Archive of Our Own

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When you think of fanfiction, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? For many people, it’s the idea of taking someone else’s property and adding your own spin on it. Many fanfictions change up the story from the canonical iterations of the narrative to fulfill something they wished happened, like a romantic pairing - or “ship”, as it’s commonly referred to as in the community - or changing some detail so the story takes a turn into a different direction. It is fan-made fiction, after all.Now, what comes to your mind when you think of someone who writes fanfiction? Many people would probably say something along the lines of a person being a basement dweller, or a somewhat socially awkward individual with an active imagination and a knack for storytelling. There have even been cases of fanfic writers making it big and being hired to write for the stories they made fanfiction of. But in most cases, your average fanfiction writer is just your average everyday individual.And that’s the case with me, Makoto Naegi. I’m just your hopelessly average, everyday individual. Aside from my admittedly short stature and my apparently odd abundance of kindness, I would say that I’m pretty normal. I have normal grades, I have a normal family with loving parents and a younger sister, and I attended normal schools. Up until recently, everything in my life has been... well, normal.And then I got accepted into Hope’s Peak Academy.It was entirely by chance, if I’m being honest. I entered the annual raffle to be nominated as that year’s Ultimate Lucky Student on a whim. A lot of other people I knew were doing it, so I went ahead with it as well. On the day of the drawing, Lady Luck decided to be kind to me after an especially rough few hours, and gave me the opportunity to attend school there. Many people say that those who attend Hope’s Peak Academy are guaranteed to have a successful future, and while I’m truthfully a little skeptical on that part, I’m certain that I’ll be making lots of good memories there.I knew that I really wanted to be able to write fanfictions of my classmates as soon as I got my letter. I already knew who all of them were, thanks to an online forum leaking the class roster and the discussion boards that followed analyzing each and every student’s capabilities. Students that everyone was expecting, like Sayaka Maizono, Leon Kuwata, Aoi Asahina, and Junko Enoshima were thoroughly discussing, while lesser known Ultimates - including me, at the very bottom of the list - were barely discussed at all. But I held off on sharing the idea with others until the excitement surrounding my classmates died down, which was right before we were supposed to go on summer break. Once it did, I made my move and threw the idea out for the world to see.Proposing the idea of writing fanfiction based on my classmates to others online for their enjoyment was pretty easy. Since I was fortunately able to keep my identity online a secret, nobody would know that I of all people would be the the one writing all of these fanfictions about them. Many of my followers, who I slowly but surely amassed over the years of writing fanfiction, were onboard with the idea. They also were elated to hear that I was allowing them to request anything, though at the same time, understanding that I may not be able to get around to all of their requests.Their requests were very similar to the popularity of everyone on the school’s roster; the popular kids were the most requested, while the unpopular kids were the least requested. That didn’t really surprise me whatsoever, since it just made sense, though I will admit I was a little hurt to see that nobody had requested anything involving me. But regardless of all that, I bit my lip, swallowed my pride for the moment, and pressed onward to find a viable request to write.Eventually though, I did find one that seemed to have some level of intrigue to it. The person making the request was an old fanfiction colleague and online friend I’ve known since shortly after beginning my online writing hobby. We knew a bit about each other, like how we were in the same grade, though we never divulged any names or photos of each other for anonymity’s sake. Upon realizing that it was them, I took a look at what they were requesting.xiaobun
yo, it’s really cool to see you offering us this! ik you’re a great writer, so plz make sure to deliver us the highest quality you can! if possible, could you do one with aoi and that martial arts girl? totally understand if you don’t want to though! thx!I took a moment to think about the request, and how to go about writing it. ‘Hina and Sakura do get along fairly well, so it’s not like it wouldn’t make much sense,’ I tried to rationalize in my head. ‘But at the same time, I’ll probably need to be able to find a way to catch them talking or hanging out with each other so I can have a basis for the request. Hopefully something can come up over this summer break. It’d suck to leave xiaobun hanging.’Realizing that I had pretty much just affirmed to myself that I would be writing their request, I logged on to my fanfiction account and left a quick response to their message to notify them about it.ScrambledMinds
Hey xiaobun! Thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciate it! I’ll do my best to write your request as well as I can! PS: the “martial arts girl” is named Sakura! I hope that helps!After writing that response, I logged off of my account once more and sighed. ‘Alright Makoto, this is the first request of your classmates that you’ll be writing,’ I told myself. ‘It has to be really good so people will want to read more. Keep an eye out for any potential scenarios to write about. You can do this!’...“...And that’s why we should go to the pool this weekend as a class!”The opportunity for a potential scenario came much earlier than I had anticipated.Partway through our summer break, Hina texted all of us in our class group chat that she was having an “emergency meeting about camaraderie and fun”, and that we should meet her in our classroom as soon as we could. Since most of us were staying at the dorms for the relatively short break we had, many of us went to meet her and hear what she had to say.Turns out that she just wanted to have a pool party as a class before classes were back in session.“Think about it guys!” she continued. “We’re teenagers, and we should be having fun during our summer break! We should be going out and doing things with our friends, not copping up in our rooms and studying all day! And besides, I’d say most of us are already good enough friends to do stuff like this. So come on! What do you guys say?”“I think it would be a fantastic way for us to bond with each other more! Our kinship is an important factor to consider in regards to our class ethics, after all!” Taka quickly responded with enthusiasm in his voice. “However! I was informed a while back that the pool the academy provides for its students would be closed over the duration of the summer break for recreational purposes, as it needs to be cleaned! Therefore, we must find another pool to congregate at and bond with each other there!”“Dude, chill with the yelling. We’re in a classroom,” Leon commented, rubbing his ear that was closer to Taka. “Anyways, I know a good pool that’s not too far from here. It’s a little smaller than the one here at Hope’s Peak, but we can rent it out for a few hours. I’ll take you there so you can know where it is, Asahina. You too, Naegs. I know you’ll help tell everyone about it if something happens with Asahina.”I laughed a bit at his comment. “Yeah, I probably will,” I agreed. “Should the three of us meet up tomorrow and head there together?”“Yeah, sounds like a plan!” Hina stated. “Naegi-san and I will keep you guys updated in the group chat on the details when we can! Thank you!” With Hina’s concluding remarks, nearly everyone that came to the impromptu meeting began to file out, leaving only Leon and I Inside the classroom.“Hey, uh, Kuwata-kun?” I began. “How come you didn’t invite Ishimaru-san to come along with us? He’s a very punctual person, so it’s not like he’d forget anything.”Leon heaved put a slightly annoyed sigh. “Dude, you know he’s got a bit of a stick up his own ass,” he commented. “If things weren’t up to his personal standards - which we both know are ridiculously high - then he’d shut down the whole party. Besides, you’re way better company than he is.” He elbowed me playfully, and I laughed as he did so.After the two of us had a bit of a run-in at the beginning of the school year, Leon and I started to hang out a lot. Which amazed me, to be completely honest; Leon’s the kind of guy that people would rave about in the hallways and get invited to parties every other weekend, while I was the kind of guy that people would only really talk to if they knew me. He was popular, and I was not. But he didn’t care about that. He saw me as a friend, and I really appreciated that.After a few moments of play fighting in the classroom and laughing about it, Leon dusted himself off. “Anyways, I’m off,” he told me. “I gotta go find some nice shorts to wear for the party. Cya man!” He waved at me as he made his way out of the classroom, closing the door behind him as he did so.I got up from my desk and dusted myself off. ‘Well, now I have a premise for xiaobun’s request,’ I said to myself. ‘Now I just have to wait and see what comes next.’ With that, I left the classroom and made my way back to the dorms to brainstorm some ideas on how to go about handling the request....“Ooh, this pool seems nice!”“Right? I knew you’d like it!”After meeting up with each other the following morning, the three of us made our way to the pool that Leon had brought up in the conversation, with him taking the lead. The three of us cracked a few jokes as we walked together, and we eventually arrived at the pool. Hina was definitely in awe at the whole place; her eyes practically gleamed as she stared at the water through the metal gate.“It’s so translucent,” she began. “And judging by the small ripples in the water, it’s heavily filtered as well! Perfect for a pool party!”“Wow, Asahina-san, I didn’t know you could tell if a pool’s filtered by its ripples,” I commented in awe. “You must be really good at knowing water things!”Hina snickered a bit before admitting “Oh, no, I just wanted to sound really smart. But the water does seem really nice!”Leon rolled his eyes in amusement before motioning at the both of us to follow him. He led us a small flight of stairs and entered a building, before knocking on a metal door. It opened after a minute, and a woman that seemed to be in her mid-forties opened up. “Yes?” she started. “How can I help you?”“Hey, I was wondering if I could rent out the pool out back for a couple of hours within the next few days,” Leon began, with his signature flirtatious grin spread across his face. He leaned in a little closer and softly asked “Do you know if that would be possible?”His charms seemed to be in work, because when I turned my attention over to look at the woman, her eyes were widened and a small blush was radiating from her cheeks. “Y-Yes, I believe it’d be possible!” she exclaimed, obviously taken back by Leon’s natural charisma. She swiftly began typing away at the computer next to her, before swerving over to the printer adjacent to it and grabbing the paper that cane out. “You’ll be able to rent the pool out between 11 AM and 4 PM tomorrow! A-And it’ll be free of charge! I-It’s on the house!”Leon pulled back a bit and changed his grin to one of goofy optimism. “Ah, thank you so much miss!” he cheered. “It’s not often that we get an opportunity like this!” His tone swiftly changed to that one borderline shyness. “W-Wait...” he began, stammering a little as his voice became more soft. “I... I suppose this means I’m in your debt, huh...?”Both Hina and I were absolutely dumbfounded at what it was that we were witnessing; a relentlessly brutal and merciless onslaught of pathological manipulation from Leon Kuwata of all people, in order to get exactly what he wanted. And the lady was taking everything that he said, hook, line, and sinker. She was ensnared in his trap without even realizing it.It was both magnificent and absolutely terrifying to bear witness to.“N-No!” she exclaimed, as worry crept over her face. “There’s no debt whatsoever, s-so don’t worry about it!” She pulled out a tissue box and handed to Leon, who looked at her with tears in his eyes and meekly took a few to wipe the tears away.After wiping his tears away, he softly laughed, before speaking up with a slightly hoarse “Thank you”. Without saying another word, he made his way over to the door, and opened it. Realizing that he was getting ready to leave, Hina and I followed suit, before he turned his attention back to the lady and gave her a meek smile. When the door finally closed, his entire composure changed almost instantaneously. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you get to rent a pool for free.”My jaw dropped as he made that declaration. “H...How did you even manage to do that...?”Leon looked at me quizzically before shrugging. “Dunno man,” he responded. “Girls just seem to fall weak to my boyish charms if they don’t really know me.”“Y-Yeah, but that was kind of scummy!” Hina exclaimed. “I mean, you used that woman to get the pool for free. Shouldn’t we at least have paid her for letting us rent it out tomorrow for the party?”“Hey, Asahina, chillax, okay?” Leon responded. “She willingly gave us access to the pool on her own terms. She shouldn’t have done that, so any repercussions are on her and her alone.” Hina, despondent from his answer, sulked for a moment before agreeing to his answer. “Alright, good,” he sighed. “Now, since we’re out here, do you guys wanna go do something?”“...I wanna go swim in the pool.”“...Come again?”In a flash, Hina pretty much transformed to have her bathing suit on, and her regular clothes sprawled out on the floor. I quickly went red from embarrassment at the prospect of having witnessed a girl undress, and buried my face in Leon’s chest to avoid looking at Hina. Leon’s chest started beating faster, probably from the shock if it all, before roaring out in surprise.“Hey, Asahina!” he started. “Why the hell did you just change right in front of a bunch of guys? There’s a changing room right over there!”It took Hina all but a minute to realize her mistake, and she let out a small “Ack!” of acknowledgement for her action. “S-Sorry!” she apologized. “I wasn’t really thinking! I-I just wanted to go swim! I mean, I even had my bathing suit on underneath my clothes if this opportunity ever came! A-And I just wanted to take it, you know?”Leon sighed. “Alright, alright,” he replied. “Go test out the water to see if it’s good for the party. Naegs and I will go buy some stuff for it. Want anything?”“Ooh, ooh, get some inflatable tubes!” Hina exclaimed. “People are probably going to want some, so it’s best to get a few!”“Sure thing! Leave it to us to get those tubes for you!” Leon said as he pulled me closer. “Now go do your pool thing.”Hina squealed in excitement and bolted over to the pool. “Filtered water, here I come!” she cheered. Pulling her legs close to her chest, and cannonballed into the pool, making a large splash as a result.Leon finally pulled me away from his chest, with his face reddened as he looked at me. “H-Hey, sorry about that man,” he apologized. “I just know you kinda get squeamish with girl bits.”“Ah, no, th-that’s not it! I-I was just taken aback by the sudden change of clothes is all!” I retorted, practically yelping as I did. All Leon could do in response to my defense was laugh.“Alright, I believe you,” he said. He quickly turned his attention to Hina and shouted “Hey! Asahina! We’re gonna be leaving now! Cya later!”, to which he got a thumbs up from her. The both of us started making our way back. “So,” he started. “Do you wanna swing by the store and start gathering stuff for the party?”I nodded. “Let’s get something to drink,” I added. “Maybe lemonade? That’s a very summery drink.”Leon smirked at my response and ruffled my hair playfully. “Sure Naegs,” he agreed. “Let’s go get everything we need. Be ready to carry everything back with your hands, because we’re probably going to end up getting a hell of a lot of stuff.”“...Ah, shoot. You’re right.”...After we spent an entire evening shopping and gathering supplies for the party, sharing where the party will be held in the class group chat, and setting everything up before anyone showed up, it was finally time to begin the pool party.“Alright everybody!” Leon shouted. “Let’s make this party an absolute blast!”Nearly everyone in the class - save for Byakuya, Toko, and Celes - showed up to the party to celebrate. The hot tub was already seized by Junko, who only let Mukuro and Sayaka join her in it and showed everyone else away, Hifumi was hogging out at the miniature snack bar we all chipped in to make together, and nearly everyone else was splashing around in the pool. As for me, I laid down under one of the umbrellas to relax and observe everyone.While my eyes occasionally did glance around to check up on everyone else and see how they were doing, I was mostly trying to focus on Hina and Sakura. The two of them were close friends, so it wouldn’t have been too hard to draw inspiration for xiaobun’s request from pretty much any of their interactions, but I rationalized that watching them hang out at a pool party would be the best material to use for a pool party fanfic.Hina and Sakura were racing each other, doing laps across the stretch of the pool that everyone else knew was smart to stay out of. Even though Hina was the Ultimate Swimming Pro, it’d be a lie to say that Sakura wasn’t giving her a run for her money. But at one point, Sakura submerged underneath the water, leaving Hina slightly confused, before she popped out from underneath her, having Hina sitting atop her shoulders.“Kyah-! Sakura-chan, you scared me!” Hina pouted. Sakura gave a small smile as a silent response to it, which Hina caught. “But that’s okay!” she continued. She then leaned back into the pool, causing Sakura to be caught off guard and fall with her, and be submerged underneath the pool water. When they both surfaced, Hina spat out some water that had gotten in her mouth and gave a cheeky smile. “Because now I got you back!” Sakura looked mildly upset, but ended up laughing it off and resuming their playtime with Hina.I smiled to myself. ‘They seem to get along nicely,’ I thought. ‘Hopefully I’ll be able to find someone like that sometime in my life.’“Yooo, Earth to Naegs! Are you there?”I was brought back to reality and turned my head over to my right, and saw Leon with two red plastic cups in his hands. “Saw you were just sitting here by yourself, so I got you some lemonade,” he said, gesturing one of the cups to me.“Ah, thank you Kuwata-kun! I was actually starting to get a little thirsty,” I thanked him. I took a sip from the lemonade; it was slightly sour from the lemons, but also sweet from the added sugar, and it was chilled as well, making it the perfect beverage to have by the pool.Leon sat down at the chair next to mine, laying on his stomach. “Dude, you should get in the pool,” he said. “The water’s really nice.”“No thanks. I’m trying to avoid getting a sunburn,” I explained. “But I’m not going to stop you from having fun!”Leon groaned. “I would, but my back is kinda killing me right now,” he admitted. “Owada gave it a really hard slap when we were messing around earlier.” Then his face lit up. “Hey, I know! Put some sunscreen on my back so you give me a massage!”“A massage?” I asked. “Uh, okay. But why me of all people?”Leon simply shrugged. “You’re my bro, so I trust you,” he said. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to though.”“Hey, I said it’s okay,” I told him. “Let me go get some sunscreen first.” He smiled as I got up from my chair. It only took me a minute to find a bottle, so I made my way back to Leon. I shook the bottle and said to him “Okay, I’m going to start. Tell me if anything hurts.” He gave me a lazy thumbs up, so I squirted out some of the sunscreen and began to massage it on his back.“Mnngh... damn, it feels so good...” Leon purred as I started to pick up some speed with my massage. “D-Don’t be afraid to go a little hard- Ah, fuck, right there...!” He let out a small moan of pleasure to let me know how well my massage felt.“It only feels so good because you’re so tight back here,” I said to him. “Your back’s broad and all, but it won’t do you any good if it’s this tense. Try to relax, okay Kuwata-kun?”He gave a lazy nod of approval. “Fuck, dude, if you’re this good at making me relax, I should probably get you to do this to me more often,” he remarked. “You got a real knack for making people feel easy around you. Like they’re walking on cloud nine...”I rolled my eyes at his remark. “Alright, I think you’re done,” I said to him. “Stand yo and see if it feels better.”Leon got up from his chair and did a few stretches. “Oh, damn, I feel like I’m a spring, man!” he exclaimed. “Hell yeah! I’m getting back in the pool! Gonna spook the shit out of Fujisaki!” He started running over to the pool.“Wait, Kuwata-kun! The sunscreen isn’t-!”“Cowabunga!”Before I could even finish my sentence, Leon had already thrown himself into the pool, causing a massive splash in his wake. And, like he said, he ended up spooking Chihiro after he resurfaced. Watching the whole thing unfold, I chuckled to myself out of amusement and sat back down in my chair, taking a sip out of the lemonade that Leon got me earlier.‘This is nice,’ I thought to myself. ‘Hopefully things stay this way for a while.’...The pool party had eventually come to a close when 4 PM hit, and everyone cleaned up before heading out to do whatever. For myself, I went straight back to my dorm room and locked myself in. My mind was churning at the prospect of writing the request, with ideas flowing through my head like a nonstop torrent.Sitting myself down at my desk, I booted up my laptop and opened up the webpage. I took a deep sigh. ‘Okay, first request,’ I said to myself. ‘Let’s make this a good one.’ And with that, I began to type.-
The two girls were swimming about at the pool with their other friends and associates. However, to the both of them, that didn’t matter whatsoever. The only thing that either had on their minds was each other.

While the two were racing each other to see who was the faster swimmer, Sakura had mysteriously vanished. This left the Ultimate Swimming Pro in a state of frenzy, before suddenly being picked up from a massive figure beneath her. That figure happened to be none other than the Ultimate Martial Artist herself.

“Boo,” Sakura said to Aoi with a small smile on her face.

“H-Hey, that was mean!” Aoi pouted. “I’m going to get revenge on you for that!”

“Oh? How so?”

What happened next took the muscular girl by surprise.

Aoi bent down from sitting atop Sakura’s shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. A blush crept up the larger girl’s face, but she wasn’t going to try to hide her pleasure with the kiss. “I don’t think that qualifies as being revenge, you know,” she commented.

“But isn’t revenge supposed to be sweet? And what’s sweeter than a kiss?”

“...A kiss from the one you love.”

“...Yeah. A kiss from the one you love.”

Sakura gently removed Aoi from her shoulders and softly hugged her in the water. The two ignored the world around them for the solace that they found in each other. And they would never want to trade it for anything.
-“Okay... that should do it for now. I can’t believe I’m finally done with my first request.”After finishing writing the request, I pushed myself away from the laptop to take a breather. ‘Okay, moment of truth,’ I said to myself. ‘Let’s upload it.’I clicked the “Submit” button, saw the page properly load on my screen, and closed the tab. ‘Okay, it’s up,’ I thought. ‘Responses won’t get instantaneous, so let’s just watch some videos to pass the time.’Opening up YouTube, I ended up binge watching different music videos and video essays for hours on end, until it was nearly midnight. I could feel my eyelids starting to get heavy, meaning that I was just about ready to fall asleep. But before I did that, I had to check to see what people were saying about the request.Changing the tab so that it would display my writing instead of the videos I was watching, I was quickly overwhelmed by all the positive reception I had gotten on it. Nearly everyone that read it left loving comments, and the amount of likes on the post was an insanely high amount. But one comment stood out of me above the rest; the comment the original requester had left.xiaobun
aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! this turned out so good!!!!! tysm for choosing my request! this turned out amazing! plz keep up the hard work!!Feeling incredibly flattered by the comment, I knew I had to leave a response thanking them for their kind words. So I quickly whipped up one, and submitted it.ScrambledMinds
Ofc! I’m so happy to hear you liked it! I’ll be sure to keep it up!!I logged off of the webpage, closed the tab, and powered off my computer. I was beaming, with a wide grin spread across my entire face. ‘I’m so happy that people are enjoying it so far!’ I exclaimed in my mind. ‘Hopefully things will go great from here on out!’I looked out my window, and nodded in a silent affirmation to myself. “Yeah,” I muttered. “Just watch me, world. I’ll keep up the good work. I promise.”To many people, fanfiction is a way to express their joy and admiration with something in a way that can be shared with everyone else online. And that’s what it is for me.Hopefully I’ll be able to keep it up for everyone else.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When you think of vampires, what is it that you think of first? Is it the European region of Transylvania? Is it the idea that they can turn into bats and fly around? How about the image of them sucking blood from a person’s neck through two punctures made by their canine teeth? There’s many images that can come to one’s mind on what a vampire is.To me, a vampire is the epitome of gothic literature. Shrouded in mysticism, there’s many different ways to interpret a vampire, yet all share their roots in more macabre stories, like how the iconic Count Dracula is based on Vlad the Impaler. And, as the gothic subculture is comprised of quite a variety of groups, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me when someone would ask for the resident gothic Lolita to be made into a vampire. And yet, for some reason unbeknownst to even myself, it did.Perhaps it was because it was obscenely early in the morning when I first checked the message. I had woken up just a few minutes before the sun really began to rise, which was far too early for any normal person. By the time I staggered over to my desk and opened my laptop to check up on the requests, the bottom right of the screen displayed the time as being 3:12 AM. The time wasn’t important to me at the moment, however; my freshly woken eyes were being blinded by the brightness of my screen. I had to adjust the brightness of it before doing anything else.I scrolled through the handful of requests that were made, and one really caught my eye regarding the aforementioned gothic Lolita of Hope’s Peak herself, Celestia Ludenberg. To be more specific, the request asked for her and Byakuya to be a vampire couple.GothMoth
Hi! I was wondering if you could do a Vampire Au of Celestia and Byakuya together! I feel like the two could be really regal with each other!‘Well, they’re not wrong...’ I thought to myself. ‘The two of them get along surprisingly well with each other. But the thought of them as vampires is weird... Yet, at the same time, Celes does kind of look like what one would expect a vampire to look like, if said vampire was of a royal lineage of some kind.’ Amused by the thought of Celes-san saying something along the lines of “I want to suck your blood, my dearest”, I typed up a small response to the person’s request, and submitted it.ScrambledMinds
Sure thing! I’ll see what I can do and try my best! Please look forward to it!I pulled myself away from the laptop and got up to stretch. The sun was finally starting to peek up from the horizon, so I figured that I may as well get my day started. ‘Since I’m up early, I could probably swing by a konbini to get myself something nice for breakfast,’ I thought to myself. ‘Maybe I could surprise Kuwata-kun with something as well. I’m sure he’d appreciate it. But I should shower first; I don’t want to go in smelling bad.’ I powered off my laptop, made my way into my dorm room’s bathroom, and turned on the shower, letting the water run as I took off my pajamas before stepping in and washing myself, so I could get ready for the day....“Naegs, my guy, I appreciate you getting me breakfast and all that... but did you seriously have you wake me up before 7 AM?”After my trip the nearby konbini and getting everything ready for the day, I went over to Leon’s dorm room to wake him up and offer him some of the stuff I got. He agreed and threw on a hoodie before walking outside with me to sit down on a nearby bench. I handed him a ham and egg onigiri and, knowing that he would need the energy since he wasn’t much of a morning person, three cans of cold brew coffee. As for myself, I got some zaru soba noodles and a bottle of water.“Well, I know that if I didn’t do that, you probably wouldn’t have gotten up until half an hour before classes started,” I said to him. “And you would’ve missed the time the school provides breakfasts for us if that happened, so you wouldn’t have eaten anything until lunch. And I know you get easily distracted when you’re hungry, so I didn’t want that to happen to you.”Leon groaned in defeat and slightly slumped over, knowing that he was in no position to argue with me over what I just said. “Yeah, I guess you’re right on that...” he grumbled. “I just hope this onigiri and coffee tide me over until it’s lunch.” He took a gulp from one of the cans of coffee before biting down on the onigiri and chewing on it.“I hope this soba and water do the same for me as well,” I shared. “Imagine how embarrassing it would be if my stomach made a growling noise during a lecture. I think I’d want to curl up in a ball on the spot.” I laughed a bit at the thought, and Leon joined in as well shortly after. “Anyways, I’ve been meaning to ask. How have you been since returning from summer break, Kuwata-kun? Has school been giving you any trouble?”Leon laughed at my question before responding “When has it not?” He took another bite from the onigiri. “I’m not really much of a book smart person Naegs,” he shared with his mouth full. “I got street smarts instead. I mean, why would I need to study-“ He took a second to swallow the bite of food in his mouth “-if I’m just going to become a musician? I don’t need to know anything locker rhythms of whatever the hell it’s called when I could be wailing away on a guitar!”“...Kuwata-kun, they’re called ‘logarithms’, not “locker rhythms’,” I explained him. “And I think you’d probably get a noise complaint if you were to do that with a guitar. At least, if you don’t properly soundproof your walls, that is. And maybe your ceiling and floor as well.”All Leon did in response to my comment was finish off his onigiri and his second can of coffee with a slight huff before getting up from the bench, stretching a bit as he did so. “Well, whatever,” he dismissively replied. “People seem to be getting ready to head to class, so I better get ready. Thanks for the breakfast Naegs. I’ll see you in the classroom.” Taking his last can of coffee with him, Leon walked back to the dorm rooms to take a shower and get ready for the school day.I quickly finished off my noodles and water before tossing my trash in a nearby bin, making sure to dust my uniform off briefly afterwards. ‘Well, I better get to class,’ I thought to myself. ‘Hopefully today won’t be too bad.’ I joined the crowd of students getting to class early today, hoping that Leon wouldn’t end up being late to class again....The first few classes of the day were brutal for me to sit through, to say the very least. It probably would’ve been easier for me to sit through them if I didn’t wake up at such a ridiculously early time this morning, but alas, I did just that. And I was paying the price for it.The first class we had was Conversational English. While I wasn’t necessarily bad at the subject, per se, it did take me a while to memorize a lot of the rules and exceptions to those rules that English has. It blew my mind when I learned that pony and bologna were pronounced exactly the same as each other - save for the starting letter of course - but not stove, move, and love. And since it was so early in the morning for us, it fried my brain for the other classes to follow.After Conversational English was Chemistry, and I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of the sciences we had to take. While our teacher was certainly motivated to teach us the subject, his eccentricities made it difficult for me to follow, especially after the previous class had burned me out. I sort of just sat there the entire time, semi-listening to what Professor Mishima had to say, before being handed a three page work packet on stoichiometry.Following Chemistry was Talent Development, a course that was unique to Hope’s Peak Academy. Students would get together with professionals in their talent’s field that were hired by the school board in order to sharpen their skills even further. For Ultimate Lucky Students like me, we just did whatever the teachers needed us to do. Today, they asked the three of us to clean out the equipment shed nearby the track. It ended with Nagito buried underneath a pile of wooden planks, unable to escape without some assistance. Our mutual upperclassman, Shiori, helped me out with dragging Nagito out of the pile.The final class we had before it was time for lunch was Mathematics. At this point in time, I was tired, I was exhausted, and I was mentally drained. All I could do for the entirety of the class was sit and smile with a pencil in my hand and a notebook turned to a half-empty page. I wasn’t even sure if it was my Mathematics notebook, but at that point, I didn’t care; I just didn’t want to look like I wasn’t paying attention, because our teacher for the class, Professor Mutou, was known for being extremely intolerant with those who didn’t pay attention in her classes. Leon often got the short end of the stick whenever we had her. Fortunately for me, she didn’t notice me spacing out in her class, and I was able to get away with it scot-free.Once all of those four classes were done for, it was finally time for lunch. I sighed in relief as I heard the bell chime for it, indicating we had some time to rest; my poor brain could’ve really used the rest earlier, but now was a better time to grab said rest than later, or worse, never. I bought an egg sandwich and a bottle of water from the cafeteria, brought it back to the classroom, and sat down before mindlessly eating it. My mind was so exhausted that it ended zoning out everything around me.That is, of course, until I felt someone tap on my shoulder. Suddenly jolting back to reality, I turned around to see who it was that tapped my shoulders. And then I realized that it was none other than Sayaka Maizono.“O-Oh, I’m sorry!” Sayaka quickly apologized, face flushing red with embarrassment as she took a step backward. “I didn’t realize you were sleeping! You seemed awake, so I thought- I just- I had something I wanted to say to you, b-but I can hold off on it if you need me to!”If I were to be honest, I’ve had a bit of a crush on Sayaka ever since lower secondary school. Yes, she’s popular, and yes, she’s a national pop sensation - I mean, her talent here at Hope’s Peak is quite literally the Ultimate Pop Sensation - but there are other things about her that I liked. She’s a kind and gentle-natured person, she’s easy to get along with, and she’s actually surprisingly philosophical; if you were to hear her out, she would give an impassioned speech about the ethics and morality of the idolization of other people. So to have her talking to me is a dream come true. And while I may not show it externally, on the inside, I’m screaming my lungs out like a fangirl over her talking to me.“Mmh, no, you’re fine Maizono-san,” I told her. “I’ve just been really tired all day today, so I was just trying to rest my brain for a bit. But if you want to tell me something, I’m all ears. What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”Sayaka nervously pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear, her face slightly tinted red, before she spoke. “S-So, um...” she began, stammering a bit. “I have this boyfriend, yeah? A-And I told him about you, a-a-and he said he wanted to meet up with you. So uh... w-would you be interested in meeting up with him?”Finding out that Sayaka was already dating another person broke my heart the moment, but I was able to mask it with a gentle smile, as to not worry her about hurting my feelings. “Oh, that sounds fine,” I told her. “When were you thinking about introducing us to each other?”The tint on Sayaka’s face blossomed into a full blown blush by the point, and she averted her gaze from me as a way to mask it. “O-Oh! Well, I was th-th-thinking about introducing you guys in a few weeks!” she explained, evidently taken aback by my questioning. “I-I-I know I’ll be free then, so I think it’d b-be the perfect time to introduce you two to each other!”I nodded in agreement, still maintaining my facade of happiness for her. “That sounds good with me!” I chirped. “I look forward to meeting him! Though I’m a little confused as to why you told him about me. Why... did you do that?” All Sayaka could do in response to my question was give me an awkward smile before bolting out of the room. Shortly after she left, Leon walked in with his own tray of food.“Yo, Naegs!” Leon greeted me, shouting at me to get my attention. He made his way over to me before sitting down on the chair of the desk in front of mine, facing me, leaving little room on my desk for us to have our trays. He started shoveling the food he got from the cafeteria - some grilled meats and veggies - into his mouth, before realizing that I was silent. Stopping for a moment, he took a second to swallow his food for asking me “Hey man, is everything okay? Your face is kinda red. Is something bothering you?”I shook my head when he asked that question. “N-No, everything’s fine, so don’t worry,” I explained to him. “It’s just that Maizono-san... she w-wants me to meet her-“ Leon cut me off mid-sentence by placing a finger on my lips, and leaned forward.“Dude. I’m going to ask you m some questions, and I’m going to need you to answer them honestly,” Leon told me. “Think you can handle that?” I gently nodded. With my response, Leon pulled back his finger, before leaning in even closer to me. “Alright then,” he began. “First question; did she tell you that she had a boyfriend?”“Mhm. She did,” I answered earnestly. “She even said that he wanted to meet me.”Leon heaved a sigh. “Well, that answers my second question,” he muttered. “Fine then. Third question; did her face go all red and shit when you agreed to meet up with him?” Instead of giving him a verbal response, I just nodded to answer his question. Leon cocked a smile. “Dude, she made that whole boyfriend bullshit up,” he said.“H-Huh?” I was surprised that Sayaka would fabricate an entire being for her love life and share said fabrication with someone like me. Though, in retrospect, it made sense that she was lying about having a boyfriend; openly admitting to seeing someone while as a teenage sensation can be extremely damaging to one’s career, and to my understanding, Sayaka wasn’t the type of person to sacrifice her career to be with anyone. So I had to ask Leon in response “Why would she do all that?”Leon scoffed. “Dude, please tell me you’re joking,” he uttered, partially in disbelief over what he just heard me say. I shook my head, and he rolled his eyes in response. “Man, if you continue to be this fucking dense, I’m gonna feel so bad for whoever wants to go out with you,” he teased. “Alright, fine. Since you’re struggling to figure this shit out, I’ll tell you. Lean in closer.” I did as he instructed, and with bated breath, Leon softly whispered in my ear “She likes you, man.”Upon hearing Leon whisper that to me, I could feel my face turn red with embarrassment and tried to hide it by burying my face into my arms. “Th-Th-There’s no way she likes me like that!” I responded, muffled by the sound of my voice being covered by my jacket sleeves. “I mean, she’s S-Sayaka Maizono! She’s a national icon of today’s youth! And I’m just your average everyday guy! What about me would’ve even been appealing to someone like... h-her?!”“...Naegs. You’re joking, right?” Leon asked. “There’s a lot of great things about you. Hell, I could probably write a whole paper about how great you are if you asked me to, and I’d totally do it for you. And I fucking hate papers.”I finally lowered my sleeves from my face, and looked up at Leon. “Do... Do you really mean that, Kuwata-kun?” I meekly questioned him.Leon shot me his signature grin and ruffled my hair a bit with his hand. “Well, yeah man, of course I do,” he told me. “You’re a great guy. Just take my word on it, alright?”Hearing his words of affirmation helped put me at ease, and I was finally able to relax a little. Sighing out a little, I gave Leon a gentle smile. “...Okay then. I will,” I said to him. “But um, I have to ask; how do you know that she likes me? And how did you know what types of questions she was going to ask me?”“Oh, that’s easy,” Leon shared. “She asked me out the exact same way last semester.”Hearing that Sayaka asked Leon out before momentarily broke my heart, but it didn’t really surprise me when I stopped to think about it. Both of them were extremely popular people, especially for our generation, so they would’ve made for a powerful couple if they got together. However, something bothered me about the whole ordeal. “Wait a minute, Kuwata-kun, why didn’t you start dating her?”“Eh. I’m interested in someone else.”Hearing that Leon Kuwata, the most popular guy in our class - and most likely the most popular guy attending Hope’s Peak Academy at the moment - turned down Sayaka Maizono of all people because he had a crush on someone else struck me as being really cute of him to do. He had a reputation for being a bit of a playboy, so hearing that he was holding out for the person of his affections was admirable, to say the very least. “Awh, that’s so sweet of you to do, Kuwata-kun!” I exclaimed, gushing over the loyalty he held towards his crush. “Who do you have a crush on?”Leon froze for a moment and let his face go red before cocking a sly grin. “That... is none of your business, you damn dweeb,” he teased, flicking me on the nose in a playful manner and earning a light giggle from me. “What, do you think I’m going to tell you everything about me? Hell nah, Naegs. I’m going to try to play my cards close to my chest... or however that phrase goes. Celes-san probably knows the right phrase; she’s the one most familiar with cards here.”Seeing an opportunity to casually talk to Celes later today to get more info for the request, I quickly offered “How about I ask her about that today, after we’re all done cleaning? I can text you what she says later.”“Oh, hey yeah, that could work,” Leon agreed to my offer. “I’ve got something to once class ends, so I won’t have any time to do that. Plus... okay, I’m not going to lie, she gives me the heebie-jeebies, man. Those red eyes man... they’re bad news.” He let out a comical shiver, which I laughed at. The two of us spent the rest of the lunch break chatting about whatever came to our minds, all the way until classes were back for the rest of the day. My mind felt better, so I was able to concentrate more. My only hope was that I wouldn’t strain myself before I could write the request and send it to them....The school day finally came to an end after four more classes that weren’t as bad for me as the four from before lunch, and cleaning time had finally come. Per Kyoko’s request, with the aid of a stepping stool she got from a storage closet for me, I began to wash the windows that our classroom had. Byakuya and Celes stood by one of the corners, conversing amongst themselves as they sneered at everyone else for cleaning the classroom. I was able to inch closer and closer to the two of them without either one suspecting me, and as such, I was able to eavesdrop in on their conversation.“Have I ever told you what I’ve intended to do with my winnings from the various tournaments I’ve played in, Togami?” Celes asked. Her stature was like that of a doll’s, gussied up to be all prim and proper. She had the gentlest smile on her face and her arms folded over her chest, like she was designed to be as such. And yes, a glint of mischief twinkled in her eyes. “I’m sure it would be of interest to you.”Byakuya simply scoffed. “Whatever you can dream of, I can buy without even causing a dent in my inheritance money,” he said. “So, pray tell, what exactly is it that you plan to do with your winnings, Celes?”“Well, since you are absolutely teeming with curiosity, I suppose I shall share what I intend to do,” she responded. “I intend on purchasing a large lot of land betwixt the Japanese Alps to establish a European-inspired cobblestone castle from the Dark Ages, though with contemporary features as well. It would be adorned with red velvet padded seating furniture, solid African Blackwood flooring, Pink Ivory wood for every other piece of furniture, and countertops made of polished taaffeite. Oh, and an ensemble of maids and butlers to handle the chores as well, adorned with only the most fine silk outfits on the market. What are your thoughts on that?”“...That’s it?” Byakuya questioned, evidently disappointed with Celes’ desired reward. “I had higher expectations for you, Celes; it seems as though I was in the wrong for expecting a commoner such as you to have such tastes like me.”‘W-Wow... that was extremely harsh,’ I thought to myself while wiping down one of the windows. ‘I hope Celes-san doesn’t get too hurt over it.’Much to my surprise, rather than lashing out at him, all Celes did in response to Byakuya’s comment was giggle. She covered her mouth with one of her hands, as if she was amused with it. “Oh, I do apologize for disappointing you,” she responded. “However, you are more than welcome to come over and judge for yourself when the construction of the castle is complete. With your refined tastes, you will be able to help me attain a level of wealth and prosperity unbeknownst to the gambling world. That is... if you wish to assist me with such a task.”Figuring that I had heard enough material that could work for the request, I finished cleaning the final window, to which both Byakuya and Celes had noticed; Byakuya looked at me with disgust in his eyes, while Celes simply didn’t care all too much for my being there. “Oh, sorry, was I bothering you two?” I asked, trying to sound sincerely apologetic. “I was trying to clean the windows, and I didn’t see you there.”Byakuya simply rolled his eyes and walked off without saying a word to me. Evidently, he was so grossed out by my mere existence that he couldn’t bear to be around me any longer. Then again, save for Celes and a handful of the more affluent people at Hope’s Peak Academy, he’s like that with everyone. Celes, on the other hand, decided to stay. “I do not mind, though please do be more aware of your surroundings in the near future,” she chided me. “It is rude to interrupt someone’s conversation.”“A-Ah, yeah, sorry...” I apologized once more. I bowed really quickly, before looking back up at her. “Oh, right! Celes-san, I have something to ask you!” I exclaimed, trying to sound like I just remembered it. “Kuwata-kun asked me to ask you on his behalf.”Celes scrunched up her nose in mild confusion. “Kuwata... that name sounds familiar to me...” she pondered. “Is that perhaps... the red headed fellow whom you’re almost always around?” I nodded in agreement, and she huffed a small sigh of annoyance. “I see. He is quite... rambunctious. I am not particularly fond of him as a result. And, since he’s asked you to ask me his question, I can assume he has figured that out by now. But that is besides the point. What is it that he wanted to ask me?”“Oh, he was curious if you knew where the origins of the phrase ‘playing one’s cards close to their chest’, since it’s about cards, and you’re the Ultimate Gambler,” I explained. “Do you happen to know the answer?”Celes looked at me with mild disappointment, and folded her arms across her chest. “Yes, I do know where the phrase comes from,” she stated with a hint of dejection in her voice. “As you may have guessed, it comes from playing cards, and how one would not want others to see their cards whilst playing with them. As a result, in order to obscure the identity of the cards they had from others, they would hold the cards close to their chest. Hence the phrase ‘playing with one’s cards close to their chest’. Really though, this sort of information is the kind of stuff you could find on the Internet with ease. Did he forget about the vast surplus of technology around him at his disposal?”Ignoring the remarks Celes was making about Leon right to my face, I simply nodded along. “A-Alright, I’ll relay the information to him,” I shared. I then quickly bowed at Celes. “Thank you for your time. Please have a good day, Celes-san.” I scurried to put away the cleaning supplies I still had with me before exiting the classroom. The sun was already beginning to set by the time I left....Finally making it back to my dorm room, I set aside all of my school supplies and flopped over on my bed, letting out a long sigh of exhaustion from the day. ‘Man, today was so tiring...’ I grumbled in my mind. ‘I may as well tell Kuwata-kun what Celes-san shared. Then afterwards, I’ll get to the request. Once I’m done with that... it’s homework time. Yippee.’ Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I opened up my messaging app and shot Leon a quick series of texts.Me
I just got finished with talking to Celes-san, so I have the answer to your question from earlier!Me
It’s from how people play cards with their own cards hidden from others by hiding them right to their chestMe
I hope that explains it!Right as I was about to put away my phone, I could feel it vibrate in my hand. Pulling it once more, it was two responses from Leon.Kuwata-kun
oh sickKuwata-kun
thx man‘Wow, that was a fast response,’ I thought. ‘Maybe he’s just goofing off right now.’ I laughed to myself in amusement as I sent him one final message.Me
Yeah ofc! Always happy to help!“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, it’s fanfiction time,” I told myself. Putting my phone away once more, I got up out of my bed and stretched before walking over to my desk and sat down on the chair. I booted up my laptop and opened up a new tab to begin writing the request. “Alright, this is going to be mildly difficult for me since I didn’t get much good material to work with outside of Celes’ dream castle, but let’s give this a go anyway.” I cracked my knuckles, thought about what I was going to write for a brief moment, and then began clacking away on the keyboard.-
In the upper mountain range of the Japanese Alps, there laid a castle of unusual style. It was unlike anything else that was built in Japan; rather, the style of it seemed to be more akin to that of a European castle. Its mere existence confused many who knew of it, yet none dared to approach it under the pretense that demons lived there. The castle, named Castle Ludenberg, did not house demons, but rather, vampires. More specifically, two vampires who relished in the love and admiration that they had for one another.

