Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Danganronpa.
Chapter 56:
The Ultimate School Festival Part I
Hope's Peak Academy.
It might be redundant by this point, but the power behind this name could not be overstated.
It was a name that caught the attention of anyone who heard it in Japan. It was synonymous with "elite" and "prestige." It was another way of saying that Hope's Peak Academy was the most prestigious institution in the country, one that most people would like to attach themselves to. It didn't matter if you were a politician or a petty criminal. As they say, if you can make it at this school, then you're set for life. Who wouldn't want such an opportunity.
It was a matter of fact that high school students all over the country wanted to attend. It was not hyperbolic to say that many of them would be willing to sell one of their organs to be able to say that they had graduated from Hope's Peak Academy. It was the highest form of adoration….that was the nice way of putting it. In a more negative light, perhaps it was mere fanaticism. Hope's Peak was placed on a sort of pedestal by the public. It was romanticized, no longer viewed objectively or even as "real."
After all, it was a place that most of them would never be able to see with their own eyes. How could they not let their imaginations run wild.
They lacked that special ingredient that would allow them admittance: talent. Indeed, the one simple requirement that was needed was talent, and it was perhaps the most fickle thing of all. It's all that Hope's Peak cared about, and without it you were not permitted to walk through its halls.
How could such a place not draw the attention of many?
This "adoration" only increased when the Reserve Department was introduced this year. For the first time, "ordinary" people would be able to walk side-by-side with the "chosen." For a small fee of course.
Things were never so simple, and as it's been shown before this acceptance wasn't true acceptance. It didn't take long for the first batch of Reserve Course students to realize that they were going to be treated as lessers when compared to the so-called Ultimates. They were segregated, and Hope's Peak Academy made no attempt to hide this fact. You didn't need to look far to understand this point, as none of them were allowed to set foot in the Main Course Building. They were confined to be in the Reserve Course Building and the surrounding area, with the Main Course Building always looming over them like a dark tower. It was a constant reminder that they weren't the "chosen" that they had dreamed of.
It didn't take long for this state of affair to leak to the public. Teenagers tend to talk a lot, and the media was always on the lookout for more information. Regardless, this did not sour Hope's Peak Academy's image to the public. These Reserve Course students had come of their own volition, willing to pay large sums of money for the name of the school. Even if it was just in name only, they could say that they were attending the same school as the talented Ultimates. That brought some amount of prestige….is what they told themselves.
They were happy. Perhaps a little jealous and maybe deep down resentful, but happy.
Then news reached them of the unexpected school festival. For the first time in its history, Hope's Peak Academy was going to host its very own school festival like every other school in the country. Most importantly, during the event, the Reserve Course was going to be treated as equals to the Main Course.
The Reserve Course students couldn't have been more excited if they tried. They had no concrete information of how the festival was going to play out, but that didn't matter. The official contest only made them more excited. Most of them didn't expect to win. Not against an Ultimate. However, that didn't stop them from hoping for the chance to be able to interact with these chosen few. It was a hope that they never had before.
With so much hype in the Reserve Course, as with their segregation, it wasn't long before they leaked this development to the public. Many forums were created discussing what a "Hope's Peak school festival" might look like. Many more started to fantasize about the supposed beauty pageant that would also take place at the same time.
If only they could attend, is what they told themselves.
No one expected to of course. Reserve Course students weren't allowed in the Main Course Building. What hope did any of them have?
Then something else happened.
Pamphlets started circulating. No one was sure how they got outside of the school, but it was rumored that they had been made by the Ultimate Photographer. Some doubted this claim, as the pamphlets advertised a school play of all things. There was no way the Ultimate Photographer would be involved with something like that, right?
But the forums expanded, and more information started trickling in. The play was being put on by class 77-B, and the Ultimate Photographer was said to be a part of that class.
They had it. Confirmation!
But then, why were these pamphlets being distributed outside of the school? It wasn't like any of them could attend. It didn't make sense. Unless…..could it be that the Hope's Peak Academy would be opening its doors for the school festival? For the first time in its long history, was the school going to be accessible to the "common folk"?
That had to be it!
Perhaps it was just a false hope, a delusion that they were making themselves believe. There were others who didn't believe this, who actively mocked those who did, but in the end that didn't matter. The majority had come to a consensus.
On this Monday morning, a massive crowd would be forming to gain entry to the one and only Hope's Peak Academy. One might even call it a mob. And it was growing by the second.
This ultimate school festival was going to start with a bang.
Sakakura Juzo was not having a good morning.
It hadn't been a month since he had been made the head of security for Hope's Peak Academy and already he was hating the position. Not because the job itself was stressful. After winning two worldwide boxing championships, there was little that could stress Juzo at this point.
Being a spy was one of those rare exceptions.
After graduating, the former Ultimate Boxer could have chosen any number of professions that would have guaranteed him success in the world. In the end, he decided to stick by his best friend, Kyosuke. Juzo found that his friend's ambition to take over Hope's Peak Academy and change it into something better was an admirable one. It was an ambition that would help many, and despite what many of the others who now served under him would say, deep down Juzo was something of a softie. He deeply admired those that were willing to do something for the benefit of others, and to him no one embodied that ideal more than Kyosuke. It's why he had no reservations setting aside whatever ambitions he might have had to lend Kyosuke a hand. Although, honestly, after a winning the world championship the first time, there hadn't been much else for Juzo to personally accomplish.
All of that was a preamble to the situation he now found himself in. After winning his second championship, Kyosuke had gotten in touch with him. Kyosuke was nothing if not determined, and it hadn't taken long for him to establish himself as an important "benefactor" to Hope's Peak Academy. Sure, Kyosuke was young, but he had many connections and the charisma to use them. All of that cumulated in the expansion project of Hope's Peak Academy, where a second school was to be established. Incidentally, this school was going to be run by none other than Kyosuke. It was going to serve as the "rebirth" of Hope's Peak Academy. None of the higher-ups knew of Kyosuke's true plans, with Tengan perhaps being the lone exception, but if everything went well then their disapproval wouldn't matter.
All the same, Kyosuke wasn't going to leave anything to chance, and he wanted eyes and ears inside Hope's Peak Academy. He wanted to know of the current condition of the school and just how much darkness he was going to have to purge.
This is where Juzo came in. He had taken a job as part of the security force in the school at the start of the school year. A month later, Juzo was now in charge of the entire department.
Juzo could be driven when he wanted to.
