Interlude I – Unluckiest Day - Start
Makoto and Chiaki stood there, just outside of the boy's house.
Inside, their families are trading their goodbyes, after all, the Nanamis are going away to live in a house closer to Hope's Peak.
A comfortable silence fills the hair as the two friends watch the cars passing by the street.
"Guess this is it then." The brunette says, still not looking towards the girl.
"Yeah." Chiaki replies with a soft smile. "Makoto-kun?" She calls, making the boy finally make eye contact with her. "Can you promise me something?"
"Yeah." Makoto answers immediately with a smile on his face. "Whatever you want."
Chiaki gets up and puts her backpack on the ground. Opening it, she pulls out her old game-girl console, the same one they played together for the first time they met.
"I want you to hold onto this." She pushes the old video game onto the brunette.
"A-Are you sure?" Makoto grabs the console and looks at it.
Chiaki nods with a smile on her face. "Yes, I'm sure." Without any warning, she envelopes Makoto on a embrace, making the boy blush deeply. "I want you to hold onto it… until we can play together again." Separating their bodies, the mauve-haired girl closes her eyes and smiles. "Can you do this for me?"
Holding tightly onto the game console, he nods. "Yes, I can."
Just then, the door to his house opens and their families walk out.
"Mou! I can't believe Chiaki-chan is going away!" Komaru says as the other girl giggles. "It's not funny!"
"Sorry." The future Ultimate replies, before grabbing Komaru's hand. "Thank you for everything."
The younger Naegi blushes. "J-Just make sure to not forget us, okay?"
Chiaki smiles and nods.
After saying their goodbyes to Higashi and Minako, they watch as the Nanamis car disappears in the road ahead.
Makoto holds onto the console in his hands tightly and thinks to himself.
Someday…
"Oi! Naegi-kun!" A masculine voice calls, making the brunette boy opens his eyes slowly and yawn. "Wow, you really slept through the whole class?" Makoto's friend Eiji, comments.
The now fifteen-year-old Makoto simply answers by yawning again.
"Well sleepy head, they already posted the results for our high school tests, we need to go see them!" The black-haired boy reminds his friend, making the brunette widen his eyes.
"The results already came in?" Makoto gets up from his desk and starts arranging his bag, in which the console Chiaki gave him is hanging on.
"Yep." Eiji replies with a smile. "Man, it feels so weird knowing that the year is almost over." He watches as his brunette friend finishes packing his stuff.
"Yeah." Makoto finishes and the two start to walk away from the empty classroom. "Middle school is actually over."
"Passed like lighting." The black-haired boy comments. "To think we're already going to high school."
Makoto simply nods.
It's been practically a year since Chiaki went away to Hope's Peak.
Nothing really changed around on Makoto's life for the most part, well, if you don't count his luck, which ever since Chiaki went away, has increasingly become more and more chaotic.
Just in the last month alone, Makoto has fell from the fifth floor of a apartment complex, rolled down the stairs in the school, got hit by multiple cars and even got stuck in a burning tree when he tried to rescue a cat.
Still, somehow, he managed to not get injured in any of those incidents.
"We're here!" Eiji announces as the two boys stop in front of the board with their respective scores.
The two scan the board, until they find their names.
"Lucky!" Eiji fist bumps. "I got in, what about you Naegi-kun?"
The brunette smiles softly and nods. "Me too." His eyes then drift towards his friend's name. "But we didn't try for the same school."
The black-haired boy smiles sadly. "Yeah."
Makoto and Eiji then walk out of their school, both talking excitedly as the sun shines brightly behind then.
The two stop at a crossroad and the black-haired boy turns to his friend. "Guess that's it." He extends his hand and Makoto grabs it as the two do a handshake. "Now we go our separate ways."
"Good luck Hino-kun." Makoto smiles and the boy smiles back.
"Same to you."
With that, the two friends part ways.
While walking back towards his home, Makoto stops and looks to the sky. "Things are about to change huh?" He then remembers something. "Crap! Okaa-san told me to buy some stuff for her on the way back home!" Turning around, Makoto runs towards the downtown, to do some of his errands before going home.
"-But!" A tall black-haired man wearing a suit tries to protest, but is interrupted by a gruff voice.
"Silence Jin!" A tall man with big eyebrows yells. "We are getting tired of your incompetence!"
Another man, this one having a shorter build and long gray hair, continues. "After the scandal from last year, we are getting less and less investors."
"That was-" The man named Jin tries yet again to protest, but he is cut once more.
Another short man with galses says. "We know what that was, Principal-san." With a sigh, he continues. "But incident or not, that scandal damaged Hope's Peak reputation in the eyes of the investors."
"That is without taking into account public perception." A old man with gray hair and a beard adds. "While the academy is still perceived as the best in the country, the journalists are starting to see the cracks in your leadership Jin."
The black-haired man sighs, truly, the odds are completely against him.
"Still, for more that we wished to kick you out of the leadership position that you're in." The shortest man says, throwing a glance to the fifth figure on the room, another old man, but this one hasn't said anything yet. "We are willing to give you a final chance."
Jin look up at the shortest man and gulps down.
The long haired one explains. "You have a year to find the 'Ultimate Hope' through your humanitarian means, but if you fail again." The man smirks. "We'll be getting the okay to start the Kamakura Project."
Jin knew deep down that this was some sort of trap, but still, he needed to try. "That's fine by me."
"Good, do you need anything more?" The shortest man asks and Jin shakes his head negatively. "Then, be on your way." The black-haired man bows and turns around, before the short man calls for him again. "And remember Jin, it's your head that is at steak here." He smirks maliciously. " Don't fail."
Jin bows again and silently walks out of the dark room.
The black-haired man takes a small plastic cup and fills it with coffee.