Byakuya Togami was the King of Vampires. He had a menacing aura to him, one that radiated sheer power and brutal intellectual force. Those who knew of him knew better than to challenge him in anything, for they knew that he would usurp them of any powers they may hold. While he was a standoffish man, there was one person whom he tolerated; his Queen.

The Queen of Vampires, Celestia Ludenberg, was not born a vampire. Rather, she turned into one with the aid of the King himself, once he fell in love with her. He wanted to spend all of eternity with her, and with the immortality that being a vampire provides, she accepted and wedded him. She was a prim and proper lady, with an underlying element of fear to her that not even the strongest of vampires would dare challenge. It was for that reason that the King had fallen for her to begin with. So much so that he named their home after her surname.

The two were enjoying themselves in one of the many flyers of Castle Ludenberg, sipping on the blood of nearby humans in their golden chalices. The Queen looked out the window, and up at the moon. It glimmered in the night, only being obscured by the curtains that partially covered the window’s sides. “My, the moonlight is quite strong tonight,” she commented. “It only makes sense for that to be, since the night is young.”

“Indeed, the moonlight is nice,” the King responded, setting down his own chalice on the desk beside his chair. “It reminds me of how we first met. You were in a nearby grove, practicing your waltz by yourself. You had such a grace to you, that I couldn’t help but watch on.”

Celes giggled at Byakuya’s nostalgic comment. “Indeed, you were quite mesmerized by it,” she added. She set aside the chalice she was using and got up from her chair. “So how about we recreate that moment together, my King? I know it’s something that you’ve been yearning to do for a while now.”

Byakuya was taken back by surprise for a moment, before he chuckled. “I’m not surprised that you figured this out, my Queen,” he admitted. “And I have the perfect song for it in mind.” At the snap of his fingers, a knight made his way in. “Tell the performers to come here and prepare to play Rachmaninov’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 2’. My Queen and I wish to dance to it.” The knight silently bowed, and took his leave.

“My, what a romantic song,” Celes mused. “I imagine you chose it because it’s the song I danced to on that fateful night?”

“The very same,” Byakuya acknowledged. “And I would have to be a fool to pick any other song for a moment such as this.” Shortly after he said that, the knight came back in with the group of performers, wheeling in everything needed for the song. They quickly set everything up, and on Byakuya’s command, they began to play. The King walked over to the Queen as the curtains were drawn, and he extended a hand to her. “My Queen...” he began. “May I have this dance?”

“...Of course.”

Byakuya pulled Celes close to him when the woman accepted his hand, and the two began to waltz to the rhythm of the concerto. At no point in time during the entirety of the song did their eyes break away from each other; they were locked on, looking at each other with deep respect, admiration, and love for one another. When the song finally came to a close, Byakuya pulled Celes out to the adjacent balcony, and perched her on the balustrade. Silently, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, and she returned the favor by doing the same. Everyone who looked on at Castle Ludenberg that night bore witness to the love between the King and the Queen, demonstrated for all to see.
-“Oh, wow, that felt like it took forever to write... I’m glad that’s over with now.”Sighing in a mixture of relief and exhaustion, I quickly uploaded the request onto the website and closed the tab, making sure to log off of everything first. I set my laptop off to the side and got up out of my chair to retrieve my school supplies. “Alright, now it’s homework time...” I grumbled to myself. “Hopefully my brain doesn’t hurt as much as it did this morning when I try to handle it.” Setting myself down at the table once more, I turned one of my textbooks open to the page our teacher assigned us to do and began trying to figure out how to solve it.A few hours had passed since I started working on my homework, and by the time I was done with it, the sun was completely down. Night time had fallen on us, and I hadn’t even eaten my dinner yet. I was exhausted, to say the very least. “Alright, let’s check to see how that request has been since I uploaded it...” I muttered to myself sleepily. I pulled my laptop over and booted it up, logging into the website quickly to check my inbox. Sure enough, a few people have left comments on it, as well as the person who requested the fic in the first place.GothMoth
Omg! This turned out really well! I loved every second of it! Tysvm!!!I softly laughed to myself. ‘I’m really glad to hear that they liked it...’ I thought. ‘It’s a pretty rewarding feeling to know that others enjoy what you make.’ With a gentle smile on my face, I whipped up a response and submitted it.ScrambledMinds
Ofc ofc! I’m glad you liked it!!“Okay, now that that’s out of the way... it’s dinner time.” I could feel my stomach growling for food. I powered off my laptop and closed it, making sure to set it aside so it wouldn’t fall over or anything. I grabbed my wallet and keys and got up from my chair to head to my door. “I wonder if that konbini is still open...” I pondered aloud. “Gosh, I hope it is. I could really go for some of the spaghetti I saw there. That meat sauce looked really good...” Exiting the dorm room, I locked the door to it and walked down the hallway, hoping that the konbini I went to earlier was still open at this hour.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“...I seriously can’t believe I had to make this video...”I planted the side of my face on the desk in my dorm room, blankly staring at the bright screen of my laptop as I waited for the video I finished editing an hour prior to upload. The soft whirs of the laptop running filled my ear, and the heat coming out of the side warmed my face a little. It provided a stark contrast to the otherwise cold and silent night I was sitting through, though the feeling of frustration that was welling up inside of me did warm me up as well. “Fucking fangirls...” I annoyingly muttered under my breath. “Not every single person I interact with has to be some celebrity. Can’t I just have normal friends...?”I shifted myself so I was resting my chin on the desk instead of the side of my face. The loading bar on the screen of my laptop that indicated how much of the video had been rendered showed that it was getting close to being ready to upload, though it still a decent amount to go. As I watched it inch closer and closer to completion, my mind began to drift off to the subject of the video itself; Makoto Naegi.It had come to my attention that me hanging out with the shorter guy was drawing negative attention to him on social media, mostly by the people who idolized me. Many were making massive assumptions like him that were just straight up wrong, like how he was hanging out with me just so he could ride off of my success. I knew him better than any of them could, and I wanted to set things right. At the end of it all, Makoto is a very special person to me.I could feel my face starting to heat up, so I threw it back and rubbed my eyes. ‘God, what the hell is with me...?’ I thought. ‘I know that I’m supposed to be the dream guy for many girls. I know that I’m supposed to end up with a girl, and be her one and only guy. I know all that. But... why does he have to make all that so difficult for me...?’The ping coming from my laptop pulled me out of my thoughts and back in reality, and I could see that the video had finally finished rendering and was now ready to be uploaded. I sat upright immediately upon seeing it, and hit the submit button. Within a few moments, the video had finally been uploaded. “Oh thank the lord for that...” I groaned to no one in particular. “Now I can get some shuteye... maybe.” Making sure to log out of my account for the night, I closed all of my tabs and powered off my laptop before pushing it aside and getting up from my chair. Hurriedly stripping so I was just wearing my boxers and my undershirt, I threw myself under the sheets of my bed and tried to finally get some rest, before having to get up for school.But the thoughts of Makoto that filled my mind ended up causing me to stay awake the entire time.-When a person gets a request to do something from someone else, sometimes their request baffles the person. Sometimes the request itself is too difficult for the person to do, such as if an amateur fine arts student was asked to do a series of portraits for a family. Sometimes the request itself is far too different from what the person normally does, such as if a restaurant employee was asked to fix a car. But sometimes, the request itself is so ridiculous to the person getting the request, that they can’t help but question if the request was even real, as if they were dreaming up everything.That person, this time around, happened to be me.I was staring at my laptop’s screen early in the morning, in the middle of eating a small breakfast, when I came upon the request. I had to do a double take when I read it for the first time, because I thought there was no way it was real. But it turned out to be real.I wasn’t sure how to feel about the request. How was I supposed to feel? Confused? Surprised? Or perhaps some kind of mix of the two? Whatever the case was, I was staring at it as it showed itself on my laptop screen.KittyCookie301
omg if i could get a ishimondo one w fujiski acting as the third weel id love it!!!!“...This feels like the type of thing I’d find floating about in the comments section of a Character x Reader series on something like Wattpad...” I grumbled under my breath. I set my microwaveable rice bowl down and took my water bottle in my hand, before pouring out a bit of its contents onto my face to make sure I wasn’t going to fall back asleep, carefully making sure none of the water got onto any of my devices. The cold sensation of the water helped me stay awake, and I dabbed the water off my face with the sleeves of my shirt. With my newfound awakened sensations, I quickly typed up a respond and sent it.ScrambledMinds
Sure thing! I’ll try my best to come up with something cool for this!After having sent that message, all I could think of was one simple thought.‘I just hope I can come up with something good while at school today.’...After having prepared my things and leaving the dorm room for classes, I was making my way down one of the hallways at Hope’s Peak Academy when I bumped into Leon, who was in the middle of yawning. It seemed to me that he was tired, as if he stayed up late to take care of something. “Oh, good morning Kuwata-kun,” I greeted him.He turned to look at me, and I could almost see the gears turning in his head before he recognized me. When he did, he gave me a tired smile. “Oh... hey Naegs,” he responded, giving me a small little hand wave to acknowledge my existence. “Sorry I don’t exactly look too hot today. I was up working on something late last night. I got maybe... four hours of sleep or something? I’m not sure. I can’t really think right now, man.”“Ah, I understand how you feel,” I acknowledged, nodding along. “I’ve spent a few nights just studying for entrance exams, and all I ran on those days were tea and the occasional snack. My parents and sister were concerned for me, but understood that I did what I needed to do.”The redhead blew a raspberry and a small huff. “Can’t relate, I never study unless my folks force me to.”“...You should probably get into the habit of studying then.”He looked at me like I was crazy for a moment, before sighing in defeat. “Yeah, yeah, I know...” he admitted, slouching over just the tiniest bit. “Are we still up for that logarithms study session tomorrow?”I nodded. “Of course. You’re probably going to need the help anyway. I don’t exactly think you’ll study if you’re by yourself.” The both of us laughed at the joke made at Leon’s expense.Leon fixed his posture, and took the opportunity to stretch as well. He looked a bit livelier than how he seemed just a moment ago after doing so, and he flashed his signature grin at me. “Well, let’s get in class, yeah?” he suggested. “Being late yet again will get me another one of Ishimaru’s lectures, which is the absolute last thing I need right now.”Snickering at his joke, I nodded in response to his suggestion. “Yeah, let’s,” I agreed. Grabbing ahold of the handle to the class door, we threw open and stepped inside at the same time.“How on Earth did we ever manage to overlook this relation?!”We were greeted with the sound of Taka’s belting yell practically echoing in the classroom, to which I winced at. “Oh joy,” Leon started. “Seems like something’s up. May as well find out what it is.” He pressed his hands to the side of his mouth and shouted at the top of his lungs “Yo Ishimaru! What’s the stitch?!”Taka, with a frenzied look in his eyes, whipped his head around to look at us. “Kuwata-san! Do not yell in a classroom! It is quite inappropriate to do so!” he yelled himself, practically unaware of the hypocrisy in his words. “And we just found out that Kirigiri-san is the headmaster of this academy’s biological daughter! This is Earth shattering news!”“You’re fucking telling me!” Mondo echoed the same sentiments with his own roar. “How can we tell that Little Miss Purplehead over here didn’t just get admitted into Hope’s Peak because of family ties?!”“In case you haven’t been listening to me for the past ten minutes, allow me to repeat myself,” Kyoko responded from her desk, a hint of ire seeping from her otherwise calm and collected voice. “My father and I are estranged from one another after he broke away from our family after my mother’s passing. I’ve been living with my grandfather ever since, who took me under his wing at the family’s detective business. It is through my grandfather’s tutelage that I gained the skills needed to be anonymously scouted by Kizakura-sensei, who hadn’t even seen so much as a picture of me since I was a baby, to be the next Ultimate Detective at Hope’s Peak Academy. My father had no reason to scout me out aside from my investigative capabilities. That is all.”Once she was done with her explanation, she got up from her desk and began to walk to the exit of the classroom, and Leon and I stepped aside for her. Before she disappeared into the hallway, however, she turned her gaze over to Taka and Mondo and coldly told them “I would greatly appreciate it if you two could refrain from spreading any misinformation about my father and I for the duration of our stay here at Hope’s Peak Academy. After all, the truth will always surface, one way or the other.” And with that, she disappeared from the confines of the classroom.As Kyoko ventured out into the halls of the academy, Mondo slammed his fist down on his table hard, causing it to rattle beneath him. “Damn it...!” he hissed. “That damn brat thinks she could just lie to us like that...! Well, fuck that! I’m not going to take shit like that! I know a liar when I see one, and she’s a fucking liar!”“K-Kyoudai, please calm down!” Taka quickly blurted out, trying his best to calm the biker. “If you get too angry, you may end up breaking something in the process!”Mondo, hearing Taka’s words of concern, eased up a bit, though it was easy to tell that he was still quite miffed about the whole ordeal. “...Shit... you’re right, bro,” he acknowledged. “I just... I need to go let off some steam. I’m hitting the weight room for a bit. If the teacher asks where I am, tell her I’m not feeling well.” With that, Mondo exited the classroom as well with a sullen look on his face.Once all that was settled, it was Leon who first piped up. “Uh, Ishimaru?” he began. “When the fuck did you and Owada get so close to each other? Weren’t you two basically at each other’s necks all the damn time?”Taka didn’t respond, evidently still worried over Mondo’s well being, so Chihiro was the one who responded to Leon’s inquiry. “W-Well, yesterday after school, the two of them got into a fight, and Mondo suggested having a ‘man-off’ against each other,” he tried to explain. “Taka agreed to it, and the two went into the sauna to see who would last the longest in there. When they came out, they sort of... understood each other better, and became friends.”“...Are we sure they didn’t bang in there or something?” Leon suggested, a look of disbelief written all over his face. “I mean, there’s literally no way those two could’ve gotten along like they were lifetime pals in the span of, what, twenty minutes? Maybe thirty?”“W-We did not have sexual intercourse in the sauna!” Taka yelped, snapping him back to reality after being shocked to hear such a suggestion. “To even insinuate such a thing is p-p-preposterous!” The hall monitor’s face was a bright red, evidently flustered with Leon’s remark.“Okay, okay, geez, I get it, you didn’t bang in the sauna,” Leon acknowledged, rubbing his ear in annoyance. “But could you at least try to get your point across a little less loudly? You’re probably going to end up giving me tinnitus with all your screaming at this rate.”“M-Maybe you shouldn’t joke about stuff like that with someone who wouldn’t be able to take it,” I tried suggesting to Leon. “I’m pretty sure someone like Enoshima-san would be able to take it... but certainly not someone like Ishimaru-san.”“Hell yeah I can take it! After all, it’s not like I bend over for the rules like Mister Tightpants over here!” The voice that said that came straight from Junko, who was sitting on her chair backwards. She was evidently in the middle of applying blush before stopping to watch the spectacle unfold, if the makeup brush and a container of blush in her hands were anything to go by. A wide grin was spread across her face, almost as if she was relishing in the chaos of the conflict.The look on Taka’s face grew even more exasperated at the implication of letting a physical manifestation of school rules have sex with him, and his face grew red. “E-E-Enoshima-san! Please refrain from making sexual comments regarding my s-stance on upholding rules!” he shouted even louder than before, with panic in his eyes. “I-I do not feel comfortable with people making sexual comments regarding me in general!”In response to Taka’s outburst, Junko merely rolled her eyes and made a little blow with her tongue in disappointment. “Man, Naegi’s right, you really can’t take a joke...” she grumbled. She then turned her attention over to Mukuro, and started poking the back of her head as the raven haired girl was in the middle of reviewing her notes. “Hey, sis, don’t you think Ishimaru sucks at taking jokes from others?”“Wait, hold on,” Leon sputtered out, interrupting the fashionista and the soldier’s interaction. “E-Enoshima... what did you just call Ikusaba?”“...Oh shit, did I never tell you guys?” Junko questioned, realizing what Leon was getting at. “Mukuro and I are twins. She’s the older one, in case you guys were wondering.”At that point, Leon’s mouth was wide open, as if his jaw had dropped down to the floor. “How the ever living hell are you two twins?!” he roared out in surprise. “You two don’t even look anything like each other!”Leon’s outburst finally got Mukuro’s attention, and she set down her notes to look at the redhead with a puzzled look on her face. “...Twins don’t always need to look identical to one another for them to be twins, Kuwata-san,” she tried explaining. “We’re fraternal twins. I take after our father more, and Junko takes after our mother more. It’s more obvious when you see Junko with her natural hair and eye color.”“Ugh, Mukuro, I told you not to tell them about that sort of stuff!” Junko pouted. “...I’m a natural redhead, and I had red eyes to go along with it. Buuut - and this is a big but - I feel much better with my strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. So don’t go dissing my style!”Leon, who seemed to feel threatened by Junko’s remark, crossed his heart with his fingers in an X formation as he held his hands up, indicating that he was at her mercy. Seeing him do such a thing caused the fashionista to burst into laughter, and after a minute or so had passed, our teacher entered the classroom. “Oh, some of you are here,” she greeted us with a somewhat groggy tone. “Meh. If your other classmates don’t show up in the next few minutes, I’m starting the lecture without them. In the meantime, you should probably all sit down at your seats and flip your Japanese history textbooks open to page 49.”Those of us in the classroom shuffled to our seats and prepped ourselves for the class, as everyone else began to file back in. Our teacher began her lecture, and I followed along with what she had to say, though in the back of mind, I was still processing all of the revelations that had just been discovered this morning. All I could say on the matter was one simple word; ‘Wow’....The daily routine of sitting through several morning lectures back-to-back had come and gone over the course of a handful of hours, and lunch had finally come. Nearly everyone had filed out of the classroom to head to the cafeteria in order to grab their own lunches, save for six of us; Taka, Mondo, Chihiro, Celes, Toko, and of course, myself. As Celes and Toko kept to themselves more often than not - especially so in the latter’s case - it made it rather easy for me to overhear the conversation that the three other guys were having with each other as I enjoyed my lunch.“It’s really amazing how the both of you are able to have such defined muscles!” Chihiro exclaimed. “I already knew that Owada-san kept his body in shape by regularly working out, but I never realized that practicing kendo could help build muscles! You must’ve worked really hard to get your physique, Ishimaru-san!”“Oh yeah, you should’ve seen my face when we first went to go to the sauna together!” Mondo shared. “I thought the guy was gonna be thinner than a fucking twig, but nah, he’s got some meat on my body! Must be that outfit he wears all the time that makes him look so damn skinny.”“Excuse me Kyoudai, I happen to like this outfit!” Taka rebutted, huffing a little as he did so. “It helps me feel more in place with my duties as the Ultimate Moral Compass here! And you should also practice refraining from swearing more often! You are a student of one of the most prestigious academies in all of Japan, and you should start acting like one as a result! Not to mention how uncouth it makes you appear to others!”“Well, you yelling in a fucking classroom ain’t helping either, so maybe you should take a good long look at your own behaviors before criticizing others for their own, dipshit!”Sensing that tensions between the two were rising quickly, Chihiro interrupted the two with a hasty “I-In any case, I really do hope to be able to attain bodies like yours sometime in the future! It’d be really nice to be recognized as a guy more instead of as a girl.”Upon hearing his woes about his appearance, I could hear Mondo gently slap Chihiro on the back, if the small yelp of surprise from the programmer and the sound of a hand hitting flesh was anything to go by. “Ah, don’t sweat it kid!” he said in an effort to help him feel better about himself. “You’re plenty enough of a man as it is. I mean, hell, you’re more confident in your capability to grow as a person than me. I’d say that’s pretty damn manly!”“I concur!” Taka agreed. “Physical appearances are merely outward projections of what bodies we were given at birth. The most important thing is ultimately the quality of someone’s character! And in many regards, Fujisaki-san, your character shines brighter than anyone else’s!”I could hear that seemed to be a choked sob coming from the smaller guy, but I didn’t want to intervene as it could’ve given away that I was eavesdropping on the conversation, so I just left the issue to both Mondo and Taka as I began to chew on another piece of grilled tofu in my lunch. Not long after I started eating, the other students began to file into the classroom with their own trays of food in hand. And as usual, Leon made his way over to my desk and sat on the chair adjacent to it.“Yo, Naegs!” he greeted me with the usual bounce of energy he had in his voice, devoid of his earlier tiredness. “Did I miss anything important?”I shook my head. “No, not really,” I shared. “I was just enjoying my lunch by myself for a bit and thinking about random stuff.”Leon nodded his head in agreement, not even bothering to ask me what kind of things I was thinking about. “Yeah, that’s fairly common to do when you’re by yourself,” he shared. “Sometimes you just need a moment to be able to reflect on whatever’s going on in your life or to process something that’s crossed your mind, y’know?”Taken slightly aback by his surprisingly profound words, I couldn’t help but nod my head in turn. “Yeah, I get that,” I agreed. “Those little moments are important to yourself.” I grabbed another piece of grilled tofu with my chopsticks, and as I was about to put it in my mouth, Leon began to ramble on about his dreams of being a rockstar, and I listened to his aspirations while enjoying the fleeting moments of pleasantries that we had going on. It was a comfortable routine, after all, and I felt at that moment that I would be content with life being like this if it had to be akin to one singular snippet of my life forever.…I managed to trudge through the rest of the day with relative ease after lunch wrapped up, and once we were done cleaning the school grounds, I made my way back to my dorm, and laid on my bed.The request that I chose to write for next wasn’t particularly hard to do, per se, but since I had only a small conversation to base the entirety of the story’s dialogue, I figured that it was going to be a tiny bit difficult to come up with. So, I needed to rest a little before getting to work on it.Pondering on how I should go about writing the story requested of me, I took out my phone and began to look up various little bits on examples of casual conversations when I got a text from someone. Not to my surprise, it was Leon who texted me.Kuwata
yo naegsKuwata
we still up for tomorrow?‘Oh shoot, I nearly forgot about that,’ I thought to myself in surprise. ‘Thank goodness he reminded me about it.’ I quickly sent him a text of approval, and he responded right after.Me
Yep! I’ll see you tomorrow morning for the study session! Don’t forget to bring your supplies!Kuwata
dopeKuwata
cya then manKuwata
can’t wait to share my surprise after‘Oh, he has a surprise for me?’ I questioned. It was somewhat unusual for Leon to give someone something, unless they’re a girl that he’s in the middle of flirting with. But since it was for me, I smiled at the thought. Getting a gift from someone so ridiculously popular… it made me feel like I was worthwhile, even if I may not be in the same league of popularity as him.Me
Oh a surprise? How nice of you! I look forward to it!I closed my messages and went back to looking at conversations online for the request before a bit, before ultimately deciding that I had done enough research on the matter. Closing all tabs on my phone and putting it away in my pocket, I got out of my bed and went over to my laptop, booting it up as I did so. As I sat down at my desk, I opened a tab to begin writing, and I took a deep breath. “Alright Makoto, let’s do this…” I said to myself. With that, I began to write the request I chose to do.-
In the back pockets of many Japanese cities, many locals know the existence of hidden cafes, restaurants, and other small businesses that others may not. Whether it be a themed diner, a small library that’s a family business, or a tech repair shop whose prices beat major marketers tenfold, there’s always something hidden away. And in one such corner of Japan exists a quaint little coffee shop known to the locals simply as Ahnenerbe.

It’s known to the locals that the original owners of Ahnenerbe were a family of German immigrants who moved to Japan a decade before the Great War, and wanted to share their love for German cuisine with others. Its mild flavors brought with it a sense of comfort, as if one could come to relax at the coffee shop and be lulled into tranquility.

Though of course, sometimes more rambunctious people come through every now and then.

On one particular afternoon, three students from the nearby Hope’s Peak Academy were visiting the coffee shop, as one of them suggested to check it out. Said students included Chihiro Fujisaki and his two friends, Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Owada.

Chihiro knew that Kiyotaka would be rather loud as he was used to having to be the voice of reason and control, whereas with Mondo, the biker’s overall appearance screamed bad news and stereotypical delinquency to other passerby’s. The programmer knew that together, they seemed like an odd trio of friends… but it would only get odder if they learned that the rule follower and the rule breaker were actually dating.

Leading the two over to a table to ensure that the two wouldn’t wander off on their own to who knows where out of sheer curiosity, Chihiro quickly ordered three small coffees for the trio to have and paid for it before heading over to the table. As per usual, the three of them had the eyes of many of the other patrons on them, watching on as if they were animals in a circus. Chihiro could feel his palms becoming sweaty in a rising state of anxiety as his two friends began to talk to each other.

“Damn, this place is pretty cool!” Mondo exclaimed, looking around at all of the decorations strewn across the walls. “How’d you know about this place, Fujisaki?”

“O-Oh! Well, uh, I learned about this place when I overheard Celes-san talking to Enoshima-san about local European eateries, and asked about it afterward,” he exclaimed, fidgeting in his chair a little as he did so. “She took me here one time after school, and I’ve just gotten to know this place better since.”

“I must say, Celes-san certainly has a good eye for refined places!” Kiyotaka remarked. “I will certainly have to thank her for imparting her wisdom with you!”

“Hey now, she doesn’t have that good of an eye,” Mondo responded. “I mean, she’s not you.”

Kiyotaka’s face went red and he tried to bury it in his hands to hide it from the others. “K-K-Kyoudai! P-Please don’t make such remarks in public!” he shouted. “It’s quite embarrassing!”

“Hey, I’m just saying it how I see it,” the biker retorted. “And I see that you are an amazing, wonderful, lovable guy with an eye that no one else can match.” Grabbing ahold of Kiyotaka’s hands, Mondo lowered them to plant a small kiss onto his cheek. Before Kiyotaka could say anything however, Mondo dove in with a kiss on the lips, and the two quickly found themselves on the floor, passionately making out with each other, ignoring everything else around them.

For Chihiro however, such things could not be avoided.

The waitress who took Chihiro’s orders quickly placed their drinks on the table before making a beeline back to behind the counter, and Chihiro picked up his drink to sip away at it, hoping that no one would be staring at him while his two friends were putting on a show for the other patrons. ‘This is fine,’ he thought to himself. ‘I’m okay with the events that are unfolding currently. That’s okay. Things are going to be okay.’