In that time, the former Ultimate Boxer had learned much about the school and how things now worked. All the secrecy and dare he say it, corruption. The biggest culprit in all of this was the Steering Committee who led the board of trustees, the true power behind the school. At this point, the headmaster was little more than a figurehead.
This did not mean that Juzo knew everything. Far from it. There were many whispers. Rumors. Nothing concrete sadly. You could say Juzo was growing frustrated, but from the beginning he had known that this was not going to be an easy task. It was something that could maybe take years. This wasn't like when he was training for the championship. It was more delicate and not so straightforward. Unfortunately, he was not always a patient man. His short temper was proof of that.
Most of his days consisted of monotony. A far cry from his days in the boxing ring. As the head of the security force at the school, he was reduced to a lot of administrative duties. It was the kind of thing that Kyosuke excelled at. Him? Not so much.
Juzo put it up with it all the same, for the sake of his friend.
That monotony began to change when this so-called school festival started to take shape. Juzo had no idea how it had started, but for whatever reason the students were banding together to put on a show in spite of the school rules.
Many of Juzo's men had voiced their concerns about the whole thing, mainly to do with the Reserve Course. The security force had been told nothing about the event, and the higher ups hadn't given them any orders to stop it. They still had their original orders in place, and one of those orders was to stop any Reserve Course student from entering the Main School Building. It was the Steering Committee's way of ensuring that the "purity" of the school remained in place.
Did the school festival negate that? Were all the students going to mingle together as one? How exactly was this going to work out? Thinking about it made Juzo want to punch something.
Well, personally, Juzo found the rule about keeping the two groups separated distasteful and beneath him. If he had it his way, then he wouldn't be enforcing it. Unfortunately, he still had to put up appearances. He wasn't going to draw the ire of the people who hired him and blow his mission. Whatever sympathies he might have for the Reserve Course students paled in comparison to his loyalty to Kyosuke.
All that being said, Juzo could do nothing but wait till the school festival started. The best he could do was play things by ear and try to keep the peace.
Sadly, someone must have been out to get him, because that Monday, on the first day of the school festival, he was alerted to a huge mob gathering outside of the school gates, all chanting and looking ready to storm in. Worse still, it only seemed to be growing by the minute.
The men stationed there were panicking and calling for backup, and Juzo could not blame them. This was the first time that they were facing something like this.
Once again, the former Ultimate Boxer wanted to punch something.
Instead, he just silently cursed as he narrowed his pink eyes. He wasn't one to be passive. He was going to have to tackle this head on. It was a delicate situation, and he was going to be running into this blind. When had that stopped him, though? He had a job to do.
Honestly. There was nothing to think about.
Grabbing his gear, Juzo was quick to signal through his radio for more backup as he rushed out of his office.
Mondays always were the worst.
It was almost like something out of a movie.
When Juzo arrived at the main entrance, he was met with the worried gazes from his men. Backup had arrived, but Juzo saw that it was going to do a little good. Not against a crowd of this size.
How many people were present here? They were clogging the entire street, and Juzo could not see how far they extended.
The crowd's chants were loud. Many were holding pamphlets, but Juzo couldn't make out what they said. Many at the front were trying to push open the gates, but they didn't get very far as the security force did its best to push them back. This was only a temporary fix, though. They needed a more decisive solution to combat this.
"What the hell?" Juzo had to voice his bewilderment out loud.
When he woke up this morning, he did not expect to be dealing with something like this today.
"Sir!" One of his men came running up to him. He was out of breath, and his uniform had seen better days. He saluted Juzo. "I'm glad you've arrived! We're losing control of the situation!"
Juzo could see that.
Using lethal force would quickly resolve the situation, but that would be opening another can of worms that Juzo wasn't willing to get into. Besides, it wasn't his style.
"For now, we have to keep them from entering the school. Knock them out if you must. In the meantime, we have to get a hold of the headmaster. He has to know what's going on here."
In the back of his mind, Juzo knew that this would be putting the headmaster in a terrible position. It would be like putting all the blame on him for something that was not his fault. That said, this was above his pay grade. If these people were armed, then fighting back at full strength would be a no brainer. However, the situation was more delicate than he had assumed. A lot of the people in the crowd looked to be teenagers. He wasn't going to get any kids injured if he could help it. Despite what many thought, he wasn't one to pick on others for no reason.
He would still defend the school, though.
After having one of his men contact the headmaster's office, Juzo charged at the gate to help stabilize the situation. He wasn't content to just stand back and watch the action unfold from afar. He would have stayed in his office if he was. Besides, he trusted himself to be better at holding back than some of his men, who were probably more than a little ready to bring out their guns after suffering through the crowd's rough treatment for so long.
"Everyone, arm yourselves! But no lethal force!"
Not yet anyway.
Those at the gate didn't need to be told twice. In one swift motion, they pulled out their batons, while Juzo was content relying only on his fists. They had never failed him before, and that wasn't going to change today.
Some more gear, like ballistic shields, was probably going to be needed too. Juzo didn't waste time in calling them in. He might be have ulterior motives for being here, but he wasn't going to let his men get unnecessarily injured either.
Fortunately, Juzo and his team weren't going to have to suffer for much longer. None of Juzo's men were able to see it clearly, as to them it was like several blurs came in and started pushing the crowd back away from the gate.
Or perhaps it wasn't so fortunate, as a loud booming voice cut right through all the noise and chaos, instantly catching everyone's attention.
For a second, it was almost like everything in time froze as the voice boomed.
"IT'S TIME TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"
Naruto was ecstatic.
In all honesty, everything that had transpired this morning had not been planned in the slightest. He was just as surprised as anyone else when he heard about the mob of teenagers forming at the front gates of the school. How did he hear about it, you ask?
From Nagito of course. Who else?
It seemed like the luckster still spent some of his free time looking through the different chat rooms or whatever they were called that had to do with Hope's Peak Academy. Naruto didn't know why, and he hadn't bothered to ask Nagito this time around.
He was more concerned about what Nagito had managed to uncover.
For several days now, a rumor had spread about outsiders being able to attend the school festival. Apparently it was something that other schools did sometimes, not that Naruto knew anything about that either.
Nagito had known about the rumors from the beginning, but he had just dismissed them as unimportant. According to him, there was no way such a thing would be happening. Surely no one could ever believe such childish tales. The school had a strict policy about this. Besides, Nagito believed that the common person would be unworthy of setting foot at the school.
But then, arriving at school that morning, Nagito saw with his own eyes that perhaps he had misjudged. Thankfully, his first instinct had been to contact Naruto about it.
Things quickly spiraled from there. This was where Mahiru came into the picture. She had explained some things to him, like the pamphlets that she had made, but she was pretty confused about the situation too.