Looking around, he can see all of those people in suits taking their breaks at the cafeteria, his eyes then land in one in particular, a redhead woman wearing a black business suit approaches him.
"How was the meeting?" She asks and the man sighs.
"Awful." He replies, taking a sip of his coffee. "Not just did they ignored all of our ideas for the reserve course, but they also put a deadline on our search for the 'Ultimate Hope'."
"Gah! Those damn old men can't see that we need time and resources to do that!" The redhead angrily stares, although that, she puffed her cheeks in a rather cute manner. "Can't I stake a knife down their throats?" She asks in a serious tone.
Jin can't help but let out a laugh. "Sorry Yukizome, but that probably would make things worse." Although his words, Jin completely understood where she was coming from. "Anyways, our work here is finished, we should head back to the academy." The woman named Yukizome nods and the two start walking towards the exit of the building.
Jin and Yukizome enter the parking lot of the facility they are in and head towards the redhead's car, but before they can get in, a voice calls for them.
"Would you give a old man a ride?" The last of the old man on the room appears before them.
"Oh Tengan-san!" Jin smiles seeing the older man approaching.
"Long time no see Principal!" Yukizome greets him with a polite bow.
"Ohoho, no need for formalities and I'm not a principal anymore." Tengan laughs before pointing to the car. "Are you two going back to the academy?" The two nod. "Good, may I go with you? It's been a long time since I've been to Hope's Peak."
"Of course, be our guest!" Jin replies and the three get inside the car.
Now on the road, the old man smiles and starts a conversation. "How's the marriage with Munakata-kun?"
Yukizome, who's the one driving, let's out a small awkward laugh. "Yeah, about that." She then sighs. "We got divorced just last month."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." The atmosphere in the car becomes quite awkward. "I could swear you and him would be a great couple."
Yukizome looks back to the road and sigh again. "Everybody did." She whispers to herself. "B-But don't worry! We still great friends!"
A awkward silence falls between the group, only being broken when Tengan falsely coughs. "Ahem, I'm sorry Jin." The old man closes his eyes and apologizes.
"Sorry? For what?" The black-haired man asks confused.
"I tried to make them see our vision, but it was in vain." The old man looks towards the window of the car, the passing flashes of the streets lights lighting up the inside of the vehicle. "As soon as I brought up the idea of investing on the reserve course, they refused to even listen to me."
Yukizome holds tightly onto the driving wheel and clenches her teeth. "Excuse my rudeness Tengan-san, but the Steering Committee are a bunch of old fucks that can't see the obvious!" The woman angrily shouts.
"Sadly, I would have to agree." The old man sighs tiredly again. "They became so obsessed with finding the Ultimate Hope, that they lost track of everything else."
"Why is the Ultimate Hope so important anyways?" The redhead asks.
"That's… not important right now." Tengan dismisses the subject and silence once again falls between the group.
Jin could only close his eyes and sigh.
This next year wasn't going to be a easy one for the staff, that's for sure.
After parking the car, the three adults get out and are greeted by two man.
One of them has white hair and wears a white suit and the other has dark greenish hair and wears a long black coat.
"Oh hey, it's the old man." The man with the coat says with a smile.
"Juzo-kun! Show some more respect towards the ex-principal!" Yukizome scolds the man who just huffs.
"Oh, now you're acting like you didn't call him something worse when we are younger." Juzo smirks as Yukizome blushes and pouts.
While the two banter with each other, the white-haired man approaches the old man and extends his hand. "Glad to see you again, Tengan-san."
"Likewise, Munakata-kun." The old man shakes the other's hand. "So you two will be working as part of the staff now?"
Munakata nods. "Yes." He crosses his arms and continues. "I'll be the vice-principal and homeroom teacher of class 78."
Juzo stops fighting with Yukizome for a second and comments. "And I'll be the new head of security."
"That's great! Having more trustworthy people like yourselves will surely prevent another scandal." Tengan smiles and the others nod.
Before anything more can be said, a rasp voice yells while getting out of the academy's front gate. "Jin! Thank God you got here!"
"Kizakura?" Jin watches as the blond man stops running and catches his breath. "What are you so worried about?"
"H-Here!" Kizakura pulls up his smartphone and gives it to Jin. "Read this!"
The principal arches a eyebrow, but decides to oblige.
Soon, his expression changes to one of surprise, then worry, and finally, confusion.
"That's a weird story." He comments. "But why are you so worked up?"
The blond man sighs. "The truck mentioned on this article is the one that had the invitation for the lucky student." Kizakura scratches the back of his head. "So that means, the invitation was lost in the accident."
"Oh I see." Jin looks once again towards the phone, then to his old friend. "We can send another one to Kusanagi Makina."
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about this." The blonds makes a serious expression. "Do you think we can change this year's lucky student?"
Jin arches a eyebrow. "Huh? Why?"
Kizakura sighs. "Can you trust me on this one?" The blond says with a unusually serious expression.
Jin looked down at the article again and one photo in particular stood out to him.
It was the photo of a boy who was involved in the accident.
A boy named Naegi Makoto.
Interlude I – Unluckiest Day – End
So yeah, I wasn't kidding when i said the next one was coming soon.
Just so we're clear, the events involving Makoto in this chapter are a reference to 'Makoto Naegi Secret Files'.
Anyways, this chapter sets up a lot of future stuff, and that's because I cut a lot of it.
Well, now just a little warning for everybody, from now on, some characters will be hella OCC, especially the anime ones like Juzo and Kyousuke, one because some of them have the personality of a empty vase and two, because i want to explore those characters in ways i thought the anime didn't, which let's be honest, isn't very hard... god, DR3 was so bad.
Now, that's everything for now, next chapter will be back to my schedule of 'posting whenever the chapter is ready'.
Anyways, see you around!