Kiyotaka and Mondo were promptly banned from the coffee shop, with Chihiro being kicked with them shortly after.
-“…I feel like anyone would be kind of weirded out if they saw two people making out on the floor in a coffee shop…” I mumbled to myself as I was wrapping up the request. Once I had finished with it, I set it aside and took a deep breath to relax a little. I leaned back in my chair and let my body ease up for a moment, before pulling myself together once more to get ready to post the request. And when I did so, I quickly wrote up a response to the original request to let the person know that it was ready.ScrambledMinds
Hello! Just wanted to let you know that your request has been completed! I hope you enjoy it!!“…Aaand done,” I said to myself as I sent the response. “Finally. Now I can get started on making the notes for Kuwata-kun to use after the study session.” Setting aside my laptop after powering it off, I took out my school supplies and began to write the notes for Leon to use later one. Once I was finished with them, however, I noticed that it was getting late, so I quickly fixed myself a small dinner before heading off to bed, so I would be refreshed for the session.…When I woke up, I was feeling rather energetic. I was up a little earlier than usual, so I took the opportunity to log back into my account to see what the comments I got on the request were like. Not to my surprise, many of them were positive, throwing praise for the humor I put into the fic, much to my joy; I had been silently worrying about it, since humor is a very subjective matter. And amongst the comments was the original requester, with a new comment of their own.KittyCookie301
omgomgomgomgomgomgomg it’s wonderful!!! tysm 4 this!!1!!! but i do have a question, isnt fujisaki a girl????‘…Oh, do they not know that he’s a guy?’ I asked myself. I shrugged and figured I may as well give a response to them in order to the clarify the matter to them. I mindlessly wrote one up, and submitted it without a second thought.ScrambledMinds
I’m glad to hear it! And since you asked Fujisaki-san is actually a guy! I hope that clears up any confusions you may have!Closing my laptop, I set it aside and went over the notes I wrote last night for Leon to double check that everything was factually correct before handing it over to him and helping him study with it. Seeing as the clock was starting to get to the late morning, I figured now was as good of a time as any to get ready. Gathering everything I needed, I put it all in a small bag and left my dorm room.The distance between Leon’s dorm room and mine was rather minimal, only a hallway and a few units apart from each other, but I knew that I would need to be the one to get to him if we wanted to have any chance at studying the subject material. When I knocked on his door to let him know I had arrived, he opened it shortly after, and much to my surprise, he was actually all dressed up.“Oh, hey! You’re here!” he chirped. “Come in, come in!” He ushered me inside of his room, and I could see that his dorm was much more decorated than mine. It had posters of classical rock bands strewn up on the walls, a pile of what was probably dirty laundry in a basket set in one of the corners, and a nice lava lamp on his desk.“…Huh. I didn’t think you’d have your room decorated like this,” I remarked.“Hm? What did you think it’d be like then?”I turned to Leon and saw an inquisitive look on his face as he folded his arms across his chest. I could feel my face starting to turn red, and I nervously chuckled in response. “Oh, uh, I just thought it’d have baseball stuff,” I shared. “Though I suppose in hindsight that isn’t very much like you.”“Damn right it isn’t like me!” he shouted with passion. “I’m a man of music, Naegs! I like bass, not getting to a base!”Awkwardly laughing along half-heartedly to his impromptu declaration of musical manhood, I quickly took it upon myself to begin to set up everything for the study session on the desk, before grabbing the notes I had written out for Leon and handing it over to him. “Here, take these,” I told him. “I wrote these for you so you can keep it and study from it.”Leon gingerly took it from my hands and looked at it for a moment before looking back up to me and giving me a surprisingly soft yet still incredibly warm smile. “…Thanks man,” he said. “I really do appreciate that.”We let the moment of camaraderie linger for just a tad bit longer, before I took the chair for his desk as my own and began to set everything out. “Alright, before we begin Kuwata-kun, I need to make one thing clear to you,” I instructed. “They’re logarithms, not ‘locker rhythms’. Please keep that in mind, okay?”He leaned over my shoulder to glance at the notes before shooting me a toothy smile and a thumbs up. “Yeah, don’t worry man! I got it now!” he affirmed. “Let’s get started with this, shall we?”“Yeah, let’s get started.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Kuwata-kun, the answer is supposed to be 64, not 36!”“How the hell did you get 64 in the first place?!”Leon slammed his head on the table in defeat, loudly groaning. The both of us have been trying to study logarithmic equations together so that he could begin to understand the material for future math exams, but evidently, it wasn’t sticking well for him. I wondered if he was better fit for the arts, rather than more STEM-oriented fields of study; after all, he was a proficient baseball player and aspired to be a musician someday. I held my tongue on the matter though, to keep him from giving up on studying math altogether.“This is so freaking dumb...” he complained, mushing his face into the table’s surface. “When are most of us ever going to use this in the real world? Never, that’s when!”“Kuwata-kun, why don’t we take a break for now?” I suggested. “You look um... distressed, so it might do you some good to unwind a little from this.” I wasn’t wrong to have my worries for him; the constant furrow of his brows left small creases where they were on his forehead, which would’ve likely caused even more stress to him later on about his appearance. Getting him out of such a state of mind would likely help ease him up a little and make him more mentally ready to try to study logarithms again later on.His eyes glanced over at me, and he got up from his chair shortly after, stretching after he did so. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he agreed. “I probably should take a break of some sort.” His mind seemed to drift somewhere else for a moment, before he snapped his finger at me. “In that case, let me take you out to that surprise place! I promise you, it’s going to be really cool.”“U-Um, okay, I guess,” I accepted with mild hesitance. “But are you sure it’s a good idea? I have no idea how far away it may be, and if we need to pay for any fares, I don’t exactly have much money on me.”“Oh, don’t worry about that Naegs! I’ll pay for everything. It’s my treat after all!” His hand around his neck pounded his chest twice, before flashing me a cheeky thumbs-up. “Trust me on this, okay? You won’t regret it one bit!”I looked at him briefly, thinking on if I should accept his offer or not, before slightly chuckling to myself. If he was willing to pay for my fares and maybe some other stuff, then who was I to reject such an offer of friendship? “Alright, alright, I give,” I yielded. “I’ll let you lead me there, then.”“Yeah, sure thing! Follow me!” As he was about to leave though, his eyes widened with realization, and he quickly turned around. “Oh shit, wait, hold on! I need to do something really quick!” Leon shouted. He ran over to the bathroom, and I could hear a quick squirt of something and the running of a faucet before Leon emerged with his hair slicked back. Quickly grabbing a denim jacket and a light grey undershirt, he changed out of his upper clothes in a hurry and replaced the two articles he had on him with the two he was just holding. When he was done, he turned back over to me with a grin on his face. “So… what do you think?”“...Why’s your hair slicked back?”It was a genuine question on my end, but I could see that his grin dropped to a frown, and his shoulders drooped forward in dismay in response to it. “It’s part of my disguise dude,” he explained. “I can’t go out looking like myself and not get swarmed by girls. And if I get swarmed by girls, then us hanging out will have to be put on hold, and you know what? Screw that, I want to hang out with you, not some random chicks I just met.” He walked over to a drawer, and pulled out both a navy blue baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses from it. “And this... is the last bit of my disguise.” He placed the hat atop of his head, covering his freshly gelled hair with it, and put on the sunglasses to cover his eyes.I snickered to myself a bit. “Kuwata-kun, you know don’t look any different just because you gelled your hair and put on some new clothes, right?”“Th-That’s because we see each other pretty much every day, dude!” he quickly retorted, stammering as he did so. “The general public probably won’t know who I am in this outfit.” I simply rolled my eyes in a light-hearted manner and gave an exaggerated shrug to him, much to his chagrin.Figuring that wasting any more time here wasn’t a good idea – in addition to wanting an outing from my opinion on his clothes – Leon grabbed his wallet from the surface of a small table he had near his doorway, and opened the door for me. “You ready to go?” he asked me. I nodded and exited the dorm room, with him following suit, making sure to lock the door behind him. And with that, we were off to wherever it was that Leon wanted to show me.…“Alright, we’re here!”We arrived at a small diner not too far away from Hope’s Peak Academy that seemed to be heavily inspired by American media. It had a small metal overhang to block out the sun from the entrance, with a design on the window next to the door that read “Americana”. Without any hesitation, Leon swung open the door and walked inside. I followed quickly after him. When I entered the place, the interior of the building was stylized to resemble that of an American diner in the 1950’s, complete with leather padded booths, checkered tile flooring, and rockabilly music playing from speakers. Seeing such a place in Japan was unexpected, to say the very least, so I took a moment to take in my surroundings.Leon waltzed up to the counter as I waited on the sidelines. “Hi, party of two,” he said to the waitress behind it. Grabbing two menus from a basket beside her, the waitress started walking over to a booth. Leon grabbed me by the arm and followed the lady to where she was going.When we arrived at the booth, he let go of me and sitting on one side as the woman placed down the menus. “Your server will be with you in a minute.” she said. Shortly after she said that, she left to go back to the counter the front of the restaurant to wait for more customers to file in.As I sat down on my side of the booth, the woman left us to ourselves. Leon began looking at his menu, but I noticed one thing at the table that bothered me. “Hey, Kuwata-kun?” I began to ask. He lowered his menu so I could see his eyes, and raised one of his eyebrows as he looked up at me. “Do you know where the call button is? I can’t seem to find one here.”“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s intentional,” he explained. “American restaurants don’t have call buttons, so they don’t have any here. They just have servers.” After seeing that I understood what he meant, he went back to poking his nose in the menu he had in his hands, trying to figure out what it was that he wanted to order. “Anyways,” he began, “I was thinking of getting a slaw burger. What about you?”“Oh, right, I um uh- I haven’t actually looked at the menu yet,” I awkwardly replied. Leon set his menu down, and let out a small laugh.“Then how about I order for you? I’m sure you’ll like it,” he asked. I nodded in agreement, curious as to what he would get for me. When he turned to look to his side, he could see another woman approaching the both of us. “Oh, speaking of which, here comes our server,” he shared. “Just answer her question if she asks you what you want.”A young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties approached us in a pink uniform, with evidently bleached blonde hair that draped down past her shoulders. “Hi, welcome to Americana!” she greeted the both of us in a chipper tone. “My name is Hannah, and I will be your server for today. Can I start you both off with something to drink?”“Yeah, I’d like a water.” Leon replied. The lady took out a small notepad and scribbled it down. When she turned to ask me the same question, I gave the same response that Leon had given her, and she wrote it down on her notepad as well. When she was done, she looked right back up at us.“Alright then, are you ready to order?” she asked us once more.“Yep! I’ll have a slaw burger and my buddy here will be having a classic burger,” Leon answered for the both us. The waitress scribbled down some words on her notepad again, quickly thanked us, and went off to the kitchen.“H-Hey, um, Kuwata-kun? Is this the place you wanted to surprise me with?” I asked. He just shook his head in response, but then paused and nodded.“Well, no… not originally,” he answered. “But I suppose you could say this is part of the surprise now. The other place is an arcade I found not too long ago. I figured you might like it, so I wanted to surprise you with it.“Oh! That’s really thoughtful of you!” I commented. “Thank you!”The waitress came back with two tall glasses of iced water, placed them on coasters, and left two straws beside the counter before leaving to go focus on the other diners. Leon reached over for one of the straws and gingerly removed the wrapping around it before dunking it into his glass and taking a long sip, sighing in relief as he let his mouth go from the straw. As he chuckled in relief, something popped into my mind.“Oh, hey, I wanted to ask you something,” I shared. Having caught his attention with that comment, Leon slightly leaned over in my direction in his seat, curious as to what I was going to say. “I hope you don’t get offended or anything, but what’s with your interest in America?”His face of anticipation turned to one of confusing. “Huh? Didn’t I tell you before?” he questioned me. I shook my head, and he sighed. “Must’ve slipped past my mind then... alright, whatever, I guess I can tell you.” He cleared his throat. “So, I wasn’t actually born here in Japan. I was born in America; hence why my first name’s Leon, and not something like, I dunno, Kazuo.”“Oh, that makes sense,” I commented. “I always thought your name sounded foreign, so now I know why.”Leon nodded. “I remember my family lived in Los Angeles for the first few years of my life, and they have two baseball teams there,” he continued. “I think my dad saw some kind of spark in me with baseball, because he started training me as soon as he could. Evidently it worked, because I’m the Ultimate Baseball Star now.” He let out a small, dry chuckle at the thought of the title, evidently not particularly liking it himself. “Anyways, every now and then, my family would visit LA after we moved to Japan, and I remember having a blast whenever I was there. So uh... yeah. That’s why I like America a lot.” He took another sip from his glass. “So... what do you think?” he asked me.After hearing his story, I gave him a big smile. “I think that’s pretty neat Kuwata-kun!” I told him. “You should tell me some of those stories some time. I’d love to hear some of them every now and then.”His signature grin and a light blush grew on his face. “Y-Yeah, sure thing!” he exclaimed, happy that I responded positively to his story. “Just tell me when!”The waitress came up to us, with two plates in hand. “Alright, I have a slaw burger and a classic burger for you both. Enjoy!” She slid them onto the table and left.Leon dragged his platter over to his side. “Oh hell yeah, these look great!” he exclaimed, licking his lips as he did so. “Let’s eat!” He grabbed his burger and bit into it, softly moaning in ecstasy momentarily. “Dude, you gotta try your burger. I’m not kidding when I say that they’re amazing.”Seeing the look on his face was amusing, and I rolled my eyes. “Alright, alright, I’ll eat my food,” I conceded. I picked up the burger from my plate, which was filled with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and pickle slices; it was the epitome of a classic American burger. Humming, I bit into the food, and my face lit up as I could feel the explosion of flavor in my mouth. “Mmh! Kuwata-kun... these are really good!”“Heh. Told you.”…We left the burger place after Leon paid for both of our meals with our stomachs full, and made our way over to the arcade he had mentioned. It was only a few blocks away, so it was a rather short commute for the both of us. When we arrived, the arcade’s door was open, and we could hear the noises from inside. “Hey, c’mon Naegs, let’s go!” Leon cheered, dragging me behind him by the arm as we entered the building. Once we were inside, I overheard a lot of the chatter coming from the other people.“What the heck?! This game is rigged!”“Woah, you’re really good at dancing!”“Emiko, what are you doing?!”“I’m going to win an airplane!”“Mommy? Can you pick me up please...? I’m a little scared...”“What do you mean you don’t have a pink elephant as a reward?! Let me talk to your manager right this instant!”“W-Wow, it’s uh... really chaotic in here...” I commented. Leon nodded in agreement.“Hey now, doesn’t mean we can’t have fun though, right?” he added, nudging my shoulder with his elbow. “How about we go play some skeeball first?” he suggested. “I’ll go buy some tokens for it first. Snag us a machine, alright?” He walked over to one of the token machines and pulled out his wallet to buy some tokens. I, on the other hand, made my way over to the skeeball machines, and when I arrived, I saw some familiar faces at one of the machines.“Oh, Nanami-senpai! Komaeda-senpai! What a surprise to see you two here!”The gamer girl and the lucky student turned their heads to see me approaching them. “Oh, Naegi-san. Hello,” Chiaki greeted me. “Are you here to check out this place?”I nodded. “Yeah, one of my classmates brought me here. He said it’d be something I’d like, so I figured I could visit this place.”-I took one of the skeeballs from the side as Makoto and Chiaki conversed, eyeing it. “Well... I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try...” I muttered under my breath. With one move, I rolled the skeeball across the middle section, where it ricocheted off of the bump at the end and hit me square in the nose, before bouncing off of my body into the centermost ring. The impact of the skeeball had me stumbling backwards, flopping over on my back and landing on the floor.“O-Oh geez, Komaeda-senpai, are you alright?!” Makoto fretted. He offered me his hand, which I used to stand back up. Chiaki looked over at the neon light displaying the number of points.“Oh hey, you just got the max amount of points for one ball,” she informed me, not even batting an eye to the injury I sustained. When I looked over to see the score, I let out a small laugh.“I guess even hope shines in the grimmest of times, huh?” I joked, rubbing the spot where the ball hit me. Chiaki gave a small smirk at my joke, while Makoto simply continued to look worried for my well-being.A red-headed guy came walking around the corner, with a bag that seemed to contain a load of tokens in it. “Yo, Naegs! I got us the tokens! You ready to-?” When he saw me, rubbing the area I got hit in, a look of concern grew on his face. “Oh, shit, you okay man?”As the guy ran up to the three of us, I waved my hand dismissively. “Yeah, it’s pretty normal for me to get injuries like this. This sort of stuff like this just happens to me sometimes. Don’t worry about it.”He shot me a look of concern, before turning his attention over to the shorter male. “A-Anyways, I got you some tokens to use for whatever Naegs.”Makoto opened his palms, and the redhead handed the bag of tokens over to him. “Ah, thank you Kuwata-kun!” Makoto chirped, and a light blush subsequently grew on the redhead’s face. Makoto stuffed his wrist threw the two handles of the bag so it was on his arm, and a look of realization washed over him. “Oh, wait. I just realized I never introduced you guys to each other!” he expressed. “Komaeda-senpai, Nanami-senpai, this is my classmate, Kuwata-kun. Kuwata-kun, the girl is Nanami-senpai, and the guy is Komaeda-senpai. Kuwata-kun was actually the one who brought me here today!” The blush on the redhead intensified as he scratched his chin and averted his gaze.Chiaki went off to go get something to drink, leaving the three of us alone with each other. “Oh? So are you two here together?” I questioned. The mischievous look I gave over to the taller boy was brief, but enough to rile him up a little, and his body tensed up.“N-Not in the way you’re implying, asshole!” he spat back. “Jesus, we’re not like that!”“Huh? Not like what, Kuwata-kun?” Makoto questioned, turning his focus to his friend. He evidently had no clue what was going on, which was to both my amusement and the redhead’s dismay.Wanting an outing from the whole situation, the taller boy grabbed Makoto’s arm. “Hey, let’s go see if there’s something else over there! Maybe we’ll find something cool!”“Uh, o-okay...!” Makoto responded, already being dragged along by his friend. Chiaki returned with a plastic cup in her hands after the two left, slurping what seemed to be some kind of soda.“Hey hey, do you think that redhead’s questioning his own sexuality?” she questioned me. I gave a small chuckle in response.“Nah, I think he already knows what he likes,” I shared with her.” I just don’t think he’s comfortable with coming out just yet.”Chiaki took another sip of her drink. “Well, only time will tell what kind of heartbreak he’ll go through...” she replied.“Nanami-san, cryptic messages are supposed to be my thing!”-After dragging me halfway across the arcade, Leon finally let go of my arm and chuckled. “H-Hey, sorry about that man,” he apologized. “I-It’s just that... that Komaeda guy gave me some really creepy vibes, y’know?”I snickered. “Yeah, that’s how I felt at first when I met him... especially after hearing his speech about hope and despair... but he’s a good guy. Honest.” We both laughed a little bit.And then we heard the sound of four distinct and loud squeals.Shocked, we both turned our heads to see the culprits; four young girls who looked to be in their early teen years. Leon quickly adjusted himself to appear more confident and open as the group ran up to him, bouncing up and down as their eyes glimmered. “Oh my god, it’s THE Leon Kuwata! Holy cow, we are HUGE fans of you!!!”Leon placed a hand on his hip and another on the back of his neck. “Oh, is that so? It’s always nice to meet adoring fans of mine, especially when they’re as cute as all of you,” he replied, using his signature smirk to his advantage.One of the girls who crowded around him took notice of me, sneering almost instantly. “Oh. You must be Makoto Naegi,” she flatly responded.“Oh, uh, yeah! N-Nice to meet you!” I replied, sticking out my hand. She hissed at me, making me retract my arm out of surprise.“Buzz off, loser. You’re nothing in comparison to Leon, and you never will be.”“Hey now, come on, that’s no way to treat a friend of mine,” Leon interjected, all while still keeping up his facade of charm. “And that’s especially no way to treat good old Naegs here. Haven’t you seen the video I shared in my latest blog post?”Sometimes, students at Hope’s Peak interacted with their audiences, as to maintain a following into their adulthood. Sayaka had private meet and greets, Junko posted makeup and fashion videos on YouTube, and many others had interviews to discuss their talents, achievements, and works. In Leon’s case, he makes occasional blog posts on a fan blog dedicated to him after he was invited to be a part of it by the founder.The girl glared at me one more time, before looking up at him with a look of excitement on her face. “You’re right! I’m sorry! Here, let me make it up to you! Let me – I-I mean, the four of us – take you out on a date! Right now!”Before he could even object, two of the girls wrapped their arms around his, and started dragging him, with a third at the front and the girl who commented about me at the back. “N-Naegs!” Leon shouted to me as he was being dragged out of the arcade. “I’ll text you when I’m done with this date! Uh, take care man!” I chuckled and waved at him as he was pulled out of the building. The girl at the back shot me one final nasty look, before leaving to catch up with her friends and Leon.Once Leon and the girls were out of my sight and I couldn’t hear them, I realized that Leon had posted something on his blog that I had missed. I didn’t always keep up with everyone’s things - especially since it was much easier for me to talk to them in person - so it was always in the realm that I had missed something. And in this case, I did.Deciding it was best to listen to it before having fun with the arcade machines, I stepped inside of the male bathrooms and took out my phone. I quickly searched up the website Leon posted blogs on, and found the result. “Oh yeah,” I muttered to myself, “he did say it was a video...” Entering one of the smaller unoccupied stalls and locking the door behind me, I took out a pair of earbuds I had in my pant pocket and untangled them. I plugged them into my phone, implanted the buds into my ears, and pressed play on the video.-“Hey guys and gals, it’s your boy Leon here! Uh, normally I’d have something funny or quirky to say in these sorts of things, but I actually kind of wanted to take some time to talk about some things today.”“I’ve been seeing a lot of my fans kind of, y’know, compare a lot of my classmates to me, and make them seem not as great. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love being seen as amazing by all of you, but I’d really rather you guys not do it in that sort of way, you know? It could hurt some feelings.”“Speaking of which, I know there’s one particular classmate of mine I know a lot of you like to rag on; Makoto Naegi. Man, where do I even begin with him...? Mmh, let me see...”“Okay, so, the dude’s super nice, alright? Like, ridiculously nice. He’s nice to pretty much to everyone he meets, even if they treat him like crap. He’s also super optimistic and supportive of everyone, and a really chill dude to be around. I’d probably say he’s my- he’s my closest friend at Hope’s Peak Academy.”“…Heh, it’s probably kind of weird for him; he’s pretty much a nobody in comparison to everyone else here, and yet, he’s friends with a guy like me. N-Not to say he’s actually a nobody, I just- there isn’t much to him in comparison to everyone else in our class. To everyone in the regular world, he’s just another one of the public. But to us in the class, he’s a breath of fresh air. Trust me; the craziness of our class would be overwhelming for me without him there.”“A-Anyways, I’d really appreciate it if you guys could stop hating on him. Naegs and I, we’re pretty tight. And as his friend, I have to make sure he’s treated good and all. So uh... yeah. That’s all I really have to say. See you guys next time! Peace!”-The video had ended with Leon reaching out from his seat to stop the recording on his camera, and it quickly reverted back to its usual formatting. I deleted the tab the blog was on, and turned off my phone, shoving it back into my pocket with my earbuds still attached to it.‘That... was really nice of him to do...’ I thought to myself. I could feel the tears beginning to form in the corner of my eyes, but I pushed them back so I wouldn’t be an ugly mess when he returned from his alleged date with the four girls. Feeling seen like that and telling others to have me be respected on the same level as him by others who praise the other students at Hope’s Peak Academy… it made me happy. I’m really happy that I could call him my friend, and I’m really happy to hear that the feeling is mutual.Stepping out of the bathroom stall, I went back over to the skeeball machines, and saw that both Chiaki and Nagito had left sometime earlier. I inserted some of the coins I had on me into its slot, and eight balls rolled down its side. I picked one up. ‘Well,’ I thought to myself, ‘at least I can have a bit of fun.’ I rolled the ball up the ramp, and it landed in the centermost ring.…A few hours had passed by, and I was fresh out of the tokens that Leon had bought for me. As I was about to buy a few more, I suddenly felt a vibration in my pocket. Taking out my phone, I saw that it was a text from Leon.Kuwatai got grub for us come outside‘Oh, he must’ve finished his thing...’ I thought. Putting my phone away, I stepped outside of the arcade, and looked around to find him. When I did, it took all of my willpower to not burst into laughter. His entire outfit was disheveled, his gelled hair now had loose strands dangling in front of his face and around his head, and he had four large, cartoonish red kisses on his cheeks. And in his hands were two paper plates that held slices of pizza on them.“Hey Naegs,” he greeted me with an awkward wave. “Sorry I couldn’t stick around much at the arcade. How was it?”“It was a lot of fun, actually,” I shared with him. “Thanks for showing me this place!”It was his turn to smile. “Yeah, of course Naegs.” He stuck out a plate of pizza. “So... you want it or nah?”I snickered, and took the plate from him. “Of course! Thank you for the food, and for the awesome day!”The both of us walked back to our dorms shortly after while eating the pizza Leon had bought and chatting about our day. The girls that dragged Leon away for a date ended up only liking him for his looks instead of his character; it bummed him out for a bit. One of them tried to get intimate, but he made a diversion to leave so he wouldn’t have anything weird happen to him.When we arrived back at his dorm, Leon plopped down on his bed. “Dude, I am so freaking worn out right now...” he groaned. “I swear, those chicks really sucked the life out of me...”“In that case, I’ll start cleaning up my stuff and leave, so you can rest,” I told him. “We studied for a good bit of time in the morning, and you’re way too tired to continue with it, so I think we should call it a day.” He gave me a small grunt of approval. I walked over to the desk where my stuff was, and organized my belongings, leaving the notes I had written for him behind. “Kuwata-kun, I’m leaving some notes for you to use,” I instructed. “Feel free to study from them when you can.”Upon hearing that, Leon forced himself upright in his bed. “Dude… you really don’t have to do that for me,” he shared.“Hey, it’s the least I can do for you,” I responded. “It was a good day. I got to try a new restaurant, I had fun at the arcade you showed me, and I got to hang out with you for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it.” I walked over to the door with my supplies tucked under my arm and was about to leave, when I remembered something. “Oh, Kuwata-kun! I need to thank you for something!”He looked at me quizzically, cocking his head to the side as he did so. “Yeah?” he asked. “What is it?”“…I wanted to thank you for what you said in your video. It was really nice of you to do so.”Leon slightly blushed as a look of realization spread on his face. “O-Oh, so... you saw it, huh?” I nodded in response, and he chuckled. “Hey man, it’s cool. Bros have to stick up for each other sometimes, y’know?”“…Yeah,” I replied. “That’s what friends do.”He stuck out his fist at me. “Well? Don’t leave me hanging, man” he joked. I let out a small laugh of amusement and fist bumped him, and we both laughed a bit.“Thanks for today Kuwata-kun,” I expressed one more time. “I really mean it.” He flashed me his signature grin, and with a wave to say goodbye, I left his room to head back to my own for the rest of the evening.I headed back to my dorm room shortly after, dropping all of my supplies off on my desk. I glanced over at the clock. 7:34. ‘Too early to go to bed...’ I thought to myself. Shrugging, I picked up some old notes from other subjects, and started studying them.Once I was back in my room, I could feel myself feeling too tired to do much else, so I spent the rest of the evening on my phone, browsing through the various feeds of my friends from both inside and out of Hope’s Peak Academy, liking the occasional post when it made me smile or laugh. And when I noticed that it was getting late, I got myself ready for bed.As I was curling up in bed, feeling myself drift off into the land of slumber, I smiled into my pillow and had a thought. ‘Today was such a good day,’ I thought. ‘I wish… I wish these days could last forever.’ It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep, happy with how my day of fun with my good friend, Leon Kuwata, had been.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Hey, Maizono-san, I need to say something that I’ve been meaning to say for such a long time... I really like you.”The gentle breeze of the meadow we were standing in coursed through Sayaka’s long blue hair as a soft blush emanated from her cheeks upon hearing my confession. She cusped her mouth with a hand and giggled for a bit, flustered at the sudden confession from me. When she settled down from her laugh, though, she lowered her hands and gave me a smile.“Naegi-kun... I really like you too,” she admitted. “Y-You’re so kind, and supportive, a-a-and caring for others... it’s almost like you exist to be a living beacon of hope for all of us. And, well… that’s what I like that about you.”“So... does that mean you accept my confession?”Upon hearing that question, however, her face had changed from one of joy to one of sorrow.Her cheeks which had once glowed rosy pink faded to a pale white, stained with streaks of tears that rolled down from her eyes. The makeup she had on washed off and her beautiful demeanor morphed into a look of someone writhing in pain from an indiscriminate pain, almost as if something was eating her up from the inside. The smile that once glimmered on her lips changed to a whimper, and her eyes no longer looked at me with such glee. Now, all I was greeted with was a look that only a creature would make if they were cornered by a predator, about to be eaten alive. She was afraid.Taking a few steps back, she brought her hands close to her chest and locked them together over her heart. “…I haven’t been honest with you about who I am, Naegi-kun,” she confessed, still retaining the look of fear in her eyes. “When I was younger, I’ve done… things that have made me a disgrace. I’ve done things to keep my career afloat by whatever means necessary. And I’m not proud of those things. They’ve made me… unworthy; they made me be unworthy of someone like you, and the kindness that you show them. And as much as I want what I’m about to say to be anything but the truth… I’m unworthy of love.”Her words hurt me in a way I wasn’t expecting. Not once did I think I would get rejected by someone because they thought they were unworthy. But in my eyes, she was worthy of love, regardless of what she did in her past. I took a step forward, but when she took a step back in response, I paused in my tracks. “Maizono-san… just because you think you’re undeserving of someone else’s love doesn’t mean you actually are,” I told her. “I know you are worthy of love, because I’ve known you for a while now. I’m not saying this as someone who idolizes you. To me, you’re not Sayaka Maizono, the hit pop star. To me, you’re just… Maizono-san. And Maizono-san, I want-”“What about the second option?”I stopped talking, stunned and unsure as to what she was referring to, and she brushed my hands off from her shoulders. “They deserve you so much more than I do Naegi-kun,” she shared, evidently despondent about her own standing. “It’s a shame you’ll never be able to see them in the way that they see you though… they really do deserve their happily ever after.”“Maizono-san… I just want to help you…” I told her, trying my best to help calm her down. But instead of coming back to reality, she scowled at me, seething at the teeth and breathing heavily as she hunched over and cowered. At this point, she resembled some kind of feral creature. No longer was she the Sayaka I have always known and admired. Instead, she seemed scared, angry, fearful, crestfallen, furious, and heartbroken, amongst a whole slew of other words to describe her appearance. The charade of Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation had worn off. Now, all that was left were her fears, worries, and anxieties.“Just move on from me already!”Grabbing ahold of my hands, she threw them into her abdominal region, and coughed up blood upon impact. When I looked down at where my hands were at, I saw them gripping on to a kitchen knife that’s been dislodged there. I yelped out in fear, and let go of the handle of the knife, now stained red with her blood. Sayaka in turn stepped a few paces backward and dropped to her knees when her back hit the wall that appeared behind her.“O-Oh God...! M-Maizono-san... Maizono-san!” I frantically looked around the room that had formed around us to see if there was anything that could help her. Even if it was just something like a basic first aid kit, I was desperate to help her out. But when I looked back at her, all that was left of her was just her body, limp and empty of any life that had once resided within it. What was a lively being full of energy and compassion just a few minutes ago was now a lifeless husk, with color fading from her body. And behind her corpse was a message on the wall, written in what seemed to be her blood, which read “11037”.I could feel my heart pounding like crazy in my chest. I could feel my body trembling where I stood. I could feel tears welling up from the depths of my body. And when I looked down at my hands, coated in blood that had once been warm but had now chilled, I could feel my throat itching to release something. And so I screamed.“MAIZONO-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!”And then I woke up.…Jolting up from my bed in a state of panic, I found myself breathing heavily with beads of cold sweat running down the length of my face. Taking a moment to gather myself with gasps of air, I slowly moved my eyes across the room and over to my alarm clock. The time on it said that it was just a few minutes before it was set to go off, so I took a moment to turn it off before it began to blare in my ears. With that done, I was able to calm myself down little by little for it to be enough to get out of my bed and get my day started.As I shuffled my feet across the floor, I may my way over to the shower and turned the knob on. Water began to run out in a rhythmic cascade that helped soothe my sense, and I could feel the heat from it begin to rise. Letting it run for a bit longer to let steam form, I eventually undressed myself and stepped inside. Immediately, I could feel the sweat on my face wash off, and the panic began to dissipate. ‘Ah… that feels nice,’ I sighed. I stayed where I was for a while; I just wanted to embrace the warmth that enveloped me. Eventually, however, I decided that dawdling about wasn’t going to be of much help for my day, and began to scrub my body clean with some soap. By the time I rinsed myself off and stepped out with the water stopped, I was feeling a lot better than how I felt when I woke up. I dried myself off and dressed myself in my school uniform quickly, and I saw that I had plenty of time before classes were supposed to begin.Humming to myself, I quickly packed a small lunch for myself from the food in my mini-fridge and placed it inside my school bag alongside all of my other supplies. With that, I was off, and ready to have a good day at school. Once I stepped outside, however, I saw Kyoko coming out of her dorm room, dressed up in her usual clothing. “Ah, Kirigiri-san!” I greeted her. “Good morning!”Kyoko turned her head around when she heard me call out to her, and was visibly surprised by it, though she didn’t seem to be upset by it. “Ah, Naegi-san,” she acknowledged my presence. “Good morning to you as well. Is something the matter?”I shook my head. “No, everything’s okay,” I answered. “I just saw you and wanted to say good morning to you is all.”Upon hearing my reasoning, the detective gave me a small smile, which was a rare sight to see. “In that case, I appreciate the gesture,” she told me. “Thank you for being considerate of me. I… really appreciate the gesture.” Her smile faded when she took a closer look at me, and asked me “Um, Naegi-san, may I ask why you’re dressed in your school clothes?”“Huh?” I questioned, confused by what she was implying. “What do you mean? Don’t we have school today?”“…Naegi-san, today is Sunday.”Hearing that come out of her mouth reminded me that today was, in fact, Sunday, and not Monday like I had erroneously thought. With the sudden realization, I could feel my face redden in embarrassment, and I started to laugh as a way to cope with it. “Ah! R-Right! Of course it’s Sunday!” I replied. “I must’ve been feeling delirious this morning to think it’s Monday! So sorry about that!”“It’s quite alright,” Kyoko assured me. “It’s only normal for people to make mistakes like this every now and then. And it’s so minor that it’s completely inconsequential, aside from the momentary feeling of embarrassment you’re surely feeling right now.”I nervously chuckled and rubbed the nape of my neck when she correctly guessed how I was feeling. “W-Wow, you’re right on the mark, Kirigiri-san…” I remarked. “I supposed to be expected with your analytical abilities.” Wanting to find a way out of the conversation so I could suppress the feeling of embarrassment within me, it occurred me that Kyoko was seemingly about to leave for something, despite it being Sunday. “S-So, um, Kirigiri-san,” I started. “Is there any reason why you’re up so early on a Sunday?”When she heard me ask that question, for the slightest bit of time, Kyoko’s eye twitched, as if she was wincing at something. “…I apologize, but I cannot disclose much of the matter at this time,” she shared. “It’s quite… personal. I hope you understand.”“Oh, no, I do!” I quickly responded. “Don’t worry! It’s my fault for asking about it to begin with. Uh, just be sure to have a good day, okay? A-And be sure to take care of yourself as well.”With my good biddings, Kyoko nodded in affirmation. “I’ll do my best to follow your advice,” she agreed. “Thank you for looking out for my well-being. Have a good day, Naegi-san.” After a momentary pause, Kyoko turned around and walked off to go take care of her business, as I stood there in the hallway and watched her leave.Standing in the hallway for a few minutes in total silence, I let out a long sigh. “Well, no use in staying in these clothes...” I mumbled to myself. Strolling back over to my dorm room, I unlocked the front door to my room and shuffled in. I got into a more comfortable set of clothes and put my belongings away where I knew they would be safe before throwing myself onto my bed. I stayed put on it, letting my body relax for an indiscriminate amount of time, before ultimately figuring that I may as well take advantage of the free time I had today to work on another request. So with that, I got myself off of my bed and sat down by my desk instead.As I booted up my laptop and opened the tab to the website, I scrolled through the various comments that people had sent my way. Many had shared praise for the earlier publications, while other comments were various requests of my classmates. After looking through the requests to find a suitable one, I eventually came across one that I felt could make for a solid premise.moon_warrior_2Ooh, I just discovered this little series, and I’m already in love with it! Could you do Kirizono (Kirigiri x Maizono) plz? With 7 Mins In Heaven!‘Seven minutes in Heaven, huh...?’ I thought to myself. ‘Isn’t that the American game? I think I could easily make a good story out of such a premise.’ I pondered on how I could execute such an idea for a bit of time, and when I eventually settled on how I wanted to do it, I wrote up a reply to the request and submitted it.ScrambledMindsYeah, sure! I’ll write something for this and have it up real soon!Once I saw that it had been submitted, I took out a pen and some paper and began to write down some notes on how I wanted to go about handling such a premise. While I would normally just write whatever came to mind, I figured establishing a certain level of detail for such a foreign custom would honor the tradition, even if said tradition was primarily for hormonal teenagers in cheesy teen movies. It took a bit of time to figure out exactly what I wanted to do, but once I was ready, I opened up a notepad on my computer and began to type away.-Some people liked it when the sun would shine down on them through their windows and wake them up with its warm embrace. I, however, was not one of those people. As the sunlight peeked through the small crack in my window, it hit my shut eyes directly, and forced me to wake up feeling annoyed and bleary-eyed. Grumbling to myself in my frustrated state of tiredness, I got out of bed to cover the spot where the sun was shining in from with the blackout curtains I had installed shortly after coming to Hope’s Peak Academy.Once I was done with that, I parted the strands of my blue hair that draped over my eyes and shuffled my way back to my bed. I curled up underneath my sheets, hoping to get some more sleep, but when that proved to be futile, I instead opted to grab my phone and look through my social media feed in its place. Unplugging my phone from its charger on my nightstand, I caught myself wincing with slight pain at the brightness of the screen for a brief moment. “Okay, note to self Sayaka; stop checking bright things in dark places,” I said to myself.After dimming the brightness on my phone, I let my eyes adjust to it and entered my passcode. Once in, I began to scroll through my feed on various social media platforms to catch up on the latest trends in the music industry, as well as some other personal things I enjoyed. “Rap... rap... K-Pop... rap... ooh, something about memes, nice... rap... rap... okay, so nothing new then.” After mindlessly searching through the various feeds, I eventually came across one post that had someone I was following tagged in it.The post itself was a simple one; it was just a picture of Leon covered in various colored kisses, with four girls exiting a building. The caption for it read “omg met @PunxRox today!! hung out with him all afternoon!! super cool ;)”, which sent me into a light giggling fit. I could tell he wasn’t actually having fun with them, if the practiced look on his face was any indication. I made a note to myself to have to have a talk with him about how that went down. But as I was about to scroll past it, a background person caught my eye; Makoto Naegi.Immediately, I could feel my mood begin to sour, and my heart began to feel heavy. ‘Of course Leon was hanging out with Makoto yesterday...’ I thought to myself. ‘They’re practically best friends at this point.’I could feel a tightness beginning to well up in my chest, and I clenched at the fabric near it with my free hand. “…You really do deserve him,” I grumbled to myself, not realizing I was even doing so. “You… haven’t done anything wrong whatsoever. But I have; I’ve done things that make me hate myself, all in the name of becoming a star… But am I really a star if I shine because I’m ablaze and turning to ash?”I could feel the pain becoming increasingly worse, and my grip on the fabric tightened even further. My breathing became heavy, and I could tell that the anxiety inside of me was beginning to overflow, so I closed the tab with the post on it and set my phone aside so I could try my best to calm myself down. Though it took a few minutes to do so, I managed to suppress the anxiety with some deep breathing exercises I had been taught. Figuring that looking at social media any further would just cause me to spiral downward once more, I tossed around under my sheets, hoping to find a spot that would be comfortable for me, but to no avail. I eventually just gave up and looked up at the ceiling with a defeated look on my face. With tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes, I whispered to myself one more question in a voice that was almost completely inaudible.“…I don’t deserve him.”-“…Alright, I think that’s it.”As I finished scribbling down the last idea I had on the now slightly crinkled paper, I read over the notes that I had planned out for it to see if any of them wouldn’t work in junction with the other ideas. But as everything seemed to be fine, I smiled and nodded. “Yeah… yeah, this looks good,” I spoke. “Let’s get started then.”Booting up my laptop, I opened a new document for my fanfiction to be written in on the website where I published my stuff. Taking one last look at the sheet of paper beside me, I decided on which idea I wanted to start the fic off with, and nodded. “Perfect,” I told myself. “Let’s hope that this works out well.” With that, I began to type the request out as much as I could.-
The Halloween party was off to a fantastic start. The hyper-talented teens, all dressed up in their various costumes, were chatting with each other and having fun in the club that Junko had rented out for the evening. Red cup with a beverage in it that she made sure had no alcohol in it, the fashionista, decked out in a revealing witch’s costume, took a sip from it and wandered up to the microphone where the DJ had been. Tapping on it to make sure it was on, she quickly caught the attention of everyone in the club, and a grin spread across her lips. “Heyyy, everyone!” she greeted them with a cheer. “Alright, so, since we’re all in high school, I figured we could at least do some of the cheesy shit we see in American movies. I mean, who doesn’t want to fondly cringe at their high school memories twenty years from now?” A collective laughter emerged from the onlookers, and Junko paused for a moment to let them get their laughs out. From underneath the counter, she pulled out a translucent green bottle and held it up to the crowd for everyone to see. “And the first thing I’m hosting myself is a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven! We’ll be holding it in the back room with the uber spacious closet, so if that sounds like your sort of thing, follow me!”

Hopping down from her pedestal, the blonde led several of her classmates, who gathered in an impromptu conga line for the fun of it, over to the back room. Once inside, the room was lit in a dim pink light, and softer music was playing on the lone speaker in the room. The loud party music from the rest of the club was dulled out, as the back room itself was soundproofed. The teens lowered themselves onto the ground in a circular formation, and Junko set the bottle down in the middle of the circle. “Alright, so I’m sure everyone knows how the rules work, but in case you don’t, allow me to go over them once more,” she told the others. “You spin the bottle twice, and whoever the bottle faces on each spin must go into the closet together for a total of seven minutes. What happens in there is all up to you guys. Just try not to get too dirty!” Her tease elicited a handful of chuckles from the crowd, and she placed her hand on the bottle, and she gave a slight snicker. “Is everyone ready? Here we… go!”

As the fashionista spun the bottle with her fingers, the bottle eventually landed on none other than Kyoko Kirigiri, the Ultimate Detective. Dressed up in a black gown with gloves and cat ears, it was clear that she was supposed to be a cat. Sayaka, who was part of the group playing the game, locked her eyes on the lavender-haired girl, and a blush crept up on her face. For the longest time, she had harbored secret feeling for the detective, though she never made any moves to act on it whatsoever. Looking down at her own dress, which resembled that of Mary Poppins from the Disney film, Sayaka silently sighed to herself. ‘Oh, this is hopeless,’ she told herself. ‘If there was ever going to be a chance to tell her how I feel… it would never happen here and now.

”Alright, so the two people chosen for our first round are none other than Kyoko Kirigiri and Sayaka Maizono! Okay you two, get up and get in the closet!”

Hearing Junko’s voice snapped Sayaka out of her pessimistic mindset, and she quickly got up from her spot in the circle before making a beeline for the closet. Kyoko followed suit, and once the two were inside, Junko told them with a sly grin “Remember; it’s seven whole minutes to yourself! Have fun, you two!” And with that, the door to the supply closet closed, leaving the two girls by their lonesome inside.

Once the door was closed on them, the first thing Sayaka realized was just how cramped the closet really was. Though it could fit the both of them just fine, the pop sensation was quick to realize that the two’s bodies would be in close proximity to each other, practically pressing up against the other. The second thing she realized was that the silence that lingered between the two was going to be stifling if she didn’t try to break the ice with the detective. With a slight stutter in her voice, she asked the other girl “So, uh, w-what made you want to come to this party?”

Kyoko merely shrugged. “I figured it would be a nice change of pace for me is all,” she shared. “There’s little more to it than that.”

“Ah, I see.”

The two quickly fell into a heavy silence once more, before Kyoko slowly began to make her way over to the Ultimate Pop Sensation. The bluenette was starting to panic a little with every inch the Ultimate Detective made to her, and she stopped as their faces were only two or so inches apart. “Maizono-san… I have something I’d like to ask you,” she began. “Is it possible that… you like me?” Before she could respond, however, the two’s lips clashed together, and a small squeak came from the bluenette. She quickly came to enjoy the kiss, however, and let out a small moan of enjoyment from it as the two pulled apart. A string of saliva connected the two’s tongues to each other. “…I knew you’d like it,” the detective remarked, a small grin of self-satisfaction forming in the corner of her lips “And to tell you the truth… I quite liked it myself.”

As the two girls were about to kiss once more, the door threw itself open, shocking the two of them. The person who opened it was none other than Junko Enoshima herself, who was mildly surprised to see them in such a compromising position, but then had a wry grin spread across her face. “Oh. Oh! Well, this isn’t something you see every day!” she teased the two. “Now come on out you two; we have to continue with the game!”

As Sayaka sat back down, Leon jokingly told her “Hey, I gotta say that the view was pretty nice from here.” His little tease earned him a jab in the arm from Makoto, who was sitting beside him. Sayaka in turn burrowed her face into her knees. The game went on as she clung herself in that position, but one thought ran through her mind the entire time.

