TK planned on pulling Sakura aside after breakfast ended to talk to her, but Taka dragged him away before he could even get a word out. Taka was telling him that he had something very important to say, and from the way he was pulling him, it had to be something serious. He kept rambling on about how he needed to hear what he had to say and that it couldn't wait any longer. TK assumed that he found something important, whether it was about the mastermind or a way out.
When Taka pulled him into the trash room, TK threw out the "way out" theory because everyone had already thoroughly checked every room on the first floor. It had to be about the mastermind then.
"I've been wanting to tell you something for a while now, Takeru, and now that it's just the two of us, this is the perfect time to confess…!"
TK felt his brain shut off.
"What?"
"Listen, Takeru… I think your hat is great!"
"Thank you?" TK said, unsure where Taka was taking the conversation.
"It's very sophisticated, but wearing a hat in school is against school rules."
"I'm sorry, but my old school was lenient with their dress code," TK lied. His old school always had him take off his hat when classes started. He hated it because he liked to cover up his hair to stop people from staring at him or thinking he was a thug.
"Well that's not the case here at Hope's Peak Academy! As long as I live, I will protect our morals!" Taka proclaimed with a clenched fist. "Now, take off that distinguish hat this instant!"
"Wait, now?"
"Yes!"
"But this is like a helmet," TK quickly lied. He felt like he could've come up with something more clever if he had more time, but from the look of astonishment Taka was giving him, he couldn't complain about the result.
"A helmet…?"
"Yeah, since it's a little dangerous around the school it would be good to have a little protection."
"You may have a point…"
"Exactly," TK said, surprised that Taka was believing everything he said.
"Well, if it's for your own safety, I suppose I can give you special permission, just this once, but the instant this school goes back to normal, you WILL hand over that incredibly posh hat!"
"Sure, whatever you say," TK answered and Taka suddenly burst into tears.
"Students these days are utterly ignorant of proper dress code. It's quite a pain! And frankly, I don't understand youth fashion these days anyway!" Taka then calmed down and pointed at TK's clothes. "So this is the perfect opportunity for me to teach you all about how you should be dressing!"
"That's not necessary…"
"I wear this uniform 365 days a year, rain or shine, flood or drought, wind and hail, and hurricane!" Taka spoke, ignoring TK.
"Even on your days off?"
"School itself may observe holidays, but there's no such thing as vacation for a student! So as long as I live the life of a student, I will always wear my uniform!"
"Cool…" TK said in a sarcastic-unsure tone.
"Also, I have ten sets of my uniform, so I always have a clean one. There's nothing strange about that."
'No, there are multiple strange things about what you said,' TK thought.
"Hahaha! Trust me, wearing the uniform every day helps keep you motivated! You should give it a shot!"
"I-I'm good," TK said and Taka shrugged.
"You don't know what you're missing," Taka told him. "Also, I don't agree with what the others say, your hat is cool."
Taka then left TK alone to mull over what he said. He sighed and took off his hat.
"Why do my friends always hate my hats?"
TK rolled his eyes and left. It didn't matter to him because he still had some more pressing matters to attend to.
Or he would've if he didn't see Toko ringing his doorbell. He thought about turning around and pushing off her needs for another time, but he chose not to. She hadn't been going to breakfast and for all he knew she hadn't left her room in a while. It had to be something serious if she left her safety bubble to come and find him.
"Hey, Toko. What are you doing?" He asked, coming up behind her. She jumped at the sound of his voice and first had a look of shock before it quickly switched to annoyance when she saw it was him.
"Why are you s-so surprised? Am I really that an-anoying?" Toko huffed, before putting her head down. "W-Well I already know I'm annoying. I came here kn-knowing that, so… that makes it o-okay…"
"No, you're not. I just wanted to know why you're outside my room. You clearly want something."
"I have a f-f-favor to ask. I want you to go s-so-somewhere with me…" Toko mumbled, not meeting his gaze.
"Well, where do you want to go?"
"W-Well… the library."
"Do you need help looking for a certain type of book? Why don't you ask Byakuya? He pretty much lives there," TK told her, causing her to make a weird noise. It took TK by surprise. "Did I say something wrong?"
"You're not a b-b-blabbermouth, right? This h-has to be a secret!" Toko seethed, making TK regret talking to her.
