Akio
There was a knock on the door, but that didn't stop Sachi from chattering. In fact, she barely looked up as she continued busily drawing on my cast with the purple felt-tip. Dad smiled at me and went to open the door. There, Akemi stood, dressed in dark blue leggings, a white t-shirt just peering out from a star-patterned cardigan that seemed to swamp her. She looked worried as she held the cardigan tightly around her. I waved to her from my hospital bed.
"Ah, come in, come in. Akio, do you want to get into the wheelchair?" Dad asked.
"It might be easier for once everyone arrives, yeah."
"Alright, come on then. Sachi, we need to move Akio off of the bed."
Sachi whined, but then looked up and noticed Akemi. I held my breath, wondering if she would recognise her off of TV. Sure enough:
"Are you the pretty lady from TV? The one who can do things?"
Akemi winced, but quickly smiled and replied:
"I…yes. But I'm not going to be on TV anymore."
"Oh. Why not?"
This time, Akemi seemed to be struggling to smile. Sachi frowned at her, and then said:
"Is it because you're tired? You look like a droopy plant."
"Sachi!" Dad said.
"No, no," Akemi said. "It's fine. You're right, Sachi-chan, I am very tired. Doing TV makes me…very tired and sad. "
"Then you definitely shouldn't do it anymore. What makes you happy?"
"I…I don't know yet, Sachi-chan."
"You don't know?"
Sachi's exaggerated expression of shock made me laugh, but I tried to swallow it down. Luckily, she didn't notice as she continued to stare at Akemi in shock. Then, unexpectedly, she narrowed her eyes.
"Wait, you said my name! How do you know my name?"
Akemi's eyes widened, and she looked at me.
"We're friends, Sachi," I said. "I told her and my other friends all about you."
Sachi twisted around to look at me, bug-eyed. This time I didn't try to hold back my laugh at all. Sachi remained confused for a little while longer, before also giggling. She then hopped off the bed and went to hound Akemi with questions, while Dad helped me off of the bed and onto the wheelchair. Then, he got Sachi to pack up all her craft supplies.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Dad asked while she did this.
"No, it's okay, we'll be fine." I said. "You should take Sachi somewhere fun?"
"Somewhere fun?" Sachi asked. "With ice-cream? Oooh, and cookies! All the cookies in the world!"
"Well now, Sachi, I don't know about all the cookies, but I'm sure we can get some." Dad said with a twinkle in his eye. "Akio, you call if you need anything."
"I will." I promised.
"Well then, Akio, Akemi-chan, I hope the meeting goes well."
"I'm sure it will-and Mum will tell you, right?"
"Yes-I won't be picking her up, since she's coming to the police station straight after, but I'll meet her there once she's talked to the Superintendent."
Dad, Sachi and I exchanged more goodbyes, and then eventually they left. Akemi closed the door behind them, but not before I caught a glimpse of someone in a suit sitting on the chair outside. I assumed this was one of Mitsuhide's family's people. She came over and tentatively sat on the edge of my bed, facing me. Akemi looked down at her lap for a moment, and then looked up at me.
"Your sister seems sweet." She said.
"She is, yeah," I agreed. "She's also very, very energetic. She keeps us on our toes-well, not my toes for a while, but you know what I mean."
I gestured to my cast. It wasn't hurting much today, or not that much more than usual. I wasn't anywhere near enough to really be leaving the hospital, which was why we weren't attending the meeting with Kyosuke Munakata in person. Instead, we'd all got permission to connect via video-call, and we were all gathering here to do it.
Akemi bit her lip.
"Are you alright, Koizumi-chan?" I asked.
"Huh?" she startled. "Yes, I'm…I'm alright, really."
I wasn't so sure about that. I hadn't witnessed any of what had happened between her and her parents, but I'd known about it, largely because Mitsuhide's parents had taken up her cause with great enthusiasm. He had come in to visit her for the past few days daily, without fail, and had always dropped in to see me afterwards. He talked about her in the same swoony terms he usually did, but it was impossible to miss the undercurrent of protectiveness that now ran underneath it.