‘M…Maybe we’ll be able to do it again sometime…’
-“…Wow, that was a lot of writing…” I commented to myself, taking a moment to step back from the laptop and stretch. “Thank goodness I can publish it now…”As I submitted the request online, I found that I had gained even more likes and comments for my old works since I had last checked. Most were of praise, which made me feel elated to say the very least. And after giving it roughly twenty minutes for people to realize it had been uploaded and read it, I found that several comments for the request had already been made for it.yingodingokirizono is so hot!!! waaay better tahn some other shipsWynnerBriI remember doing stuff like this with my old friends back in freshman year of high school! so much fun :)u123456ASAHINA X DONUT PLZ I BEG OF YOU MAKE IT A REALITY also ig the kirizono fic was cool too bUT ASAHINA X DONUT PLZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAs I continued to peruse the comments that had come my way in the past few hours, one had caught my attention about the recently uploaded request, as it pertained to both Leon and I.IchiroMontoyayo, this is super cool! question though; what’s with that leon and makoto thing at the end?‘Oh, he’s wondering about us?’ I thought. ‘Man, you don’t really see that thing every day. I guess I can tell him about us.’ I quickly typed up my response to it and submitted it, feeling satisfied with my answer.ScrambledMindsOh, they’re actually best friends! I hope that clarifies any confusion you may have had!Sighing in relief, I continued scrolling through the comments and found a response from the original requester. Humming, I typed up a reply for them and sent it.moon_warrior_2Oof I love this! Ty for this!!ScrambledMindsNp! Always happy to write!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Mondays that dragged people back to school after a nice weekend off were always considered to be a pain by many people, even those who never particularly hated school. The early morning classes were often the bane of many people’s existences, as they were rarely ever raring to go at such a time. And unless you were the type of person who enjoyed sports, having gym class as your first class on a Monday was rarely anyone’s idea of how to start the school week off. Unfortunately for me, I just so happened to have to put up with such a thing after my weekend off. And to make matters worse, we had to run.‘Left foot.’ ‘Right foot.’ ‘Left foot.’ ‘Right foot.’ ‘Easy does it.’ ‘Keep a steady pace.’ ‘Focus on your breathing.’ ‘Don’t fall behind the others.’ I kept chanting the various phrases to myself as I focused on my run, trying my absolute best to maintain my current pace and not lag behind. But much to my dismay, the people I were paired up with for this run were only making me feel inadequate in comparison.Our coach paired us up into groups of four, with two boys and two girls in each group, as a way to ensure he could keep an eye on how we were doing. In my group, it consisted of me, Leon, Mukuro, and Sakura; in other words, I was paired up with three of the most athletic students in our class. Even when I may not be the worst runner in our class, when partnered up with people whose athletic prowess exceeds that of most people, it’s hard to not feel like you’re a failure by comparison.Sakura bolted as fast as her legs would allow her to go and Mukuro kept up a steady pace not too far behind the martial artist, easily lapping me within the first minute of the run and continuing to do so with ease. Leon, however, slowed down to jog alongside me after having lapped me once. “Yo, Naegs, you doing okay?” Leon asked me inquisitively. “It must feel weird to have to run with the three of us.”“I’m… not doing too bad, honestly,” I told him, pausing for a moment to think about how I wanted to answer his question. “It’s nice to be able to run with you guys… even if you can all outpace me with ease.”Just then, Sakura lapped us with lightning fast speed, and Mukuro came by just moments after, causing Leon to wince as my words immediately became evident to him. “…Hey, listen man, you don’t need to compare yourself to us, alright?” he shared as a way to help comfort me. “The three of us? We’ve spent years working on our bodies, conditioning them to be the best that they can be, pushing ourselves to the limit. But you? You’re you; you didn’t have to do that sort of stuff… and I kind of envy you for that, I’m not going to lie. So don’t beat yourself up over not being as fast as us, alright?”I wanted to thank him for his words of comfort, but the shrilling sound of the coach’s whistle interrupted the two of us, and our attentions turned over to him. “Kuwata! Naegi! Stop yammering and start running!” he yelled. “You’re on the clock, and this ain’t a leisure run!”Leon rolled his eyes in annoyance and muttered something under his breath that I didn’t quite catch before turning his attention back to me. “Well, guess this is where we part ways,” he joked. “Good luck on the run. And thanks for the notes man; they really helped me out with my studying.”“H-Hey, it’s fine,” I told him as I began to feel my lungs beginning to ache from my heavy breathing. “That’s what friends are for, right?”Leon’s face soured for a moment before he flashed me his signature grin. “Yeah… that’s what friends are for,” he repeated wistfully. “Alright, cya man!” With a small chuckle, he began to pick up the pace, and matched the speed of both Sakura and Mukuro. I began to run as fast as I could, but no matter how fast my legs would let me go, the three of them only seemed to get farther with every step I took.…The rest of the morning felt as if it went by really quickly for me; before I knew it, we had finished taking the logarithms test and lunch was already here. As I began to eat some of the pickled daikon radish in my meal, Leon made his way over to my desk with a tray of food in his hand, practically dragging himself over, and plopped himself on the chair of the desk beside before letting out a long and tiresome groan of annoyance. “Duuude, I thought the test was going to be easy,” he complained as he tilted his head back and placed a hand over his eyes like he was trying to get some rest. “But no, it ended up being hard as shit. Like, what the hell were up with some of those questions? I thought that your notes would help me out for sure, but when I actually started answering some of those damn questions, everything just vanished in my mind, you know? Like… ‘woosh’. Just… ‘woosh’. Seriously, those were the hardest six questions of my entire life.”Not having the heart to tell him that there were six more questions on the other side of the test, I patted him on the shoulder with my hand. “There there, it’s fine,” I told him in an effort to ease his worries. “It’ll be okay. Don’t worry, alright?”At that moment, I felt a vibration come from my phone in my pocket, and pulled it out to take a quick glance at whoever it was that messaged me. Leon felt my hand fall off of his shoulder, so he peered over at me and asked “Yo, who are you messaging Naegs? An old friend or something?”“Ah, yeah, something like that.” He wasn’t exactly wrong to assume that the person I was messaging was an old friend of mine, but we were strictly online friends; we never asked for each other’s personal information, and we liked it like that. The level of anonymity we had felt comfortable to a certain degree, though I’d have to be lying to myself if I said that I wasn’t curious as to who they were on the other end of the screen.Not wanting to press me for more details, Leon went back to his position from earlier. “I’ll let you chat with them then,” he responded. “Having a more normal friend aside from us here at Hope’s Peak is probably a breath of fresh air for you, huh?”“…I still like being with you guys, you know,” I informed him. “You’re all great. You’re great. Just because you guys may be Ultimates doesn’t mean I can’t like being with everyone.”“…Y-Yeah.”The conversation tapered off quickly after Leon’s brief response, and I went back to reading the message that my online friend had sent me. In it contained a particularly interesting request that I wasn’t fully expecting, which piqued my interest.TheBigBlueHey scrambled! Ik it’s been a while since we last chatted, but i saw that you were doing a new request series and i was wondering if you’d be willing to do a celes/hifumi master/servant thing for me? U know i’m into that sort of stuff ;)For the two years that I’ve known them, the person behind the moniker “TheBigBlue” has been one of the kinkiest people I’ve ever met, and actively indulges in rather promiscuous activities in their own time. When you take into account how relatively safe I try to be in most situations, it has led to some rather comical situations between the both of us. Nevertheless, we’ve been close, and I’ve always enjoyed their company.Quickly typing up a response to affirm that I would be doing their request, I powered off my phone and stuck it back into my pocket before turning my attention to Leon once more. A very subtle snore was coming from the guy, and when I nudged him with my elbow, he shook himself awake. “…Mmh… shit, did I fall asleep?” he asked me.“You did, yeah,” I answered. “I just wanted to make sure you ate your lunch before the next class began. Otherwise, you’d likely just be too distracted to try to listen to the lectures.”“Mmh… thanks, Naegs. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”-ScrambledMindslolololol Ofc! Just dont expect anything too crazy from me!I sighed as I read the message sent to me and placed my head against the palm of my curled hand afterward. ‘So close...’ I thought to myself. ‘I’m so close to figuring out who you are. I know I am. I just need the evidence to back it up.’“Hey, are you okay? You seem a little upset.”I looked up at the figure in front of me to see none other than our class president, Kaede Akamatsu. I adjusted my position in my seat and gave her a slight nod. “I’m doing fine, Akamatsu-san,” I answered. “I was just… deep in thought about something that’s been bothering me for a few days now. Thank you for being concerned though.”“Hey, it’s no problem,” she acknowledged, giving me a warm smile in return. “Just be sure to remember that I’m here for you if you ever need me.”“Oh, shut the fuck up, you little shrimp-dick slut-monkey! Your twinkiness ain’t got shit on my bodacious bod! Not in a million years!”The two of us looked over at the commotion happening at the other end of the classroom, and much to our chagrin, saw Miu and Kokichi bickering with one another, which was unfortunately a common occurrence. I let out a slight grunt of annoyance, and I could see Kaede’s face sour in the corner of my eye. “You should probably go handle that...” I suggested to her. “Otherwise they’ll just keep at it.”Nodding in agreement, Kaede made her way over to the two and opened up with “Okay guys, what seems to be the issue here this time?” she asked once she arrived at the two. “This failed abortion challenged me to a body-off!” Miu proclaimed, piping up immediately after Kaede finished asking her question. “Fucker thinks he can beat my curves!” With a scoff, she turned to give Kokichi a blow of the tongue and murmured to herself “I worked too hard to be out-assed…”“Heeeey, don’t be upset Iruma-chan!” Kokichi taunted her, evidently being successful in his attempt if the look of irritation on the inventor’s face was anything to go by. “It’s okay to admit you’ve been outclassed in the ass department by me; I won’t judge. I mean, I could probably take that foot long dildo you have in the back of your closet far better than you ever could.”“H-How do you know about Big Ol’ Mommy Strap?!?”“Big Ol’-? Okay, can you both cut it out?” Kaede curtly spoke, a look of disgust spread across her face. “This topic is extremely gross. Save such discussions for outside of the classroom, please. Instead, maybe you should try to talk about something more productive and less… well, chaotic to say the very least. For example, how about you try to talk about our upcoming talent projects? It’s a far more academic topic then um… foot long dildos.”The two arguing looked at Kaede with a mixture of annoyance of apathy on their faces. Eventually, Kokichi gave an exaggerated groan. “Fine, fine...” he agreed, a look of disappointment at not being able to provoke Miu any further evident in his eyes. “I guess I’ll behave... for now.”“Wow, Akamatsu-san’s doing a great job as class president, huh?”My attention quickly shifted over to the voice that commented on the situation, only to find out that it was Rantaro Amami… much to my personal displeasure. “...Don’t you dare try to start a conversation with me,” I coldly told him. “You’re shifty, and I don’t like shifty people.”He nervously laughed. “S-Sorry, sorry. I forgot you don’t like me all too much,” he let out. All he got in response was a light scowl. A second chuckle came forth, and he added “Well, um, I suppose I should get going then. I’d hate to intrude and make your day worse with my presence.” With that, he got up from his position and moved back further in the classroom, making sure to keep a distance from me.Once he was gone, I turned my attention back to my phone. My eyes were glued on the illuminated screen, displaying the response I had gotten from them. ‘You’ll figure it out soon…’ I told myself, hoping that I would be able to solve the mystery that had been plaguing me for years. ‘The bait has been set… and now we wait for him to take it.’-As the final bell of the day rang and cleaning time began, I quickly left the classroom to go gather supplies to help clean the classroom up. But when I came back, I noticed that a certain gambler was drinking tea at her desk, all while being fanned by a large banana leaf prop. The person fanning her, not to my surprise whatsoever, was Hifumi Yamada. Knowing how he was practically desperate for her affections, it wasn’t uncommon to see him try to please her and do as she commanded. However, what was uncommon was the small crowd of students who just stood and watched, bewildered at the sight that was on display in front of them. Some students looked on with sympathy for Hifumi’s futile efforts, and some looked on with vexation for how Celes was using him for her own benefits. Junko, on the other hand, was stifling a laugh at how comical the situation was. Celes paid no heed to anyone’s gaze.“H-How is your tea, madam?” Hifumi asked. Celes took a light sip from her teacup and placed it on her saucer before lightly smacking her lips.“It was fine,” she told him without meeting his expectant eyes. “However, your fanning made it cold. And now, I feel cold as well.” She swiftly batted an eye at her and commanded to him “Make me some more tea.”“Right away ma’am!” he complied, getting up and running off as soon as she said that.Once he was gone from the classroom, murmurs between the onlookers began to break out, though Celes remained unbothered by the discussions going on around her. Looking around at who was looking on, I noticed Leon not too far away in the crowd of people, and he noticed me soon after. With a baffled look on his face, he mouthed at me ‘What the hell is this?’ All I could do was offer a light shrug of the shoulders out of confusion, much to his evident dismay. He let out a groan of annoyance and left the classroom, seemingly forgetting about needing to help out with the cleaning altogether.Shortly after he left, a few of the other students left the classroom as well, and I began to work on cleaning the classroom with the supplies I had gotten. The others who stayed behind after Leon’s departure silently joined in on the cleaning effort, and in the corner of all of our eyes, we could see Celes sitting at her desk, sipping away at her tea, while Hifumi stood beside her and continued to fan away with the banana leaf prop. Once I was done with cleaning, I returned all of the supplies I used back to where I got them and immediately made my way to my dorm. As I entered my room, I flopped onto the bed and closed my eyes for a bit, feeling exhausted from the commotion. But once I was ready to get to work, I set myself down at my desk and opened my laptop. “Alright, a fic between Celes-san and Yamada-san,” I reminded myself. “It shouldn’t be too difficult, since I already know what their dynamic is like… I hope. Let’s… try our hand at this, for them.”-
As her ebony-colored drills slumped over her shoulders, the lonesome ruler of the vast kingdom of Schwarzboden, Queen Celestia Ludenberg, sipped from the golden chalice that she lazily swirled around in her hands. Boredom washed over her as it always did, sitting atop the throne of her massive and nigh hollow castle. But she was grateful that, despite its enormous size, she wasn’t alone in her palace.

Beside her was a portly servant whom Queen Celestia had grown attached to over the years of his servitude, diligently doing his duties to best serve her needs as they came to be. She would never admit it to her growing feeling of fondness for him though; or at least, not in front of others. But whenever he emerged from wherever he came from, she would always find herself needing to suppress the slightest grin that would otherwise emerge on her pale face. At the moment, he was just standing beside her, twiddling his thumbs as a way to keep himself entertained while there was nothing to do. Seeing as how he was bored, Queen Celestia figured that she should take it upon herself to remedy that.

“Servant,” she called for him, holding back from glancing his way. “Find one of the paper fans from within the nearby supply closet, and fan me gently with it. The night is… beginning to feel warm.”

“O-Of course my queen!” the servant complied excitedly. Hurriedly, the plump man rushed over to the supply closet and dug out one of the paper fans she was referring to, and opened it to fan her from beside the throne she was perched upon. The soft breeze brushed against her cheeks, and the slightest smile formed in the corners of her lips. But as she quickly looked over at the fan her servant was gently fanning her with, her curiosity was piqued by it, and curiosity got the better of her as she began to speak.

“Servant,” she began, bemusement in her voice. “This fan you are using… this came from Yansesha, yes?”

“I-Indeed, my queen!” the servant responded, nervousness oozing out from his mannerisms. “When you initiated the invasion in their Hongse province eight years back, this fan was among one of the many valuables taken from the nobility! It’s a rather nice fan, if I may say so myself.”

“…Yes. Indeed it is nice,” Queen Celestia replied. “It does its job well.”

An air of silence loomed over the two in the large cobblestone throne room, the only noise being the gentle swishes of the fan the servant was using, before the question spoke up once more. “You know…” she began to muse. “Ever since my husband, the king, passed away, this room has always felt so empty and hollow… much like my heart. And yet, the suffocating feeling of dread and regret always fills me so. But… that feeling seems to fade once you emerge by my side. So… thank you, my loyal servant.”

“…Hifumi Yamada.”

The sudden name drop took the queen by surprise, and her eyes widened at the sudden mention. The servant stammered for a moment before speaking up once more with “M-My name is Hifumi Yamada. I just figured that I should tell you so since you were saying such… n-nice things about my presence, my queen.”

The prim and proper outward appearance that Queen Celestia strove to maintain faltered momentarily as she allowed a blush to coat her pale cheeks, and a soft smile to form on her lips. “Well, in that case, I should take a moment to properly address you, now that I know your name… my dear servant,” she proclaimed. “Hifumi Yamada… thank you for being by my side all this time.”

It was Hifumi’s turn to blush, but he was far less pristine about it, instead helplessly turning into a hot, stuttering mess. His babbling became rapid, his face flushed an intense shade of red, and the spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose nearly fell off every time he readjusted them in a desperate effort to recompose himself. As he was fumbling over himself, Queen Celestia took a moment to snicker at his efforts, which went unnoticed by him. By the time he managed to regain his composure, he took a deep breath and bowed to the queen. “It is an honor to be by your side, my queen,” he told her. “And I will continue to stand beside you until you relinquish me of my position.”

And with that, the queen’s throne room, which once felt eternally hollow and empty, now felt full and complete. And with a smile, Queen Celestia told her beloved servant “Yes… until then, stay by my side, please.”
-After I finished writing the request, I quickly uploaded it and pulled myself back from my desk, opting to get up and stretch as I could feel my body had begun to tense up from sitting in such a hunched over position for so long. My eyes quickly looked over at my school supplies, and I muttered to myself while reaching over to them “Well, let’s get this homework over with…” It didn’t take me too much time to finish it all, and once it was over, I noticed that I had gotten a message from my online friend. It wasn’t on the website, however; rather, it was a direct message to me.TheBigBlueOof oof oof how on earth did you make my kinky request so wholesome??? I’m so blown away by it??? Bro??? Fr tho, this was so awesome! Tysm for doing this for me!!!I chuckled at what they had messaged me with, and quickly typed them a small reply. “I’m really happy they liked it as much as they did,” I said to myself aloud as I looked at their message, reading it over and over again. “I hope that it made their day.”Diving onto my bed, I giggled a little after readjusting my position atop its sheets and looked out the window on the side of my dorm room. ‘Friends…’ I quietly mused over to myself. ‘Helping them out, making them feel good… I like it. It makes me feel… happy. And I hope… I can continue to make my friends feel happy for years to come.’-ScrambledMindslolol sorry if it isn’t your exact idea! I’m glad you liked it though! :)“So, it finally happened, huh?”I stared at the dimly lit screen on my phone that radiated light in my otherwise pitch black room. A content grin grew on my lips as I felt success well up inside of me, a feeling that I had been sorely lacking in for what felt like forever. “I’ve finally found out who you are, ScrambledMinds. Or should I say…” I hurriedly typed up a response to his reply, and hit the submit button, eyeing my screen to ensure that it would go through and be received on their end.TheBigBlueOh I do! Tysm!!! Here’s to more of your stories to come!!!“...Makoto Naegi.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When I woke up this morning, I thought that today was going to be normal. I thought it was just going to be the average, run of the mill sort of day. I would go to class, chat with my friends in between lectures, have fun, study my notes a little, and call it a day once everything was said and done. Nothing was indicative to me that things would be out of the ordinary whatever when I was showering, dressing, eating breakfast, getting my school supplies ready, or making my way to my homeroom class. But as soon as I opened the door to the class, that feeling of normalcy vanished in an instant. Instead, it was replaced with unease.As I looked around in the class, trying to figure out what caused that sense of unease I was feeling, I saw Mondo and Chihiro huddled together, looking like they were talking about something. Mondo’s expression was one of anger and frustration, whilst Chihiro’s was that of worry and uncertainty. Concerned for both of their well beings, I made my way over to the pair with caution. “H-Hey, uh, is everything okay here?” I asked the two of them, making sure that I wasn’t interrupting anything majorly important before speaking up. “I couldn’t help but notice that the both of you seem kind of… pensive.”“…We’re f-fine, Naegi-san,” Chihiro spoke up with a quiver in his voice. “Everything’s fine… we’re just- we- I-”“Hey, Fujisaki, just take a deep breath,” Mondo told the programmer in a surprisingly soft manner, resting his hand on the smaller guy’s shoulder. “It’s okay. He isn’t going to hurt you.”“W-Wait… Fujisaki-san was hurt?”My question came out in a moment of surprise and concern and worry, and Chihiro flinched in response to it. He was quiet, yet seemed as if he had something he wanted to say. After a few moments had passed, he tugged on the biker’s sleeve to have him crouch down so he could whisper something in his ear. Mondo nodded along, listening intently on what he had to say, before getting back up and folding his arms. “Fujisaki wasn’t… hurt in the sense that you may be thinking,” he began explaining, glancing between the both of us. “We were getting some coffee at a nearby café earlier this morning, and before we knew it, the fucking pressed swarmed in and surrounded us. They kept asking him about his gender or some shit, and the little guy just got overwhelmed. He started crying, but they wouldn’t stop, so I yelled at them all to leave us alone, threw a couple punches here and there, and grabbed him so we could get the hell out of there. We couldn’t even keep our coffees, and we paid for that shit!” He scoffed, and looked to the window to gaze out at the morning sky. “What a way to start a morning, am I right? Fucking assholes, I swear to god…”My focus then turned over to Chihiro, who seemed to have calmed down by the end of Mondo’s explanation. “Um… Fujisaki-san, if you don’t mind me asking, why… was the press asking you about your gender of all things?”Chihiro was mildly hesitant to respond at first, but eventually worked up the courage to speak up about it. “Well, um… most people don’t actually realize that I’m a guy and not a girl,” he answered. “I get why they would be as confused as they are about it, however, since… well…” He paused for a moment to gesture at his outfit, and then at his general body. “I generally look more effeminate, and I sort of have to dress in girl’s uniforms to avoid harassment from guys outside of the school for looking too girly. B-But I am working on getting stronger!”“…Fujisaki, I’m going to level with you here,” Mondo spoke up. “Just because you don’t look like a rough and tough dude like me doesn’t mean you aren’t strong. Sure, maybe lifting a dumbbell may be a bit of a challenge for you, but that doesn’t mean shit. You’re strong in other ways… ways that matter more than just raw muscle. Got it?”Chihiro, moved by the biker’s words yet still obviously out of it from the emotional rollercoaster that was his morning fiasco, nodded along. “Y-Yeah… I do,” he replied. “Thank you. I… really mean it.”After giving a smile of reassurance to his shorter friend, Mondo let out a sigh. “Well, this conversation’s gone on for some time now, and I need to go take a piss,” he declared. “Hope that clears up everything for you Naegi. Cya when class starts.” The biker began to walk off, with the creaking of the floorboards marking his movement with every step. Once he was gone, I made my way over to my desk and began to set up my things for the first lecture of the day after assuring that Chihiro would be alright. And yet, the feeling of unease from when I opened the door to the classroom hadn’t vanished whatsoever.…Lunch eventually rolled around, and things were starting to calm down inside of my mind. The course of the morning lectures we had helped ease the feeling of unease I felt from walking in to the classroom and hearing Chihiro and Mondo’s story, to the point where Leon hadn’t noticed it when we sat together to eat our meals. As usual, he sat in the chair in front of me, and was sharing a story with me as he poked at the meat on his tray with one of his chopsticks that he loosely held in his hand. “So, after we joked about it for a bit, Enoshima-san actually got Ishimaru-san to wear some smoky eyeshadow for an entire week!” he exclaimed, enjoying his time reminiscing about the memory. “It was awesome, honestly. He took it off after realizing we basically pranked him though, and gave us both a lecture about it. But was it worth it? Oh god yes, it was absolutely worth it.” Before I could comment on the story, however, a voice interrupted our conversation.“Ooh, I heard my name from over here! Are we spreading gossip or something? I’m totes down to ruin a bitch’s life right now, if that’s what we’re doing!”The both of us turned to see Junko approaching our little table, carrying her own tray of food in hand. “Oh, Enoshima-san! Good afternoon!” I greeted her. “Kuwata-kun was just telling me of that one time you got Ishimaru-san to wear eyeshadow for a week.”The fashionista burst into laughter. “Oh my god, I remember that! Hah! It was a riot! He gave us both a lecture after realizing we were basically gaslighting him, but was worth it? Oh god yes, it was absolutely worth it.” After she eased out of her laugh, she set down her tray of feet on the table beside her and leaned on the desk, keeping herself propped up with her leg. “Anyways, I wanted to talk to the both of you about something. I figured you’d both be interested in hearing it, so I came over to see if you’d like to be a part of it.”Piquing my interest, I cocked my head to the side in curiosity. “Hm? What do you mean?” I asked. “What would be like to be a part of?”“I’m planning a mega fun sleepover this Friday, and I want the two of you to come to it!”Leon, who had been shoveling the cafeteria meat into his mouth after he finished sharing his story with me, looked up at her. “A sleepover?” he asked. “Isn’t that something, like, six year olds do? Last time I checked, we ain’t six, we’re sixteen.”“Ooh, lighten up Kuwata-chan,” Junko responded, doing a cat-like motion with her hand to tease the baseball star. “It’s more like a party that you can crash at more than anything! I’ll be renting out a super large penthouse for the night, and we’ll all just be partying. It’s gonna be like, super cool! Better than the shuffleboard nights the sixty years old do at retirement homes. Ooh, and before I forget, I’m inviting some of the other kids from the school to come to the party as well, like a couple of the cool ones from 78-B!”Class 78-B was our neighboring class at Hope’s Peak, chock full of personalities somehow even zanier than our own. Though I didn’t know much about them, from what I’ve heard, they seemed like a pretty great group of people. At least, that’s what they seemed like that for the most part.In an instant, Leon’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Woah, 78-B?” he questioned. It was immediately followed up by a gasp of realization and him asking the fashionista “Yo, did you invite Momota?! Awh, the party’s gonna be lit if you do!”“Well, duh! Of course I’ve already invited him, Kuwata-chan!” Junko answered in an almost matter-of-fact manner. “He’s like, high key one of the coolest guys in that class! Plus his party record is off the charts, so I just know he’s going to be a great guest!” The both of them laughed in unison, evidently enjoying the prospect of the party Junko will be holding on Friday.As I watched on in silence, amused by the two of them getting along with each other, a question popped into my mind. “Hey, Enoshima-san?” I asked. “Why did you decide to invite me of all people?”“Oh that’s easy!” she chirped. “Even though you’re a literal nobody in comparison to quite literally every single one of us in this classroom, you’re one of the best guys I’ve met at this school! Plus, you’re like, a total marshmallow. And that’s mega bonus points for me! Whoo!”In an instant, a wave of negative emotions flooded my brain as I listened in to her response. Feelings of inadequacy filled my mind, and I could feel my heart skip a beat. It felt as if I was drowning. But all I could do in response to her comment was smile and silently nod. I had to be courteous, no matter what.With that, she got up from her spot and rolled her neck, letting it crack to relax her body. “Anyways, I need to invite some people and shit, so take these cards with you and share them with the bouncer when you get to the party. You won’t be let in without them.” She handed us two golden cards with an etching of Junko’s portrait on it, and with a wave and a grin, she was off to go talk to whoever else she was planning on inviting to her party.As soon as she left, Leon turned his focus over to me, with a look of concern written all over his face. “Yo, Naegs, don’t listen to her about you being a nobody, okay?” he shared. “You’re somebody. And you might not be tabloid cover somebody, but damn it all, you’re somebody, and you’re somebody important! And well… you’re important to me, y’know? So… don’t go forgetting all that, alright?”I glanced over at him and gave him a gentle smile. “Thank you, Kuwata-kun,” I said, worry leaving my body as I did so. “I really appreciate it.”“Hey, it’s all good. That’s what friends are for, right?” He flashed me a goofy grin, which got a snicker out of me. Leon chuckled as he saw my reaction. “Feeling better now?” he asked.I mulled over it a bit. “Yeah...” I responded. “Yeah… I think I feel better.”…The end of the school day arrived, and once the classroom had been cleaned, everyone who stayed behind was packing up their belongings and getting ready to leave. As I was organizing the last bit of things on my desk, Leon made his way over to me. “Yo, Naegs,” he began. “I just wanted to check up to see how you’re doing. You doing okay so far?”I paused my cleaning for a moment and gave him a smile of gratitude. “Oh, thank you Kuwata-kun.” I responded. “I’m doing fine, but thank you for your concern. I greatly appreciate it.”Just as I placed the last notebook in my school bag, a figure walked into the classroom, humming a little tune under their breath. They were carrying a small bag on their shoulders, and walked right past the exiting students. Their eyes wandered the room, as if they were looking for something. As they investigated, not minding the two of us whatsoever, Leon spoke to address the person’s presence. “Uh, hi there,” he greeted them. “Can we… help you with something?”The figure looked over at us, and quickly adjusted their posture to seem more appropriate. “Oh, sorry!” they stammered once they realized we were here. “I was just looking for a specific book, and I thought your class might have it.” And that’s when I realized who that figure was.It was the Ultimate Cosplayer herself, Tsumugi Shirogane. I recognized her as being one of the students that’s part of Class 78-B. I never really spoke to her before, but she seemed to be in a similar predicament to me as basically being the normal one in her eccentric class, which, considering her intense obsession with fandom culture, was saying a lot. But, out of everyone in her class, she was the one that I was able relate to the most.She made her way over to one of the shelves in the back of the room and scoured through its contents before pulling out one of the books on it, and looked over at us with a gentle smile on her face. “Alright, I found the book I needed,” she declared. “Thank you for letting me look through your class. And um… do either of you know where I can find Makoto Naegi? I need to speak to him.”“Oh, that would be me,” I replied. “Do you need help with something?”“Y-Yes, actually…” she started. She turned her head to look at Leon. “Excuse me, sir? If it’s not too much to ask, could you be so kind as to leave the classroom? It’s sort of a personal matter.”Leon looked at her quizzically, but shrugged it off. “Alright then. Cya Naegs.” He playfully punched me in the arm, grabbed his bag, and left the classroom.After Leon had left, I turned my focus back over to Tsumugi. “Um… Shirogane-san, was it?” I questioned. She nodded. “What is it that you needed to speak with me about?” She crooked her head sideways a little, still maintaining her smile. And then she spoke.“Servant… This fan you are using… this came from Yansesha, yes?”When those words fell on my ears, I could feel my heart stop beating for a few seconds. My breathing was hitched momentarily, and my whole body went cold. The smile that sat on the cosplayer’s face was no longer one of gentle ease, but rather, of an innate understanding.We both knew what those words were. They were words I wrote in my last fanfiction. I couldn’t lie about where they were from, so I went along with her situation. Slowly, I stuttered out “I-I-Indeed my queen... When you initiated the invasion in their Hongse province eight years back, th-this fan was among one of the many valuables taken from the nobility. I-It’s a rather nice fan, if I may say so myself.” I could feel my spine tingle as Tsumugi’s blue eyes radiated with intensity as they stared into my own, and her smile turned into a cocky smirk, as if she were looking down upon me for my hobby.“You know, Naegi-san… I had the sneaking suspicion you were ScrambledMinds ever since we started school,” she began. “The correlation between your alias starting up a request series based on Class 78-A and you, being the person in your class with the least amount of knowledge available online, starting at Hope’s Peak is too great to be coincidental. And with my prompting with the banana leaf prop and the request I made under my alias, I was able to prove my suspicions to be correct. So… what do you have to say about all that?” As much as I wanted to deny it all, it was true. But then I had a realization.“Shirogane-san... you are a surprisingly kinky person.”The look on Tsumugi’s face as I said that quickly became one where she looked taken aback. The face gradually turned into a face of stifled laughter, with the occasional snicker leaking out, before she burst into a laughter fit. “Oh God, that- that’s hilarious!” she managed to sputter out in the middle of her fit. She laughed and laughed and laughed, but eventually, her laughter subsided. And I took that opportunity to speak up. “U-Um, Shirogane-san?” I spoke up in a timid manner. “So uh... now that you know who I am online, are you going to uh... to - to blackmail me?”Much to my relief, she shook her head. “No, I’m not like that, Naegi-san, so you don’t have to worry about that.” I sighed once I heard those words come from her mouth. But she wasn’t done talking yet. “Instead…” she continued. “I wanted to make an offer to you.” She made her way over to the classroom door, and slid it open gently. “Walk with me Naegi-san.” she beckoned.Obeying her with mild confusion, I trailed beside her as we walked down the hallways of Hope’s Peak, which at this time were relatively barren of life. “So, uh, what is it that you wanted to offer me?” I inquired.“Oh that’s simple. I wanted to offer you protection.”Her offer only confused me, and I cocked my head to the side in a quizzical manner. “Huh? Protection?” I questioned. “What do I need protection for?”“Well…” Tsumugi began explaining. “I have no doubt in my mind that you’re aware of how your fanfic has practically blown up on the Internet, and the content of it has gotten some people questioning if it really is a fanfic… or an exaggerated documentation of real life events. And since it’s the latter… things could get ugly really quickly for you if nothing is done about it.”“W-Wait, seriously?!” I almost yelped. “People are actually taking my fanfic that seriously? It’s just a fanfic!”“Indeed it is, but the people of the Internet can piece two and two together when they absolutely need to,” Tsumugi responded grimly. “So that’s why I’m offering you protection. Because everyone will most likely come after you if it gets out.” She stopped walking in the middle of the hallway and turned to face me. “If this whole thing escalates to catastrophic levels,” she began, “I’ll forge evidence to help protect you. And to do that...” She handed me her phone. “I need your number, so we can stay in contact with each other.”“Huh? O-Oh, yeah, sure,” I agreed. Handing my phone to her, we inputted each other phone numbers, and exchanged the phones back. “Just… please only message me if things get serious, okay? I don’t want to worry about stuff that may not ultimately matter.”“Don’t worry, you won’t receive anything from me that isn’t of importance,” Tsumugi assured me. “I can at least promise you that much for the time being.” We walked back to my classroom, and grabbed our things. “Well, it was nice talking to you Naegi-san,” she stated. “Sorry if I was creepy earlier.”“N-No no, I get it,” I reassured her. “You just wanted to make sure I was me.”She smiled. “Well, I have to get going now,” she informed me. “I’ve got a cosplay to prepare for the upcoming talent exams. Bye Naegi-san!”“Y-Yeah. Take care Shirogane-san. I’ll… see you later.” With my final parting words, Tsumugi slid the door open, and left the classroom.Once I was all alone, I sighed to let the worry inside of me out. ‘Catastrophic levels, huh...?’ I pondered. ‘I wonder what she meant by that.’ I figured I could dwell on it at a later time, I grabbed my supplies, exited the classroom, and made my way to the dorm rooms.…When I got back to my dorm room, I placed my things on my desk as I flopped over on my bed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and saw texts from two different people.Kuwatayo is everything alright? got a little worried for youShiroganeTesting!Without giving it much thought, I quickly sent the two of them messages fitting for what they wrote me, and Tsumugi immediately responded to what I had to say.MeLoud and clear Shirogane-san!ShiroganeAwesome!ShiroganeKeep this contact and I’ll message you whenever something big pops up!MeThank you so much!-
MakotoYeah everythings fine! Dw about it!

I groaned to myself as I read the text message that Makoto had sent to me. ‘Don’t worry? Of course I’m gonna worry about it, you idiot...’ I thought to myself. ‘I can’t help it. I care too much about you to not worry.’ I set the phone down and replayed the last few words that the blue-haired chick told me before ushering me away to talk to Makoto in private.

“It’s sort of a personal matter.”

“It’s sort of a personal matter.”

“It’s sort of a personal matter.”

Letting out a small grunt of annoyance, I turned on my side and huffed once more. “Sort of a personal matter...” I muttered. “Guess it’s too personal for me to know about, huh? I just- I- fuck…” I heaved a sigh, picked up my phone, and sent him a text. “Whatever,” I scowled in annoyance as I sent the message his way. “I need to get started on that stupid chemistry worksheet anyway... can’t continue to worry about something like this.” I got up from my bed, plugged in my phone to a charger, and began working on the paper, ignoring how my text message hadn’t gotten a reply from him… or even a notification that he read it, for that matter.

Mealright then... i trust you man

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When I first opened up the requests to the online community, I gave them the subtle opportunity to request for more explicit stuff by not specifically stating I wouldn’t do it whatsoever. Though I’m far from the most knowledgeable person on the topic of sex, I thought that I would be able to manage myself perfectly fine when the requests began to roll in about my classmates. I thought that I would be comfortable writing about people who I was going to be surrounded by for hours on end, several days a week set in promiscuous situations.But looking back on it now, it was an absolutely horrible decision to even allow this in the first place.As I was looking through the requests that had been sent my way, in the time I had before I was supposed to head to my class, I groveled at the prospect of allowing myself to write for these sorts of situations. There had been an influx of requests that were lewd and not safe for work lately, which I had been ignoring up until this point. “Why did I even think this was a good idea to begin with…?” I asked myself. “Sure, save for Maizono-san, I didn’t know any of the people who I was about to be classmates with, so it was easy to disconnect from the impending reality of having to get to know them as people and not just as idols… but even then, these are people. These are real people who other people online want to see have sex with each other. If I were forced to write about Maizono-san and I having sex with each other… I don’t think I’d be able to handle it.”One request caught my eye as it felt rather excessive for me to do and made me physically cringe at it, but I sucked in my breath and hissed to relieve myself of the tension welling up inside of me. “Makoto Naegi, you set yourself up for this, so you have to do this,” I told myself. “Just keep your word and go for it.” Before I could overthink it, I typed up a reply to the request and sent it their way.TentaGal32owo??? no smut just yet??? well well well,,, lets have some chihiro x junko bondage then for the femboy lovers and the femdom wanters~ScrambledMindsOkay! I’ll try my best with this!!“…I regret everything that I’m about to do.”…There would be many words that would apt descriptions of how I felt as I walked into class. Some of these words include, but are not limited to, tense, flushed, overwhelmed, and most important, dirty. I could feel my face burning red from the embarrassment of having to do a smutfic, and I hid my face in my desk when I sat down at my chair. ‘This is it,’ I thought to myself. ‘This is how my life ends.’I knew I was being overdramatic, but it felt as if it were the truth at that moment as the prospect of how people would receive the fic. As I’ve never actually written a smutfic before, I was worried about my capabilities as an author. Questions began to race through my head.‘How will the audience react to it?’ ‘How will the requester react to it?’ ‘Will they hate it?’ ‘Will they hate my because of it?’ ‘Am I going to be cast aside if I do a poor job on it?’ ‘Will I be ignored by everyone because of it?’“Yo, Naegs, you okay?”I slowly rotated my head from where it was to see Leon crouched down beside my desk. A look of concern was spread across his face. “Dude, you look bad,” he commented. “And I mean really bad. Did you have a rough time sleeping last night or something?”“…No, not really,” I forced myself to say, giving him a weak grin to help ease his worries. “But thank you for checking up on me, Kuwata-kun. I really do appreciate it.”Leon grimaced for a moment, evidently wanting to press on with the subject, before huffing in defeat. “Fine, fine,” he sighed as he folded his arms. “I’ll… leave you be then.” I gave him a small thumbs up as a way to thank him for it, and he made his way over to his desk. I sighed in relief and let myself relax, only to feel my phone vibrate in my pocket just a moment after. I felt myself tense up and slowly pulled out my phone to read the messages that were sent my way.KuwataheyKuwatalistenKuwataik you probably don’t wanna talk about what’s bothering you rnKuwataBut I’m here for you if you need anythingI turned my head over to look at Leon, who was mindlessly fiddling with his phone. He noticed that I was looking over at him and he softly smiled at me, nodded, and went back to focusing on whatever it was he was doing at that moment. Just as I powered my phone off and put it back in my pocket, our homeroom teacher walked in through the door, signifying that class was about to begin. Taking a deep breath, I could only wish for one thing as I began to take out my school supplies and tried my best to focus on the lessons ahead of us all.‘Please let my struggles be worth it in the end.’…As the hours passed by, lunch eventually came to be, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to ponder how I should tackle the request in peace. Leon, understand that I wasn’t particularly in the mood to chat with others, opted to leave me be and instead hang out with both Mondo and Hiro, to which I was grateful for. If he were to try to strike up a conversation with me, I would’ve just felt awkward about having him around when my mind was elsewhere, focusing on a more promiscuous topic instead.As I filled my mouth with some pieces of roasted salmon, I noticed in the corner of my eye that Junko had struck up a conversation with Toko. ‘Oh, perfect!’ I thought to myself. ‘Fukawa-san’s always been rather obsessed with more sensual stuff, so this could work in my favor!’ As usual, I pretended to mind my own business as I eavesdropped in on their conversation.“Damn, girl, you sure are kinky as hell!” Junko roared. “I honest to god thought you were a vanilla type of bitch, but nah, I was wrong! Guess I should’ve been expecting that though. After all, all you ever write about are the types of men you thirst over!”“Sh-Shut up you pig-titted cow!” Toko hissed. “You’re probably just projecting your whorish nature onto me so you could seem innocent. Besides, I would only ever let Master do anything sexual with me!” She let out a small moan of pleasure and continued on with “O-O-Only he would know how I like my ropes...”“The only thing I’ll ever tie you up with are the shackles I’ll have placed on you to keep you in a prison cell for violating the restraining order I’ll have on you soon,” Byakuya curtly retorted from a few seats over, also having been listening in as he was trying to mind his own business. “So shut your mouth and don’t ever mention me in any capacity whatsoever, or I will order the court to speed the process up once more.” Toko squealed with lust at the threat, much to the amusement of Junko and the discomfort of both Byakuya and I.At that moment, I saw Chihiro walk into the classroom with a tray of cafeteria food, and his gaze turned to look over at the commotion. A small look of disgust betrayed the otherwise kind look on his face, but nevertheless approached the two of them. “Um, Enoshima-san?” he questioned. “Is everything okay here?”“Oh yeah no, everything’s fine!” Junko shared with him. “Fukawa-chan here’s probs in the middle of an orgasm though.” The two turned their focus to Toko, who was laying down on two tables stuck together, incoherently babbling as drool dripped out from the side of her mouth. “You may want to find an excuse to get out of here while you still can… unless you want to hear her hormonal rambles about how completely and utterly sexy that rich bitch is.”“I can still hear you two.”-“Yo, Fujisaki-san! Come over here and join us!” I shouted, overhearing what Junko was telling him. Chihiro twirled his head over in our direction, and hurriedly made his way over, leaving Junko to handle Toko by her lonesome. As he set his tray down, Yasuhiro decided to speak up.“So, you guys ready for the talent exams next week?” he asked us all. “I know I am! I’ve been practicing my clairvoyance these past few days to get better at it!”“How the hell are you supposed to show clairvoyance anyways?” Mondo questioned. “It’s just cards and balls and shit, right? Anyone can pull it off.”“Hey, I’ll have you know I’ve got a decent thirty percent rate going on for accuracy!” Yasuhiro responded in a defensive manner. “That’s pretty good for someone with my skills! In fact, it’s way better than how I was when I was your guys’ age!”“...That means you’ve got a seventy percent failure, dumbass.”“…Ah, crap, seriously…?!?”“Dude, can you not do basic fucking math?!?”As the two kept talking about the legitimacy of Yasuhiro’s talent, I kept glancing over at Makoto. I slightly furrowed my eyebrows, but eased up when I felt a slight tug on my sleeve. I looked over to see that it was Chihiro who was tugging my sleeve with a look of concern on his face. “Kuwata-san, I noticed you keep on looking over at Naegi-san,” he commented. “Is everything okay between you two?”Hesitating for a moment, I sighed. “I don’t know, honestly,” I started. “He’s been acting kind of... weird lately. This morning he seemed all like, robotic and stuff when we talked. And then yesterday this random chick from one of the other classes asked to talk with him about ‘something personal’. I want to be a good friend to him and respect his privacy and all, but... I also really want to know what’s going on with him.”Chihiro gave a slight frown of pity, and opened his mouth to say something before being cut off by Yasuhiro. “Just talk to him, my dude,” he comforted me. “It shouldn’t be that hard.” He patted my back, and I pulled away from him, tensing up my shoulders.“I-I know it shouldn’t be hard,” I spoke. “It’s just… I don’t really know…”“…Dude. Man up, you fucking idiot.”I turned my attention over to Mondo, whose eyes were locked on me. “If you’re that concerned for him, then just fucking grow a pair already and talk to him,” he shared. “What, is he going to bite you? Dude probably wouldn’t hurt a fly.”I shakily sighed and relaxed my shoulders. “...Yeah… you’re right,” I agreed. “I’ll… talk to him after school about it.”“Whatever. Just don’t chicken out of it.”-After a few more lectures, the school day finally came to a close, and the few students who decided to stay once classes were over decided to help clean things up. Though he really wanted to stay and help clean, had to leave for a meeting between class representatives occurring at that time. And side from the impending smutfic that I knew I’d have to write later, everything was going smoothly.I was wiping down one of the classroom’s windows with a rag and some glass cleaning spray when I felt a presence behind me. I turned my head around to see Sakura. “Oh, Ogami-san. Good afternoon,” I greeted her. “Did you need something from me?”“I actually came to help you with wiping the windows down,” she answered. “You wouldn’t be able to reach the upper half of the panels without a stool of some sort to stand on.”Realizing that she was right, I nervously chuckled. “Ah geez, I suppose you’re right about that,” I laughed half-heartedly. “I guess being short has its own issues.”“As does being tall,” Sakura reminded me. “Please keep that in mind. In any case, I would like to offer what would likely be considered a fair trade. I will take care of the remaining window panels if you handle emptying the trash bin in my steed.”“Huh? Oh, that’s fine with me,” I agreed. “Here, you’ll need these.” I handed both the rag and the cleaning spray to her, and she took it before quickly working on wiping the windows down. With her dutiful actions, I went over to the trash bin to wrap up the bag that contained all of the day’s trash and hauled it out to incinerator to have it burned. And while the journey to the incinerator had no problems whatsoever, the journey back to the classroom did.I was walking through one of the hallways alongside a wall, humming to myself, when I heard someone else nearby pacing not too far behind me. I stopped walking and stood where I was to look behind me, and there stood Leon. “Oh, hi Kuwata-kun,” I greeted him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”He looked at me and shot me a smile. “Oh, hey, what’s up Naegs?” he asked me. “You feel any better?”“…I suppose I am, yeah.” I affirmed, nodding as I responded to him. “Thanks for checking up on me.”“Good… because I think we need to talk.”Before I could react, he rested his hand on the wall I was now backed up on, his taller figure looming over my own. I looked at him above him, and his face was one of concern.“Naegs… I just want to know what’s going on with you,” he started. “I get you don’t want to talk to me about it. I get that. But I just... I can’t help but worry about you. You’ve been acting really weird lately, and I get the feeling that something’s bothering you.” His face leaned in a little closer to mine, leaving only a few inches of space between us. “I want to be there to help you, man,” he told me in an almost hushed voice. “I want to help you through whatever it is that’s on your mind right now… but I can’t do that if you keep shutting me out.”I was silent, surprised at his worries. “Um… I think you might have the wrong idea,” I started, blinking in surprise. “Kuwata-kun, I’m not trying to-”“Hey, uh, is everything here okay here?”The both of us looked over at the person who interrupted our conversation, and I immediately recognized who it was. “Oh, hi Akamatsu-san,” I greeted her. “Everything’s okay, don’t worry. Kuwata-kun was just talking to me about how our friendship is going is all. Nothing more.”Leon pulled away from his position with a flush of red on his cheeks. Kaede looked at him momentarily with a small look of confusion and suspicion on her face. “…Right...” she commented. “A-Anyways, I need to get a student council meeting, so I’ll see you two later. Uh- and maybe try to have your conversations in a way that wouldn’t seem like… something else.”With that, Kaede walked past the both of us, with her footsteps slowly becoming silent as the distance between us grew. Once we couldn’t see her anymore, I turned my focus back to Leon. “Hey, Kuwata-kun,” I began. “I know that I haven’t been saying much to you about my whole thing, but I want to reassure you that I’m fine. This is just something I have to work on by myself. I hope you understand.”A look of worry and anger spread on his face, and he grumbled something under his breath before turning around and walking away. “I get it. Sorry for trying to help you with this,” he murmured. “I’ll… see you tomorrow.”Much like how Kaede left the two of us, Leon was gone, leaving me by myself in the middle of the hallway. Being by myself gave me some time to think about what Leon was trying to say. ‘Why… was he so worried?’ I asked myself silently. ‘I know he’s my friend and all, but he was acting… different. And what did Akamatsu-san mean by that comment she made? How did our conversation seem to her?’ After giving it some more thought, I ended up shrugging off the matter. ‘Whatever, it shouldn’t be a big deal,’ I told myself. ‘I just need to get back to my dorm and take care of what’s needed.’ I quickly returned back to my classroom to grab my supplies I left behind while cleaning and headed to my dorm immediately after.Once I was back within the confines of my dorm room, I locked the door behind me and threw my stuff to the side. I let out a long sigh and I could feel embarrassment for what I was about to do creep up along my back, and I shivered instinctively. ‘God, this is going to be so bad…’ I whined to myself. I pinched my cheeks to bring myself back to reality and sat down at my desk. ‘I just… need to get through this,’ I told myself. ‘You can do this, Makoto… you can do this.’I powered on my laptop and stared at the blank screen before me, unsure of how I wanted to even begin this. ‘…Yeah, this is already going to be easier said than done…’ I continued to whine in my mind. ‘Just… try your best. That is what matters most.’ And with that, I began to slowly and hesitantly write the smutfic.-
“So, how is my little programmer feeling?”