All of this was to say that Naruto was pretty out of the loop about all of this. Even with what Mahiru and Nagito had told him, there were still a lot of questions remaining.
That did not mean that he wasn't going to use this to his advantage.
The school festival was a means to an end. After arriving in this world, Naruto had spent the first two months without a purpose. Sure, he still wanted to fulfill Jiraiya's dream in some capacity, but he had no solid plan. He had been doing things at his pace, taking it easy.
Now, thanks in part to Fuyuhiko, he had formed a plan. His first step was going to be to change Hope's Peak Academy for the better. It was to be his first stepping stone to making a change in this big new world he found himself in. The school festival was born out of that purpose, thanks in large part to the student council.
Now, another big opportunity had been serve to him on a silver platter. There was no way that he was going to step back and let it go to waste.
After a quick call to Kazuichi to get him a megaphone and another call to Nekomaru and Akane to bring him some of their desks, Naruto found himself standing on a impromptu stage right in front of the gates. Thanks to Akane and Nekomaru, a large space had been cleared for him in a matter of seconds as they pushed back the mob. As enthusiastic as Naruto was, he also saw how frustrated the security force was becoming. If things kept escalating, then there was going to be violence on their hands.
He was going to aim for the middle of the road while also being extreme. Awesome, right?
Maybe he was channeling some of his inner Killer Bee when he shouted into the megaphone, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. Besides, it got the job done as everyone was now staring at him.
"What the hell?"
"Who is this guy?"
"How is he standing on all those desks?"
"Who stacked them? I didn't see anything!"
"I was suddenly pushed away from the gate! How is that possible?"
There were a lot of murmurs that were building up, but Naruto didn't let them grow.
"WELCOME TO HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY'S FIRST SCHOOL FESTIVAL! ARE YOU READY TO PARTY-O!"
The crowd was still confused, but many of them were slowly catching up. Mainly, they saw that he was wearing the Hope's Peak Academy school uniform.
"This guy…..he's an Ultimate!" someone shouted from the crowed.
Observant.
"THAT'S RIGHT-O! I'M HERE TO OFFICIALLY WELCOME ALL OF YOU TO THE SCHOOL FESTIVAL! SORRY FOR THE WAIT, YO!"
"….is he trying to rap?"
"I don't get it."
"He's bad at this."
How dare they! Octopops would love this!
"But it's true then! We can get in!"
"The pamphlets weren't lying then!"
Naruto filed that information for later.
"THAT'S RIGHT! STARTING TODAY, HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY WILL BE ADMITTING ATTENDEES FOR THE SCHOOL FESTIVAL! IT'LL BE THE ULTIMATE PARTY THAT'S GOING TO LAST A WEEK! AYE-YO!"
The crowd burst into excitement.
Naruto could only grin at his success. His message was quick and to the point, exactly what the situation called for.
"Oi! The hell is this!"
Someone down below was barking up at him.
Naruto glanced back to see one of the security guards marching up to him all by himself as the school gate closed behind him. Right away Naruto could tell that this guy was a fighter, probably better than anyone that he had faced during that mock trial when he first came to Hope's Peak Academy.
Interesting.
"Who is this guy?" Akane pointed at the newcomer with a bored look. "Do we have to fight him? He looks kinda strong."
"Ha." Nekomaru shook his head. "Not everything has to be resolved through a fight, you know."
"But that's boring."
"Get down from here!" The man, who couldn't be all that much older than them, didn't spare Akane and Nekomaru a second glance. His attention was solely on Naruto. "I don't know who you think you are, but this isn't allowed! By school rules, none of these people are allowed entry!"
Thankfully the crowd in front of them was too busy celebrating to pay attention to what was happening. Now that they had gotten confirmation that they could get into the school, it seemed like they were ready to be more civil.
"You looked like you were about to wet your pants there," Naruto retorted as he jumped down with ease. Balancing on top of twenty school desks was easy compared to his training, but it was still kind of fun. "I think you should be thanking us."
"Thanking you?" The guy with dark hair looked like he was ready to explode. "For all I know, you're the ones who caused all of this! Do you know how many people you put in danger?"
Giving them the blame?
Naruto looked up at him. It was a bit frustrating, but the guy was taller than him. But hey, he was only 16. He was sure he could still grow. Or wait, was he 17? How did that work anyway? He had come to this world on the day before his birthday, but in this world it wasn't October yet. So would he be 18 then? Or still 17? What had Tengan put down as his age anyway?
Wait, not important right now.
"We didn't plan any of this, but now you're going to be able to handle this peacefully. I think that's good enough, don't you? Besides, we're already breaking some of the rules by having the school festival in the first place. What's a few more?"
The young man sighed with clear irritation. "You're not the one who gets to make that call, kid. Do you have any idea what's going to happen when the school finds out about this?"
"No idea. Don't really care either."
Those geezers could suck it.
"That selfish attitude of yours is why kids these days to be better disciplined. Did your parents not teach you any better?"
Naruto just scoffed. This guy had no idea.
"But don't worry, kid." A smirked appeared on the man's face. "I'm willing to be the one to give you a free lesson here and now."
Naruto saw the punch coming. He could tell that Akane and Nekomaru saw it too. It was out of instinct that they moved to protect him as they knew better than anyone else how strong he was. He was flattered, really, but a punch this slow was nothing to him.
Regardless, in the end, he didn't have to do anything as the punch never came. It stopped midway as someone else suddenly appeared on the scene, stepping in between himself and the man.
It was their teacher, the ever diligent Chisa.
Juzo cursed in his head as he stopped his punch halfway through the motion. Only someone with his level of discipline could do something like this, and it was a good thing too as he found himself staring into the disapproving eyes of Chisa.
The young woman had always been quick on her feet.
"Punching students is a crime. I would think someone from the security team would know that."
Stepping back, Juzo ran a hand through his well-kept hair, sighing again in aggravation. His blood pressure was slowly rising.
"I'm only trying to keep the peace, but this student refuses to back down. I'm within my rights to take matters into my own hands."
"Heh, just try that again." Juzo narrowed his eyes at the lone female student. She looked absolutely feral right now. It was putting him on edge. "I'll make sure you lose more than a finger."
"I concur." The other male student was crackling his knuckles.
These two meant business.
"Owari-san. Nidai-kun. There's no need for this kind of violence." Chisa's voice was soft but stern. It made the two Ultimates behind her relax, if only slightly.
"Yukizome." Juzo frowned but said nothing more. He knew that she was going to meddle no matter what.