"I have no idea what has you so upset, but I'll keep my mouth shut if you want."
"Then let's g-go to the library!" Toko demanded and TK threw his hands up in the air in defeat.
The two then made their way to the library, more like Toko dragged him there. He didn't understand why she was being so pushy but chose to keep his mouth shut to not start an unnecessary argument. They reached the library and TK went to open the door, but Toko was quick to stop him.
"Qu-Quiet! Be quiet when you g-go in! Don't l-let him see you!" She ordered and TK rolled his eyes. She was starting to get annoying, but he did as she said to make the time he spent with her go as smoothly as possible.
They crept into the library and unsurprisingly, Byakuya was by himself, absorbed in a book with a drink in his hand. Toko pulled TK behind a bookshelf before the progeny could realize they were there. Toko peered out from their hiding place to gawk at the other blond and TK could see some drool trickling down her mouth.
"H-He's here… Ahaha… he's r-really here," Toko sighed, and then she rapidly hit TK's arm. "Okay, Takeru. Go talk to him!"
"What!?"
"Stop b-being so loud!" Toko quickly shushed him. "Just hurry up and g-go talk to him!"
"You wanted to come here so bad! You talk to him!"
"I c-can't! I don't want to i-interrupt him…!" Toko bickered, causing TK to roll his eyes.
He wasn't getting anywhere arguing with Toko and he didn't want to be stuck in the library all day. With a long annoyed sigh, TK stepped out from behind the bookshelf and walked over to Byakuya. He was too engrossed in his book, and TK wondered if it was a good idea to talk to him.
"Hey, you," TK jumped when he heard Byakuya's voice. He saw the progeny peering away from his book and glaring at him. "What are you doing back here? I hate even having to look at you."
"So you knew I was here?" TK said with a little anger in his tone. He didn't know what he did to him, but he didn't like Byakuya being snappy with him.
"...Of course. Now hurry up and leave. And take her with you," Byakuya said with extra venom.
Toko moved from her hiding spot, looking a little timid.
"Hey, um… Byakuya?" Byakuya didn't acknowledge her, but that didn't stop her from looking hot. "Remember how you said, 'Don't be a woman who dominates w-weak men. Be a woman dominated by a s-strong man'?"
"I never said that."
"W-Well, actually, I just thought it sounded like s-something you might say…"
"...Get out," Byakuya grunted. "And go take a bath. You smell."
Toko recoiled and TK quickly noticed she did smell a little.
"Don't make me say it again. Go now, before your stench latches onto the entire room," Byakuya ordered with authority and Toko dejectedly walked out of the room.
Feeling bad, TK followed her out to see if she was feeling fine, though, from the way she was screeching while grabbing her hair, he would bet that she was the furthest from fine.
"Maybe we caught him at a bad time," TK told her to help her feel better. She didn't react. What Byakuya said must've really upset her.
"Byakuya… To go that far…" Toko muttered. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Toko's emotions switched from being depressed to full-blown aroused. "He must be r-really concerned about me!"
"...W-What?" TK managed to say after being taken off guard by her mood swings.
"He told me t-to take a bath and everything. He must really care a-about my well-being!"
Again, TK didn't know how to respond. He watched as both her drool and sweat formed a puddle around her feet as she continued to ramble on about how "caring" Byakuya was. He considered walking away while she was distracted, but those plans were dashed when she said his name.
"Hey, T-Takeru… what do you think?"
"About what?"
"Do you think B-Byakuya and I would be… g-good together?" Toko stammered. TK knew the answer to her question, but with how volatile she could get, he decided to be as vague as possible.
"Uh, I don't know. I haven't really spent much time with Byakuya to know what he likes."
"That's t-true. There's really no w-way to know…" Toko thought before she continued to expand the puddle with more drool and sweat. "But the distance between u-us doesn't change our love…! Because as soon as you realize your f-feelings, the love is born. That's h-how love works!"
"Coooooool," TK said slowly and drawn out.
"There m-might come a day when y-you understand. Maybe. S-Someday," Toko said before walking away. "Well… bye."
TK was left dumbfounded. He wondered if what Toko said had any truth to it, after all, she did write all those romance novels. But, after taking a few seconds to think, she was probably wrong because she was more obsessed with Byakuya than anything else.