Junko knew that Chihiro would be unable to answer that question with any sort of tangible language, as she had strapped a ballgag on him to keep him quiet. All he could do if he wanted to do was whimper and let out heavy breaths, much to the fashionista’s amusement. “My, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” she teased him. “A small, little boy, tied up and gagged, all for my own pleasure… oh, how a girl could dream.” She slinked on over to him, her heels clacking against the stone floor with every step she took, and pressed her naked body up against his. “Hey, make a little noise for me, will you?” she softly whispered into his ear. “There’s no need to be ashamed in enjoying this, you know. And I know you like this… so why don’t you let me know how much you like it, hmm?”

Chihiro let out a long moan that bordered on being a lustful growl upon Junko’s request, and the girl giggled gleefully in response to it. “See? Doesn’t it feel better to just let go of your inhibitions?” she asked him. “When it’s just you and me… you don’t have to pretend to not like this.” The programmer let out another moan in response to her comment, this time one that was as if he were begging her to use his body for her pleasure. “Awh… don’t worry my little programmer,” Junko cooed, cupping her hand around his cheek. “I’ll be sure to let you have your fun. You’ll have that sweet, sweet release I know you’ve been wanting so badly… but I’ll be the one to make you release, when I want you to release.”

Right as she said that, the fashionista lowered her other hand down to the brunette’s shaft and gently curled her fingers around it to grip on to it, and Chihiro let out another noise of desire as tears began to roll down his eyes. “Man… tears look great on you,” Junko commented, wiping away one of his tears with her thumb. “In fact… you just look amazing at this moment to me. Tied up to a board, gagged and unable to speak, and ever so reliant on me to give you the pleasure you so desperately crave. I’d call you a pervert for wanting all of this… but then I suppose I’d be a bit of a hypocrite, since all I ever wanted to do since I laid my eyes on you was break you in, defile you, and make you my little plaything.” Her face inched closer to his, and she gave him a little peck on the nose. “I guess I should start helping you with your little problem now, huh?” she teased. “I know I’ve got magic hands… so prepare to have your mind blown by the illustrious Junko Enoshima.”

Junko’s strokes started off as slow and steady, almost as if she had practiced such tactics several times prior. It was methodical, designed to give Chihiro the most amount of pleasure a man could possibly have from a handjob, and if the programmer’s onslaught on moans and groans from behind the ballgag were of any indication, it was working. Quickly becoming excited at what was to come from their session, Junko picked up the pace and began to beat his length at progressively faster paces, which earned her even more moans and groans from her partner. It quickly became a brutal handjob, with Chihiro’s balls flapping about and continuously smacking both the underside of the fashionista’s hand as she stroked him and the metallic board which he was strapped to. The pain only provided pleasure for him, however, and it wasn’t until long that he shot his load onto his partner’s bare body before eventually pooling between their feet.

Satisfied with her work, Junko let go of the brunette’s cock and pressed her hand against his chest. “Now, wasn’t that satisfying, my darling little programmer?” she asked him. When all he could do to reply was let out a small noise, the fashionista’s lips curled into a grin. “Hm… I guess you can’t give me a proper answer when you’re all situated like this. Maybe I should… fix that.” Moving her hand up to his face, Junko slowly began to unlatch the ballgag strapped around Chihiro’s mouth and threw it to the side. “Is that better?” she teased.

For the first few moments after having his mouth liberated from being locked behind the ballgag, all Chihiro could do was pant heavily as the saliva that gathered in his mouth drooled out and pooled with the cum from moments prior beneath the two’s feet. But once he was able to get his bearings, the first thing he said was “P-Please… I need more…!”

“Hm? Whatever could you possibly mean?” Junko asked him.

“I need… I need you to make me cum…!” Chihiro begged. “Please, I need you to make me cum! It hurts so much, I need it! P-Please… please…!”

Amused by the programmer’s desperate pleas for more, Junko pecked him on the nose once more before diving in for a French kiss. The kiss itself lasted for only a moment, but a trail of saliva connected the two’s tongues once their lips parted. “I suppose I can help you out with that,” she smirked. Her hand gingerly made its way back down to his cock and wrapped its fingers around it once more. “Ready for round two?” she asked him.

“Y-Yes! Please, beat my dick and make me cum!”

“Alright. As you wish… my little programmer.”

The two continued their session for hours after Chihiro was freed of the ballgag, spending the entire night engaged in a fit of carnal desire and passion. The depths of the dungeon reeked of sweat, spit, and sperm as the night went on, and the two’s noises echoed throughout it, letting anyone and everyone who was within close proximity of the dungeon know what exactly it is the two of them were engaged in. But neither cared about that one bit. They only wanted to feel good… and that’s exactly what they did.
-“…I hate this. I hate this so much. I hate myself for writing this. I hate myself for even agreeing to do this.”I let out a long groan of disappointment and furrowed my eyebrows out of frustration and embarrassment. ‘This is going to hurt...’ I thought to myself. Hesitantly, I submitted the smut request, and winced in anticipation for the worst.But when the reception for the smutfic finally came in, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Many people were rather understanding of how smutfic weren’t the sort of stuff that I would write on my own behalf, and offered praise for how it was written for a first-timer. And while many others weren’t as understanding, likely due to not following me and my works, I was fortunate enough to only have a small handful of comments that were overly harsh about the smutfic’s writing. As I scrolled through the comments section, reading through all the feedback I was getting for the fic, I found the original requester had commented once more. Their comment was, to say the very least, rather interesting to read.TentaGal32owowo smut??? from the wholesome one??? fr tho, ik this is probs ur 1st time writing a smut, but this turned out to be sort of okay!! :)) also, why is chihiro a guy???“Oh. I guess they liked kind of liked it. That’s good,” I said to myself. “Guess I should reply to their comment and answer their question.” It only took a few moments to type up my response, and I hit the submit button as soon as I was done.ScrambledMindsYw! And to answer your question, Chihiro is a boy! Hope that helps! :)Once I submitted the response, I closed the tab and leaned back in my chair to heave out another sigh of relief. “Finally, it’s over…” I groaned. “Now, let’s hope I never have to do this sort of thing ever again. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Waking up in the morning always felt as if it were a chore to do. Sleep has always proven to be a comfortable way for me to relax whenever I needed a nap, and sleeping in helped make me feel refreshed and ready for the day whenever I woke up. But as school was in full swing, sleeping in was no longer an option for me, especially since I was the class president and was expected to be at school on time every day.As my alarm went off, I was slowly brought out of my slumber, dazed and mildly bothered by being woken up. I hit the snooze button on the alarm clock and slowly got up in my bed, rubbing my eyes as I did so. “Well, today’s the day of the meeting…” I told myself. “Let’s try to be more awake by the time the meeting starts.”Yawning, I reached over to the alarm clock once more to properly turn it off so it wouldn’t continue to ring a few minutes later, and threw the blankets off my body before getting out of bed. I stretched my body and shuffled over to the curtains to draw them open, and the morning sun lit the room in an instant. I instinctively winced as my eyes were still used to the dark and shielded them from its brightness, before they slowly got used to the light. ‘Alright, light’s in the room now,’ I thought. ‘Time for a shower.’Grabbing my uniform from the makeshift hangar I used to store my clothes, I nabbed one of the towels I had bought at a general store and made my way over to the shower to turn it on. The water was cold at first, but once it heated up to an optimal temperature, I stepped inside. My muscles relaxed and I closed my eyes to embrace the warmth of water running down my body. I could feel myself beginning to doze off from how warm it felt though, so I quickly began to lather my body in soap and scrubbed myself clean in order to avoid falling asleep in the hot shower. Once I rinsed off all of the suds that were on my being, I turned the shower water off and stepped out to dry myself with the towel, making sure no crevices were wet, before putting on my school uniform.Before I left, I made sure to grab both my school bag which contained all of my supplies, as well as a pre-packaged bento from a nearby convenience store to eat for lunch as well as a small onigiri to eat for breakfast and some water to wash both meals down with. “Alright, that’s everything… I think,” I said. “Okay then. I’m off.” Putting on my shoes, I left the dorm room and made my way over to class, slowly eating away at the onigiri in my hand and wondering how the meeting would turn out.… As I slid the classroom door open, I immediately saw a small cluster of people hanging out in the back of the room, chatting with one another. I set my stuff down at my desk and made my way over to the group. “Hey guys,” I greeted them with a wave. “What’s going on over here?”“Oh, good morning Nanami-san,” Mahiru greeted me in return. “We’re just talking about the upcoming deadline for each of our talent projects and what each of us will be doing for it. I’ve been taking photos of various things around the school, like groups of students running in the field for gym or a close-up of dewdrops on a bush in the early morning, and making a collage of it.”“It’s not like everyone’s talents can be demonstrated through a project though!” Kazuichi yelled. “Like, how is Sonia-sama supposed to present hers?!?”“…If I had to guess… maybe she’ll have to make an extensive presentation on her family lineage?” Ryota suggested, mumbling as he did so. “It’s just a guess though…”Listening to what he said, the lack of confidence he had bothered me, so I placed my hand on his shoulder, causing him to tense up for a moment. “Mitarai-san, you need to have more confidence in yourself,” I told him. “Even if it’s just a thought or your own personal opinion, every single one of your words matter because you do matter at the end of the day. So… try to not brush those thoughts, feelings, opinions, and other similar things aside in fear of being opposed by others. Okay?”Ryota looked up at me wearily for just a moment and averted his gaze down to the floor beneath us. His hand rubbed the length of his arm, unsure of what to say. Yet, he had the slightest smile in the corner of his mouth. “…Thank you,” he finally replied in a meek voice. “I… really needed to hear that.”I smiled and nodded at him. “Of course,” I assured him. “That’s what friends are for, right?”“Ah, hope... What a fantastic thing to witness blossoming in others!”All of us in the group looked over at the entry door to see Nagito standing there, with Akane and Sonia entering beside him. “Hope is such a magnificent thing....” he began. “It truly is a testament to the strength of the person! Everyone can be a beacon of hope if they just-!”Before he could continue with his speech, Akane whacked the back of his head with the palm of her hand, which immediately knocked him unconscious. Sonia rushed to catch his body as it was about to fall over and handed him over to Akane right after succeeding in doing so, who in turn hoisted his arm around her shoulder to keep him upright. “We all knew how that was going to turn out, so I figured I could knock him down before he started rambling,” she shrugged. “Better to spare us all from the hope headache, you know?”“Awh man, you mean he isn’t dead?” Hiyoko pouted from her seat. “Boooo! I demand bloodshed!”“L-Let us not get blood everywhere...” Sonia piped up. “It would be horrifying to try to clean it all up without having to ask for chemical cleaning supplies...” All Hiyoko did to respond to Sonia’s explanation was huff in annoyance and gaze out the window to avoid looking over at her and admitting her defeat.Akane brought Nagito’s body over to his desk and sat him down in it. “Hey, anyone got some sunglasses he can wear?” she asked. Not saying a single word, Kazuichi reached into his school bag and tossed a pair of sunglasses at Akane, which she effortlessly caught and placed on Nagito’s face. “There!” she exclaimed, puffing her chest in pride. “Good as new!”“Th-That sounds like you’re implying he was bad beforehand...” Ryota spoke.The gymnast shrugged at the animator’s response. “Eh, at least he ain’t talking anymore,” she replied. “The silence is nice sometimes, you know?”More people walked into the room as time went on, indicating to us in the group that class was beginning soon. Without saying much, we all made our ways over to our desks, sitting down, and waiting. And shortly after, the teacher walked in. “Good morning class!” she greeted us. “Are you guys ready for-” She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she noticed Nagito, and stared at him for a few seconds before looking back up. With a deadpan face, she pointed at his body asked us “Is he dead?”“Nah, he isn’t dead Yukizome-sensei,” Akane spoke up from her seat. “Just unconscious is all.”“Oh, thank goodness...” she sighed in relief. “I was worried I would’ve had to report a murder again.”“…Yukizome-sensei, what do you mean by ‘again’…?” Kazuichi nervously asked.“…Ehe!”“What the heck is that supposed to mean?!?”“Anyways!” She slammed her hands on the sides of her pedestal and gripped them firmly, completely ignoring the question Kazuichi had hollered out just beforehand. She looked out to the sea of students that we all made up, and her face lit up with determination. “Enough chit chat! Let’s get this class started!”…Several hours of lecturing passed on by, and lunch finally arrived once our English lecture was over. Nagito woke up just a few minutes before the lecture was over with a bit of a headache, and after getting him an ice pack to balance on his head, it was my duty to bring him up to date on what was crammed down our throats in the time that he was unconscious.“…So once you do that, you just have to plot the point like this…” I spoke as I drew dots on a graph. “And connect them to make a graph for a sinusoidal equation.” I quickly drew the line needed to connect the dots together and showed him the final product. “Does that make sense?”“It does, yeah,” Nagito agreed, writing down what he can in his notebook. “Thanks for helping me out with this, Nanami-chan.”“No problem,” I replied. “It’s just what friends do.”Once he was finished with jotting down his notes, Nagito set his notebook to the side and sighed. “Ahh, that feels nice to finish…” he shared. A thought crossed his mind at that moment and he perked up immediately after. “Oh! Before, I forget, Hinata-kun and I were planning on going to a karaoke station after school today,” he informed me. “Do you want to tag along?”I shook my head. “I’d love to, but I have to go to a meeting for class representatives right after class ends for today, and it’ll take a while to finish,” I apologized. “Sorry about that.”“Awh, that sucks…” he groaned. “I guess it’ll just be the two of us then.”“Hey hey, why don’t you just call it a date then?” I suggested. “I mean, it’s been a while since you two spent some time doing something by yourselves… I think.”The thought had apparently never crossed his mind as he stared absentmindedly at me for a moment before a light went off in his brain, and he grinned. “Oh… that’s a great idea!” he cheered. “You’re right on how it’s been a while since we last did something by ourselves, so this would be the perfect opportunity for such a thing!” His reaction mellowed out after cheering at it for a bit, and he sighed contently. “It has been a while since we did something without others around…” he reminisced. “Sometimes I forget we’re even dating since we’re just so… comfortable around each other nowadays. But at the same time… it just feels so ethereal that we’re a thing now. You get what I mean, right?”I nodded. “I do, yeah,” I agreed. “At least now it gives you the time to be more intimate with your ‘beacon of hope’ than usual.”“Awh, Nanami-san! Why did you have to bring that old nickname up?!?” Nagito cringed. “God, even just hearing it these days makes me want to shrivel up into a ball and try my best to forget it ever happened.”“…Well, if it does ever happen, I’ll be sure to hand you over to Hinata-kun the next time I see him,” I joked. We both laughed at it for a bit before I pulled out a second notebook. “Okay, now we need to go over what we studied today in Japanese Literature,” I began. “Eat your lunch really quickly, and then we’ll get started.”Nagito scrambled to eat what he could of his leftover fried chicken before pulling his notebook out of his backpack. He flipped to the next blank page and prepared his pencil before telling me “Alright, I’m ready for your instructions Nanami-san. Lead the way.” The two of us continued talking about the various subjects we covered during the morning lectures before lunch came to a close, barely managing to finish the English lecture on time, before we had to part ways to prepare for our talent exams. As I headed over to the A/V room to set my stuff up, all I could think about before inserting the disk was how fortunate I was to have such wonderful friends to surround myself with, and how I was happy with how things were at this time.…As the hours passed by, classes for the day eventually came to an end. Everyone was beginning to clean up the classroom as I began to prepare for the class representative meeting. I shuffled some papers I needed for it together and put them in my bag before heading over to the teacher. “Yukizome-sensei, I’ll be heading off to the meeting now,” I informed her. “Have a good day.”“Okay! Take care, Nanami-san!” she bid me farewell. “I’ll stick behind to help clean in your place then. And as I am indeed the former Ultimate Housekeeper, I’ll have this place spick and span in no time!” We both nodded at each other as a way to silently thank each other for the other’s hard work and to affirm we were going to do what we needed to do, and I exited the classroom to make my way over to the designated meeting room.The meeting room we agreed on wasn’t very far from my own classroom, so the walk there wasn’t bad. But when I arrived, I was surprised to see the state of the classroom.One of the windows had a giant hole in it, with shards of glass scattered the floor around it. The wallpaper that covered all the walls of the classroom had various tears strewn about and several of the wooden desks has slashes in them. ‘Someone must’ve barged in and destroyed stuff...’ I thought to myself.Figuring it to be better to start cleaning the mess up myself, I grabbed a dustpan from a neighboring supplies closet and began to sweep up the shards of glass, knowing that they could hurt a person’s feet if they were to step on them. It wasn’t long until other people began to show up.“W-What…? What the hell happened in here…?” a male voice questioned, exasperated by the state of the classroom. I got up from my spot and looked behind to see both Soshun Murasame and Aiko Umesawa standing at the entryway of the classroom, shell-shocked at what they were seeing.“Oh, hey you two,” I greeted them in an almost nonchalant manner, trying my best to ease their worries by speaking more casually. “I’m… not entirely sure what happened in here. I just walked in not too long ago.”“Tattered wallpaper, broken glass, ruined desks...” Aiko began to list under her breath. Once she was done inspecting the damage, she turned her attention over to the boy beside her. “Murasame-kun, what do you think this means?”The boy pondered on Aiko’s question, looking around and inspecting the damage done in the classroom. “…This is just a hypothesis, but I do believe someone intentionally destroyed this classroom,” he shared with the two of us. “I’m not sure why, though... What could possibly be gained from doing something like this? And… why did they destroy this classroom in particular?”The three of us wondered about it for a while, but seeing as how we were getting nowhere just by thinking about it, I sighed. “Well, whatever the case may be, we should probably just try to clean up what we can before the meeting begins,” I spoke. “Addressing the state of the classroom should be brought up in the meeting as well so all class representatives could talk about it during homeroom. That way, all students will know about what happened here.”Soshun nodded. “That sounds like a good idea,” he agreed. “I’ll be sure to do so. Nanami-san, please keep doing what you were doing before we interrupted you. Umesawa-san, grab some duct tape for the both of us. We can at least try to patch up the wallpaper for the time being.”“R-Right! Let’s get cleaning!”The three of us began to systematically clean up the room little by little, patching up what we could along the way and ensuring that all the damage was properly documented. We managed to finish everything by the time all of the other representatives else came into the classroom for the meeting, though that didn’t stop several of them from expressing an array of emotions at what went down. Kiyotaka Ishimaru in particular was roaring about how the classroom needed an overhaul to be up to code, much to Soshun’s annoyance, and he waved him off for the time being by starting the meeting.“Hello everyone,” he began. “Welcome to today’s meeting. Before we begin any official business, I’d like to take a moment to talk about the state of this classroom. As you can see, it’s been... tampered with, and I’d like to inform everyone to tell their classes tomorrow about this incident. I suspect this to be an intentional case of destruction of property, which will not be tolerated here at Hope’s Peak. Please inform everyone about this tomorrow in the morning. Does anyone have any questions or object to the matter?” I looked around the room. Nobody dared to ask anything. “Alright then,” he spoke. “Thank you for agreeing to do your part. Now, let us begin the meeting.”…The meeting went off without a hitch, and it felt like it wrapped up not long after it began. Everyone was chatting amongst one another and cleaning up, getting ready to leave shortly. I was organizing my notes, when I noticed a person standing beside my desk. “Hi Nanami-senpai!”I looked up and saw Kaede Akamatsu, one of my underclassmen. “Oh, hi Akamatsu-san,” I greeted her. “How are you doing?”“I’m doing pretty well, actually,” she replied. “Thank you for asking! Do you mind if we walk to the entrance of the school together?”“Huh? Yeah, sure thing,” I agreed. I got up from my desk and packed my stuff up together before turning towards her. “Alright, I’m ready. Let’s get going.”We made our way out of the classroom and started walking down the hallways, and Kaede decided to strike up a conversation. “Oh, hey, Nanami-senpai, can I share something with you that happened today?” she asked.I nodded. “Sure. What is it?”“Okay, so, when I was making my way over to the meeting room, I saw a red-headed guy talking to another guy, who was kind of… short, if we’re being honest,” she started. “They were chatting by a wall, and the redhead was kind of like… pinning him to the wall, but not really. It’s a little hard to explain though…”“Oh, do you mean kabedon?” I asked.Her face lit upon making the connection between the act and the name of the act. “Yeah, exactly! It was just like that!” she exclaimed. As soon as she finished her sentence, however, her face froze for a moment, and the first words to come out of her after a few seconds of silence were a soft “Oh my God. Kabedon… that’s…” She blushed for a moment and patted her cheeks to stop thinking about the matter before turning her attention to me. “Er, Nanami-senpai, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you know it was kabedon?” she inquired.I thought on it for a second before responding. “Well... I think I know which two guys you’re referring to, and I have strong feelings that the redhead has a crush on the smaller boy,” I answered. “I doubt it’s reciprocated though.”“That makes sense,” she commented, “but now I feel kind of bad for the taller guy.”“Me too,” I agreed. “But I think he’ll find someone sometime in the future. He seems like an earnest guy, so if he learns to be honest with his feelings, it’ll happen sooner or later.”We ended up chatting about that until we made it to the entryway of Hope’s Peak, where a person clad in black was standing. “Oh, Shuichi-kun!” Kaede chirped, realizing who the person was. She ran over to him and hugged him.“I’m glad to see you again, Akamatsu-san,” he greeted her. “How was the meeting?”“Shuichi-kun, we’ve talked about this!” she pouted, ignoring his question. “You can call me sweetheart. I’m fine with it! I promise!” The male’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Right, right,” he nervously apologized. “Sorry, Akama-” He caught himself mid-sentence and looked down nervously before correcting what he was about to say with “Sorry… sweetheart.” With a light giggle, Kaede pecked the male’s cheek, and his face turned a dark shade of pink.“Oh, I nearly forgot!” Kaede turned to me. “Nanami-senpai, this is my boyfriend, Shuichi-kun. Shuichi-kun, this is my friend, Nanami-senpai.”“Yo,” I spoke, lifting my hand up to greet him. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer.”He smiled awkwardly. “I-It’s nice to meet you, Nanami-senpai,” he replied. “I’m Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. I’m Akamatsu-san’s boyfriend and fellow classmate.”Kaede giggled at her boyfriend’s introduction. “It’s okay to relax, you know,” she told him. “Being so tense will only make you sick, and I wouldn’t want that whatsoever.” Once she was done talking to him, she turned her attention to me once more. “Anyways, Shuichi-kun and I are going to go out tonight for some fried chicken, so I’ll see you later Nanami-senpai!” Kaede excitedly shared with me as she quickly changed out her shoes to her usual footwear.“Alright then,” I acknowledged. “Stay safe you two.” Without another word, Kaede took Shuichi’s hand and bolted off, the male struggling to keep his hat on his head.Seeing the two of them made me think of how Hajime and Nagito were out on a date, so when I got back to my dorm room, I quickly sent the two of them a text to see how things were going on their end in our little group chat. The message turned into a three-way conversation we were all engaged in.Meso how’s the date going???HopelessHopefulp great if I dare say so myselfHopelessHopefulhinata kuns throat started hurting after singing a few songs in a rowHopelessHopefulso were getting slushees rnTheOJManthis fucking manTheOJManmade me singTheOJManthe entiretyTheOJManof the news of the world albumTheOJManin one goTheOJManand my throatTheOJManis fuckingTheOJManh o a r s eHopelessHopefuli meanHopelessHopefuli liked hearing you singTheOJMan...MeawhTheOJManyou are so lucky i love your pathetic ass smTheOJManotherwise i wouldve dumped you by nowHopelessHopefuleven if you suck at itTheOJManb i t c hHopelessHopeful;)))MelolMesounds like it’s been fun so farMei’ll leave you to your slushees thenMecya later you twoHopelessHopefulbig oof bye nanami sanTheOJManbye chiakiOnce the conversation finally wrapped up, I set my phone aside and pulled out my homework. “Okay, time to do this stuff,” I told myself. “Let’s get it over with so I can get some sleep.”…Once I was finally done with the homework, I set my pencil down and closed the notebook containing all the problems I had to do. “Finally, it’s over…” I sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. Now I can get some much needed rest.”As it had turned from day to dusk to night while I was focused on my homework, the sky outside was pitch black, with stars that sparkled brightly littering it haphazardly. I looked out the window to stare out at the night sky for a while, admiring the beauty of it and relishing in the quiet serenity it brought with it. Eventually though, I had to pull myself away from it to get ready for bed. I quickly changed into my pajamas and situated myself in my bed, hoping to fall asleep quickly.To my dismay, however, my mind was still running, and was stuck on who the perpetrators for the destruction of the classroom could be. “It’ll probably take a while to find out who it is, so I hope they don’t try anything in the meantime…” I quietly told myself. “…But that’s enough of that. Sweet dreams, me.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

More often than not, I enjoyed it whenever Friday mornings rolled by. They were oftentimes oddly satisfying to wake up to. Perhaps it’s because Fridays are the last day of the week before the weekend comes around, and on a subconscious level, it motivates me to have as good of a day as I can to start the weekend off on a positive note.Today was one of those days. Though the sun peeked through my curtains and woke me up a few minutes before my alarm was set to go off, I wasn’t complaining as all it did was warm my body instead of blinding me. Slowly rising from my bed, I stretched my body to get the blood flowing through me to smack my lips. Then I realized that today was the day Junko was planning to host her sleepover party. ‘Oh, right, that’s today…’ I reminded myself. ‘Huh. Maybe I can cram in another request before heading out for it.’ Shuffling my feet over to my desk, I unplugged my phone from its charger and began scrolling through the many comments, looking for a decent pairing to do. And eventually, I found one such pairing that seemed plausible to do.Armed_And_ReadyYo could i get some chihiro x mondo on an ice cream date?? There my otp‘Man, Fujisaki-san seems to have gotten kind of popular lately…’ I thought. ‘Maybe it’s because of his cuteness factor. He does resemble a girl when in his uniform, after all.’ Without much though, I typed up a response to the request and submitted it.ScrambledMindsOfc! I’ll see what I can do! :)Satisfied with myself, I quickly got myself ready for the school day before slinging my school bag over my shoulder. “Okay, Makoto, it’s the last day before the weekend,” I muttered to myself. “Just go through this day, and then you can write.” I grabbed the handle of my dorm room’s front door, swung it open, and began my walk over to my classroom to begin the final day of school for the week.…When I slid the door open to the classroom, nobody was there just yet. The only noises that echoed in the classroom were the flutters of a set of curtains next to a slightly ajar window. ‘Weird,’ I thought to myself. ‘Ishimaru-san isn’t here yet. Is he sick or something?’ Making my way over to the open window, I shut it so the room wouldn’t be as cold when others began to arrive, set my stuff at my seat, and sat down to take a moment to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.Not too long after that was when other people began to file into the room. The typical early birds were the first to arrive, followed by the more normal students not long after, and ending with the truant ones. Yet all throughout that time, Taka hadn’t walked through the door, which struck me as odd. If he could help it, he would show up to class at a very early time, so his absence was felt.As the students who were often late to class began to enter the classroom, Leon walked in, slightly hunched over and looking like he was bothered by something. As he was about to set his stuff down at his desk, his eyes made contact with me on accident, and his scoffed as his brows furrowed in annoyance. He looked over to his other side when he finally sat down, avoiding eye contact with me altogether, and leaving me worried that our friendship could become fractured over me not telling him everything. I wished I could make him understand the situation I was in, but it was difficult for me to do so at this time.“Wow, I can sense bad blood between you two. Is everything okay?”My attention was drawn to the person asking me that question, who turned out to be Hina, standing beside my desk. A look of both suspicion and concern was spread across her face. “Oh, good morning Asahina-san,” I greeted her. “There isn’t any bad blood between Kuwata-kun and I, don’t worry. There’s just a bit of a… rift of sorts in our friendship right now. I’m sure it’ll go away eventually though.”Hina grimaced for a moment before crossing her arms. “Well, alright then,” she started. “If you need someone to talk to about everything though, Sakura-chan and I are more than happy to hear you out. In fact, feel free to join us for lunch today. I’m sure some good company could do wonders for your well-being.”I smiled at her offer and nodded it. “Alright, I’ll think about it,” I agreed. “Thank you for the offer, Asahina-san. I appreciate it.” As soon as we both finished talking, the teacher walked into the classroom. The both of us bid each other farewell for the time being, and I reached into my bag to pull my supplies out to begin writing down everything that the teacher was saying.…After the morning lectures were over with, lunch had finally come around to give us the break many of us needed. I especially felt like my brain was going to melt into goop from the overload of information thrown our way. As I took out my food, I suddenly recalled Hina’s offer to hang out with her and Sakura during lunch, and looked around the room to see where the two were. They were sitting down on the floor together, with Sakura’s hulking frame pressed up against the side of the classroom wall, and Hina’s sitting beside her. ‘Oh, there they are,’ I realized. ‘Well, I suppose I should go take up her offer. It’ll be nice to have a change of pace for the day.’Taking my lunch with me, I made my way around the desks scattered around the classroom to get to the pair of girls, who seemed to be deep in conversation as I arrived, with Hina doing most of the talking and Sakura listening intently. Not wanting to interrupt the two, I quietly sat down beside Hina, who eventually took notice of my presence and made a small noise of recognition in the middle of her sentence.“Ah-! Oh, shoot, sorry for not seeing you sooner, Naegi-san!” Hina profusely apologized. “I was just talking with Sakura-chan about this new donut shop that opened up recently!”I chuckled in amusement and waved my hand. “Hey now, it’s all good,” I assured her. “I knew you were really invested in the conversation so I didn’t want to interrupt you is all.”The two of us laughed together for a moment before Hina pursed her lip. “So, uh…” she started, unsure of what she wanted to say. “How have things been for you lately? Have they been good, or…?”“If you’re talking about how things have been between me and Kuwata-kun, I’m just worried about him if anything,” I admitted. “He’s not often like this, so… I don’t really know what to do.”“…Naegi-san, I understand you care deeply about Kuwata-san, and I understand that he cares deeply for you as well,” Sakura began, speaking up for the first time since I sat down with the two of them. “But you have to understand that whatever it is he may be going through is something he must be able to manage on his own. It is unreasonable to expect others to handle matters for you, as they may not always be by your side. And while it’s quite evident that Kuwata-san struggles with handling whatever conflicts may plague his being, with time, he will learn, and he will mature. The best thing you can do for him at the moment is to give him the space he needs to learn and mature.”I mulled on her words for a bit and slowly began to nod my head as I processed it. “Yeah… yeah, you’re right, Ogami-san,” I agreed with her. “I just… hope this doesn’t last for much longer.”Hina placed her hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed it to comfort me. “Hey, things will be fine, don’t worry,” she told me. “Now then… eat up! All this worrying is going to give you an empty stomach.”I could feel my stomach begin to rumble and I nervously chuckled. “Y-Yeah, I should probably eat,” I agreed. Pulling out my lunch box, I opened the lid and was about to dig into the food when I saw Hina eyeing the bento, marveling at its contents. Sakura was also looking at it with interest, albeit in a much more subdued manner. “U-Um, is everything okay…?” I asked the two of them.“…N-Naegi-san…” Hina slowly managed to start. “Did you… make this bento yourself?”Realizing what she meant, I shook my head. “Not… necessarily,” I corrected her. “While I did decorate the box myself, I will admit that all the food in it was bought from various stores. I didn’t do any of the cooking.”“Okay, but still, this looks amazing!” Hina remarked, her eyes darting around to note all of the details within it. “You’re going to have to teach me how to decorate bento boxes someday, because hot dang do these look great! You should’ve been the Ultimate Bento Box Maker!”“Indeed, the way you prepared all of your dishes is remarkable,” Sakura complimented me. “It’s a skill I will admit I am a tad bit envious of. Should you offer to teach Asahina-san how to make your bento boxes, I would appreciate it if the offer could be extended to me as well.”“Awh, you guys…!” I teared up a little, moved by their compliments. “I really appreciate it…!”“Um, excuse me? Could I have everyone’s attention really quickly, please?”All chatter of the room quickly ceased to be as everyone turned to face the front of the classroom, where Chihiro stood. The programmer flinched with surprise momentarily from the sudden attention, but took a deep breath to relax. “I just got a text message from Ishimaru-kun right now, and he wanted me to share it with everyone,” he shared. Pulling out his phone, he began to paraphrase the message on it. “Everyone should know that there was a case of school property damage found yesterday by the student council and class representatives, and if anyone knows anything about it, we should report to a teacher immediately. O-Oh, and, um, he’s sorry he suddenly fell ill.”As Chihiro ran back to his usual place for lunch, the three of us looked at each other with varying expressions of concern. “Is… is Ishimaru-san serious…?” Hina asked, a small quiver of worry coming from her voice.“He has no reason to lie about such a thing,” Sakura replied, a grim look spread across her face. “Such news is… surprising, to say the least. But we should all be vigilant about reporting anything suspicious going forward.”As the two continued to talk about the food, I began to zone out as I looked down at my food. Questions raced through my mind on who could’ve done it, why they could’ve done it, and what will happen next. Yet, I knew that I wouldn’t get any answer for it, at least for the time being. So with a sigh, I slowly began to eat my food, and the rest of the lunch period was spent in complete silence between the three of us.…The last period of the day was gym class, which wasn’t horrendously awful to deal with. While it was sunny, it wasn’t hot thanks to the gentle breeze that helped offset the heat for us all. Had we not had to run, I would’ve been able to enjoy it. But instead, we were forced to sweat our butts off at the track.The coach paired me with Leon, Celes, and Toko this time around to run as a group. Celes refused to run however, and opted to walk her part instead despite the coach yelling at her. Toko, on the other hand, kept tripping over her own two feet to the point where the coach took pity on her and had her sit on the bench so she wouldn’t get trampled over. So in reality, it was just Leon and I who were running the length of the track.I tried my best to focus on the various chants and mantras I normally repeated to myself whenever I ran, but as my mind was occupied with both the strain on my friendship with Leon and the news about the classroom, my mind ended up blanking out for a split second, and I tripped. A few of my classmates made small noises as they winced at my fall. Junko, on the other hand, guffawed and roared out “Oh my God, he finally fell for someone! His own two feet!”I let out a small grunt of pain as I tried to get back up on my feet, and I saw a hand reach down to me. When I looked up to see who it was, I was greeted with the visage of none other than Leon. I silently took his hand, and he helped hoist me back up on my feet. The two of us just stood there for a moment as I dusted myself off, and I turned to face him. “Thank you, Kuwa-”“Don’t.”The moment he said that, my mind went blank and my mouth stopped moving. A look of conflict was spread on his face, as if he wanted to say something to me, but wasn’t sure if he should. As I was about to speak once more, his hand pulled away from mine and he stared at me for just a few moments before turning around and running off, leaving me in his dust.I looked down at the hand he helped me up with and sighed. The coach’s loud whistle shocked me back to reality, and my head whipped around to look at him. “Naegi, finish up your run and get back over here!” he barked at me. “We have other people who need to run, and we don’t have all day to wait for you to be ready!”“Y-Yes Coach! Sorry Coach!” My response was immediate and borderline frantic, and I began to sprint as fast as I could once I was done talking. By the time I was done, I want panting heavily, and sweat was racing down my face. And yet, despite all that, all I could think about at that moment was Leon’s one-worded response… and how it felt to hear him say that.…As the school day was coming to an end, everyone in our class made their way over to the shower rooms to wash off the sweat clinging onto our and the locker rooms to change, with the boys and the girls split off to their own respective parts to do their business. Upon arriving, I quickly showered off the sweat and dirt that had gotten on me during my run and dried off with a small towel, before heading over to the locker room to change. I dressed in my uniform once more, and was about to head out when I remembered that I had to figure out what to do for the request. Seeing as how both Chihiro and Mondo would be in the locker room, I moseyed around the rows of lockers, looking for the two of them, when I found the both of them talking to Leon. ‘Oh, this could work,’ I thought to myself. ‘Maybe this can give me some ideas.’ Leaning on the side of the wall of lockers, I eavesdropped on their conversation.“No, you don’t get it!” Leon hissed. “I. Screwed. Up! I tried to talk to him after school like you suggested, but then I got interrupted by that piano chick in the other class, and now I’m worried he doesn’t even like me anymore!”“…Shit, guess that’s my fault then,” Mondo cursed. “I pushed you to do it. If... fuck, I can’t believe I’m going to say this. If you need me to talk to him to clear your name, I’ll do it.”“U-Um, I could do it instead, if you need me to,” Chihiro offered. “I wouldn’t mind.”There was a pause, followed by a small, sharp inhale. “No,” Leon spoke. “I... I can do it. I just… need to man up. He’s my- my friend and I just need to- fuck-!” Leon hit one of the lockers with his fist in anger, and the noise of it rang through my ears.‘Okay, this is getting pretty serious,’ I thought to myself, worried about Leon’s well-being. ‘I need to intervene in this. Just... try your best to play it cool Makoto. Play… it… cool.’ Walking around the corner, I pretended to notice the three of them and made my way over. Leon was the first to realize I was approaching and quickly glanced down to see that the only fabric on him at that moment was the loose towel he had wrapped around his waist. His face went red in an instant, and he pushed past Mondo to get to the shower rooms.When I finally got to Chihiro and Mondo, they were both still in their gym clothes. Chihiro was still fully dressed, while Mondo was only in his shorts and had a towel slung over his shoulder. “Hey, is everything okay?” I asked the two of them. “I heard some noises from over here, and wanted to see what’s up.” “O-Oh, everything’s fine, Naegi-san, don’t worry about us!” Chihiro replied, trying his best to quell my worries. “We were just talking to each other about how we did out on the field.”“Yeah, you should’ve seen this guy out there!” Mondo exclaimed, rubbing his hand on Chihiro’s scalp. “He’s got some Olympian-level stamina in him somehow!”“You shouldn’t judge someone by their size, Owada-kun,” Chihiro remarked. “Or maybe I should say… Mister ‘I-Cried-Over-A-Tiger-Documentary-Last-Week’?”Mondo roared into laughter, with both Chihiro and I following suit shortly after, earning us all a nasty glare from Byakuya as he was leaving the locker room. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat some more, but I have some things to do later,” I told the two of them after our laughs began to cede, thinking to myself how the short conversation could work as the basis for the request. “Take care you two!”“Goodbye Naegi-san!” Chihiro bid farewell. I walked over to my locker, waved at the two of them, and grabbed my school supplies to head back over to my dorm room.Once I was in my room, I set my school materials out on my desk and shuffled around in the pile of papers to find my homework, set on finishing it first so I could have the time to properly work on the request before heading out to Junko’s party. Once I found everything I needed, I flipped open the notebooks to the various notes I had written down on its pages, the textbooks to find the problems I needed to solve, and got to work. Surprisingly enough, everything went smoothly, and it only took a couple of hours to solve everything.After having completed everything I needed to do, I set aside my school supplies and pulled up my laptop. Once it was on, I opened up a word document and hovered my fingers over the keyboard. ‘Alright, you can finish this in time for the party,’ I told myself. ‘Just keep going and don’t stop unless you absolutely need to.’ With that, my fingers began to work their magic as words began to fill the screen.…
The sun was beating down on the skies of Japan one summer day, and the sweltering heat made it hard for most people to do anything productive whatsoever. They needed to find a way to cool themselves down from the absurdly high temperatures. And in the case of one particularly unusual looking couple, the method they found to help cool themselves down was a decidedly sweet one.