The problematic blond student just scratched his head. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was almost punched by the former Ultimate Boxer.
"Thanks for the rescue, sensei. But you know, you didn't have to show up. The situation has already been handled."
Juzo was once again brought aware to the fact that there was still a screaming mob before him. Because of his actions, some of them were starting to come down from their excitement to see what they were up to. It made him realize that if he kept pushing, they would become unruly again.
The blond was essentially using them as a shield here against further violence.
'This annoying fox…..'
Really, at this point, it was his loss.
But Juzo was too stubborn to admit that outright.
So he just turned and left, heading back towards the gate as Chisa began to pull on the blond's ear to scold him for his actions.
Juzo knew, though, that he and Chisa were going to have to have a word. And fast.
It took Naruto a few minutes to escape from Chisa's scolding and head into school grounds. A part of him thought that he had only gotten away so easily because Chisa had let him, but he wasn't going to complain either way.
After all, everything had turned out pretty well!
"You're a crazy bastard, you know that?"
Naruto, Akane, and Nekomaru were met with Fuyuhiko's smirking face as the Ultimate Yakuza greeted them by the gates of the Main School Building. Peko was there too, as was a beaming Sonia and a worried Mahiru.
"You guys are too reckless!" Mahiru was quick to jump into her protective mode as she stepped in front of the trio. "When Soda-san called us about your request, we all nearly had a heart attack!"
Nekomaru laughed. "HAHAHA! It was definitely bold! IT WAS GUARANTEED TO SUCCEED!"
Mahiru gained a tic mark as she placed her hands on her hips. "There was no guarantee of anything, you buffoon!"
"It was most mesmerizing!" Sonia chimed in with her nostrils flaring and stars in her eyes. "Komaeda-san showed us a video of the whole thing!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Fuyuhiko shook his head. "The bastard filmed the whole thing and then sent us all a copy."
Seriously? Whatever for?
"I must say, your attempt at….rapping was most interesting," Peko said with a hum.
Naruto gave her a thumbs up. "Was it cool?"
"I did not know you had such…..interests." Peko was trying to be diplomatic here.
"I'm a man of many layers."
"I extol your virtues once more, Naruto!" Sonia exclaimed. "You must teach me of this rap at once!"
"Sure thing!"
"You guys." Mahiru held her head. It was still early in the morning, but she already wanted to crawl back into her bed. "Do you not understand how serious this situation was?"
"I don't really understand any of it," Akane said, shrugging. "Why did they even show up anyway?"
Mahiru had to look guilty about this. "Like I told you, that might have been my fault…."
"You shouldn't blame yourself, Koizumi." Nekomaru disagreed. "We have no idea how your pamphlets made it out of the school."
Fuyuhiko crossed his arms. "Isn't it obvious? Some jackass leaked it out. That's what Komaeda was saying anyway."
Naruto agreed. "Yeah, it's alright, Mahiru. No is going to blame you for this. Actually."
Mahiru let out the most un-Mahiru squeak as she suddenly found herself in Naruto's arms and being twirled in the air.
"I should be thanking you! You're too good, you know!"
Mahiru's face was steaming as she processed what was happening. She couldn't even fight back, not that she really wanted to.
Fuyuhiko was amused. "Idiot is too honest."
Peko smiled. "Well, it's not like we did not know how amazing Koizumi's skills were. To be able to reach so many people, it is quite something."
"It is incredible!" Sonia agreed as well.
Nekomaru just laughed while Akane let out a small grin of her own.
Unfortunately, Mahiru was too embarrassed to be able to properly accept any of their praise.
It would not take long for a smiling Nagito to join them by the gates, saying something along the lines of a "beautiful performance." Naruto almost smacked him on the head for filming the whole thing but was too happy to actually be annoyed.
Then they headed up to their classroom, where the others were waiting. They had a busy day ahead of them, and they needed to be ready.
Now, with the security force acting as the overseers, a lot more people were going to be attending the school festival.
What a revolutionary day.
"You're still as fast as ever."
Chisa frowned as her eyes landed on Juzo who was now walking towards her.
The two adults found themselves on a secluded section of the school where they could have some privacy. Not within the Main School Building itself, but rather outside and a bit away from the school gates.
"And you're still easily riled up."
Juzo frowned as he stopped in front of her.
"Give me a break. Do you have any idea what that student of yours just did? What's going to happen from now on? He got his away for now because of the crowd, but once the board hears about this, expulsion will be the least of his worries."
Chisa said nothing to this.
Juzo continued to frown, perplexed to see Chisa not outright denying his claims. That's what she would normally do.
"I don't think it will be that simple," Chisa said after a moment's silence. "I don't have a way of properly explaining this, but I think someone is protecting him."
"What?"
"And besides," Chisa quickly added with a small pout, "regardless of how careless he might be, he's still my student. I'm not going to just stand back and let you punch him."
Juzo almost let out a h'mph. "It was a love tap at most. I just wanted to scare him a little."
"It doesn't matter. Violence isn't allowed."
She was not going to back down from this.
Juzo frowned again. "You know why we're here, don't you? We're here to look into the dark side of Hope's Peak Academy, just like Munakata ordered us to do so. We can't afford to be making big waves."
Chisa pouted. "I've started to do some digging up on my own, but it's not so simple."
"I'm aware. Ever since high school, you tend to get absorbed into things."
Chisa pouted again. Even if he was right, he didn't have to say it.
"Although I guess I can't fully blame you." Juzo sighed. "That class of yours seems to get caught up in a lot of stuff."
Chisa lost her childish demeanor as her mood dimmed a little. "You're talking about Utsugi Kotoko, aren't you?"
What else could it be?
"There are still a lot of rumors going around about that, but with how things currently are the school just wants to sweep everything under the rug. They want to act like nothing is wrong, but many people think that it's connected to the school."
Chisa had read some of those rumors of course. How could she not? It was practically mainstream news. Worse still, it implicated one of her students, namely Fuyuhiko. Many thought that the Kuzuryu clan was behind all those targeted but random hits that happened on that night. But that wasn't all. Chisa couldn't really explain it, but she knew that Fuyuhiko wasn't the mastermind, no matter what the rumors said. There was someone else that made everything fall into place.
"The police are still looking into it. They're saying that they want to bring in some private investigators," Juzo explained with a shake of his head. Many of his men had former ties to the police, and some of them kept contacts within the different departments. He would often overhear them talking about the rapid murders that occurred that night. All of them seemingly random, but there had to be a root cause for them.