That, and our group chat had exploded with it. By all accounts, Akemi's parents were so horrible they were almost like a caricature. But they had actually been like that, and I couldn't imagine how hard that must have been, and on top of whatever she had endured when she had gone back with Kazutaka Oomori. She herself hadn't talked about it though, not any of it from what I knew.
Just how much can a person hold inside themselves? Is there anything I can do?
"Are you sure?" I asked carefully.
"I'm….I'm sure."
She didn't sound it, but I didn't know what to do. I tried anyway:
"I do think you should tell somebody, someday."
Akemi immediately shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but instinct told me I needed to get in there first, so I gabbled:
"I don't necessarily mean the police, just…somebody. A therapist or something? Or Okita-kun's…um…people. Or even Okita-kun himself. A-anyway, what I mean is-Mum says that looking back now, it would have been better if she'd talked rather than keep it all in, for her own sake as much as everyone else's. It might have ended up hurting less over time if she had, she thinks and well…you shouldn't have to carry it."
When I stopped, I was unexpectedly out of breath. Akemi tilted her head and gazed at me, her eyes sorrowful. All the colours in them seemed amplified. Then, she took a breath and said:
"I can't. Not yet…but maybe, maybe one day I could tell you?"
"Me?"
I pointed to myself, astonished. Akemi nodded.
"Yeah. I mean-wait. I should…I should tell you something else first. Well, there's another something else, but that's going to come out eventually, but this is a different 'something else'…"
She blushed suddenly and wrung her hands.
"It's kinda silly, but…I…well….I just…"
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looked down at her lap, then looked back up at me, still blushing.
"I think…" I said slowly. "I think I know what you're going to tell me."
"I like you!" she blurted out.
Immediately, she covered her face with her hands, babbling muffled apologies.
"Koizumi-chan, don't apologise."
It took me a few moments of repeating that for her to move her hands from her face. She looked at me, still clearly embarrassed. I smiled. I hadn't exactly been expecting that this was what she would tell me, but in hindsight it wasn't surprising at all.
"Really. I don't mind it, you know, even though I can't feel the same. We can still be friends."
"We-we can?"
"Definitely." I said. "So yeah, when you're ready to tell me anything, if you do want to still tell me rather than anyone else, then feel free. It is what friends are for."
"I…that's…thank you, Arisato-kun."
"Oh, let's move to first names now, okay….Akemi-chan?"
Akemi blinked at me, then smiled tentatively:
"Alright then…Akio-kun."
"Ohhh, you're here already! Hey, you could have come down and met us! Even Benbow-kun did!"
This pronouncement was followed by the door swinging open. Rieka led the way, followed by Otsuka, Ritsuka, Mitsuhide and Akagi. Behind them, a young adult with a passing resemblance to Rieka hovered.
"Alright, you message me when you're done, I'll be in the waiting room." This adult said.
"YEAH I KNOW," Rieka yelled, then realised she was yelling and toned it down. "Geez, I get it, okay?"
"I'm just making sure." The adult said, holding his hands up in mock surrender before retreating. Rieka rolled her eyes and then stomped over to the hospital bed and flopped on it.
"Geez," she complained. "Do you all know how annoying it is being chaperoned absolutely everywhere? ALL. THE. TIME. Like oh my god, I'm not a dog running off after a rabbit or a toddler chasing a butterfly."
"You think you have it bad?" Otsuka countered as she went to my bedside cupboard and started setting up her laptop. "My family are insisting I take time off and just have 'family time' with them, which is all well and good but I have stories to write. There's our story, and the survivors' story and…so much! I'll do it somehow, but I don't know how when we're having movie nights and ordering takeaways and going on walks!"
"That sounds like fun, though." Akagi pointed out.
"Well, I suppose…" Rieka said. "Because we've been doing some fun stuff too. We had a games night last night-I let Nicky win everything, of course, but it was still fun. I guess."
"Also, it's not like you're grounded." Ritsuka pointed out.