The air conditioner in the biker’s dorm room was blasting the coldest air it could produce with the large fan beside them whirring loudly, and the two lovers were sitting on the wooden floor together with a giant tub of chocolate ice cream beside them. Though they tried, their efforts to cool down were faltering, as they could’ve even so much as come in contact with each other unless they wanted their skins to stick together uncomfortably. The television before them was playing a children’s show about science, but neither of them could be bothered to pay any attention to it. All they could think about was how hot it was.

The two were sitting in silence for the most part, with the only noises being made between them being the scoops of ice cream taken out from the tub and eaten. Chihiro was the one to make any sort of proper comment in what felt like ages. “I wish it wasn’t so hot...” he whined, looking down at the spoon in his hand. “I really wanted to go see that new skating rink that just opened up. It seemed like it could be a lot of fun.”

“You’re telling me,” Mondo agreed, fanning his face with his free hand. “I wanted to work on my bike, see if I could get some repairs in and shit. Can’t do that in this fucking heat though…” His lavender eyes slowly looked over to his smaller partner, eyeing him for a moment in an absentminded state, before an idea popped up in his mind. A devilish smile quickly lit his face, and he leaned in close to his the programmer. “Hey, Fujisaki,” he started. “Want to try something?”

Chihiro, who was out of it before Mondo spoke up, looked over at the taller male and cocked his head to the side. “Hm? What do you mean?” he asked him. “What do you want to try?”

“Want to see if sharing the ice cream could help cool us both down?”

In an instant, Mondo grabbed a spoonful of the chocolate ice cream and stuck the spoon in his mouth to fill it with the treat. He stuck his tongue out to show the ice cream in his mouth beginning to melt, and he winked mischievously at the programmer, causing him to blush. “O-Oh,” Chihiro voiced, suddenly realizing what Mondo meant. He slowly leaned in, however, leaving the two’s lips only inches apart. “I guess… we could give it a shot.”

Slowly moving forward, Chihiro’s lips eventually met Mondo’s, and the two slowly began to make out with each other. The first few kisses were tantalizingly slow, with only a few drops of the chocolate ice cream making it into the programmer’s mouth, before it turned into a desperate flurry of passion. The two thought the kiss was sweet, in more ways than one. Mondo leaned in on the kiss, and the two’s lips parted with a small trail of chocolate saliva connecting the two.

Panting, Mondo chuckled a little and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Shit, that was actually kind of nice,” he commented in between breaths. “Want to try it again?”

Chihiro, nodding at it, took his spoon and filled it with a glob of the ice cream. “I’ll do it this time,” he told the biker. “We can take turns going forward.”

The programmer’s suggestion stunned the biker for a moment, but he smirked and let out a single chuckle. “Alright then,” he agreed. “Sounds good to me. Lead the way, little guy.”

He fervently shoved the spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and plopped the spoon out when he could feel the dessert cooling his mouth. As he leaned in, Mondo grabbed both sides of his face and lunged at him, cupping him in his grip. The weight of the biker pushed the two to the floor, with the taller guy on top and pressing down on Chihiro. Neither of them cared, however, as all their minds were focused on was the kiss they were sharing.

Once they parted lips again, Chihiro ended swallowing the ice cream in his mouth, leaving Mondo red in the face. “…Dude, did you just swallow my spit…?” he questioned.

It hadn’t occurred to the smaller guy that his partner’s spit had been mixed in with the ice cream when he swallowed what was in his mouth, but when he finally realized it, his face turned a deep shade of red as well. All he could give was a meek “…O-Oh.”

The two sat there for a minute, unable to say anything, before Mondo slowly lifted himself off of Chihiro. The two situated themselves back to how they were, and Mondo spoke up with “I… I’m not going to lie, man. That was hot as hell.”

“…R-Really?” Chihiro questioned. “I, um… appreciate that?”

Mondo nervously laughed. “H-Hey now, it’s not like I meant for it to happen,” he nervously explained. “It just… did, you know? Shit just happens sometimes.” After the two shared an awkward laugh, Mondo went in for another scoop. This time, however, the ice cream had melted almost entirely from the blazing heat, and it fell onto the biker’s shirt, staining it with a splatter of chocolate brown. “Ah, fuck!” he cursed. “Shit, I have to get this in water, or it’s going to stain.”

Putting the spoon in the tub of ice cream, he stood up and doffed his shirt before heading to the bathroom to soak it in the sink. All the while, Chihiro looked on, silently admiring Mondo’s muscular physique, eating up the sight in front of him. It took all of his will to avoid saying anything obscene, and instead went with a soft “…I think it’s starting to get hotter in here.”

Mondo took notice of Chihiro’s gaze after he said that and flexed his arms, giving the programmer a full view of his back and biceps. “Yeah, it is,” he agreed, cocking a grin and winking at the smaller guy. “And I think it’s only going to get hotter from here.” All Chihiro could do in response was meekly nod, and enjoy the show that his lover was putting on for him.
…“And... that’s it. I’m done.”I let out a long sigh of relief at having finished the request before checking the time. “Oh thank goodness, I have enough time to upload this and get myself ready,” I spoke. “Let’s upload this quick so I can get going.” It only took me a few minutes to upload the request, and powered off my laptop.Once it was off, I hurried into the shower to clean myself from head to toe, and applied some scented lotion to my body as well so I would smell pleasant to others. When I turned the water off, I rushed to dry myself off thoroughly and dressed up in my usual casual clothes, figuring that the party wouldn’t be much of a formal event. And once I was done, I grabbed the golden ticket I needed for the party and tucked it in my pant pocket.Before I was about to head out, I grabbed ahold of my phone to see the time, and saw that it was a few minutes before 7:30. ‘Oh man, I have plenty of time to get there,’ I thought to myself. ‘Maybe I should check the comments to see what some people are saying about the request.’ Logging onto the website with my phone, I scrolled through the comments for the recent post, looking for the original commenter’s comment. And in due time, I managed to find it.Armed_And_Readyyooo this is so awesome!! thank u sm for this!!“Well, at least they like it... that’s good,” I mumbled to myself. I quickly typed up my usual response and submitted it.ScrambledMindsOfc! I’m glad you liked it!As soon as I finished sending the response, I heard a knock on my door, and I looked up from my phone in confusion. ‘Hm? Who could that be?’ I though. I quickly logged out of my account on my phone and put it back in my pocket, just to be sure it was safe and on my person. Unsure of who was on the other side of the door, I slowly walked over to the door, and pulled it open with a bit of a creak to it. And on the other side of the door...“Uh, hey Naegs. Do you uh... do you mind if I come in for a bit?”...was none other than Leon Kuwata.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

After I was greeted with the sight of Leon standing in front of my dorm room, the two of us stood where we were, our eyes locked on one another. Neither one of us spoke, leaving the air around us silent and tense. Eventually, it was Leon broke the silence between us. “Uh… Hey,” he greeted me in an awkward manner. “You uh... you okay, Naegs? ...You upset or something?”I snapped out of my daze of confusion and shook my head. “No, I’m not upset,” I told him. “Come in, come in.” I ushered my hand to let him in, and he hesitantly walked in, taking a seat at my desk. “So, uh… is everything okay?” I asked him. “Did you… need something?”He twiddled his thumbs as his eyes bored holes into my floor. He shakily took a deep breath, and looked up at me. After a moment’s pause, he finally spoke up with a solemn “Naegs, I... I just wanted to say I’m sorry.”“Why?” I asked him. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” To me, it really didn’t feel as though he did anything that I’d consider to be wrong. I understood why he acted the way he did, so I was just confused as to why he was apologizing in the first place.“I... I kept pushing you away, man,” he replied. He slumped over in the chair, and looked back down at the floor. “I got mad at you for not wanting to tell me what’s going on in your life, and I tried to make you tell me, but when you still didn’t want to I got mad, and- and I gave you the cold shoulder all day today,” he explained, his voice growing more and more frenzied with each word. After he finished speaking, however, he stopped to calm himself down and looked back up at me. “So… I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for doing all that.”Finally understanding where he was coming from, I squatted down to be at his level and placed one of my hands on his shoulder and gently rubbed against it to help him calm down. “Kuwata-kun, I could never be mad at you,” I told him, smiling at him gently as I spoke. “You just wanted to care for me, and you know what? I think it’d be insane if I got mad over that. It’s okay. You’re okay. I promise.”Leon looked up at me with a surprised look on his face, before relaxing to have an almost euphoric smile. “...You are way too good of a person, you know that?” he shared.I shrugged, and replied to him with a cheeky “Maybe I’m not a person then.” We both laughed for a bit, before returning to our calm states.“…Thank you, Naegs,” he almost whispered. “What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?” Pulling himself away from me, Leon got up from his seat with a slight grunt and clasped his hands together. “Well, are you going to get ready for Enoshima’s party?” he asked me.“Yep!” I chirped. “Ready to go?”His face scrunched up in confusion in response to my question before folding his arms together with a mild look of disappointment forming on his being. “…Dude, you are not going out in that.”I looked down at my outfit. “Huh? What’s wrong with it?”“Literally everything.” he told me, exasperated at my inquiry. “We’re going to a party, man. You think you can just going to show up in your usual wear? No, absolutely not. I refuse to let you leave go to that party looking like that. When you’re going to a party, you’ve got to wear something cool, kind of like what I have on.”His outfit was, in fact, more punk than his usual get-up. His white leather jacket was now sleeveless, evidently ripped apart at the shoulders, exposing his entire arm. His usual skull tee was replaced with a crimson red undershirt that hung really low on his frame. His chain and padlock necklace was missing, with a black leather choker taking its place. His pants had been shredded haphazardly, revealing bits of his thighs. His shoes were also now black platform boots with red laces that went up to his knees. And to top it all off, he also had dark grey fingerless gloves on.“I’m… not sure if that kind of style would work on me...” I told him. “Punk is more so your thing, not mine.”Leon rolled his eyes. “I mean, true… I’m not going down without a fight,” he rebutted. “So, I’m going to try to work with what I can.” He made his way over to my closet and opened the door, rummaging through the various articles of clothing I have, pulling out a plain white tee and some denim jeans in the process. “…I got stuff in my room that could work with these, and I’d be happy to let you borrow them for tonight,” he shared. “Now come on, I’m going to give you a makeover.”The both of us made our way over to his dorm room and he ushered me in, closing the door behind him when he was inside before making his way over to his closet. As he scoured the insides of it, he pulled out a red plaid button-up with short sleeves and some bandanas. One was a purple one with white outlines, and the other was a yellow one with black outlines. He turned around to me, and threw the clothes at me. And without missing a beat, he spoke up in a firm tone with a single command. “Now, strip.”“Wh-What?!” I yelped, immediately tensing up.“Dude, you have to change into the clothes to actually wear them,” he told me. “And besides, it’s not like you didn’t see me practically naked earlier today. Relax.”‘Easy for you to say...’ I thought to myself. ‘You’re probably used to stripping in front of other people.’ Red in the face, I slowly began taking off my jacket and hoodie, slid out of my shirt, and shrugged my shoes and pants off until I was just left in my underwear. “O-Okay… now what?” I asked him.There was a moment of silence as his eyes lingered on my bare body. “…Hmm? Oh- shit, yeah, uh… just put on the pants first,” he replied, finally realizing he was quiet. “Use your own belt to keep it in place. After that, put the white shirt on, and the red button-up after. Don’t button it up though.”Complying with his orders, I quickly dressed up in the clothes he told me to dress myself in, in the order he told me to follow. Once I was done, I nodded at him. “Okay, done,” I informed him. “What’s next?”Leon walked over to me and sat me on the side of his bed, kneeling down in front of me. “I’m gonna quickly tie these bandanas around your wrists, and then we’re done,” he shared with me, holding up the two bandanas from earlier. “Cool?”“Uh, sure,” I responded. “But can I also bring my hoodie?”“Wait, why do you want to bring your hoodie?” he asked.“Well… I just, like having it on me, I guess,” I awkwardly replied. “Is that fine?”Leon rolled his eyes. “Fine, I guess that works. But you have to tie it around you waist,” he chided. “No wearing it like you normally would. Now hold still.” He neatly folded the purple bandana and tied it around my left wrist, adjusting it to make sure it’s firmly in place yet not hurting me, and made quick work of the yellow bandana on my right wrist. Once he did that, he stood up and took a step back. “There, done,” he sighed. “You look great, man.”As I got up from his bed, I reached over for my jacket and tied it around my waist. “Really?” I asked him. “Thanks.”“Of course, Naegs,” he replied. “I wouldn’t lie about how good you looked. I’m not that kind of person you know. Now come on, we got a party to go to. I’ll lead the way.”…The journey to the party was an interesting one to say the very least. While we were on the train, Leon was swarmed by a group of tween girls that wouldn’t let him go until the both of us got off at our station. And just as we made it onto the street curb, a chubby girl ran up to Leon and pounced on him, knocking the wind out of his chest. It took the strength of four people to lift her off of him.Eventually, however, we did make it to our destination. It was a tall, grey hotel with black metal trimmings. As I looked up to the top of the hotel, I saw that the penthouse was colored black, and the windows flashed between pink and gold. “I think we’re here...” I mumbled to myself. “Guess we should get to the bouncer as soon as we can.”We both walked inside the building, and the inside of it was ridiculously high class. I paused my pace to observe the details as Leon went over to the counter to ask about the location of the penthouse’s elevator. The walls were lined with dark red wallpaper, and the all the metal around the room had either a gold or platinum tint to it. In the center was a set of elevated podiums, sort of resembling a stage. ‘I wonder if this place gets musicians to perform here...’ I silently wondered. ‘I wouldn’t doubt it, honestly. This place looks like it’s for super rich people. Guess it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Enoshima-san chose this place to host her party at, then…’Seeing Leon walk over to me brought me back to reality. “Alright, the elevator to the penthouse is by the garden, which is just outside,” he informed me. He got out his golden card and waved it in front of my face. “Get yours ready, too, because I heard the bouncer Enoshima-san hired isn’t afraid of getting violent if he thinks you’re trying to trespass.” Hearing about the violent streak scared me a little, but I nodded to affirm to Leon that I had my golden card ready to show him at his request. As we exited the other side of the hotel and walked through the garden, which was lit by blue translucent lights, we turned a corner and saw a large man standing in front of some kind of entryway. “Must be the bouncer…” Leon muttered to himself. “Try to stay cool. I’ll do the talking.”The both of us made our way over to the bouncer, stopping right as he stuck his arm out to block the elevator door. He craned his head to look at us, and a shiver went down my back that I tried my best to hide. He looked at us through his tinted glasses, before coldly ordering “Show me your cards.” We both handed him our cards, and he inspected them for a moment before taking out a small clipboard and asking us “Names?”“Leon Kuwata and Makoto Naegi,” Leon responded. The bouncer took out a pen and crossed off two of the names on it. Still silent, he hit the elevator button and the door slid open. He signaled to the both of us that we could enter, and we stepped inside of the elevator and let the door close before it took us up to the party.As we rode the elevator up to the penthouse, I took a deep breath and let out a shaky sigh. “Hey, you good Naegs?” he asked me. “Y-Yeah...” I answered. “I’m just not really used to going to parties is all. Plus that bouncer was kind of scary looking.”He shot me a gentle smile has he ruffled my hair with one of his hands. “You’re going to be fine,” he said calmly, “don’t worry about it. Just try to have fun, okay?”As soon as we stopped moving, the elevator door opened, and all of my senses were immediately bombarded at the same time. Loud party music blasted through my ears and pink and gold lights flashed from the inside of the room, causing to wince momentarily as I got ahold of my bearings.Leon grabbed ahold of one of my hands and looked at me, grinning from ear to ear. “Dude, you have to meet Momota!” Leon exclaimed. “Come on, let’s go look for him!” Without a further moment’s notice, he started dragging me through the party, looking around the small crowds of people before locking eyes on someone and letting out a small “Aha!” Pulling me along more, he shouted out “Yo, Momota!” and waved his free hand.A tall guy with spiky purple hair and a goatee turned around, and shouted out to Leon “Kuwata! Over here!” We both made it over the guy, and Leon let go of my wrist.“Yo, dude, it’s awesome seeing you here! How’s the party been?” Leon asked.“Man, this party’s awesome!” the purple haired guy responded. “Enoshima knows how to throw a bomb-ass party!” The two or laughed together, and I meekly chuckled on the sidelines. It took Leon only a moment to realize how awkward I was acting.“Oh, shit, I almost forgot to introduce you guys!” Leon exclaimed. He gestured between the both of us. “Momota, Makoto Naegi. Naegs, Kaito Momota.”Kaito smirked. “So, you’re Makoto Naegi, huh?” he asked me. “Man, I’ve heard all sorts of stories about you from Kuwata!”“Huh? Wait, he’s shared stories about me with you?” I questioned.“Oh yeah, Kuwata’s told me a bunch of stories about you!” he answered. “Seriously, it’s insane how much this guy can talk about-”Leon clamped his mouth shut with one of his hands, taking Kaito aback, before nervously laughing. “A-A-Anyways, uh, how’s your girlfriend been lately?” he awkwardly asked him once he removed his hand from his mouth.“Oh, you mean Maki Roll?” Kaito questioned, clearly unfazed by his silencing. “She’s been great so far! She has been getting jealous that I’ve been doing a lot of things without her lately. I can’t really blame her though, since I’m the closest person to her in her entire life.”As the two kept talking about Kaito’s girlfriend, I slowly drifted apart from them to go wander around the party. After a bit of time, I found a table that was lined with snacks and a bowl of punch. ‘Oh, good,’ I thought to myself. ‘I was getting a little thirsty.’I grabbed one of the red cups lined at the side of the punch bowl, and ladled some in. As I took my first sip of the punch, an extremely unfamiliar taste bombarded the inside of my mouth, making me want to puke it out. Quickly looking around to see if anyone was watching me, I quietly spit the odd punch back into my cup, cringing at the bitter aftertaste of it. “That… That was nasty…” I muttered.“Awh, was the vodka too strong for your wittle mouth?”My body tensed up as I turned around behind me to see a short boy with long purple hair, lying atop a metal cart. “U-Um, what do you mean by ‘vodka’?” I meekly asked him. “Oh, the punch bowl is spiked with vodka!” he responded with a giggle. “...Actually, it’s more like the other way around, considering just how many bottles I poured into that thing. Oh, and laxatives too, by yours truly.”“A-Are you serious?” I questioned. “Did you… really put vodka and laxatives in the punch?”He let out a snicker as a response. “The vodka? Absolutely. You can find a bunch of empty bottles of Svedka underneath the counter. As for the laxatives… who knows? I am a liar after all. Neeheehee!” Once he was finished with hit giggling, his face turned into a wry smile. “You know… I have a bit of a feeling about who you are, Makoto Naegi,” he started. “And if I’m right, what you’re doing right now will likely start to go horribly wrong tomorrow. And if what I’m saying does end up happening… well… who knows how you’ll turn out once it’s all over? But I can promise you this. The chances of you getting that happily ever after you so desperately crave for… will be next to none.” He stared at me for a few seconds longer before retracting his whole body, his face turning back to a seemingly innocent smile. “Nah, I’m just kidding! That was all a lie!” he giggled once more, bouncing back into a playful persona. “I only know who you are because I managed to take a look at the list of guests on the bouncer’s roster, and you’re the only person here who I know absolutely nothing about!” I hesitantly chuckled along to his antics before he got up and jumped off of the cart he was laying on. “Anyways, I’m off to go cause some trouble,” he shared with me. “Maybe Momota-chan will prove to be fun. Bye bye!”As soon as he bid me farewell, the shorter guy made his way off, skipping as he did so. ‘…Well, that was unnerving,’ I thought to myself. ‘I hope there are some people here I can actually get along with.’Leaving the red cup I was holding on the edge of the table with the punch bowl, I wandered around the penthouse to look for something else to see, or someone else to talk to. It gave me time to properly look around the penthouse, and see what it had. A comfortable seating area with padded black leather couches was tucked away in one corner, facing a burning fireplace. In the center of the penthouse was a large empty space where most of the people were dancing. And just above them took my breath way.“…Is that a person up there?”The person in question was dangling from his back above the sea of people, slowly twirling around and emitting the pink and gold lights that flashed in the room from his eyes. I walked around the person for a bit, and he noticed me doing so and waved. “Ah, greetings!” he chirped.I was taken aback by his response, but quickly bounced back as to not show any fear. “Uh… hi,” I responded. “Do you uh… do you need any help getting down?”“Oh, I’m perfectly fine up here,” the guy stated. “I’m being paid to do this, so all is well. I imagine it’d be cheaper to have the Ultimate Robot act as a disco ball than to have a proper one installed for a single night. Thank you for being concerned about my well-being though!”“Wait, Ultimate Robot?” I asked. “You’re a robot?”“Ah, yes, I am!” he proudly replied. “That is the title I was given when I was admitted to Hope’s Peak Academy. My name is K1-B0, but if you’d like, feel free to call me ‘Keebo’!”‘An actual robot as a student, huh...?’ I silently thought to myself. ‘Weird, but I guess I should’ve expected it.’At that moment, Junko emerged from the sea of people, and shouted out to Keebo “Yo, Kee-boy! Add a green to the lights!” “Enoshima-san, I need the hex code of green in order to add it to the repertoire,” he responded.She let out an exaggerated sigh, before waving her hand. “Fine, fine...” she mumbled. Pulling up her phone and typing in stuff quickly, she spoke up with “Uh, how about a ‘3-2-C-D-3-2’?”“Understood!” Keebo responded. His eyes went blank momentarily before adding a lime green color to the lights. It took my eyes a moment to adjust, but it helped break up the pink and gold colors that flashed around the penthouse, so it was a nice change of pace.Junko sighed and turned to face me. “Are you doing okay so far, Naegi-san?” she asked.“Oh, I’m doing fine,” I answered her. “Thanks for- ”I stopped mid-sentence to almost stare at her. After a moment has passed, I spoke up again. “Is... something different about you today?”“Hm? Oh, yeah, there is.” she replied. She lifted up part of her bangs to reveal a tuft of black hair underneath, before placing it back together. “I’m not actually Junko,” She explained. “I’m Mukuro.”I was in shock for a moment, but then I began to notice the differences. Her eyes were more slanted and almond-shaped, light freckles dotted the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, her make-up was a little shoddy and amateurish, and she was… less endowed. They were remarkably similar in a wig and outfit, but still had key differences from one another. Pulling myself out of my shock, I managed to ask her “Why are you dressed like your sister?”Mukuro sighed and folded her arms. “Junko-chan wanted me to help host this party of hers, and she figured that people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between us if they’re drunk, so she made me dress up like her,” she explained. “Honestly though, I think she just wants to get drunk herself...” I snickered to myself at her joke, and for the first time in my life, I saw her smile. “Anyways, I have to go ‘entertain’ others, so maybe I’ll see you around,” she spoke. “Take care, Naegi-san.”“R-Right,” I agreed. “Stay safe, Ikusaba-san.” With a small wave of her hand, she merged back into the crowd of people, leaving me by my lonesome.As I began walking away, I felt a tight hand grasp onto my wrist, and yank me aside, forcing me down onto a chair. “Alright, little boy,” a female voice cooed into my ear. “I believe it’s time someone turns you into a man.”I looked up at my captor, and saw a girl with messy strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing an immodestly sized pink school uniform that was wrapped with leather buckles, looking down at me with a lustful expression on her face. “U-Um- who the heck are you?!?” I asked, growing increasingly frantic about the matter.“I’m the girl who’s going to make you feel colors in place you never knew existed.”Before I could even retort with how weirdly phrased her statement was, she turned around and slammed her rear onto my lap, earning a small yelp of shock from me. “Mmh, did that feel good little man?” she asked me. She wasted no time waiting for my response, and instead began grinding against me intensively, bucking and clashing against my pelvis. It was only going on for so long, but my face was an intense red and my mind was racing. The girl was loudly moaning and shouting phrases like “Feel my ass against your virgin crotch!” and “Yeah, you like the feeling of my thick ass on you, huh?” In my mind, all I could plea to whatever deity was watching me for someone to come to my rescue. And eventually, someone did.A blue figure began tussling with the girl on top of me, before managing to pull her off. “Iruma-san, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!” the figure shouted furiously. “Did you even get his consent to do that?!?”“Hey, can you blame a girl for getting a little horny?” the girl responded. “Mama needs her dicking!”“Yes, I can actually!” The girl scoffed. “Go get someone who’s actually interested!”The girl rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Whatever,” she grumbled. “I was trying to do him a favor anyways.” She blew me a kiss and jiggled her butt at me before leaving, and I shivered at the thought of that event ever happening again.I let out a sigh of relief afterwards, and turned to my rescuer to thank them. And then I noticed that my rescuer was Sayaka of all people. She was wearing a dark blue tank top with some kind of white logo on it, bleached jean shorts that were ripped midway up her thigh, open-toed platform sandals, and a pink bow to hold her hair, which was tied in a downward ponytail. “Hey, are you alright Naegi-kun? Did she do anything to hurt you?” she asked.I shook my head. “I’m fine, Maizono-san,” I replied to her. “I’m just… a little rattled is all.”She gave me a sympathetic look and stretched out her hand. “Hey, I know someone who’s pretty good at helping people talk here,” she shared. “Follow me.” I looked at her hand for a quick moment before gently placing mine in hers. She helped me up from the chair, and led me to the person she had in mind.The walk was a really short one, because before I knew it, we were already there. We stood by the DJ table, waiting for a person Sayaka apparently knew, and it wasn’t a long wait for that someone to come. “Oh, hi Maizono! Hi Maizono’s second person!” It was a girl with long, multicolored hair and two little cones of hair that sat atop her head, almost like they were cat ears.“Naegi-kun, meet Ibuki Mioda,” she introduced me to her. “She’s in the same class as that Komaeda guy you told me about. Mioda-senpai, this is Makoto Naegi.”“Ooh, so that’s ‘him’?” Ibuki questioned. “Nice!”“Huh? What do you mean ‘him’?” I inquired.Before Ibuki could even open her mouth, Sayaka slammed her palm onto Ibuki’s mouth as she looked at me with panic in her eyes and a weak smile. “O-Oh, don’t worry about it Naegi-kun!” she assured me, panic rising in her voice “It’s nothing! Really! Right, Mioda-senpai?”Ibuki pulled Sayaka’s hand off of her face and flashed a thumbs-up. ‘Absolutely!” she agreed. “Nothing to be said here!”Sayaka sighed in relief and turned to face me. “She’s the person I told you who was good at talking with others,” she explained. “I’ll leave you two to talk for a bit. Mioda-senpai, please talk to him about saying ‘no’ to others, okay?”“You got it!” Ibuki shouted, flashing a wide grin and giving her another thumbs-up. Sayaka smiled.“Good. I’ll get going now,” she said. “See you two in a bit.” Sayaka left us alone, and the pounding sensation in my heart was able to be let out as I wheezed heavily and felt my face flush a heavy red. And much to my dismay, Ibuki noticed.“Oh? Does Naegi mayhaps have a crush on little sweet Maizono?” Ibuki asked me inquisitively.Still red in the face, I tried my best to retort with “N-No! Maizono-san’s just a friend of mine! That’s all!”Much to my dismay, a smug grin spread on her face, telling me that she wasn’t buying my lie one bit. “Don’t worry!” she assured me. “Ibuki can keep a secret!” I audibly groaned.Figuring I needed a way to change the topic, I asked her “So, uh, Mioda-senpai, why are you here if this party is for Classes 78-A and 78-B?”“Oh that’s easy!” she answered. “Enoshima hired Ibuki to do some music for the party, but Ibuki wanted to party instead! So Ibuki just put some pre-made music on and is out to mingle like a single little Pringle!”“I… don’t think this is that type of party…” I told her.Ibuki stared at me quietly, cocking her head slightly to the left. Her face looked serious, which felt almost unnatural for her in a way. And then she spoke. “Naegi, Ibuki can already see that you like Maizono,” she spoke. “But you deny it to almost everyone else, including yourself. You need to be more honest to yourself about your feelings. Bottling them up is a toxic thing for one’s mind… and Ibuki doesn’t want to see others be hurt.” She offered me a soft smile. “So follow your heart, and listen to what it wants. Okay?”I stood there in complete silence, absolutely shocked to the core at her words. I didn’t even get a chance to respond to her before I felt a force land on my back, though. “Oh heyyy Naegi-chaaan!” a person greeted me with a slur in their voice. I immediately recognized it to be Junko’s. I got her off my back and kept her on her feet, making sure her body wasn’t about to go limp. I turned myself over to where Ibuki was, but she was nowhere to be found. My attention got turned back to Junko as she wrapped one of her arms around my neck, waving a plastic red cup with what was most likely the spiked punch in her other hand. “Hey. Hey Naegi, hey,” she started. “I wanted to show you something! Do you want to see it?” She followed her inquiry up with a long burp.I let out a small sigh. ‘May as well play along...’ I figured. “Alright, Enoshima-san,” I said to her. “What did you want to show me?”She devilishly grinned, and grabbed my arm. “I want to show you… amazing.” She yanked my arm and began trudging through the penthouse, making her way over to a small crowd with me practically sliding my feet on the floor behind her. As we got closer to the crowd, I could hear people chanting about something, with fists being pumped in the air. I could feel my heart beating faster, and the beads of sweat dripping down my face as we got closer. I didn’t want to know who or what people were chanting on about… but it seemed like I had no choice in the matter.The crowd parted in half to allow Junko and me to go to the center of the circle, and that’s when I saw him. Leon Kuwata, chugging beer through a tube connected to a funnel that Kaito was pouring bottles in. My eyes widened with shock, and my mouth slightly dropped open. The last two bottles in Kaito’s hands were drained into the funnel and he threw them aside as Leon gulped down the remainder of the alcohol. The crowd roaring loudly as he took the tube out of his mouth and threw his fist into the air.“Whoo, yeah, you go Kuwata!” Junko shouted. “You show that booze who’s in charge!” With a drunken smile and half-lidded eyes, Leon looked over at Junko and laughed like a hyena when he saw me standing beside her. The wasted look on his face quickly dissipated and morphed into a look of shock and panic, and he let go of the tube in his hand.-Coming to the party, I knew that I was going to have a good time. I was going to be able to let loose, hang out with my friends, party hard, and have some fun. When Kaito showed me the cases of beer in the fridge and the funnel on the counter beside it, I knew that it’d be fun. But I had totally forgotten to take into account the possibility that Makoto of all people would get to see me shitfaced after downing a bunch of booze.Wanting to better my situation in his eyes however I could, I quickly wiped my mouth so there wasn’t a trail of beer dripping down my face and walked up to him. “…Hey, Naegs,” I awkwardly greeted him.“…Hey.”The two of us stood there in what felt like an eternal awkward silence before Makoto broke the silence. “Do you... drink alcohol often?” he asked me. I felt my face go red, and I didn’t know how to respond, so I just looked at him. His face contorted to a look of concern for my being, and he slowly nodded. “Okay…” he mumbled to himself. “Are you… doing okay?”“Y-Yeah, of course man,” I tried my best to reply in a coherent manner.Makoto didn’t seem to buy it whatsoever, though, if his expression was anything to go by. “…Well, uh, I think I’ve had enough of this party, so I’m… heading out,” he told me. “I’ll… give you back your clothes the next time I can.” With that, he left to head to the elevator.Once he was out of my sight, my knees trembled, and I collapsed to the floor. “Wow, Kuwata, you were so eloquent back there,” Junko spoke in a haughty tone. Too distraught to even properly respond, I just looked up at her. She looked at me for a moment, hiccupped, and then busted into a drunken laughter. “Awh, cheer up!” she shouted. “Let’s party some more! Whoo!” All I could do was look down at the floor, and think to myself one thing.‘…I fucked up.’-I looked around the sea of people, looking for the elevator that I came in from to leave the party in. And after scoping around for a bit, I found it. I walked over to the elevator door and was about to hit the button when I felt a slight grasp of my wrist and a soft “Wait” from a voice I recognized to be Sayaka’s. I turned my head to face her, and gave her a small frown of worry. Her own face frowned as well. “That bad, huh?” she asked. All I could do was nod. She let go of my wrist, and took two steps back. “Well,” she sighed, “I know parties have never really been your… thing, and I’m pretty sure there’s some things you saw or heard today that you want to mull over by yourself, so I won’t stop you from leaving. Just… stay safe, okay?”I nodded, and gave her a smile of my own. “I will.” I responded. “Thanks… for helping me out.” I hit the elevator button, and the door opened almost automatically. I stepped inside, and hit the ground floor button. “Take care, Maizono-san,” I bid her farewell. She nodded, and the elevator door closed. The ride was short, and I was back in the garden that I came from before I even knew it. I stepped out of the elevator, and slowly made my way back to the dorms.…The journey back to my dorm room was quiet, and it gave me plenty of time to think to myself about how I felt about everything. But at that moment, I didn’t want to deal with any of my thoughts at that moment. I just wanted the peace and quiet I’d normally have in such a situation. And while I was blessed enough to be given the quiet, nowhere was the peace to be found.The dorms were relatively quiet, which wasn’t much of a shock to me. Everyone who was typically loud was at Junko’s party, and everyone who was typically quiet was likely asleep. Not wanting to disturb others, I quietly unlocked my door and slipped in my room, locking it behind me. I got out of my clothes and dressed myself in comfortable pajamas.As I was taking care of my now-dirty laundry, I looked over at the clothes Leon had given me to wear to the party. “I’ll give them back to him the next time I see him,” I murmured to myself. “Well… if he’s even here tomorrow morning that is.” Folding them and placing them in a neat stack atop my desk, I turned off the lights in my room and crawled into my bed, yearning for the peace of mind that came with sleep. Tiredness washed over me, and I managed to fall asleep under the covers of my bed, yearning for a better tomorrow than what today offered me. But sleep did very little to stop the lingering thoughts that raced through my mind.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