Chisa frowned as well. "Why are you bringing this up now?"
"I didn't recognize him at first, but that blond kid is surrounded in question marks."
"What does that mean?" Chisa didn't understand.
Juzo sighed. "You're in a better position to verify this, but apparently that kid was personally tested by the board of trustees at the beginning of the school year. I wasn't head of the security force then, but I was told by my predecessor about what happened. Not just that, but he's someone that was scouted into the school by the Steering Committee, not the headmaster."
Chisa's brain slowly started to process all of this. To be frank, she had already been curious about Naruto before even meeting him when she read in his files that he was currently staying with the former headmaster. But now she had to also consider the fact that his admittance had been accepted by the Steering Committee and not the headmaster?
"Those old bastards don't go out of their way to do that for just anyone."
Juzo's words were true. In fact, Chisa couldn't remember ever hearing about the Steering Committee getting involved with enrollment until now.
"And now, he's apparently taking that Utsugi girl to live with him." Juzo rubbed his forehead to stop himself from getting a headache. "No matter how you look at it, there's more to him than just a normal student. I'm not fully convinced he didn't plan this either."
"What?"
"Here." Reaching into his coat pocket, Juzo pulled out a pamphlet and handed it to Chisa who accepted it and quickly read through it.
"This is for my class….."
"Yeah. Many in the crowd had a copy. It's how they found out about the school festival in the first place."
Chisa didn't know what to say.
"T'ch, it's like I said, there are a lot of question marks around that kid," Juzo restated his point. "I don't know how much of all this is a coincidence, but he seems to be in the middle of a lot of things. You must be thinking the same thing, right?"
"….I don't know." Chisa really didn't know.
Juzo wasn't buying it. "When you said that 'someone was protecting him,' you're taking about Tengan, aren't you?"
Of course Juzo already knew about that too.
"He was acting very strange during the night of the murders," Chisa admitted with some reluctance as she lowered the pamphlet. "I don't know how to explain it. It's almost like he was certain that something was going to happen even without us doing anything."
Hadn't he said as much?
Juzo narrowed his eyes at this tidbit but didn't say anything in return. Tengan was someone he wasn't all that familiar with personally, but he knew that the old man could be sly when he wanted to. What role did he have to play in all of these mysteries?
"All of this just proves that Hope's Peak Academy is going down the wrong path," Chisa came to her conclusion as she reaffirmed her own beliefs. "Munakata-kun is the only one who can fix this. My students aren't the bad guys. It's the school."
"You're not going to-"
"I agree that there is more to Uzumaki-kun than what we know, but I'm not going to treat him like the bad guy." Chisa would never consider such a thing. "I'll eventually find out more about him, but he's not some evil mastermind. If the school is trying to take advantage of him, then I'll save him."
Juzo had known Chisa for many years now, and the look on her face right now was telling him that she believed what she was saying. She wasn't going to back down from her position.
"Like I said, you have a bad habit of getting too invested in whatever you're doing." Juzo could still complain.
Chisa wasn't offended. "I'll take that as a compliment."
She wanted her troublesome kids to be a part of the new Hope's Peak Academy that Kyosuke was planning on building. She wasn't going to let any of them be used by the likes of the Steering Committee.
"Just keep a close eye on him, will you?" Sighing, Juzo let it rest there. "And watch your back. There's no telling what those guys will try to do if they find out why we're really here."
"Don't worry about me!" Chisa wasn't going to let her cover be blown so easily. Sure, it hadn't been long since she got to the school, but she knew what she had to do.
The two friends said their goodbyes before returning to their posts.
Juzo was going to hate this coming week, he just knew it.
"Well? Did you see that, Eisha? What do you think?"
"He doesn't do anything halfhearted."
"Whaaaaat? That's all you gotta say?"
"I genuinely don't know what else you expected from me."
"He just calmed a riot and allowed a bunch of people into the school!"
"I saw that, Rin."
The Ultimate Hunter huffed and gave her best friend her infamous "side eye."
"Way to spoil the fun."
"I've done nothing wrong. I know you're interested in him, but that has nothing to do with me."
"Eeeehhh. But I'm sure you guys would hit it off! Didn't I tell you what happened last week when I met him with the prez?"
"Yes."
"And you're still not interested!?"
"Just because he smells different than anyone else you've met doesn't mean much to me."
"You just don't get it, do you?" Walking closer toward the window, Rin peered down at the outer main gate of the school. It was because she and Eisha were on the fourth floor of the Main School Building that they could see what had happened.
Side note, in actuality, it was because she and Eisha had better eyes than most, but neither considered this option. To them, it was just natural to have such good eyesight.
"I've traveled to every corner of this planet. I've met people in remote areas. I've been into the jungles where no one else wants to go. I've smelled it all. But that guy…..his scent is different. He carries the scent from a place that I've never been to before."
Eisha said nothing to this. He kept his usual neutral and passive expression. He wasn't one to talk much in the first place. The only one who could get him to talk this much was Rin, and that was because of their long history together. Even so, it had its limits and Eisha felt more tired the longer this conversation dragged on.
He needed a nap.
"You've already told me that."
Rin's nose was far better than his. Eisha didn't dispute that.
The point remained…..it had nothing to do with him. This whole school festival was already a pain. Rin couldn't expect him to have her level of enthusiasm.
"Alright, that does it then." With her first raised and a smirk on her face, Rin grabbed Eisha by the back of his school shirt and began to drag him through the hallway.
"We gotta go and confront the man himself!"
Eisha didn't bother to put up a struggle as he allowed Rin to have her way.
It was just easier for him, really.
When Hajime got to school that morning, he expected things to be different from normal. How could he not? The school festival was about to begin. And even though Natsumi had been running him and the rest of his class as slaves for the past week, they were all still very excited to see what was to come.
He was still caught off-guard when he saw multiple lines forming at the outer gates of the school.
Were there going to be attendees? At the festival?
Since when!? No one had told him about this!
'Why do I get the strange feeling that Uzumaki is behind this?'
Call it a sixth sense if you will, but something was telling Hajime that his blond friend was the cause for this wild development.
Speaking of blonds.
Hajime spotted a fuming Natsumi staring at the school gates. He could just see the hostility radiating off the girl. Her eyes conveyed only one emotion: anger.
But what in the world could cause such a powerful reaction from the girl?
"Are you gonna keep staring at me all day, you creep?"
Hajime snapped out of his thoughts to see Natsumi staring at him now. She was still peeved, but her anger had diminished somewhat. This meant she wasn't angry at him. Thank the gods.