"This is true." Rieka and Otsuka said in unison.
They then looked at each other in horror and Akemi, Akagi and I started laughing.
"Are you grounded, Nishimiya-chan?" I asked between laughs. "Or will you be when you get home?"
"No. My mum's too busy with work for that. She'll be making my neighbour check in on me though. He's my friend though, so it could be worse."
"Oooooh, your friend." Otsuka teased. "Tell me more."
"No." Ritsuka deadpanned.
"I suppose our adults must have decided we've been punished enough." Akagi said thoughtfully.
I stopped laughing, and we were quiet while we thought about that. Then, Rieka broke that quiet by exclaiming loudly and springing up, looking for the bag she'd dumped at some point. When she found it, she pulled out a couple of large bags of crisps and some chocolate bars.
"Snacks!" she declared.
"Oh, yes, I bought along some sweets…my mum left them for me, apparently. Or, well, that's what Uncle Taiki said."
It was then I noticed Akagi had a box of sweets tucked under his good arm. Akemi also noticed, and asked him if he wanted to put them down.
"My mum also bought in some stuff for us to share," I said. "She's left a box in the bedside cupboard."
Otsuka left the laptop and bent down to get it, and then shoved it at Akemi before carrying on with setting up-all without missing a beat. But after a few moments she turned to us.
"What's in there anyway?" she asked.
"Falafels and bread rolls with meatballs inside."
"Your mother's made enough to feed an army, it looks like." Exclaimed Mitsuhide, who had opened the box to peer in.
"That's what she's like," I said. "We can eat those while in this meeting, right?"
"Might as well, it'll be like a proper feast. But we'll need to rearrange, I think?" Otsuka said.
"Yeah, I think so too…" I agreed.
After a bit of wheeling around (on my part) shuffling and pushing things around (everyone else), we finally found a configuration where we could all sit around the laptop comfortably, with the snacks resting either on the bed or on a spare chair. Though Akagi still held onto the sweets he had said had come from his mum, keeping one hand on it while it sat in his lap. Then, Otsuka found the meeting link, clicked on it, and we waited for it to start.
…
Eizo
I was so glad that Azami was beside me.
We'd all agreed to meet together, at Ayuna's hotel, and then we'd made our way together and I was glad of that too but most of all, I was glad that Azami was beside me. She'd held onto my hand the whole way, and I hadn't realised how much I'd needed that. Even as some of Munakata's staff met us outside his offices and led us in, our hands remained tightly clasped and it grounded me. Ayuna and Eikichi had both raised eyebrows but hadn't said anything, while Mai had simply smiled when she'd noticed.
I suspected that the questions were in their heads, waiting and ready to go, but our minds were on other things. This soon proved to be true, for the moment we were shown into the meeting room and had seated ourselves where the secretary had indicated, Friede immediately asked:
"How come we aren't meeting on the site of the new school itself."
Ayuna gave her a look, but responded evenly enough:
"Media are swarming all over it. I'm pretty sure Munakata-san has his own PR camping out there to fend them off."
"There's also protestors." Takaaki said.
"Yes, yes there are." Ayuna agreed. "And they have some points, but it would be unfair to shut this down."
"Do you think that that's what will happen?" I asked.
"Well, finding that out is more or less what we are here for." Eikichi pointed out.
A young man entered the room with a tray containing mugs, teabags, a carafe of hot water as well as snacks and other bits and pieces. I recognised him as one of Munakata's staff, Kuroda, and made some small talk with him as he put the tea and snacks on the table. As Kuroda left, some other members of staff filed in and he bowed to them and went to direct them to their seats before leaving the room. He then came back in a few moments later with Munakata and the secretary, Yamanaka, who had a laptop with her. We all stood up to bow, and he nodded back at us before indicating we should sit down again.
"Now, we're just going to get set up so the young prospectives can join, and then we'll get started. Their call, which Yamanaka-san is overseeing, will also be recording the meeting, but Kuroda-kun here will be taking the meeting minutes. Please feel free to enjoy the refreshments while you are waiting."