If there was any way to describe who I was, calling me a morning person would be far from the truth.Waking up in the early morning was always rough for me to do. And rarely did the chilly air of my apartment make it feel better to wake up, especially after having a rough time trying to fall asleep to begin with. And if that wasn’t enough of an issue to start my days with, pillows and blankets that were neatly on my bed were usually strewn about by the time I woke up, as if I had jostled around violently while I was asleep. But, there was always one thing that I was able to look forward to whenever I woke up.The sight of my beloved fiancée.I slowly opened my eyes on one such bothersome morning, gently rubbing them a little to help waken myself up some more. I rose up in my bed and stretched my arms and let out a soft yawn while smacking my lips. Normally, he wouldn’t be far from me when I woke up, usually either getting out of the shower or still curled up beside me on our bed. But this time, he was nowhere to be seen.Getting out of the bed to go look for him, I made my way over the curtains and slid them open, letting sunshine in the room. The light blinded me momentarily, but my eyes managed to adjust to the newfound brightness of the room in a short amount of time and I let out a small laugh. The window showed me the outside world from our little condo we called home. Not a single speck of clouds was to be found in the skies about, and the streets of our neighborhood looked to be clear of any debris. ‘Today seems nice...’ I mulled over in silence. ‘Maybe we could do something fun today. But I want to go find him first. Then we can talk about plans.’Throwing on a white undershirt and readjusting the sweatpants I had on, I made my way out of the bedroom and into the hallway. I looked around the floor we were on, and figured he was downstairs since I heard no commotion. I walked over to the stairway and began descending it to the first floor of the house, and as I got closer, I could hear the soft sizzling of something in the kitchen. ‘Ah, there he is,’ I smiled.I got to the bottom of the staircase and quietly made my way over the kitchen, trying my best to not let any of the floorboards creak beneath me. I peaked in through the entryway, and there he was. Still dressed in his pajamas and an apron he bought a while back, and cooking something in a cast iron skillet, was none other my fiancée, Makoto Naegi.Makoto was everything I ever wanted in a partner, and then some. He was kind, considerate, supportive, loving, and a driven person. But the most important quality about him to me was how he was always there for me, without fail. To say that he was amazing would be a massive understatement of just how grand of a person he truly was. So it was a dream come true when he accepted my proposal after we both graduated from Hope’s Peak Academy, and we agreed to move in together to a cheap condo to save up for our wedding. And though it’s been five years since he told me ‘Yes’, it always felt as if it was just yesterday when he was around.I knocked on the entryway frame gently to get his attention, and his face lit up when he turned around and saw me. “Ah, good morning Leon!” he warmly greeted me. “You’re just in time! I’m making some eggs and sausages for breakfast!”“Mm, thanks babe,” I replied, still moderately tired from having woken up not too long ago. “It’ll help give me some energy for today. But… I have another idea on how to get my energy up.”Making my way over to him, I wrapped my arms around his waist and gently plopped my chin down atop his head, eliciting a small laugh from him. “Hey, Leon, come on, you know I get distracted when you do that,” he laughed. “The food’s going to burn!”“Let it,” I told him. “You’re way more important to me than some food, anyway.”Pulling myself closer to him, I peppered his face and neck with light kisses, alternating between the two, as Makoto burst out into laughter. “L-Leon, please!” he begged in between laughs. “Don’t let the sausages burn!” I ignored his pleas and pressed onward for another few minutes for my barrage of kisses on his being before eventually slowing down and stopping altogether to bury my face into a small space in between his neck and back.Smiling, I let out a small sigh of relief. “This… this is nice…” I sighed. Finally having the peace to focus on the eggs and sausages, Makoto turned the heat of the stove off to set the skillet aside as he placed one of his hands on the side of my face. “I wish this moment could last forever.”“…It is nice, isn’t it?” Makoto agreed. “The peace and quiet of the early morning, the smell of a nice breakfast ready to be eaten, the sun shining down and letting us know that today’s going to be a good day… and the two of us, here together.”“…I love you, Makoto.”And that’s when I woke up.…The first thing that my mind registered when I woke up was the pounding headache that I had. I held my eyes shut and combed my hair with my hand as I curled up in my spot and let out a long, quiet growl of pain under my voice. ‘Fuck… Probably shouldn’t have had so much booze last night…’ I told myself.The second thing that my mind registered was my surroundings. It was dark outside, and people were scattered around the penthouse, lying down in various uncomfortable positions. When I looked around to look for the time, my eyes landed on a dimmed red alarm clock, and I immediately winced at the sight of it. And that was the third thing my mind registered. Light sensitivity. When I finally got used to the light, I read the time on the clock, which said it was around half past two in the morning.I opened my mouth, and I realized I was probably thirsty when I felt my lips were chapped, making it yet another thing that was registered in my mind. Getting up from the spot I was sitting in, I glanced around the room with carefulness as to not make my head hurt any further. ‘May as well look around for the kitchen…’ I figured. ‘I think I saw some water or coke in there.’Navigating around the room, being careful as to not kick any of the people on the floor, I got to the central area and looked around. ‘Kitchen, kitchen, kitchen… where is the kitchen?’ I aimlessly scoured through the penthouse for a bit, before finally finding the kitchen.I walked into it and briefly looked around for the refrigerator before finding it and heading over. As I opened the door, the bright light inside blinded me momentarily as I winced in pain from it and sharply inhaled. I got used to the light after a minute and relaxed, only finding some unopened soda cans inside. I was disappointed for a moment before shrugging it off altogether. I grabbed a can and quickly shut the fridge door shut the turn off the light inside. I leaned against the cabinetry and sighed. ‘This morning seriously can’t get worse than it already is…’ I silently thought to myself.“Hey Kuwata-san… are you feeling okay?”‘…Scratch that. It could get a lot worse.’I slowly looked over to my side to see Sayaka, leaning against the wall with a bottle of pills in her hand. She tossed the pill bottle around in her hands for a bit before throwing it over to me. I caught it with ease, and eyed her with confusion. “They’re ibuprofen pills,” she explained to me. “They’ll help you with the hangover you’re having right now. Take two of them and down it with a drink.” I scoffed at her, but did as she said without hesitation. As soon as I set down my freshly opened soda can, I tossed the pill bottle back to her. She fumbled with the catch and dropped it, but quickly knelt down to pick it back up, and set it on the counter close to her.Neither of us spoke for a while afterwards. We just stood there in the darkness, silently. Not surprisingly, Sayaka was the one to break the silence. “So...” she started. “I’m going to presume you still don’t want to talk about everything?”I scoffed. “That ‘everything’ you want to talk about? It’s nothing more than absolute bullshit,” I coldly replied. “So don’t try to make it seem like it’s anything important.”“No it isn’t, and you know that.” She walked a little closer to me, stopping only a few cabinet doors away. “Kuwata-san... why do you keep trying to avoid talking about everything?” she asked me. “Why do you keep trying to avoid talking about us, and your feelings? And what about him?”Before I could even register anything, I punched her in the cheek, knocking her whole body over and making her fall onto the tile floor with a light thud. I could feel tears rolling down my face as I began screaming at her. “Shut up! Just shut the hell up!” I roared. “We both know he likes you, and we both know you like him back! And I don’t even want to hear you try to argue that you don’t deserve him, because guess what? At least he likes you! I don’t even get that kind of opportunity with him! Do you have any idea how much it hurts to know that I can’t even tell him how I feel?!? Huh?!? Answer me, Sayaka! Answer me!!”She slowly pushed herself up from the ground, and rubbed her hand against the area where I had punched her. She looked up at me, with a shocked look on her face as she slightly held her mouth agape. I was seething, and breathing heavily from the adrenaline. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she lowered her head. I grunted and gritted my teeth. “Nothing, huh...?” I asked. No response. I stood there silently, before walking over to the elevator door. And then I felt my leg being grabbed. It wasn’t a tight grasp by any means. It was weak and flimsy, and I probably could’ve shaken it off if I wanted to. But I didn’t. Instead, I looked down at the hand, and over to Sayaka, who was looking at me with a torn expression on her face.“Kuwata-san…” she quietly started with a quiver in her voice. “ I just… do you remember what I said to you the night I confessed to you how I felt? Just know that… I still think that about you.”My breathing hitched and I stared at her for a moment, before bolting it for the elevator door. It swung open with a small dinging noise as soon as I hit the button, and I stepped inside. The last thing I saw as the elevator door closed was Sayaka getting up from her spot.-I stared in the shadows at Sayaka, who stood in her spot momentarily before walking away to find a comfortable spot to rest for the night. ‘What a nice show the two out on,’ I thought to myself. ‘And what an interesting premise they’re working with. Two sides of the same coin… Truly, it’s a tragic tale they’re both a part of.’I smirked to myself. ‘Things need to get rolling soon, or else things will get so boring.’ The smirk on my face turned into a jagged, demonic smile. ‘Maybe if I get involved… things will start to move along,’ I rationalized. “Then… things will finally start to get interesting.’ The last thing that came from my being before I slinked back into the shadows and disappeared altogether was an ominous laugh, and the last thing I saw from Sayaka was her looking over in my general direction to see if she was hearing something.-Morning often felt good to wake up to for me. The slight chill in the air helped keep me up whenever I could feel myself start to become drowsy once again, for which I was thankful for. As I got out of bed, the cold air in the room gently brushed against my body. ‘Alright, time to get my day started…’ I thought to myself.As I was getting ready to shower, I looked over at my desk and saw the clothes that Leon let me borrow for the night before. ‘Oh, right, his clothes,’ I thought. ‘Maybe I should text him about it.’ I walked over to my desk and grabbed my phone. Quickly heading over to where my phone was, I picked up and sent him a text to inform him about me still having his clothes from last night.MeHey Kuwata-kun! When do you want me to bring me back your clothes?‘Alright, that should be good enough for now,’ I figured. ‘Now let’s get started with the day.’ I turned on the water for the shower and stepped inside once it was warm after having stripped myself of my pajamas, and was comforted by the pleasant warmth the shower brought. The cold of the air was nice to wake up to, but it was the warmth of the water that truly helped freshen me up. It only took a few minutes to finish showering, as I didn’t want to linger around in the shower for longer than I had to.As I stepped out of the shower and dried off before dressing myself in my normal casual wear, I walked over to my desk and picked up Leon’s clothes and packed it all up in a small plastic bag that I had gotten from the last time I went grocery shopping. I tied it up in a knot to ensure that none of its contents would accidentally spill out if the bag tipped over the desk it was sitting on, and it was at that moment that I saw my phone’s screen light up, showing a text from someone. ‘Oh, that must be Kuwata-kun,’ I thought. I unplugged my phone and checked who it was. But the text wasn’t from Leon. Rather, it was from Tsumugi.ShiroganeNaegi-san, respond asap cuz this is important.‘Oh, that’s weird,’ I thought to myself. ‘What does she want?’ I quickly replied to figure out what could be so urgent that she needed to text me on a weekend.MeHi Shirogane-san. Is everything okay?ShiroganeNot for you.ShiroganeI was checking some online forums and came across a post that claims you’re ScrambledMinds.My mind started racing like crazy, and my blood went cold. ‘People... are starting to realize I’ve been posting those stories? What will they do when they realize they’re right? Will they IP track me? Will they begin to stalk me? Will they start hacking in my personal accounts?’ Questions of all sorts raced through my mind, and my heart began to rapidly pound in my chest. I was scared.It took a minute to do so, but I managed to force myself to calm myself down a little bit more, and sent a text asking for a link to the post. A moment passed by before Tsumugi sent me the link to the online forum she was referring to. ‘Alright Makoto, let’s see what people have come up with…’ I thought to myself. I hesitantly clicked on the link, and was taken to a page with a muted beige tone for its aesthetic, almost like old paper. I scrolled down just a little bit, and found the post in no time. ‘Ah, here it is,’ I thought. ‘Let’s give it a read I guess…’-
“As some of you may be aware, there has been a series of fanfiction requests based on the members of Class 78-A at Hope’s Peak Academy. This series is from the user ScrambledMinds, who has skyrocketed into popularity since they first asked for requests. And though the series itself is wildly popular, I’m more fascinated by Scrambled Minds (I shall refer to them as SM for the duration of this post), or rather, who they are. And I have a theory that SM is none other than Makoto Naegi.”

“Before I begin, I must state I wish no ill will to fall on either SM or Makoto Naegi from anyone. Be nice to them, people. Now, to help you understand my theory, I must provide background information on the two of them. I’ll begin with SM.”

“SM’s account was made 3 years, 7 months, and 23 days ago as of this post. They have written for multiple fandoms and for real-life people, ranging from anime to TV show hosts to Korean pop stars, and more. Online friends of SM have described them to be mature, understanding, and overtly sympathetic.”

“Makoto Naegi is a student at Hope’s Peak Academy, and is part of Class 78-A with the title ‘Ultimate Lucky Student’, which he had received after being selected from the annual lottery the school board there does. Much is unknown about his past. In present day though, he is the subject of much animosity amongst people on forums, which seems to stem from jealousy of the angry users rather than anything legitimately worth arguing over. Regardless, some of his classmates have come forth to defend his name on occasion. The most notable person being Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star, who is also seen often hanging out with him both at school and off campus.”

“Now, onto the theory itself. As I’ve stated earlier, I believe that SM and Makoto Naegi are the same person. There’s an uncanny overlap in traits and information both possess to deny, which raises a few eyebrows.”

“The first of the two things to take a look at is their personalities. This is the simpler of the two and could be shrugged off altogether, but it’s still worth talking about. Like I stated earlier, SM is described as being mature and sympathetic by their fellow peers online. Very similar characteristics have been used to describe Makoto Naegi as well, such as compassionate and considerate. Like I said, this part isn’t very profound. The next segment, however, is much more strong of a case.”

“This part is about the information the two share that realistically shouldn’t be overlapping with one another. The most notorious example of this is the biological gender of the Ultimate Programmer, Chihiro Fujisaki. Prior to SM, the Internet believed Chihiro Fujisaki to be biologically female. However, SM has gone on record for stating otherwise three separate times. SM has even written all instances of Chihiro Fujisaki in their stories as being male. When Chihiro Fujisaki and classmate Ultimate Biker Mondo Owada were interviewed by reporters on the streets outside of Hope’s Peak Academy regarding the former person’s gender, Chihiro Fujisaki froze up, and Mondo Owada had to clear the crowd up, rushing to take his classmate back to the campus. The following is a transcript of that situation.”

“Reporter 1: Fujisaki-san, rumor has been going around that you’re actually a male! Is this true? / Reporter 2: Fujisaki-san, are you aware of the rumors about your gender floating around? / Reporter 3: Fujisaki-san, what do you have to say about the rumors of you being a male? / Chihiro Fujisaki: I-I just- / Reporter 4: Fujisaki-san, do you plan to address the rumors about you soon? / Mondo Owada: Hey, HEY! All of you, back off! You’re making Fujisaki uncomfortable! / Reporter 5: Fujisaki-san, what will you-? / Mondo Owada: I SAID BACK THE FUCK OFF ASSHOLE! C’mon Fujisaki, let’s get back to school. / Chihiro Fujisaki: O-Okay... / Mondo Owada: Good... now c’mon, let’s go. AND IF ANY OF YOU FUCKERS FOLLOW US, I WILL RIP ALL YOUR GOD DAMN FINGERS OFF YOUR HANDS!”

“It’s clear from this transcript that the press overwhelmed Chihiro Fujisaki and caused them to clam up instead of answering the questions, but it’s worth noting how Chihiro Fujisaki didn’t immediately refute the claims that they were male. This failure to refute backs up SM’s claim about them being male, thus strengthening the theory of SM and Makoto Naegi being the same person.”

“Another piece of information that I’d like to highlight is how the premises for some of the stories seem to overlap with events that have occurred with Class 78-A’s circle. The Aoi Asahina and Sakura Ogami request was set at a pool, which Makoto Naegi and the rest of Class 78-A have been seen hanging out at once beforehand; the exact same day as the request being published. With this, it’s most likely SM’s stories overlap with events that have occurred within Class 78-A, albeit with exaggerations to obscure any possible connections to real life situations. And at the helm of them all is most likely none other than Makoto Naegi.”

“I know this evidence isn’t 100% concrete, but this is just a hypothetical. Anyways, thank you for reading my little theory regarding SM’s true identity. I hope you enjoyed it, and I may see you next time. Peace.”
-When I was done reading everything the forum had to say, I at a loss for words. I didn’t know what to say. Was I really leaving a trail of evidence behind? Was I that apparent as the guy behind ScrambledMinds?I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts, and closed the tab. ‘I really don’t want to read the comments for that blog...’ I thought. And then I realized something. ‘What’s Tsumugi going to do about this?’ I switched tabs over to my text, and quickly sent a message to her, the both of us quickly engaging in a small conversation.MeThis is… concerning.MeWhat should we do about it?ShiroganeI’m working on a plan right now.ShiroganeBut for what I have so farShiroganeI’m going to forge a blog report to drive the theory that you’re ScrambledMinds away from you.MeThat sounds like it’ll be intense…MeDo you need me to help with it?ShiroganeI’m not sure just yetShiroganeBut I’ll let you know if I do.MeAlright then.MeThank you for doing this.ShiroganeYeah of course!ShiroganeAnyways I’ll leave you alone for nowShiroganeSince I’m pretty sure you’re busyShiroganeTake care Naegi-san!MeYou too Shirogane-san!I closed the tab and set my phone down, only for it to buzz once more. I picked it up, and saw that it was a text from Leon.Kuwatayou can come over rn if you want‘Oh, he must be referring to the text I sent him earlier,’ I figured. ‘Well, may as well bring the clothes over now.’ I walked over to the stack of clothes and picked them up with one hand, grabbing my phone and dorm key with the other, and left the room, making sure to lock the door before doing so.…After walking the very small distance to get to Leon’s dorm room, I knocked on his door hesitantly and took a step back while holding the bag that had his clothes inside of it under my arm. When he finally opened the door, he was wearing his usual clothes instead of the ones he had on for the party last night, and had evidently just finished showering if his hair was any indication.“Oh, uh, hey Naegs!” he greeted me. “You here to drop off the clothes I rented you?”“Yep!” I responded. “Here, they’re in this bag.” I took the bag out from under my arm, and handed it to him.I was about to get going, but then he spoke up again. “Hey, where are you going?” he asked.Huh?” I questioned, confused on why he was asking me such a thing. “Uh… I’m just heading back to my dorm to relax for a bit.” I answered.“Oh. Well… you want to hang out in my room for a bit, then?” he suggested. “I got something cool that I want to show you.” I thought about it for a moment, before agreeing to it. He stepped aside and ushered me into his dorm, closing the door behind us.I sat down on the chair right by his desk and he leaned against the wall, taking the clothes out of the bag and tossing them over to a small pile building up on the other end of the room. “Are you going to wash those?” I teasingly asked.He made an exaggerated sound of contemplation, before sarcastically responding to it with “Maybe when Hell freezes over.” We both had a laugh about it, before he pushed himself off of the wall and headed over to his closet. “Anyways, I got something a few days ago, and I’ve been meaning to show it to you for a while now,” he shared with me as he slid the door open and rummaged through the closet’s inside. “Never had the time to actually do it, though… until now.” He reached into his closet, letting out a small “Aha!” after he found the thing. “Now… say hello to my brand new electric guitar!” He pulled out a sleek blue electric guitar with black and white decals on it.“Woah, Kuwata-kun, that’s so cool!” I exclaimed. “Do you know how to play it?”“Nope!” he responded. “But I’m going to learn how soon! Maybe!” I stared at him for a moment and snickered. “Well, it definitely fits your punk rock thing going on.” I commented. He let out a small laugh of his own. “Hey, Naegs,” he spoke up, his voice softer than how it was just moments prior. “When I get good with this- and master a song for it, I was wondering… would you, uh… would you like to be the first person to hear me perform?”“Sure!” I replied. “I think you’ll sound great! I’m looking forward to that day!”His cheeks quickly became flushed after I responded and he let out a small chuckle. “Y-Yeah… okay…” he chuckled. A look of realization washed over his face, and he stuffed the guitar back in the depths of the closet. “A-A-Anyways, I should uh- start washing my clothes!” he told me, his voice higher than it would usually be. “Y-Yeah, that. You need to stay fresh, y’know?”I was confused at the sudden shift in personality, but went along with it. “Alright, fair enough,” I said, getting up from the chair. “I’ll get going then.” I exited the room, and heard the door lock behind me with a muffled scream from within shortly after. Figuring that he was just cheering at the support I was giving him, I headed back to my dorm room and entered. That’s when I remembered I was supposed to text Komaru. ‘Oh, shoot, I need to do that!’ I recalled. Quickly whipping out my phone, I sent her a text asking about if she’ll be arriving at Hope’s Peak Academy tomorrow, and the text quickly turned into a conversation between the two of us.MeKomaru, are you ready to come visit me tomorrow?KomaruOfc i am!KomaruWellKomaruMostly anyways lolKomaruStill gotta pack some stuffMeI can’t say I’m surprised…MeDo you at least have the paperwork secured?KomaruMakoto dad made me print like 20 copiesKomaruI think theyre good lolMeIn that case, I’ll see you tomorrow!KomaruYeah ofc!KomaruCya then makoto!I set down my phone and looked at the time. ‘So, it’s 10:54…’ I silently pondered to myself. ‘I think I can probably manage to finish a request before heading off.’ I took a seat at my desk, booted up my laptop, and logged into my fanfic account. ‘I should probably keep up the requests, even with the arising situation…’ I rationalized. ‘If anything, it will at least help give me an alibi if I play my cards right. Now, which request should I take…?’ And with that, I began my search for the next request to write about.-After finishing my conversation with Makoto, I tossed my phone aside as I rolled around on my bed, squealing with excitement. I was going to visit the one and only Hope’s Peak Academy!I was off from school for a week since we were having a break and Makoto’s talent project thing, along with everyone else in his grade, just so happened to be this week as well. After having multiple conversations between my parents and the school board there, I was granted permission to stay at Hope’s Peak with my brother for a week. And I was, to say the very least, ecstatic about the whole ordeal.“I can’t wait to see what Hope’s Peak is like!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

I would be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy writing about my classmates. Sure, most of the requests I get of them are often highly idealized versions of them that are extremely different from who they are in person, but nevertheless, they’re still my classmates. They’re all extremely talented people, thriving in their respective fields. In a way… I’m almost even envious of their talents. But I make do with what I have, and that’s good enough for me.As I scrolled through the numerous requests in the comment sections, I scoured for a request I haven’t done yet. Yet, much to my dismay, most of what I could find were of repeats of former pairing requests.MagicMaam02Can we get some more asagami? those two have some major chemistry with each other nglRuffNTuffmore ishimondo plz!! their so hot togeterTac0tuesdayif you could make another kirizono thatd be so cool especially if it was set at a beach or something‘Man, all of these requests are basically the same as what I’ve already done before…’ I silently groaned in my mind. ‘It would be nice if people could actually ask for new stuff instead of wanting repeats of what they already have…’ As nice as it would be to do more fics for the ships that I’ve already written for, I’d probably get accusations of favoritism towards certain ships, which is something I wanted to avoid altogether. Starting a shipping war would be insane over a fanfic of all things would be utterly ridiculous. As I continued to scroll through the seemingly infinite comments for what seemed like forever, I came across exactly what I was looking for.sm00thm00v3somigosh!! if you could do a kuwazono fic where the two are at a tropical resort together that would be fantastic!!‘Huh… a pairing between Kuwata-kun and Maizono-san…’ I pondered. ‘Kuwata-kun did tell me that they used to have something going on between them before…’ I silently cursed myself shortly after for not being able to talk to Leon about it, as he was off doing his laundry.And then it hit me. If Leon wasn’t going to be available, then I could at least consult Sayaka about it. After all, I pretty much heard the story from Leon’s perspective already, so hearing it from Sayaka’s would help a lot. And it could give me some good writing material. Figuring it to be worth a shot, I switched over to my phone to send Sayaka a text, in hopes that she would be available. And despite my face heating up with every character I typed, I managed to get the message done, and sent it to her with the tap of a button.-‘You know, you’d think Twitter would have more stuff to see on it on a Saturday… but you’d be wrong,’ I quietly thought to myself. I was lying on my bed and scrolling through Twitter, bored out of my mind, hoping to find something interesting to read up on. ‘Rap… k-pop… rap… rap… politics… ooh, a meme- wait, that’s an old meme, gross… rap… nothing.’ Groaning, I turned off my phone and rolled onto my side, my face pressed up against my pillow. “Would it really kill for the universe to give me something to do…?” I questioned.And it was at that moment that I felt a vibration in my hand, coming from my phone.Slightly fumbling with it, I opened my home screen to see that I had gotten a text from Makoto, and I could just feel my face turn a dark red. ‘Oh my god, he just texted me!’ I squeaked with excitement. ‘He just texted me!!!’ I screeched in my mind, mentally doing somersaults in pure excitement. After a bit of time to cool down, I opened the message and read it. And my face turned redder than I thought it ever could when I read what it had to say.Naegi!Hi Maizono-san! I was wondering if you’d like to hang out with me today! Ik we don’t really hang out often so I think it’d be nice!At this point I was squealing with joy and tossing around in my bed in a wild state of frenzy. I quickly picked up my phone and rapidly texted him.MeThat sounds nice! Meet me in the Étoile Café at the Yumezawa Mall in about 2 hours! We can chat over lunch there!Before I could even register what I just said, I had hit ‘Send’, and immediately felt instant regret. ‘Oh crud, I never even asked him what his schedule was like today!’ I began panicking. One moment that felt like an eternity later, my phone went off with a small ping; Makoto had sent me another text.Naegi!Sounds good! Cya then Maizono-san!!I let out a small sigh of relief, and I could feel my muscles and nerves relaxing. ‘Oh, thank goodness that went well…’ I sighed. ‘Now… I should probably get ready for the day.’ Getting up from my bed, I plugged in my phone to let it charge up and undressed myself to get ready for the shower. And as I was about to turn on the faucet, I had an idea. ‘Hey, wait, if I’m going to go out, I’m probably going to need a disguise…’ I figured. ‘I wonder if Enoshima-san could help.’ I headed back over to my phone and picked it up. I unlocked it, and quickly sent a text to Junko about the whole ordeal. And almost immediately, I got a small series of texts back.MeHi Enoshima-san! Could I come over to your room later for some fashion advice? I need a disguise.EnoshimaomgEnoshimagirlEnoshimai stg i was legit just thinking about this sort of situation like rnEnoshimahaul ur ass over here asap cuz im gonna give u the best disguise ever‘Alright, that works!’ I cheered to myself. ‘Now, time to get ready!’ I skipped on over back to my bathroom, slid the shower door open, walked inside the shower, and turned on the faucet.-MaizonoThat sounds nice! Meet me in the Étoile Café at the Yumezawa Mall in about 2 hours! We can chat over lunch there!Even after reading the text over several times and responding to it, I was still in shock that Sayaka wanted to hang out with me in the first place. I thought she was going to be busy with her pop band performing songs or something, but no, she actually wants to hang out with me!The time, though, was bothering me. Two hours from now would be about 1:00, but waiting for two hours seemed kind of weird to do for me. ‘I wonder if that mall is far…?’ I pondered. A quick Google search on my phone confirmed that it wasn’t; it was only about 45 minutes away if I took the train. I sighed. ‘Maybe I should tidy up my room in the meantime…’ I figured. I walked over to my closet to pull out some cleaning supplies, and began working away at the dust in my room.-As I finished strapped on my left shoe, I stood up to look at myself in the mirror in my bathroom. I was in a white undershirt and some dark blue booty shorts, with black platform shoes that had large golden buckles on them. ‘Alright, this should be good enough,’ I told myself. ‘Now, time to go to Enoshima-san’s room.’Her room was only a few rooms over from my own, so it wasn’t like I was going a far distance. When I got to her door, I knocked on it gently, and it swung open shortly after. “Oh, hey girl!” Junko greeted me excitedly. “Come in, come in! I got the perfect outfit for you!”As I stepped into her room, I noticed how much it reminded me of a dressing room of sorts. I couldn’t say I was surprised by it though; her status as the Ultimate Fashionista practically screamed “high-end Parisian fashion icon”. Her room had posters of famous models and designers hanging up on her walls, sketchbooks that I presumed to be chock-full of dress designs were strewn about all over every bit of furniture in her room, and outfits of all kinds clung to the racks that littered the sides of her room. To say it was cluttered would be the understatement of the decade.“Alright home girl, get over here!” Junko ushered me to a chair by a desk, quickly dusting the papers that lined it off. I made my way over to the chair, being extra careful as to not step on anything that I’d regret later, and positioned myself on it as Junko spun me around to face her. “Okay, I already know our measurements are relatively similar, so there’s no need for me to measure you or anything,” she started. “So, tell me, what kind of disguise are you trying to go for?”“Oh, just a casual sort of look,” I explained. “I’m going to be going out to meet up with Naegi-san later, so I want something that’ll mask my appearance from the general public but still seem casual enough for such an occasion.”Junko flashed me a wry grin as she inched closer to me. “Ooh, like a date or something?” she teased. “Geez, Maizono-chan, I never knew you were into that type!”“I-It’s not like that!” I retorted. “He just asked me to hang out with him is all. N-Nothing else!” Junko eyed me for just a moment before saying something under her breath and heading over to a rack on one end of the room, and began shuffling through some clothes lined on it. “If you want a casual look, I’m going to make sure you look nice, but not outstanding,” she commented. “Any specific color palette you want to go with?”“How about a greyscale with purple undertones?” I suggested. “It’s looked good on me when I had costume tests for some of my performances before. Maybe it’ll look good for this outing as well.”“Sounds good to me!” she responded. “Let me go ahead and work my magic!” She rummaged through the clothes for a bit before letting out a small “Aha!” as she pulled out sleeveless white tunic, an unbuttoned black jacket, and a pleated lavender skirt that seemed to reach the knees. “Here, try these on.” she said as she tossed the clothes over to me. “Change in the bathroom, and whatever you do, do not touch my makeup. It’s some high-end shit made of snails or whatever that’ll make him die on the inside when he sees the price tag.”“Got it,” I nodded. “Thanks. I’ll go change right now.” I got up from the chair and carefully maneuvered my way to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind me. The bathroom had all sorts of makeup and brushes strewn about, so I made sure to be extra careful about changing out of my clothes and into the ones she offered me, making sure to tuck in the tunic but leave the jacket unbuttoned and hanging out.As I stepped out of the bathroom, Junko whistled. “Dayum, you look great, girl!” she cheered. “Now get over here, I’m going to braid your hair!”“Huh?” I questioned. “Why do you want to braid my hair?”“Because, your usual hairstyle is recognizable as all living hell, so it’ll go along with your disguise,” Junko explained. “Oh, but don’t worry! I won’t make you look like Fukawa-chan or anything!” Before I could reply, however, Junko moved behind me, and I could feel her fingers flow through my hair before dividing it into three parts and starting to braid my hair together. “So, about this little outing of yours…” she began talking, “Is this a first time thing, or have you done this before?”“Well, this will be my first time hanging out with Naegi-san outside of school, but it’s not as if we haven’t talked before,” I shared with her. “It’s just that I’m usually so busy with my music career that we never really get the chance to hang out together, you know?”Junko made a light grunt of agreement. “Girl, I feel you all too well,” she spoke. “That just makes me all the more glad that we were able to find the time to do this sort of stuff, though!”I nodded in agreement. “Yeah… yeah, me too.” As she worked through my hair, I could almost sense that she wanted to ask me a question, so I decided to prod at her a little. “Hey, Enoshima-san?” I asked her. “Is something bothering you?”“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” she spoke. “I’ve just been thinking about if someone else might have a crush on Naegi-chan is all.”“H-Huh? Did you just confess to having a crush on him or something?” I inquired. Junko stopped for a moment before bursting out into laughter, and I could feel my face turn red with embarrassment. “Girl, please!” she laughed. “I’m talking about you! It’s totally obvious you got the hots for him! Like, don’t even try to deny it!” Junko leaned in close to me, and she whispered in my ear “It would absolutely suck if somebody else took your precious Naegi-chan away from you, wouldn’t it?” with a sinister undertone to it.I quickly stood up from my seat, much to Junko’s surprise. “Enoshima-san, what… are you trying to do?” I questioned, confused and upset at the implications that her words had.Junko looked at me dumbfounded for a solid minute before letting out a long sigh and resting her hand on her forehead. “…Okay, I know this is going to sound incredibly stupid, but would it be okay I told you something?” she asked me. “You can’t tell anyone else about it though.”My anger at her quickly shifted over to suspicion, but I slowly nodded my head in agreement. “Okay…” I agreed to her wishes. “I promise.”She let out a small noise of nervousness, and then spoke. “Do you know… happen to know about the philosophies of hope and despair?”For a reason I wasn’t entirely sure of, her question made my blood run cold for just a moment, and I suppressed the urge to shiver. “No… I can’t say I have,” I replied. “…Why?” “…Are you interested in hearing about it for a bit?”As much as I wanted to say no, I gave her a nod of approval. “…I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to hear about it a little,” I answered. “What’s it about.”“Okay, so essentially, it goes a little something like this,” Junko began. “Hope is a constant for all the positivity that our lives have, while despair is a constant for all the negativity that our lives have. While hope is a predictable thing that we have, despair is unpredictable. There are several different types of despair for every hope that exists, as despair manifests in different ways. I’m personally interested in seeing how that despair manifests in different types of people, and the psychological impact it has on their overall well-being. Does that make sense?”After taking all of that information in, I mulled it over before nodding. “Yeah… yeah, I think it does,” I told her. “But you really shouldn’t be trying this out on people you know. It can cause irreparable damage to your relationship with them.”She paused for a moment before sitting me back down on the chair, and making quick work of braiding my hair together. When she finished, she handed me a mirror and held one in her own hand to show me what my braid looked like. It was elegant, and yet, casual. It was perfect.I got up from the chair, and turned around to face Junko, only to be met with a beanie smacked in my face. “It helps with the outfit,” Junko commented. “You know, to make you seem a bit more casual.” I gave her a gentle smile, and put it on. It was grey with two black lines running around it, and it had two small lavender clips on the side of it. With the beanie, the outfit was complete. I was ready to go see Makoto. “So?” she asked. “What do you think?”“It… it looks incredible!” I gasped in awe. “Thank you so much for helping me with this, Enoshima-san!” We both laughed about it for a bit, before I made my way over to the bathroom to pick up my clothes that I left there and put on my shoes once more.As I was making my way to the door, I felt Junko’s hand suddenly place itself firmly on my shoulder, and her voice faltered out a small “Wait.” I turned my head to look at her, and I could see that she had a look of concern spread across her face. She nervously groaned under her breath, before speaking. “I… I just wanted to say I’m sorry. About trying to make you feel bad.” she told me. “I wanted to see if I could make someone feel despair… but I shouldn’t have tried it on one of my friends. I’m sorry, Maizono-san.”I turned my body around to face her, and she dropped her hand from my shoulders. “Enoshima-san,” I started. “I can’t say I’m going to be forgiving you for what you tried, but… I see where you’re coming from. Just don’t hurt anyone else with your thing, okay?”She hesitated for a moment, before nodding. “Alright,” she responded. “I won’t try to hurt anyone else. I promise.”Flashing her one last gentle smile, I made my way over to her door and unlocked it. “Alright, I’m off.” I told her. “Cya!” I swung her door open and walked into the hallway, making sure to close it behind me as to not be a rude guest. I heard it lock behind me shortly after, so I figured Junko was done with everything. Humming to myself, I walked over to my room and made my way inside to drop off my clothes. I checked the time on my phone; just a bit after 11:30. ‘Alright, I should probably get going then,’ I reasoned to myself. ‘I can get there a few minutes before Naegi-san so I can be on time.’ And just like that, I was out of my room once more, making sure to lock the door to it, and made my way over to the mall.-“Aaaand I’m done. Phew! That was a lot of work.”I picked myself up from the floor to admire the cleanliness of my room now. All of the furniture was dusted, the floors had been swept and dusted, the bed had been made, any and all garments that had been laying around had been put away and organized, and I even managed to take out a small inflatable mattress for Komaru and had it inflated to its intended size. Granted, the mattress didn’t have any covers on it yet, but having it out and ready for her ahead of time made it easier on my future self.I pulled out my phone from the back pocket of my pants to check the time, and saw that it was 11:58. “Oh, I should probably get to that café a little ahead of time, huh...?” I figured. “That’s the nice thing to do.” With that, I put my phone back in my pocket, grabbed my wallets and keys, and left my dorm room to head over to the café.…Much to my surprise, the trip to the Yumezawa Mall was a relatively easy one. After consulting the Internet for guidance, I found the station that directly took me to it, and walked over there before boarding it and riding all the way to the mall. When I got off at the station, I checked my phone for the time once more, and saw that it was 12:50 on the dot. What came afterwards, however, made the trip a really difficult one.It wasn’t much of a walk to the café Sayaka had told me to meet her at. Really, it was just a hop, skip, and jump away from the train station. But when I saw the large crowd of people around the café, I just knew that it was the press. And I knew that they were here for Sayaka.I got close to the cluster that made up the paparazzi, and managed to weasel my way through them to get to the front. A plump woman with graying maroon hair and tanned skin was angrily shouting at everyone in the crowd, telling them to leave her customers alone in an aggressive manner, shaking her fist at them as she did so. When she saw me in the midst of the sea of people, she pulled me up the front and asked me in an almost condescending tone “Are you Makoto Naegi?”“U-Uh, yes, I am,” I stuttered.Without another word, she grabbed me by the jacket collar and dragged me into the store, shouting “Go away now!” to the crowd. As she swung the door open, she tossed me in and I stumbled for a bit before hitting a person in front of me on their chest.“Ah, are you okay Naegi-san?!” the voice questioned with worry. I knew right away that it was Sayaka.When I looked up at her, I noticed that she was wearing clothing that wasn’t normally something she’d wear. It was more… casual. She looked good in it. “O-Oh, uh, hi Maizono-san,” I spoke. “I’m doing good. Sorry for, uh, bumping into you.”The woman closed all of the curtains for the windows to the café, and turned to face the both of us. “Please, both of you, take a seat. I’ll get you both menus to look at,” Ushering us both over to a small round table at the corner of the café, she walked off to leave us to ourselves.“Uh, Maizono-san?” I questioned. “Who is she?”“Oh, she’s Trinette Sakamoto, a well-known professional French-Japanese chef,” Sayaka explained, understanding my confusion. “She used to cater to my group when we were starting off, and we kept in touch with each other after she decided to retire from the formal dining industry altogether. It’s why I suggested we come here!”“Oui, ça l’est,” Trinette spoke up in French as she strolled up to us with menus in her hands. “Maizono here was one of my most popular clients in my last few months working as a caterer. She knows of the many people I’ve catered for. Presidents, prime ministers, celebrities, and so on so forth.” She placed the menus down in front of each of us, and offered us a smile. “Take as long as you need you two, as there is no rush.” And with that, she walked off once more.I hummed to myself as I picked up the menu Trinette had placed down in front of me, scanning over the list of foods offered here. ‘I should probably get something fairly cheap,’ I quietly reasoned with myself. ‘I don’t want to be a rude guest. Everything here looks kind of pricey though…’“…You’re thinking about how expensive this place can seem, huh?”I looked up from my menu with widened eyes to see Sayaka looking at me with a somewhat sly grin on her face. “I’m psychic, remember?” she teased. We both snickered to ourselves a little before calming down.“You know, I just wanted to thank you for accepting my invite to hang out with me on such a short notice,” I told her. “I wanted to just talk for a bit before tomorrow.”“Huh?” Sayaka questioned. “What’s happening tomorrow?”“Oh, my sister’s coming to stay with me for a week,” I explained. “The school is allowing her to stay over so she can see what our talent exams are like, thanks to her own school being on break. Are you ready for yours?”Sayaka nodded. “Yeah, I am,” she replied. “I’m not worried about myself, really. I have a lot of songs in my head anyways.”“That’s good to hear,” I told her, “because it’d be a little embarrassing if you failed your exam.” We both laughed at the prospect of us actually failing our exams. Though they were supposed to be somewhat challenging, they would ultimately be easy to accomplish for any Ultimates in that field of study.“Well, I’m sure you’ll do great nonetheless, Maizono-san,” I cheerfully responded. “But I may need to keep her from going too crazy over everyone and everything, and I especially need to keep her away from you, so that’s why I wanted to grab this opportunity. She’s a Sayaker, so her seeing you may cause her to break into tears or something.” While everything I was saying was ultimately true, it wasn’t the whole truth. Thankfully, though, Sayaka failed to pick up on that.“Ooh, yeah, good call. That could be disastrous,” Sayaka agreed. She picked up her menu and positioned it in front of her. “Do you know what you want to get?”“Yeah, I’m ready to order,” I answered. “Do you?”She nodded, and called out “Sakamoto-sama, we’re ready to order!”Trinette waltzed up to our table, and smiled. “Maizono, what you like to have?” she asked.“Oh, I’ll have the blanquette de veau with some iced tea, please!” she requested.Trinette nodded, and then turned to face me. “And for you, sir?” she asked me.I quickly glanced over at the menu really quickly before asking “May I get the… hachis parmentier with a glass of iced water? …Gosh, I hope I’m saying that right. French words are hard for me to pronounce.”With a silent nod and a slight grin on her face, Trinette collected our menus and then walked off. It didn’t take much time until she came back with our drinks and gingerly set them down at the edge of the table. “I’ll be making your foods now,” she told us. “Please wait until I return if you want a refill.”As Trinette left the two of us by ourselves, I could feel the urge to ask about Sayaka’s relationship with Leon building up within me. And as much as I wanted to suppress it, I just wasn’t able to hold it back any longer. “Hey, Maizono-san?” I asked. “Can I ask you about something?”Sayaka nodded and gave me a reaffirming smile. “Sure thing!” she chirped. “What did you want to ask about?”I hesitated for a moment, even going so far as to give a small noise of discomfort, before saying “It’s about Kuwata-kun.”At that moment, I could practically see her face drop slightly, and she let out a small “Oh.” as a response. She heaved to herself, before almost glumly asking “What did you want to talk about?”I shifted in my seat a little before, speaking up. “So, um…” I began with slight hesitance. “A while back, he told me that you confessed to him about romantic feelings you had for him, but he turned you down. Does that have to do with why you guys seem to… y’know… hate each other?”“H-Hate each other?!” Sayaka exasperatedly asked. “No no no no no! It’s not that we hate each other or anything! I think he’s a great guy! It’s just-” She caught herself mid-sentence, and hesitated to continue for a moment before piping up again with “Okay, I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t tell anyone else about it. Promise?” I quietly nodded along, and she sighed. “Kuwata-san… has a crush on someone else.”“Huh? Really?” I questioned, surprised by the news. “How come he never told me?”Sayaka diverted her eyes from me before mumbling to herself “Oh, there may be a good reason for that…” before looking back at me and taking a long sip of her tea.“I mean, I kind of thought we were really close friends and all,” I continued. “So… I’m really confused about why he never told me who his crush is. I doubt I’d be able to hurt her in any way anyways. Do you get what I mean, Maizono-san?”She mumbled under her breath something about the elusive “her”, before saying “I don’t think it’s intentional. I just think he’s not exactly ready to tell you who it is yet.”“Oh. I guess that makes sense,” I said, mulling on the thought of “her” for a bit. I wonder who “her” is… If I had to guess, “she” was probably a good person. I remembered Leon telling me once that he liked the “pure” type. “Well,” I started. “I just hope one day, he’ll be ready to tell me about her.” Sayaka only let out a small, nervous laugh as her response, before taking another sip from her tea.We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before Sayaka forced a cough out to break it, and said “So, tell me more about your sister. What’s she like?”“Oh, her name’s Komaru!” I told her. “We all went to the same middle school.” We continued to talk about Komaru and how the talent exams were going to be exciting for her to see until Trinette came by with our foods, and then we just ate whilst cracking the occasional joke at each other. It was nice.…The ride back to the dorms after finishing up at the café was relatively fast. Sayaka decided to join me on the train ride since we were going to the same place anyway and also because she didn’t want to deal with the paparazzi on her tail for a second time in one day, which I don’t blame her for. On our way back to the dorms, we continued chatting about my sister and the upcoming talent exams, cracking jokes about it every now and then. And when we finally got to the dorms, we stopped right in front of her door. “Thanks for everything, Maizono-san.” I thanked her. “It was nice to get to talk to you today.”Sayaka nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” she replied with a smile on her face. “It was.”She turned around and unlocked her door, gently opening it and letting me have a tiny glimpse inside. “I’ve got homework to do, so take care of yourself, okay Naegi-san?” she told me.I nodded. “Of course. You too, Maizono-san.” As she offered me one last smile, she stepped inside of her room, closed the door to it, and I could hear the lock for it clicking in place.I stood there for a minute, trying to suppress my raging blush that I could tell was just covering every inch of my face, before making a slightly panicked dash to my dorm room. Fumbling with the keys for a bit, I somehow managed to unlock it, and threw myself in and onto my bed. The instant my face hit my sheets, I giddily let out small laughs, before picking myself up and locking my door. I sighed to try to ease myself back into a more calm state of mind, but that only worked partially, because when I sat down at my desk and pulled out my laptop, I could still see a silly little grin on my face.‘Okay, I still have pretty much all of that stuff from earlier in my head...’ I said to myself, ‘so let’s get started on this request.’ I booted up the laptop, accessed my account for the website, and sighed. ‘Alright... let’s do this.’ With that, my fingers laid themselves on the keyboard keys, and began typing.-
An escape from the hectic lives both Leon Kuwata and Sayaka Maizono lived was what the two star-studded performers wanted most of all. A chance to get away from the business of their schedules, away from the loud and obnoxious fans that pestered them everywhere and anywhere they went, away from all the drama and gossip and made-up news tabloids published about everyone in the music and baseball industries and spread like wildfire amongst both their fans and their antis. To get away from it all and have a place of peace and quiet for just the two of them was what they wanted. And fortunately, Hawaii had just the place for them both.