"Not really my fault. You were looking intense there for a moment," Hajime defended himself.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Natsumi fired back, crossing her arms. "Are you not seeing what I'm seeing? They're going to let people into the school!"
"Oh." Hajime's eyes darted back to where the lines were forming. There were are lot of security guards running back and forth, probably trying to make sure that everything went smoothly. It was weird to see so many of them at once, but given the occasion it made sense.
"I mean, if it's for the school festival, then it makes sense."
Not that anyone had told any of them.
Natsumi clicked her teeth together, annoyed. "It wasn't for that, you idiot. Take a look at this."
She pulled out her phone, where a video was already pulled up. The title of it was: "Unknown Ultimate announces start of the school festival! Read Description!" What followed was a video of Naruto on top of a bunch of stacked desks with a megaphone declaring that everyone was welcomed to attend Hope's Peak Academy's school festival. The video had only been posted about thirty minutes ago, and somehow it already had over a million views. Such was the power of the word "Ultimate."
'I guess my hunch was true, huh.'
Rather than being surprised, Hajime just sweatdropped as he finished watching the video. He hadn't known Naruto for long, true, but the blond struck him as the type to always shoot for the unexpected.
So was this good marketing or was the blond just doing as he pleased? Hajime couldn't tell.
"That idiot went and did something stupid again." Scowling, Natsumi put away her phone. "Now people who don't deserve to be here are going to be trampling about like a bunch of ants. It's disgusting."
"You…."
Hajime had no words for the girl. He really couldn't understand how she could be so arrogant when she wasn't considered an Ultimate like her brother.
Something else did catch his attention.
"Wait, you know Uzumaki?"
"Huh?" Natsumi rolled her eyes at him. "Of course I know him. The idiot is friends with my brother. He's been to my house before."
Wow. Hajime really should have put that together earlier. Chiaki had told him that the Ultimate Yakuza was a part of her class, and she and Naruto were in the same class too. It was only natural then that Natsumi would know him.
"Anyway, this was supposed to be a contest between me and him, and now he's doing all of this?" Natsumi shook her fist in the air. Hajime had to stop himself from laughing at the image. "That bastard just doesn't know when to stop."
Wait, there was a contest between Natsumi and Naruto? Since when?
'I get the feeling that she might be misunderstanding something…..'
Truly, Hajime had the talent of common sense.
"Well, whatever." Natsumi scoffed as she turned away from the school gates. "I'll still win this contest, and then I'll get to join the Main Course. This will change nothing."
Oh yeah, the girl was definitely under a misunderstanding.
Was Hajime going to correct her, though? Nope! He had already tried to do that before. She wasn't going to listen to him, so there was no point.
Their conversation ended there as Natsumi just walked off without saying another word to him. Considering that she could have cussed at him while doing it, this was her way of being cordial. He should be thankful for that at least.
Hajime took another look at the lines that were only growing by the minute.
'Uzumaki did this, huh.'
The confidence the blond had in himself to cause such massive changes in the world around him. It made Hajime jealous. He knew that he could never pull off something like this. No one would ever bother to follow him. Why would they? It wasn't like Hajime had anything to offer them.
'Stop thinking like that.'
Hajime berated himself for getting caught in those negative thoughts again. Today was the start of something fun, so he needed to focus on that.
Before he could go and do just that, a third voice cut in.
"I guess she's in a bad mood again."
This time it was Hajime who was approached, and the one to do it was none other than Sato.
Hajime's eyes widened slightly. Now this was a face that he was surprised to see.
"Sato! You're back!"
The girl had been absent from class all week. Why, no one knew. The teacher had only given them some halfhearted excuse about the girl not feeling well. It had been kind of scary at the time. Here she now was, smiling a little. She was walking a bit funny, but otherwise she looked well.
"You don't have to sound so excited, Hinata." Sato was still smiling as she stopped next to Hajime. "I'm sure my absence wasn't all that missed."
Hajime turned sheepish. "W-Well, you're not entirely wrong. We've been busy putting the final touches for our café. We were curious when you suddenly stopped coming."
"I got caught up in some….circumstances."
The way she said that made Hajime all the more curious.
"I'm sorry for not helping you guys, but that's why I'm here. I want to make sure that I at least pull my own weight during the festival."
Hajime was caught off-guard. "O-Oh. Why the sudden change? The last time we spoke you wanted nothing to do with the school festival."
Sato smiled a little. "People can change, you know."
Maybe. But so quickly….?
"Besides, it'll still be nothing compared to what some others do." Sato cocked her head to the side, gesturing to the gathered crowd. "At least I want to do what I can do."
Hajime felt confused. "I don't really understand…."
"It's okay. I'm sorry if I confused you." Sato bowed her head a little. "I guess I feel a little talkative right now. Sorry, Hinata."
"N-No, I don't mind!" Hajime raised his hands, trying to placate the girl. "I'm glad that I look trustworthy enough for you to talk to me like this."
Sato smiled again as her back straightened. "I guess that's one way of putting it."
Was she teasing him? Oh yeah, this Sato was completely different from the one Hajime had come to know for the past couple of months. How curious. What could have changed her so much and in such a short amount of time?
"Anyway, we better get going." Sato turned toward the school. "I'm not sure when they're planning on letting people in, but we have to make sure that we rack as many points as possible."
Hajime quickly followed her. "Are you going to be okay? I mean, Kuzuryu is still calling the shots…."
"Oh, don't worry about that. She's no longer my concern."
Say what!?
Sato didn't miss a beat. "I don't mind working with her during the festival. Even if she tries to antagonize me, it won't be a problem."
Hajime was left so dumbfounded by her answer that he could just nod as he continued to follow her.
Mondays were crazy.
"-and then the idiot just calls me out of nowhere to bring him a megaphone! I had no idea what he was thinking, and it still turned out to be crazier than I could have imagined!"
"I think you're exaggerating, Soda." Byakuya smirked. "This type of behavior falls right in line with his personality. Are you so surprised at this point?"
"Hm, good point."
"Surprising without being surprising." Nagito chuckled. "I think that's how Uzumaki-kun is."
The boy in question gave them a dull stare. "You guys know that I can hear everything you're saying, right?"
Kazuichi scoffed. "We're not trying to hide it!"
"My apologies, Uzumaki-kun." Nagito was the one to apologize. "You must admit that only you would think to do something like that in such a situation."
"IT WAS INSPIRING!" Nekomaru shouted, nearly crying with joy.
"I-It was too dangerous!" Mikan exclaimed with her fists balled in front of her. "There's no telling what could have happened if things turned violent!"