This was precisely what we did. Though I knew a good few of Kyosuke Munakata's people, given their involvement with New Hope's Peak, there was a distinct divide between us now. I wasn't someone to be loosely considered as a 'member of staff' anymore. I was one of The Survivors, a term that had become a title more than anything. Us, versus them. Or them, versus us. Whichever way it was, I knew it was in their best interests for New Hope's Peak to go ahead, exactly as it was.
What our best interests were, I still didn't know.
Azami had let go of my hand so she could take tea, but now she reached and squeezed it briefly, before urging:
"Drink something. Or eat something."
"You're starting to sound like me now!" Mai said lightly. "But yes, do have something. Here, let me do tea for you-"
"No, it's okay, I can-"
But Mai had already poured water into a mug with a teabag in, stirred it and handed over. I just thanked her and accepted it, and watched the other staff talking amongst themselves. They looked worried, but what did they have to be worried about? Yes, it would be a waste of effort and time and money, but they'd bounce back. Munakata would have other projects to work on, after this. More importantly, none of them had lived through what we had. They didn't have the right to be worried.
But was a complete shut-down what I wanted? Was it what any of us wanted? I know Azami didn't. She was being so brave, found strength I didn't even know she still had, but still we'd had a heart to heart once I'd finished blubbing and she still didn't want Hope's Peak to remain in any form. It was another way of underlining it all, was how she'd put it, but even so she wanted to hear him out. Kyosuke Munakata wasn't Kazutaka Oomori, nor had he been responsible for covering up that man's actions. He did deserve a chance.
"Alright, can you all hear me?" I heard Yamanaka say.
"Yes, we can!" chorused young voices from Yamanaka's laptop.
"We can see you too!" one of the voices added. "Can we see everybody else?"
"I'm going to turn you around to Munakata-san for this, but yes, I'll let you introduce yourselves to everybody."
Yamanaka turned around, and I saw the seven teenagers all pressed together so that they could be seen on screen. Akio was at the centre, clearly sitting in a wheelchair and it looked like the young journalist Otsuka was operating their laptop.
"It's very good to see you all," Munakata said. "I hope you are all recovering well."
"Yes, thank you." Akio said.
The others also murmured polite greetings, both to Munakata and then the other members of his staff. Then, they looked at us and waved and grinned. Most of us couldn't help but respond likewise, though I noted that Friede was concentrating hard on the pattern on the table, fists balled up and placed on her lap.
"It's good to see that you're all alright," I said. "I wish we could have met under much better circumstances than this. How are you all feeling about everything that happened?"
"Well, for my part it's certainly made me re-think a lot of things about my life," Mitsuhide declared. "I am still rather shaken, as we all are. "
"Psh, speak for yourself," Rieka said cheekily. "Though, yeah, I do agree, actually."
"We survived." Ritsuka said, simply.
I bit back a smile. Her straightforwardness reminded me a lot of Eikichi. More and more it was easy to see that they were related.
"We're sharing your snacks, Mum," Akio added. "We're all really enjoying them. And Akagi-kun's enjoying his mum's sweets."
Friede looked up briefly at this, but reddened when we all stared at her, and just lowered her head again. Akagi also blushed slightly, clutching the mentioned sweets to him a little closer. Mai looked from Friede to the laptop and back again with a slightly sorrowful expression, but then pasted on a smile.
"That's great, I'll bring along some more later."
"Thanks, Mum!"
"Alright," Munakata said. "Let's get things started. I'm sure you will all want to hear what I have been thinking about."
The laptop was turned to face him, and likewise we all settled and turned to him. He looked at all of us, but lingered specifically on us seven. I stared back at him. His eye twitched very slightly, and then he adjusted his light green tie before starting.