"Ahh, young love!" Monokuma popped up in front of him, giving him a little fright. "Who would've guessed she would go for someone like him? But eager passion can also be scary! Sometimes that leads people off in the wrong direction!"
Monokuma then slid off with an annoying laugh. TK felt exhausted, but he couldn't take a break yet. He still needed to talk with Sakura. So he went searching for her.
He first guessed she was in the gym since she likes to exercise. He reached the gym and instead of Sakura, he found the other powerhouse of the school, Mondo. He was attacking the wall with fury, though it wasn't as bad as the one he had with Byakuya.
"Ahh, dammit! Bastard! Dammit bastard son of a bitch!" Mondo screamed. TK thought about leaving the angry biker on his own but chose to stay in case he was needed.
"Calm down, Mondo. What has you upset anyway?"
"Why am I mad? Why am I mad!? Can't you SEE I'm mad!? I need to get outta here! I need to get out and run wild!" Mondo exclaimed as he continued punching the wall. "I'm so pissed off right now! Shit!"
"I understand, I really do, but you need to calm down. You of all people should know what'll happen if you break one of the rules."
Mondo stopped punching the wall and slowly turned to TK. He could tell the biker was still angry, but he didn't have to worry about him breaking anything. Though, the way Mondo was looking at him while cracking his knuckles made TK wish he was still punching the wall.
"Hey, how about we have a one-on-one!?"
"Huh?"
"Relax. It's just a bare-knuckle brawl. No weapons. Whaddya say!?"
"Um…" TK slowly backed away from Mondo, but he kept following after him and getting in his face.
"Didn't ya hear me? A bare-knuckle brawl. Bare. Knuckle. Brawl!"
"N-No, I'm good. I don't want to fight you," TK answered and Mondo huffed.
"Why not!?"
"Because I don't think it's something we should be doing."
"But that's the only way I can burn off all this energy!" Mondo argued.
"Then why don't you ask Sakura?"
"What…?" Mondo said, taken aback.
"She's the Ultimate Martial Artist and I'm sure she's itching to find a sparring partner."
"D-Don't be a fuckin' idiot! I can't hit a girl…! And she's a girl, right? I'd ruin my honor… My mom would kill me!" Mondo stuttered in a panicking tone. TK was taken by surprise by the way Mondo was acting; he couldn't speak, which made Mondo angry. "I'm serious! I can't hit girls! It's not like I'm scared of her or anything! Ya bastard!"
"Ok, I get it. No need to shout," TK said after flinching.
"Shouting's in my blood, asshole! When I get stressed out, I yell! Shit!" Mondo shouted as his face started turning red. "It's just a nervous habit! What's the big deal!? Other than the fact it makes it hard to ask girls out! I get all nervous, and I start yelling! So I always get rejected! And thanks to that, I'm on a ten-game losing streak right now! It really sucks!"
Mondo continued ranting and TK wondered if the biker realized he was talking to him. He felt slightly bad for him, but a little uncomfortable as well. He wanted to help him out, but he was worried he would yell at him if he did. It was something Mondo had to figure out on his own.
Mondo stopped ranting and his shoulders slumped. TK reached out his hand, but the biker swatted it away.
"...shit! And I'd forgotten about that too! Thanks for reminding me, jackass! How're you gonna make it up to me, shitstain!?" Mondo growled before sighing. "...now I'm gettin' all depressed. I'm outta here…"
Mondo stormed out, making sure to bump into TK's shoulder on the way out. TK sighed and rubbed his temple.
"I guess that's another person I need to apologize to."
This whole day he has been trying to apologize to one person but instead, he learned that some of the others hate his hat, Toko is a love-obsessed creep, and managed to upset another one of his classmates. He wasn't even close to apologizing to Sakura and he was sure that she was even more upset by him blowing her off. At this point, he hoped he could talk to her before the day ended.
Leaving the gym, TK planned to go to the next obvious place Sakura would be, the locker rooms. He was hoping she would be there because if she wasn't he didn't know where else she could be. He didn't get far before he was caught off guard by a glum-looking Chihiro. She was leaning against one of the hallway walls and let out a deep sigh as he passed her.
"That sounded pretty heavy. Is everything alright?" TK asked her. Chihiro looked startled at first before looking very apologetic.