"Eh, that wasn't a problem," Akane said. "Me and old man Nidai were there. We weren't going to let anything happen to him."
"THAT GOES WITHOUT SAYING!"
Naruto's eyebrow twitched a little. "You guys know that I'm not weak, right?"
They were treating him like he was a toddler.
"We just want to make sure that you're okay, Naruto!" Sonia's voice was firm. "You can't blame us for that."
"Indeed." Peko was in agreement. "Especially considering what occurred recently."
"Right~" Hiyoko let out a small mocking laugh. "You never know when another snake will appear. You can never be too careful, Big Bro. Especially with how trusting you can be. That's why you should always stay by my side, since you can't pick good company on your own."
Hey now.
"A snake, huh." Fuyuhiko for his part smirked. "I guess that's one way of putting it."
"Oh, don't try to act so cool." Mahiru rolled her eyes. "You were worried too."
"I was not, and you can't prove shit."
"Jeeeez. You could stand to be a little more honest sometimes. It wouldn't kill you."
"The young master does struggle with that," Peko mused out loud.
Fuyuhiko looked betrayed. "Not you too."
"Forgive me, young master." The small smile on Peko's face said otherwise.
Ryota was looking at his classmates with wide eyes. "I think you guys are taking all of this a bit too carefree. We all saw the video, right?"
"Oh that." Chiaki hummed and tilted her head. "It just happened, and it's already been published. That's the wonder of modern technology."
"More like scary," Naruto muttered. For someone like him who hadn't grown up with it, it was definitely alien.
Nagito hadn't been the only one to film what had happened, and now it was posted online for the whole world to see.
"Kekeke, this current world is connected," Gundham cackled. "Truly, it's a form of the dark arts. One that even I struggle to tap into."
"Woooow, the breeder admits to not being able to do something!" Hiyoko's grin was massive. "Is the world going to end now?"
Gundham's red eye glowed. "You foolish mortal, do you not understand my words? It might be difficult, but nothing is beyond a being such as me."
"The dark arts are surely on your side!" Sonia added with excitement.
"Kekeke, at least someone here understands."
Mahiru fought back a sigh. "Mental note, don't leave them alone for too long."
"I think it's too late for that," Fuyuhiko said.
Mahiru wanted to argue, but she knew she couldn't.
"It's not a big deal, man." Scratching his cheek, Kazuichi sighed with a look full of acceptance. He was talking to Ryota. "Once you're around Uzumaki long enough, you get used to it."
"B-But you said you were scared!" Ryota stammered, not getting Kazuichi's point.
"And you get used to being scared." Teruteru rubbed his chin with a hearty chuckle. "Of course, I wasn't scared at all. Uzumaki-kun just has that charisma about him that makes my buddy happy~"
Ryota took two steps back away from the cook.
Teruteru aside, the animator wasn't sure if he could ever get comfortable with the idea of just seeing Naruto continuously pull stunts like that. Sure, Mikan and Byakuya had told him about the kind of person that Naruto was, but seeing it with his own eyes was a different story. A scarier story.
"Forget all about that!" Ibuki said, catching everyone's attention. She had her trusty guitar in hand. "Ibuki has been working hard to think of a new song about what Naruto-chan did. She's going to need your input!"
"Yay, another new song!" Of course Hiyoko was the only one who was thrilled about it.
Byakuya scowled. "Mioda, you do know that we're supposed to be preparing for the play, correct?"
True to Byakuya's word, the whole class was currently at the gym, and as they carried with their lighthearted conversation they were getting everything ready for their first showing, which would be right before lunch. Their plan was to have two shows per day. With how big the gym was, it would be enough to pack in a lot of people and stack a lot of points! If the points were decided by how many people attended that is.
Everyone needed to pitch in to make sure everything was ready…..well, except for Kurama and the Four Dark Devas who were taking a nap on the stage. The perks of being cute.
"Eh~" Ibuki grumbled. "But sensei isn't even here right now! Besides, Ibuki isn't slacking off or anything! She has to prepare for her concert too, you know!"
Oh yeah, Naruto had sort of forgotten about that. Better not let Ibuki know that, though. There was no telling what she would do to him if she found out.
"Do you think she's okay?" Chiaki wondered.
"She was with us earlier," Naruto said. He wasn't worried. He was sure she was fine.
"Maybe she got in trouble because one of her students did something that he wasn't supposed to~" Hiyoko teased.
Naruto deadpanned. "Do you even care about the rules of the school, Hiyoko?"
"Of course not!" Hiyoko had no interest in whatever rules the school was trying to uphold. On the other hand, she didn't have any interest in the Reserve Course either. She held little interest for most things really.
"You just want to throw more oil to the fire then?" Sonia wondered.
"Well, duh." Hiyoko rolled her eyes. "Big Bro did something very stupid, you know. It wouldn't surprise me if the school tried to kick him out."
Fuyuhiko scowled. "You say that like you don't care."
"Well, you know." Hiyoko's eyes darted to the side, her face gaining a sly look. "Even if Big Bro does get expelled, I'll just take him back to the Saionji Clan with me. It's not a big deal to me."
"W-What?" Mikan looked shocked. "But that's just so inconsiderate!"
"Hm? Does the rotten nurse have something she want to say? You can just stay out of this!"
Naruto threw a piece of paper at Hiyoko, getting a small squeak from her.
"Knock it off, Hiyoko. I'm not getting kicked out."
"You did do something that's going to draw attention," Byakuya pointed out.
Hiyoko might not have said it very tactfully, but she did raise a good point.
"YOU SAID IT! MY ATTENTION HAS BEEN DRAWN!"
All at once, all seventeen Ultimates looked up to the top of the seats in the gym to find a girl now standing there. She was wearing the school uniform, so obviously she was an Ultimate. But she was also wearing a white….cape?
What?
"IT IS I, THE ULTIMATE HEROINE, HIMEJAMI RIKO!"
Well, there was no need to ask her who she was, huh.
Wait, did she say Ultimate Heroine?
"What the hell?" Fuyuhiko couldn't believe it. "They're just making shit up now, aren't they?"
Byakuya just hummed, a hand on his glasses. "The world is a big place I suppose."
"Oh." Nagito blinked. "I was sure she would be showing up soon, but not this soon."
Of course Nagito would know about her. Naruto was certain the luckster knew about every Ultimate in the school. He had said so before.
"Heroine?" Sonia looked confused at first before excitement overtook her. "Do you mean like in the Japanese anime? Oh my! This is incredible! To think that I would meet one myself! Truly, this is a wonderful place!"