"As you all know, I have taken student safety into account while thinking about how Hope's Peak has run. Even without the tragedy that befell Class 78-B twenty years ago, I knew that Hope's Peak was somewhat lax in this regard. I was lucky that my experiences were wholly positive, but I know that wasn't true for everybody. So I have been grateful to have Amai-kun advise on safety on the campus and in the building, and the large variety of specialists I have consulted in regards to pastoral care and other aspects of safety. But it's become clear to me that more changes are needed. Kazutaka Oomori was allowed to get away with it because of his deep connections to Hope's Peak, and because of the emphasis on Talent above all else. "
Kyosuke paused, just long enough for us to process, and then went on:
"That is not to say I'm stopping this project. Hope's Peak did also have positive impacts on the community. I am proud of how the school always selected students from diverse backgrounds and gave them a chance to shine, and did not just look at those who were wealthy and privileged. Nonetheless, that's one thing I am aiming to address. While I want New Hope's Peak students to become successful and respected members of whatever community they become a part of, and I want to grow a network of connections for both students and staff to benefit from, I do not want them to use that as an excuse to cover things up. To that end, the rules are going to be adjusted to ensure that it's clear that while we're willing to provide legal advice and support, and advocate for our community, we are not going to help them 'get away' with any actual misdeeds.
I am sure that things will happen. However, if anything does happen, the policy will always be about transparency. There will be a fine balance between respecting privacy, which everyone deserves, and that transparency but that is something that can be considered on a case by case basis. We will not allow outside forces, including family members, to use money or power to pressure us into hiding things, or to let bad behaviour slide. This will go into employee contracts, and that will apply to the highest members of staff as well. It will apply to me, too. I will also be introducing a new board to the New Hope's Peak seniors committee. I am still deliberating on what to call it, but this is essentially a board to hold people accountable, that can be used to monitor how well New Hope's Peak is fulfilling its promises, and as an alternative channel for students and staff to report any problems, especially if they feel uncomfortable with bringing it directly to other staff. Of course, once they then flag the problem up the reasons why they couldn't do that will also be explored as part of finding a resolution. "
"Excuse me," one of the other staff members said. "May I ask who will be on this board? Will it be some of the senior leaders?"
"I will be picking senior leaders to be liaisons with the board on a rotational basis, including myself, to ensure that we don't get particular senior members of staff deciding to take advantage of the board. However, they will be external consultants, in a similar manner to Amai-kun. Which does bring me onto the next point in regard to this board-I am particularly hoping to fill it with those who had negative experiences of the old Hope's Peak's levels of pastoral care and educational quality, as they are best placed to know what needs to be monitored. Who better to fit that bill than the survivors of Class 78-B. So, is that anything you'd be interested in?"
There was a moment of silence, and the seven of us looked at each other. Finally, Mai shook her head.
"I'm sorry," she said. "After this, I just want to focus on being able to move on with my life, particularly my family."
"The same applies to me, I'm afraid." Eikichi stated.
"I'm not doing it." Friede said simply.
"Yes, I don't think I can get myself that involved in Hope's Peak anymore," Ayuna added. "I would be happy to come and give guest talks and possibly advise students interested in film or radio careers. That's all I have the capacity for."
"Eizo-chi," Azami murmured. "What do you want to do?"
"I…I'll always be happy come to check the security systems and help fix anything that needs fixing, but…"
Unbidden, I thought that if it had been Fumiaki who had survived, he would have put himself forward for this. If I'd asked myself, what would Fumi do, something like this would have been the answer. He was good at organising things, getting those organised things done, representing best interests. He would have been such a good fit for something like this.
Nonetheless, I couldn't do it. And I had to hope that he'd understand that.
"I'll do it."
We all gawped at Takaaki. He didn't seem even vaguely perturbed by this. Indeed, he had a calm about him that seemed very unusual, and yet suited him too.
"Um…you do know this requires being direct and straightforward about things, right?" Ayuna asked.
Takaaki stared holes in her.
"I never said anything about giving up my day job."
He then returned his attention to Munakata, and repeated:
"I'll do it. This is something I can do."
"Um….may I also do it?"
This voice came from the laptop, and Munakata looked surprised. Yamanaka also gave the laptop screen a bug-eyed look.
"Akio?" Mai asked.