"Oh, sorry… It's just, everyone else is working so hard to get us out of here, but I'm no help at all."
"Don't say that. You've helped plenty."
"It's okay, you don't have to try and make me feel better. I know the truth. I'm completely useless without a computer in front of me…" Chihiro said, not believing anything he told her and putting herself down in the process. "At least if I were a little stronger or something, then I'd be able to help somehow…"
"Hey, you remind me of my friends Izzy and Joe. They weren't the strongest of our group, but they always found a way to help out with their own skills. Your time will come I'm sure of it," TK said while reminiscing about his old adventures. Izzy would always use his big brain and computer to help Tai come up with some plans and Joe would always warn them about some dangerous outcomes and come prepared for any situation.
"My time… will come," Chihiro repeated before beaming brightly. "If I get a chance, I'm gonna work super hard to chip in! When it comes to computers, you can count on me!"
"That's the spirit!" TK cheered while ruffling her hair.
He knew Chihiro would be useful down the road when they all escaped. It was obvious that Monokuma was a technological creature so they would need someone to override the Mastermind's control over him. They would also need someone to disarm all the security and open the main doors as well. It's obvious that Chihiro, being the Ultimate Programmer, was the most useful member out of everyone.
Now that he thought about it, why did Chihiro get into programming? She doesn't appear to be the type of person to be interested in that type of stuff.
"Can I ask you a question?" TK asked and Chihiro looked at him puzzly. "Why did you start programming?"
"Huh?"
"Outside of my friend Yolie, most people that I know that are interested in programming are guys, so I just wanted to know why you chose to become a programmer."
"Is it really that weird?" Chihiro embarrassedly asked, making TK feel bad.
"No, it's perfectly fine, I was just curious."
"Oh… I mean, there isn't much of a reason. I've always been kind of weak, ya know. I was never able to run around with my friends or anything," Chihiro said sadly before smiling softly. "We had a computer at home, so I'd kill time poking around with it. And I found out I really liked it! My dad was a software engineer, and he had a bunch of programs on there that he'd built. I found one of them and started playing around with it, adding stuff here and there, and that was how I ended up making my very first program."
"And what was it?"
"A kind of database software…" Chihiro answered somewhat proudly.
"Really!?"
"A user could communicate with it, and it would take that information and find what they were looking for," Chihiro explained. "It was a way of interacting with the computer without having to physically type things out."
"You used voice recognition!? That's awesome!" TK was lauded and Chihiro beamed again.
"Yup, exactly! You could talk to it, and it could actually talk back. It was a lot of fun! It didn't even really sound like me! I would get totally absorbed in talking to it…" As Chihiro listed off what her program could do, TK couldn't help but think to compare her to a child recording themself and playing back the audio. "The key part of the program was getting it to recognize what I was saying. The recognition accuracy was the most important thing. Japanese is kinda hard, so it was pretty challenging."
"But you managed to figure it out?"
"Yup! And right around then my dad found out I'd messed with his software without permission. I thought I was gonna get in so much trouble, but all he said was how impressed he was!" Chihiro cheered. "The software was able to take natural speech and pull out key search terms to retrieve information. My dad said it worked so well, it was gonna change the face of software interaction all over the world!"
"The development costs are still pretty expensive, so it hasn't spread that much yet, but…" Chihiro paused before smiling. "Anyway, I've been addicted to programming ever since. I can't tell you how happy it made me to be able to make others happy…!"
She really enjoys computers and everything related to programming. Her smile always lights up a room and her joy was extremely contagious and he was glad he was able to bring it out of her.
"Ah! Sorry, I spent all this time just talking about myself…" Chihiro apologized and TK ruffled her hair.
"Don't worry about it. I had fun learning more about you and programming."
"Huh? Really…?"
"Yup, and I hope you'll tell me more the next time we hang out."
"O-Okay! Let's hang out again sometime! It's a promise, okay?" Chihiro said and she stuck out her hand. TK grasped it and shook it. Chihiro giggled and started walking away, but before she rounded a corner she turned back to him. "Oh, and tell your friend Yolie, I hope she continues programming."
"I will, and she'll be ecstatic to hear it came from you!" TK yelled back at her and she smiled.
TK sighed. After the day he had he was glad that it ended on a high note.