"You shouldn't take things at face value, Sonia-san," Mahiru said, albeit weakly.
"I don't care who she is." Akane grinned, her eyes narrowing like a wild animal who had just found its next prey. "She looks strong. Can I fight her?"
"Y-You must calm yourself, Owari-san!" Mikan said, trying to keep the peace.
Hiyoko huffed. "This wild animal is just raring to go. Disgusting."
"There's no need for any small talk!" Riko pointed down at the bewildered Naruto, catching his attention again. "Today, I am here to face off against you, Uzumaki Naruto-kun!"
Say what now?
"Am I magnet to weird people or something?"
"I don't think you can say that when you're weird yourself," Mahiru pointed out.
"Right!?" Kazuichi eagerly agreed.
Naruto just grumbled.
"But we like you just the way you are, Naruto-san!" Mikan was trying to be uplifting at least.
Naruto rewarded her with some head pats, much to her enjoyment.
"Don't ignore me!" Riko cut in. "We have business to attend to!"
"You obviously know who I am." Naruto scratched his cheek, switching his attention back to the self-proclaimed heroine. "While you told me your name and title, I have no idea who you are. I'm pretty sure I've never met you before."
"Too true," Nagito said with a nod. "She's in class 77th, like us. Just in section A."
Ah. So with Yasuke then.
"Are you here to declare war on us too?" That's what Naruto was thinking anyway.
"Bunch of bastards, I swear," Fuyuhiko said under his breath.
"We won't back down!" Kazuichi declared.
Gundham crossed his arms. "H'mph, such a foolish mortal. To confront us when we're united like this. I do not know the last time that I've been offended to this level."
Ibuki winked up at her. "Hehe, I think you've made a mistake here~ We have all the athletes with us, so they can whoop your rear pretty easily!"
"Whoop her rear?" Sonia repeated, confused. "What is that?"
"It means we'll give her a good spanking!" Akane declared, unintentionally saying something innapropriate.
Teruteru's nose started dripping blood. "I would very much like to see that!"
His intentions were clear to everyone.
Chiaki raised her hand. "Um. I don't think she wants to fight. Right? Otherwise, she would have attacked Uzumaki-kun by now."
That made sense.
"What do you mean to accomplish by coming here?" Peko asked her directly, her eyes narrowed dangerously. She was ready to react to any move from the girl that she didn't like. "Just what do you want?"
"I'm glad you asked!" Riko raised her fist in the air. "For you are correct about one thing. I am not here to settle this with my fists!….well, not yet. It all depends on how you answer, Uzumaki-kun!"
"Answer what?"
"I have some questions for you! About your motives with putting this school festival together!"
Seriously?
"It was actually the student council who did this, not me."
The others all just stared at him. Naruto did his best to keep his poker face. So what if he was passing the blame to Sōshun and the others? Better them than him.
"Ha!" Riko grinned. "Your lies cannot sway me! I have already conducted my own investigation and know for a fact that you have been helping put all of this together!"
Sōshun was in her class, wasn't he? Drats. The guy probably told her all about him then.
"Also, I saw the video that was posted just now. Pretty inspiring words, I must say. It's what finally drew me to confront you like this!"
Knowing that he was going to have to prank Sōshun later for this, Naruto resigned himself and nodded.
"Fine, you got me. I've been helping with the school festival."
That video was probably going to lead him to more trouble later, wasn't it?
"Good!" Riko continued to grin. "Then we must begin-!"
"Now wait a damn minute!"
The doors to the gym were kicked wide open as two more people walked in. Well, one of them walked in. The other was being dragged and seemed content to let it happen.
"More people?" Mikan wondered. "What is going on…..?"
Fuyuhiko looked annoyed. "We've met this bitch before….."
He recognized Rin.
Peko didn't look happy either. To her, Rin was a dangerous one. If she was here again….
Akane narrowed her eyes again. Riko was one thing, but she could tell that Rin was pretty strong in her own right. The guy that was with her was stronger still. Having all of these powerful individuals here at once was putting her on edge.
Nekomaru noticed this and was already prepared to intervene if Akane's bloodlust got the better of her.
Rin looked up at Riko with a small glare.
"We have business with him first, so get in line!"
"Justice does not wait!" Riko argued back.
Neither was ready to back down.
"Whooo!" Kazuichi cheered. "Cat fight!"
A quick slap to the back of the head from Mahiru was enough to silence him.
It was this point that Naruto realized…..this going to be a long day.
"Woah! Look at this big line~ Incredible! So many disgusting little ants trying to fight for a piece of the crumb. It makes me want to puke. But wait, I shouldn't be saying this out loud just yet. A little lie is necessary to keep the world going sometimes. A little smile here and there and I could get away with it. How despairingly boring."
A set of heels made contact with the ground with every step that was taken as the person wearing them half-skipped through the street. All around a bunch of people, mostly teens, were gathered and grouped into lines, looking eager for what lied at the end of the lines. Or was it at the start?
Who cares!
She didn't. She just hummed to herself as she made her way to the front, not caring to wait. As if someone as great as her would ever wait for something like this. Don't make her laugh.
Well, she might just laugh anyway.
A part of her was just the tiniest bit surprised to see what had happened in just under an hour. Sure, she hadn't bothered to keep tabs on most of the goings on in Hope's Peak Academy, but she still felt like these recent developments weren't "normal," even by this school's standards.
And that excited her.
Something or someone was making waves around here, and she needed to get to the bottom of it. Her curiosity wouldn't be satisfied until then. She already had some ideas thanks to a good friend of hers, but her information wasn't complete. Besides, she already had the perfect excuse for coming here. She would just be seen as a "normal high school girl."
Who also happened to have the hottest bod around. Minor details, though~
'Hmm.' She came to a stop in front of the school gates where the crowd was its most dense. She could see the makeshift barricade that had been crudely constructed, as well as all sorts of different arrangements. This hadn't been planned out at all.
How curious~
'Oh well, these things don't matter nearly as much.'
Her read pleated miniskirt fluttered gently in the wind. A different girl might have gotten embarrassed, but she just kept her light blue eyes glued forward.
'Hello at last, Hope's Peak Academy.'
A wide grin spread across her face. It was the type of grin that was full of mischief. It contrasted the "perfect" image that she had constructed for herself, but who cares about that right now.
Only one thing mattered right now.
Enoshima Junko was on the scene.
A little while ago apparently the site was down for a bit. Maybe I should start posting this on other sites. Hmm.
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it.
Till next time.