Yamanaka turned the laptop around so the screen faced Mai. All seven of the prospectives stared out, looking ever so earnest. Akio blushed a little, and adjusted his glasses before saying:
"I mean, I guess I would have to graduate first, of course, but I think I'd like to do it for your sake and everyone else's too, Mum. I mean, I'm sure Jinsai-san will be able to represent you, I just want to do something for you. "
"Akio, that's so kind."
"Yamanaka-san, if you could turn that around now, please." Munakata said after a moment of letting us talk.
Yamanaka nodded and did just that. Munakata looked at the laptop screen and gave the students a nod and a smile.
"I would certainly be happy to consider you for a role on the board when the time comes, but in the meantime we could potentially put in a student version of the board, to liaise with the main one. Perhaps it can be incorporated into the Student Council too. Is that something any of you would be interested in?"
"Yes, thank you." Akio said.
"Yeah, I'd be up for that." Rieka said.
There were a few murmurs of assent from the other young people, so Munakata nodded seriously and stated that this would be something he would particularly be looking into. His next point, it turned out, was also directly about the students:
"I have had to field a lot of concerns that the nature of SHSL Talents puts a lot of pressure and spotlight on young people. This is not a Hope's Peak-specific problem but is amplified by how small and exclusive the school is. We want to keep this school exclusive, but do not want to make the problem worse than it is, especially as the perceived 'specialness' of the old SHSL students may have contributed to their tragedy. So we will be changing the admission processes somewhat. Rather than having a single person who can hold an SHSL title for a particular field per cohort, we will allow multiples in. Additionally, we will be encouraging people to apply rather than directly inviting them for the most part. Additionally, as well as those who have already made achievements well beyond their ages, we will encourage applications from those who show potential of being successful in those fields in adulthood, who are for now only beginning to come into themselves. We will still hold Lucky Student lotteries, but will limit those to schools in disadvantaged areas. Does that make sense?"
"In a way, but what does that mean for us?" Otsuka asked from the laptop.
"The current class will remain as it is, as we need to undertake renovations to allow for a larger capacity. Additionally, finetuning the admissions procedures to reflect these changes will take time, especially as they differ remarkably from the way the old school used to do things."
"So are you going to stop using the titles then?" Akemi asked.
"No. After much reflection, the label 'SHSL' doesn't necessarily imply there can only be one at any given time, unlike some alternative translations such as 'Ultimate', for example. And though this country is not the largest, I am sure there will be more than one person who is capable of great things in the fields that you all have been accepted in."
"As much as I like to think I'm in a league of my own, I do agree with that, Munakata-san." Mitsuhide said. "So I'm fully in favour of this idea."
This got agreement from what sounded like all of the young ones, but then unexpectedly, Mitsuhide asked:
"What about you?"
"M-me?" Akemi stammered.
"If there's something you want to ask, then please do speak up, Koizumi-san." Munakata said.
"Um…"
"Actually, I have a question…." One of the other staff members said.
"Once we've heard from Koizumi-san, then we'll move onto your question." Munakata said smoothly.
Of course, I couldn't see Akemi's face, but she ummed and ahhed and I got the sense that she was a little worried about something. After a moment though, she cleared her throat and said:
"Truthfully, I shouldn't have come along to this. However the titles are being defined now, I don't think I should have mine anymore."
"Hey, what's that meant to mean?" Rieka demanded.
Akemi didn't say anything for a moment, then said:
"Actually, I've spoken out of turn, but I'm thinking about not joining the school anymore. The title of SHSL Aptitude doesn't sit well with me."
This was met with exclamations from all the other teenagers, and Munakata waited for them to die down before he said:
"Koizumi-san, let's organise an appointment where we can talk about this at another time. For the record, I feel that your unique situation means that a school like Hope's Peak is probably best suited to you. Even with the broadened criteria for the SHSL title, the other students are also likely to have unconventional learning needs."
"Um…alright then. I'll arrange an appointment."
"Seriously, what the-"
"Now's not the time."
