that had been the day she had gifted him that same pack of cards he was now carefully handling.

That just so happened to also be the day she had fallen in love with him.

See, I told you all 2 weeks, didn't I?

I can't say for certain about next update though. With any luck, 2 weeks too. I'm trying to get a schedule going again, one that at the very least doesn't involve years between updates.

A small chapter with fluff this time, and next few will probably follow suit in that regard. Only 5 more chapters before the dreaded sports festival. That one is going to be fun.

Thank you all for your words regarding the previous chapter. Happy to see that interest in this story still exists.

As a little side note, they are releasing the expanded Development Plan mode from Danganronpa on the Switch to PC, so I might be actually able to steal get some inspiration from that. Probably means I'll do like 10 Beach episodes or something.

Once more, thank you all for reading this far in!

Next Chapter: Desperate Times, Ultimate Measures.