Even though their voices obviously sounded nothing alike, the matter-of-fact tone and the way it sliced across Rieka's words so neatly reminded me a fair bit of Eikichi from when he had been that age. More specifically, it reminded me of how he had been back then, when we had been trapped.
But it's over now, Eizo. It's over now.
"Alright, let's move on."
Munakata showed us some examples of revised paperwork for school policies, and answered queries about budgets and administration and other such things from the other staff members at the meeting. Other things were referred back to and clarified, and then Munakata reached his final item:
"I am also going to see about putting up a proper memorial to all the victims of Hope's Peak. Not just Class 78-B, though, but for all who were affected by Hope's Peak in a way that contributed to them losing their lives. I had considered naming parts of the school after them, or even the whole school itself, but of course I cannot elevate one victim over the others."
"Is this going to be in the school itself?" I asked.
"I am still finalising that, but if not in the school then perhaps in a public space within Towa City."
Abruptly, Azami stood up.
"A-are you alright, Azami-chan?" Mai asked.
"Azami?" I also asked.
She braced her hands against the table, but then changed her mind and stood up straight, arms stiff by her side.
"Do you still have to call the school Hope's Peak, though?"
She stopped, took a breath. She looked frail again, so frail. I wanted to gather her up in my arms but had to content myself with just watching her carefully. I couldn't even look at Munakata as he asked:
"What do you mean, Kishinami-san?"
"All this talk about Hope's Peak's legacy and it's 'overall positive' history…I'm not sure if that will mean anything, not anymore. It's not enough to sever the ties between our tragedy and that name. And I get…I get that…"
She looked around at us, the survivors. I smiled at her, and held out my hand. She gulped and took it, before looking back at Munakata.
"I believe your intentions are good, I believe that this time around, this school will be so much different. At first, I didn't want this to happen at all, but after hearing you lay it all out I am willing to give it a chance. But why would you rub salt in the wound by keeping the name? Adding 'new' to the front doesn't change it at all."
"The Hope's Peak name was a good one once-" one of the senior staff tried to say.
"Once."
Azami's interruption was quiet, wobbly, but still it resonated. Her free hand worried at the material of her skirt, and she gulped again before repeating.
"Once."
She stood for a few moments longer, and then sat back down just as abruptly as she had stood. She eased her hand out of mine, but when she caught my eyes she did give me a smile, small as it was. I smiled back and then worked up the courage to look at Munakata. He was frowning, seemingly lost in thought.
"Munakata-san?" Yamanaka asked tentatively.
Now it was his turn to abruptly stand up. He tucked in his chair and then stepped away from the table. Then, quite unexpectedly, he knelt on the ground. When I craned my neck to see what he was doing I saw that he was bowing properly, an old-style expression of remorse.
"The people who should give this apology won't do so, so I am giving it to you. I am sorry, from the bottom of my heart."
"Um…Munakata-san…."
Both Kuroda and Yamanaka seemed nonplussed, and then looked to us for help We then all looked at each other. It's alright were such simple words on the surface, but so difficult to say. It wasn't as simple as that, was it? I suppose we would have to, though, since this bit was just about us.
"Thank you for the apology," Ayuna said. "You can get up now."
Munakata did so, stiffly, dusting off his knees. He did not go back to his seat, but instead addressed us from where he was standing:
"I shall have to think about the symbolism of the Hope's Peak name, and whether changing it is the best thing to do. Nonetheless, I hope it is clear to you that I am aiming to change the definition of that name one way or another. I can't erase the past, but I can learn from it and pave the way to better. This is my way of making reparations to you all.
In any case, I thank you for coming here today. Now, Prospectives, I'll leave you to get on with your days and as for the survivors…I believe you need to visit the police station in regards to the investigative side?"
"Yes, that's right." Eikichi said.
"Then, I'll arrange a driver to escort you there, if you just wait. But now this meeting is over."
Sooooooo...this was meant to be the the second scene of a chapter, but then I decided to split said chapter in two and I didn't really know how to end the scene. So I kinda just left it here.
Anyway, I hope you like this chapter regardless!