Sayaka sat on the beach, letting the warm ocean waters wash over her feet as she held an open coconut in her hand and both a straw and paper umbrella perched within it. A waft of the ocean’s saltwater wafted through her nose as a gentle breeze blew by, causing the lei wrapped around her neck to rustle for a moment. A small giggle escaped from her lips, enjoying the breeze that came with the Hawaiian sunset, and took a sip from her coconut. “This is nice…” she sighed. “I wish a moment like this could last forever.”

“Heh. You and me both.”

Sayaka turned her head around to see Leon, who was wearing a bright orange pair of shorts and a white hooded jacket. The jacket was unzipped, baring his chest and abs for everyone to see. Fortunately for Sayaka though, she was the only one in the vicinity to have the fortune to bear witness to such a sight. “Oh, Kuwata, it’s you,” she realized, grinning upon seeing his visage. “Did you go somewhere?”

“Yeah, just went back to the cabin to put on some sunscreen and order us some dinner,” he replied, taking a seat beside her on the sand. “Turns out the services here are pretty quick. I ordered a pretty big dinner for us to feast on, and they said they’ll have it ready for us in about forty minutes.”

“That just means we have forty minutes to be by ourselves,” Sayaka pointed out. “So let’s make the most of it, alright?”

Leon, surprised by her words, chuckled in response and leaned in close to her. “Yeah… we probably should,” he answered. “And I think I know just the way to make that happen.”

Before the pop sensation could even react, Leon leaned in to close the gap between the two of them and kissed her on the lips, his almost chapped lips feelings surprisingly nice against her soft, smooth, pampered ones. Sayaka didn’t resist it, however. She sinked in to it and enjoyed it more and more with every passing second.

As he leaned in closer, his weight ended up pushing Sayaka’s back, causing her to fall back onto the sand, and she brought him down to it with her. Her blue locks were coated with the pearly white sand now, making it glisten underneath the setting sun’s light for the baseball star to silently admire. “…You’re gorgeous, you know that Maizono?” he finally spoke, his voice soft and gentle. “I don’t think there’s a single girl out there who’s as pretty as you.”

Despite Leon’s best efforts to sound soft, all he managed to achieve was eliciting a small giggle from Sayaka, whose cheeks flushed and eyes squinted close as she rolled her head to the side. “Kuwata, you’re so cheesy sometimes,” she teased him. “I know you’re trying to be genuine with your efforts, but- I just-” Stopping herself from entering a giggling fit, the bluenette took a deep breath and sighed. “It’s cute, honestly. You’re cute.”

Leon, taken aback by Sayaka calling her cute, had his cheek flush red in turn, and he got up from his spot to laugh a little. “…I wish I could be like this more often, you know?” he started, staring wistfully out into the rolling ocean waves before him. “I wish I could be more authentic to myself. Yeah, I’m one of the most wanted men in all of Japan. I get that. But that’s just a façade I put up for the public. I’m barely anything like that. I’m not a witty, overly flirty playboy. I’m just me. I’m Leon Kuwata, the person. Not Leon Kuwata, the baseball hunk.”

It was Sayaka’s turn to get up from the sand, and leaned in on his shoulder to offer him a modicum of comfort. “…I get what you mean,” she responded. “As Sayaka Maizono, the pop sensation, I’m… very much not a typical person. I’m pretty, I’m cute, I’m perfect, I’m what every teenage girl wants to be when they get older. But you know about my past, and you know about my struggles. It hasn’t been an easy road to get to where I am now, but no one ever seems to care. Tabloid coverage that talks about me either trying to capitalize off of my new hit singles, or pull an act of defamation that my publicity team has to correct. I just want… I just want to be me.”

The two sat in silence, watching the sun set further into the ocean, as the waves washed the sand on their feet and legs off, thinking about how life has been for the both of them ever since they attained the stardom they strove for ever since they were young. “Well… we can be ourselves with each other,” Leon spoke up. “I think that’s at least something feasible, yeah?”

“…Yeah, it is,” Sayaka agreed, nodding her head gently. “If I can be myself around you and you can be yourself around me… maybe we should have it be like this going forward.”

“…Maybe we should,” Leon sighed. “Once we’re out of Hawaii, it’s back to the cycle of stardom. We’ll be thrown back into the depths of deception and despair, all at our expense so others can have their own five seconds of fame. But… let’s enjoy our time here together while it lasts. Okay?”

Sayaka hummed contently before getting herself up, picking up the coconut she had in her hand earlier. “Alright, I think we should probably go wash the sand and saltwater off of our bodies now,” she spoke, stretching her limbs from having been sitting for so long. “The food’s going to be here soon, so I think it’d be the appropriate thing to do when it does.”

“Good idea,” Leon agreed, getting up from his spot as well. He then extended his hand out to the bluenette and tilted his head. “Shall we?”

“…Yes, I shall.”

The pop sensation took the baseball star’s hand into her own, their fingers wrapping around each other, and the two walked back over to the beachfront cabin they were staying in, ready to enjoy their dinner and end yet another day of their Hawaiian escapade.
-“Okay, I am finally done with that. Thank goodness… that felt like it took so long to do.”As I saved the request and was about to upload it, I felt a small ping go off from my phone. I took it out of my pocket to check to see what it was, and saw that the ping was none other than a text from Komaru. And right after I saw it was from her, another one of hers popped up.KomaruI’m gonna be there at about 10:00KomaruI expect a warm welcome and a ready bedI chuckled to myself. “Oh Komaru,” I laughed. “You never do change, do you?” Grinning, I quickly sent her a reply to let her know I’ve read her texts.MeDon’t worry, I have everything ready!“Okay, now with that out of the way…” I began to mumble to myself. “Let’s get this request uploaded.” As I finally submitted the fic and uploaded it online, I immediately closed the tab as soon as the notification that it was uploaded was sent to me. “Great, that’s done now,” I told myself. “Now, time for homework.” I logged into my school e-mail, pulled up the online homework we were assigned, and began working on it.The hours rolled on by, and day turned to night as I toiled through all of my homework assignments. As Komaru was coming over tomorrow, I felt the need to be her guide for the entire day, just to make sure she doesn’t go ahead and do something that would get her permanently kicked out of the school’s campus. And that would mean it would be practically impossible for me to do any of my homework.Eventually though, I managed to get through it all. As I was packing up all of my school supplies, the thought came to me. ‘I should probably check to see the feedback for the request,’ I figured. As soon as I finished packing up everything, I opened up a new tab to check the comments for the request. And, lo and behold, there was a lot. I rummaged through all the intensive praise, positivity, and absolute thirst in the comments, in hopes of finding the original requester’s response. And when I found it, I was pleasantly happy with what they had to say about the request.sm00thm00v3somg this is so good!! i luv how laidback they are in this!!! ty for doing my request!!‘Hey, at least it means they thought it turned out well,’ I told myself. ‘That’s a relief.’ Humming to myself, I quickly typed up a response and sent it, logging off and shutting my laptop off afterwards.ScrambledMindsOfc! I’m glad you like it!!-“Komaru! Have you finished packing all of your clothes and necessities for tomorrow?”“Yeah Mom, I’m done! Don’t worry about it, okay?”I set down my phone as I saw my dad open the door to my room, with a slightly worried smile on his face. “Komaru, I just want to make sure you have all of the papers needed for tomorrow,” he nervously started. “Do you have them on you?”I rolled my eyes with a grin as I took out the thick folder of papers from my suitcase and plopped it on my bed for him to see. “Right here Dad,” I told him, gesturing at them with my hands. “I’m going to be fine, don’t worry.”He nodded in agreement, but I could still see the worry in his eyes. “A-Alright then sweetheart, I’ll leave you be,” he said. “Your mom will take you to a place nearby Hope’s Peak, so you’ll have to walk to the entryway.”“I know, Dad,” I told him. “I don’t think there’s a way to drive in to the school anyway.”He awkwardly chuckled and left my room right after, making sure to close the door as he exited, and I stuffed the folder back into my suitcase and did one last check for everything I needed. ‘Clothes to last for a week, my toothbrush, some chargers for my phone and earbuds…’ I listed off. ‘Okay! I think that’s everything.’ Zipping my suitcase shut, I rose from my bed and changed into my pajamas quickly, making sure to plug in my phone and earbuds before turning off the light and jumping into my bed to get some sleep. As I curled up in my bed, all I could think about was how exciting tomorrow was going to be.‘Look out, Hope’s Peak Academy!’ I proudly huffed in my mind. ‘Komaru Naegi is about to make her grand entrance!’

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Today’s morning was just like most others. The sky was nice and clear, the weather was warm with a gentle breeze to accompany it, and the sun shone on the world just enough to make anyone feel a little peppy today. But in a similar manner, today’s morning was different from most others, because today, my little sister Komaru was coming over to stay with me.As I from my bed, I smacked my lips and stretched my arms and back before tossing my bedsheets off of my body and getting out of it. I reached over to check the time on my phone, and my eyes slightly winced as I saw 7:24 flash up on my screen. ‘Oh right, Komaru’s going to be here at around 10, huh…?’ I thought to myself. ‘Well, may as well start getting ready for the day.’My morning routine wasn’t anything special. It’s just showering, getting dressed, eating breakfast, and brushing my teeth, in that order. Though I yearned for a break from the admittedly plain routine I had set in place for myself, it was also good to have a consistent start to your day. Without even so much as a second thought, I went through my morning business as usual. Today though, I was wearing my hoodie unzipped to expose the plain white tee I was wearing underneath, figuring that I could at least try to change things up a little for today.Glancing over at the time, I saw that it was 9:13, which gave me ample time to set up the air mattress for Komaru. I walked over to my closet and dug around in it for a bit, and pulled out a small hand vacuum that needed to be plugged into an outlet to function. Making my way back over to the mattress, I hooked it up to the vacuum, and hooked the vacuum up to the outlet. Making sure that the vacuum was set to the appropriate function, I turned on the power for the vacuum and watched the mattress inflate. The mattress eventually got full after a few minutes, so I powered off the vacuum and sealed it shut as to not let any air out. After unplugging it from the wall, and putting it away in my closet, I laid down on the mattress to test its firmness. ‘Hm, firm,’ I thought to myself. ‘But not too hard. This should be good enough for Komaru.’ Getting up from the mattress, I tucked a dull grey bedsheet around it, and placed both a light grey blanket and a light brown comforter on top of it. “It isn’t exactly the best looking match, but it is comfortable,” I mumbled underneath my voice, feeling the fabric with my thumb. “I just hope Komaru isn’t too upset about it not being ‘aesthetically pleasing’.”I glanced over at the clock once more, and saw the time was now 9:34. ‘Oh, perfect timing!’ I thought. ‘Komaru should be showing up at the front of the school soon, as I should probably be heading on over there.’ Getting up from my position, I grabbed both my phone and my keys, left my dorm room and headed out to the front of the school to meet up with her as soon as she arrives.…The walk to the school’s entrance was fast and simple. Thanks to the school’s facilities being open to the students on the weekends to do whatever they needed to do, I knew of a way to get to it rather quickly, since I’d otherwise have to go around the main building after exiting the dorms. But as I approached the front, I noticed that the situation I imagined meeting Komaru In wasn’t peaceful. It was more… confrontational. And that’s thanks to none other than the man himself, Juzo Sakakura, for being there, talking to my sister. Truth be told, I’m a little more than afraid of him. He’s a professional boxer who’s about a foot taller than me, with a stronger body than I could ever dream of having. If I did anything out of line in his eyes, he would probably punch me right in the gut, and I would probably black out from it. So this any sort of confrontation with the guy unnerved me. But seeing as how he was occupying my sister, I knew I’d have to step in and intervene to help Komaru out.“Excuse me?” I piped up as I approached the two of them. “Is everything okay here?”“Oh, Makoto!” Komaru cheered in a slight relief when she saw me. “Thank goodness you’re here! This guy won’t let me into the school, saying stuff about how normal people can’t enter without special permission or whatever.”“That’s because this is a special academy that only the elites get to enjoy,” Juzo spat. “If we just let any normal person come in, that detracts from the value of this school. So if you don’t have proof of permission to come in, then scram. I’m not exactly against using violence if need be.”“What? Why would you-!?”“Uh, Komaru?” I chimed in, interrupting her before she got too angry at the former boxer. “Why don’t you just, you know… show him the paperwork?”I could actually feel the gears in her mind beginning to spin as her eyes lit up with realization. “Oh. Oh! Oh yeah, I- I have that! Duh!” She snickered for a moment before kneeling down to her suitcase and pulling out a folder from one of its compartments. She reached inside of the folder, and took out one of the packets inside, handing it to Juzo. Without another word, he snatched it from her hands, and began to meticulously read it at a snail’s pace.It felt like an eternity had passed when Juzo finally looked up from the papers. “Alright, I’m going to give my bud a call really quick to validate this before I can let you in,” he told us, waving the folder of papers Komaru had handed to him. He pulled out a phone from his pocket, and dialed a number before the other person picked up. “Hey, Munakata, I need to ask you a question. Yeah, it’s about this teenage girl at the gate. Gave me some papers that said she could come in for a week. Mind verifying it for me?” As he walked away while still calling his associate, this gave me the perfect opportunity to talk to Komaru really quickly.“So, Komaru,” I began. “How are Mom and Dad doing? Have they been fine?”“Oh yeah, they’re perfectly fine,” she informed me. “Mom’s been putting in more effort at the daycare, and Dad recently got a promotion at the office.”“Oh, that’s great!” I cheered for him. “I’m glad to hear he finally got that promotion.” We both laughed a little, catching the attention of Juzo, who was only a few paces away from where we stood. The death glare that he shot at the both of us got us to shut up really fast.The call lasted for a bit longer, before Juzo hung up and handed the papers back. “Alright, you’re good,” he almost begrudgingly told us. “Now get the fuck out of here.” Without saying another word, we both bolted off, scampering away from the boxer.After we made a safe distance, we paused for a moment to catch our breaths and to clean up Komaru’s belongings. As I shuffled through her papers, I noticed the copious amounts of signatures from Dad on them. I chuckled to myself at the sight of them. ‘Classic Dad, always being excessive with everything…’ I thought.When everything was in order, Komaru looked up at me with stars in her eyes. “So, would it be possible for you to give me a tour of the school grounds after we drop off my things at your dorm room?” she asked me. “I really want to tour the campus!”I nodded. “Yeah, I can give you a small tour,” I told her. “But let’s go to the dorms first so you can get yourself situated. Follow me. The dorms are this way.” And with that, Komaru followed me like a little puppy over to my dorm room.…“Okay, here it is! Welcome to the place that you’ll be staying at for the next week!”As I swung the front door open, I could see the glimmer in Komaru’s eyes quickly disappear when she looked into my room. “Wow, it’s so… plain,” she bluntly told me. “I can’t really say I’m surprised though. I kind of figured it’d be like this.”“Y-Yeah, sorry…” I apologized. “I know how much you like glamorous things.”She walked over to the bed I prepped for her and set her stuff aside, flopping over onto it and heaving out a long sigh. “Even though this bed’s sheets are ugly, the bed itself is honestly pretty comfortable,” she commented before sighing contently. “I wish I could bring it home… My mattress went soft while you were out.”I snickered for a moment. “Well, I’m glad you like it!”“Yo, Naegs, who are you talking to?”Spinning my head around, I saw Leon standing by the door, resting his arm against the frame of it. “Oh, hi Kuwata-kun!” I warmly greeted him. “My sister came to visit Hope’s Peak for the week, so she’s going to be staying with me!”Komaru popped her head up from the mattress and gave an audible gasp upon seeing the baseball star. “Oh. My. God,” she gasped. “Oh my God, it’s you! I- Oh my God, you’re the Leon Kuwata! I just- Holy cow, I’m so honored to meet you in person!”“Heh. Pleasure’s all mine, Miss,” he responded, flashing at her his usual grin that he uses in front of the cameras. She squealed in return.Suddenly though, her enthusiasm turned to mild confusion as she turned away from Leon and over to me. “Wait, hold on, Makoto,” she started. “How do you two even know each other? Are you two classmates or something?”“Mhm! We are!” I answered. “We’re also friends, too!”“Best friends, actually,” Leon added. “We basically hang out every day, so saying we’re best friends really isn’t that big of a stretch.” Both Komaru and I turned to face Leon, whose grin began to falter. “W-What’s with all the staring, you two?” he asked.Komaru snickered to herself for a moment. “Nothing, nothing,” she commented. “I was just thinking of how odd it is that my brother ended up being best friends with a baseball prodigy.”Leon’s cheeks flushed a light shade of red. “W-Well, he’s a cool dude,” he explained. “And compared to some of the other weirdos in our class, he’s actually pretty normal. Helps me stay sane in the midst of all this insanity, you know?”Komaru eyed him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders, giving up on trying to draw any more information out of him for the time being. With that, she got up from the mattress she was laying down on and straightened out her outfit. “Anyways,” she began, “Makoto, you owe me a tour. Come on, I want to see the school before it’s time for lunch!”“Huh? Tour?” Leon questioned. “What for?”I looked over at him. “I kind of promised to give her a tour of Hope’s Peak Academy on the day she gets here, and she’s a bit of a stickler for promises, so I have to follow through on it…” I explained. “Do you want to come with? Three’s a crowd, you know.”Leon rubbed his chin in contemplation before shrugging and pushing himself off the doorframe, placing his hands on his hips. “Eh, I don’t see why not,” he stated. “It’s not like I’m doing anything else today. So, where are we heading first?”“Ooh, I want to see what the classrooms look like!” Komaru piped up. Leon and I briefly looked at each other, silently agreeing to Komaru’s suggestion.“Alright, sure!” I agreed. “Come on, let’s get going.”Komaru bolted out of the room, shoving Leon aside to get out into the hallway and booked it over to the stairway. We both looked over at her and chuckled to each other. “Is she always this energetic?” Leon asked me. I shook my head.“No, just when she’s excited about something,” I explained. “It’s not like most people would get to be within Hope’s Peak Academy’s wall, you know.” Before I was about to head over to Komaru, a thought popped up in my head and I turned my attention back over to Leon. “Oh, and Kuwata-kun?” I continued. Whatever you do, please don’t bring up Maizono-san under any circumstances. If she finds out that we’re classmates with her, she’ll go crazy and try to hunt her down for an autograph.”Thankfully, Leon gave me a small nod of understanding. “Got it. She’s one of her fans,” he spoke. “I’ll do us both a favor and spare us the headache that’ll likely come with that.” “Thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate it.” The both of us headed over to the stairway, and as I approached it, I asked her “Are you ready to go on that tour, Komaru?”“Yep!” Komaru chirped. “Let’s get going!” And with that, the three of us began heading over to the main building.…The tour of the school was a rather extensive one, stretching out much longer than any of us had anticipated. Every single room that we could access, we showed Komaru, and she went into a fervent ramble about how amazing everything was every single time. Though she was much more hyper about it than I ever was, her excitement reminded me of the first time I walked through these corridors myself. It was only after we had reached the garden on the top floor that Komaru’s energy began to falter, and we decided to take a small break there. We set ourselves down on the ridge next to the rafflesias so we can let Komaru process everything she’s seen.A few minutes pass by before anyone said anything. And then, out of the blue, Komaru began laughing giddily. “That… was so… amazing!” she cheered. “There are so many cool things to do here, everything is so spacious and nice, it’s almost like everything is a prop for some high-end TV show! You guys are so lucky to be going here!”“I… I guess we are, huh?” I thought out loud.“Well, yeah, duh,” Leon spoke up. “You literally got in this school through a nationwide raffle. That’s pretty damn lucky of you, you know.” Leon’s kind words made me laugh a little in response, and his cheeks went red once more.We were quickly drawn out of our little moment together when Komaru gave a loud gasp of realization as she looked at her watch. “Oh, crud! It’s 2:19 already! We’re going to be late for lunch!” she gasped, jumping up from her spot. “Come on, we need to hurry!” She jumped up from her spot on the ridge and bolted out of the garden before Leon and I could even react.Leon and I looked on with amusement, and I turned my head to face him before asking “Well, shall we get going?”He chuckled in response and gave a cocky “No need to ask. I’m gonna be out of here before you.” And before I could respond, he had already gotten up from his spot and began making a break out.“Hey, no fair!” I shouted with a slight pout, and tried my best to catch up to him. I failed at doing so, but at the very least, I was able to trail behind him for most of the chase, and that was good enough for me.…By the time I reached the two of them at the entrance gate for Hope’s Peak Academy, I was a sweaty mess. I placed my hands on my knees to catch my breath, practically wheezing with every breath I took. Leon and Komaru just eyed me with anticipation as I took my time to feel better. When I was better, I gave them both a small smile and a thumbs-up. Leon was the one to chuckle at it.“So,” Leon started, facing Komaru. “Got any kind of food you want to chow down on?”“Ooh, yeah!” she responded with a shimmer in her eyes. “I want to get some McDonald’s! I’m in the mood for some really greasy stuff!”Leon’s face just drops from a smile to a look of utter despair as he slowly looks over at me. Knowing what he’s upset over, I silently nod to him, and he let out a sigh almost sounding like he was admitting to his defeat. “Alright, alright, McDonald’s it is then…” Komaru grinned from ear to ear, and we began walking.As we were walking, I realized I needed to do something. “Oh, guys,” I perked up. “I need to buy some stuff from the grocery store after lunch. Is that okay with you two?”“Only if you buy me some iced tea for later this week!” Komaru chimed in.I laughed. “Fine, I’ll buy you your iced tea when we’re there. But you’ll have to help me find some stuff there as well. Okay?” All I got from her was a cheeky raspberry she blew my way.“Man, you two are really close, huh?” Leon commented. “I’m actually kinda jealous.”“Huh? Do you not have any siblings, Kuwata-kun?” I asked him.He let out a small hiss of slight discomfort in return. “Well… no, not really,” he began. “Not biologically, anyway. I have this cousin that I see as a little sister, but she is madly in love with me. It gets kind of uncomfortable at times, y’know?”“Yeah, I can only imagine. Especially since you’re crushing on someone else.”Those words slipped out of my mouth before I realized it, and the three of us stopped in our tracks to process exactly what it was I said. My eyes widened with shock and my mouth dropped as I quickly looked over at Leon. “Oh gosh, I-I’m so sorry Kuwata-kun!” I frantically apologized. “It just sort of slipped out of me! I didn’t-!”“Who told you?”The uncharacteristically low growl coming from Leon as he glared at me sent a shiver down my spine. I nervously let out a single laugh as my eyes darted away to avoid looking at him. “Ah- I-It’s nothing, really,” I replied to him, my voice slightly beginning to quiver in fear of his gaze. “I just-”“Who told you, Naegi?”Leon repeating his question as he took a step closer to me caused me to take a step back in turn. “Who told you I had a crush on someone, Naegi?” he asked once more. “Because I’d very much like to know who it is.”I took a gulp to quell my worries as much as I could, but to no avail. “I-I just figured you might have a crush on someone, that’s all,” I lied. “I mean, a guy like you-”“Bullshit. Tell me, now.”“Hey, knock it off already!”Komaru piping up drew us both out of our little situation, and we looked over at her. She was clearly annoyed with us confronting each other if the furrowed brows and folded arms were any indication. “Could you two maybe save to fighting for when I’m not here?” she flatly asked us. “I’m getting a once in a lifetime opportunity to be at Hope’s Peak Academy, and I’d rather not deal with this sort of drama while I’m here. I already get enough of that at my own high school, thank you very much.” She huffed. “Seriously, it’s like it’s drama for the sake of drama…”Leon took a moment to process what exactly she was saying before groaning and stepping back. He ran his hand along the length of his face and around to the nape of his neck to rub against it. “…Yeah, I… may have gotten a bit carried away,” he admitted, his voice almost pitiful. “…Sorry, man.”“H-Hey, it’s fine, don’t worry,” I assured him. “I just made an assumption about you that’s probably false is all. If you like anyone, you’re well within your right to keep it a secret.”“…Come on, let’s just get going.”Completely ignoring what I had said, Leon continued to walk off to where the train station was located. Komaru and I exchanged looks with each other, both of confusion and suspicion, before following him from behind, being sure to give him the space that he seemingly needed at the moment.…The train station was only a hop, skip, and jump away, and before we knew it, we were at the McDonald’s. It was, for the most part, not overly crowded in there, but just enough so for Leon to not be immediately recognized. We were waiting in line for the registrar to open up, and we scooted forward when she said “Next” in a somewhat loud manner.“Yo,” Leon began as he approached the girl managing the register, evidently having gotten out of his funk from earlier. “Could I get a, uh... a teriyaki burger and a medium drink?”After inputting his order into the register, the girl looked up at him and her eyes went wide and sparkly. “O-Oh! Um, of course!” she yelped, her face flushed pink. “In fact, your order’s on the house!” She scrambled to get his cup and wrote something underneath it, before handing it over to him.“Thanks babe!” he flirted, making sure to wink at her for extra points. “I’m with these two, so if you could, maybe let them have it on the house as well.” And without another word, the girl let Leon walk off to get his drink, longingly looking after him for a few moments before turning her attention back over to us.The girl quickly fell out of her enamored state when it was our turn to order and, despite what Leon had told her to do, charged us for our foods and only handed us our cups once we had paid for our meal. The both of us joked about the obvious favoritism and power abuse on Leon’s end as we filled up our drinks at the soda fountain and met with Leon at the table he chose.“Yo, you two took your sweet time,” Leon teased us as we took our seats. “What took you so long?”“Probably the girl who you were flirting with,” Komaru jokingly retorted. “The moment you left, she was eyeing us like we weren’t good enough to hang out with you and took forever to get our order ready. And she even charged us too, even when you said it should be on the house like with your order. Ahh, how I wish I could relish in the perks of beauty. Maybe I, too, would score some free food.”Leon snickered at Komaru’s overly dramatic comment about beauty. “Well, I have her number on the bottom of my cup, so I hope you’ll be prepared for guys filling your messages with creepy messages.”“Eww! Never mind, I’m good with being average.”Our food arrived shortly after, and we began to chow down on it, continuing our conversation as we ate. Komaru was ravaging through her food, stuffing every bit she could possibly fit in her mouth at once, ripping her burger into shreds of meat and buns with her teeth, and both Leon and I watched on with morbid intrigue. “Damn…” Leon started. “I bet she’d be one hell of a zombie with those skills.” Komaru threw a fry at his face in response.Once Komaru finished eating her order, she took a sip from her drink and turned her attention to Leon. “So, Kuwata-san,” she began. “How did you even get into baseball in the first place?”In response to her question, Leon rolled his eyes and slouched over. “Ah, geez, this question again…” he grumbled in annoyance. “Alright, I’ll lay down some basic facts. My folks are massive baseball fans, both Japanese and American baseball, and they made me join it when I was really young. When it became obvious that I had a knack for it, they forced me to practice it every day so I could go on and be some big shot in the future. I never had an interest in the sport, but it’s kind of become my whole life now. Maybe if I had more autonomy, I’d have been a totally different person by now…” He raised an eyebrow at Komaru. “So, does that answer your question?” She silently nodded and he let out a sigh of annoyance before taking a large gulp from his cup to calm his growing annoyance.“H-Hey, you should try to soften up a little with that sort of explanation…” I told him. “She was just curious is all. And besides, it’s not like you’ve ever made an official statement about it.”“That’s because I can’t, Naegs,” he quickly retorted. “If I told anyone that I wasn’t actually all that into baseball, what do you think will happen to my image? My image would be trashed. That’s what would happen.”“…Maybe, but I always thought it’s better to be your authentic self than it is to fake who you are,” I shared. “I don’t like hanging out with you because you’re the Ultimate Baseball Star. I’m not trying to piggyback off of your fame and success. I like hanging out with you because you’re a really cool guy.”Leon took a moment to grimace before sighing. “…I wish I could do that…” he confessed. “But I can’t do it. Not now.”“Then I’ll be here for you when you do, Kuwata-kun,” I replied. “I promise.”The worries on his face melted as he glanced up at me and gave me a soft smile. “…Thanks Naegs,” he responded. “I… really appreciate that.”Smiling, I got up from my seat and picked up my food. “Alright, I think we’re all done eating,” I began. “Ready to head over to the grocery store?”“Yep! Iced tea, here I come!” Komaru cheered.I chucked at her antics. “Well, let’s get going then.”…The grocery store wasn’t too far away from the McDonald’s we were eating at, so it only felt like a moment has passed when we left the fast food place and entered the store. The gentle breeze of the air conditioning ruffled my hair a little, much to Leon’s mild amusement. Fixing it a little to put it back in place, I grabbed a small shopping cart and turned to the other two. “Alright, I’m going to go get the things I need, but feel free to pick up a few things that you’d like,” I told the two of them. And Komaru, don’t worry about getting the iced tea. I know which brand you like.” “Alright!” Komaru chirped. “We’ll meet you at the register in a few minutes if we don’t bump into you in any of the aisles!” I smiled, nodded in approval, and turned around to disappear into the aisles in order to find what I needed.-Finally. We’re alone.I snuck a glance at the baseball star standing beside me, his eyes focusing on Makoto. Had we met under any other circumstances, I’d very likely be eyeing him with sheer glee for even being nearby such a legendary teen like him. But no, there’s something deep inside of me that knows there’s a secret to be uncovered. A gay secret. And my inner fujoshi won’t allow it to stay hidden. Not for much longer!Operation Might-Be-Homo is underway!“Hey…” I started. “You know, we can get anything we want from here… Makoto did say he’s going to pay for everything, after all. You want anything?”Leon looked at me with mild confusion before glancing away with an apathetic look in his eyes. “I mean, kind of,” he began. “It’s mostly just snacks that I want. Chips and whatnot.”“Ooh, let’s go find some then!” I remarked. Before he could even make a rebuttal, I grabbed his wrist and dragged him off into the depths of the store. When we got to the chip aisle, I began to scurry around in search of the guy’s favorite chips when I found a large bag of something that he might like, and tossed it over to him. “Here,” I called out, “I think these are your favorite!”Leon turned his attention over to me, and his eyes gleamed with excitement when he saw what I was holding up. “Awh, hell yeah! That’s the one!” he cheered. He came over to me with a jog and grabbed the chips from my hand, holding the bag close to his chest as if he were cuddling with it.Knowing that gifting him with his chips would let his guard down, I decided to start things off with a seemingly innocent question. “So, how did you and Makoto meet?” I began. “It just seems kind of weird that he’d even get the chance to talk to you.”Leon’s face turned slightly pink before he answered with “Oh, it’s nothing big. I was running down the hall one day and ran him over, and paid for his lunch to make it up to him. And we just sort of… clicked.”“Oh?” I innocently asked, seeing it as being the perfect opening to inquire further about his relationship with Makoto. “How so?”At this point, Leon’s face had turned from a soft pink to a soft red. “O-Oh,” he stuttered, evidently struggling to figure out what to say. “Well, we kind of felt that we had what the other needed. I needed a voice of reason, and Naegs needed someone spontaneous. And truth be told, we’re kind of the most normal guys in our class. I mean, we have the heir to a multi-trillion yen company as one of our classmates, for fuck’s sake. You can’t tell me that shit’s normal.”I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that stuff definitely isn’t normal…” I muttered.“…Anyways, I’m glad that we managed to get along as well as we did,” he continued. “I mean… Naegs is a great guy. He cares for others… and I really like that about him.”Okay, it’s official. This dude is mega gay for my brother.I snickered, and he eyed me funny. “Wh-What are you laughing at...?” he asked meekly.“Oh, nothing,” I replied, a grin on my face. “It’s just so painfully obvious you’ve fallen for Makoto is all.”Leon’s face turned an almost inhumanly cherry red, a look of embarrassment and shock and anger contorting his mouth and brows into an odd shape. “N-No I haven’t!” he hissed. “I-I-I’m not gay! Stop thinking I am!”“But you totally are!”“I’m totally not!”“Totally are!”“Totally not!”“Um, are you two doing okay?”The both of us turned our heads to look at the person who stopped our bickering, realizing that it was none other than Makoto. “Oh, we’re doing fine Makoto!” I replied as innocently as I could. “Your friend and I were just teasing each other a little.”“Oh, really?” he answered in a more serious tone. “Well, make sure to not go too far. I don’t want either of you to get hurt… and I know how you can be at times, Komaru.”Makoto turned his attention over to Leon, and noticed the bag of chips in his hands. “Oh, it’s your favorite chips! I didn’t realize that they sold them here.” he exclaimed. “May you pass the chips to me please?” Without saying a word or even looking at him, Leon tossed the chips over to Makoto, who managed to catch them. “Alright, I managed to get everything needed, so I think we’re ready to leave,” he continued. “Come on guys, let’s get to the register so I can pay for all of this.”-“...Alright, thank you Kuwata-kun. I’ll talk to her about it. Take care.”As I closed the door and bid Leon farewell, I heaved a heavy sigh and turned my head around to look over at Komaru, who was fiddling away on her phone while she sat at the edge of my bed. “Komaru, Kuwata-kun told me about what happened,” I began. “You went a little too far.”“Oh, did he tell you what the teasing was about?” she replied, not even looking up at me.“Well… no… but you still went too far,” I replied, adamant about standing my ground and being the big brother to her. “You hurt his feelings.”Komaru set her phone down and looked at me. “…Alright, yeah, maybe I went a little too far,” she admitted after a moment’s pause. “I’ll try to apologize to him the next time we meet up. Okay?”I sighed in relief. There may not be a next time, but I figured that it was the thought that ultimately counts. “Alright, that works,” I agreed. “Next time then.”I walked over to the desk and plopped myself down at the chair before opening up and powering on my laptop. “Alright, listen. I need to work on some stuff for a while, so can you keep it down for a bit?”“Oh, you mean like fanfiction?” she asked me.“No no, I mean schoolwork.” I corrected her. “It’ll take me a few hours.”She sighed in agony and flopped over on her back onto my bed before picking herself back up. “Alright, I’ll stay quiet… if you buy us pizza and we get to watch a couple K-Pop documentaries tonight,” she bargained.“Deal,” I immediately agreed. “Now please let me work. These derivative equations aren’t going to solve themselves.”…“Wow… that was a lot to take in. I feel so bad for Eun Shin-Ae… I hope she’ll do better soon.”Shortly after I finished my homework, I ordered the pizza Komaru requested and we began to watch a series of K-Pop documentaries on my laptop, the both of us lying on her mattress to be comfortable while watching it. Midway through the first one, which was about the rise of K-Pop and its competitive nature with J-Pop, our pizza arrived, so we paused to gather it all and enjoy the rest of the documentaries. The second one was about the international appeal K-Pop has, and the one we just finished was about the psychological issues that K-Pop stars face on a regular basis.“Yeah, what she had to go through was awful…” Komaru lamented. “I know being a K-Pop star requires a lot of work, but to be so overworked and stressed out to even try to take your own life is… wow. I don’t know how they do it.” I suddenly began to think about Sayaka and her career as an idol, and how much stress she must have to go through just to be successful.I glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 10:04. “Oh, wow, it’s that late?” I realized. “Hey, Komaru, we should probably get ready for bed. I have school tomorrow.”She then looked at the time and nodded. “Yeah, okay,” she muttered, interrupted by a yawn. “I’m getting tired anyways. Let me go get changed first.”Komaru rolled off her mattress and walked over to her suitcase to pull out her pajamas and other necessities before making her way over to the bathroom. After what felt like an eternity, she finally emerged from it, and I quickly gathered what I needed and changed into my pajamas before crawling into my bed.“Okay Komaru, I need to get up at 7:30, so expect an alarm clock to go off by then,” I informed her. “You can stay in and sleep though, if you’d like.”She nodded. “Alright, sounds good.” she acknowledged. “Just don’t wake me up when you leave. Remember when I made you fracture your finger that time you tried to wake me up back in grade school?”I nervously chuckled. “Yeah… I remember that.”The both of us crawled into our sleeping compartments, and cozied up. “Good night Makoto,” Komaru bid me, her voice quickly becoming drowsier with each word she spoke.“Good night Komaru.” I turned off the light on the night stand, only to hear Komaru snoring already. I laughed to myself. “Typical Komaru, always the heavy snorer of the family…” Shaking my head, I snuggled up in my bed and quickly fell asleep, with the prospect of the talent exams just on the horizon, and me being ready to take mine on when the time will come.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

-Makoto’s POV-Waking up today was definitely something I wasn’t looking forward to. Not because of Komaru staying with me for the whole week; I love her to bits, she’s my sister. But rather, it’s the beginning of something I’ve been silently dreading hearing about several times a day for an entire week on the intercom.Talent exams.As my alarm clock went off, I let out an audible groan of tiredness as I turned over from my comfortable spot in my bed to turn it off. And evidently, it seemed to have woken up Komaru too.“Oh... good morning Komaru.” I sleepily greeted her, rubbing my eyes as I spoke. “Sorry to wake you up... I know you’re not a morning person.” All I got from her was a nasty stink-eye and a small grunt of annoyance as she flipped herself around. ‘No use in pleasing her during the mornings,’ I silently chided myself.I got out of my bed and shivered as I felt the cold air of the dorm room envelop me. “Alright, well,” I murmured with a mild slur from the tiredness, “I need to get ready for class. I’m going to send you a document listing all of the exam times and locations for each student later, so you can see whoever you want to. Just uh... don’t be too rowdy please. You know what Dad told you.”After getting a small shift in her bed as a gesture saying she was okay with it, I hobbled on over to my bathroom to do my morning routine as quickly and as quietly as I could, as to not bother Komaru any further. Once I got dressed in my uniform, I hurriedly wrote a note detailing everything I just said, and left the room to head to class.-Komaru’s POV-The hours rolled by as I continued to sleep in after Makoto had rudely woken me up with his alarm clock, before my body forced me to wake up against my own will. The comfort of any bed is practically euphoric for me, but the body wants what the body wants.As I begrudgingly got up out of my makeshift bed, I took a gander over at Makoto’s clock to look at the time. ‘11:21, huh...?’ I thought to myself as I attempted to read the time with my groggy vision. ‘Well, we know I’m not good with mornings, so I’m not surprised...’Walking over to my suitcase, I unzipped its compartments and pulled out the various clothing items that I packed and strewn them out across the room. ‘Alright,’ I muttered in my head, ‘let’s see which outfit would be cute to wear today...’After a long time deliberating on what specific items I should wear, I eventually settled on a cute, slightly oversized pink sweater, a pleated dark blue skirt with white lines streaking across the bottom of it that reached down to the middle of my thighs, and white socks that ended right below my knees. “Perfect! I’m gonna look super cute in this!” I cheered. “Now, time to go shower!”A nice, warm shower was exactly what I needed to feel refreshed and ready for the day. But as I stepped out of the shower and tried myself off with a towel Makoto provided for me, I realized I had nothing to do.And then a brilliant idea struck. An idea so magnificent, not even the gods above could’ve come up with something a tenth of the sheer magnitude of how amazing of an idea it is.I could totally binge read all of the manga they have there!‘Hope’s Peak most likely has a massive array of books in its library,’ I rationalized, ‘so they probably also have a lot of manga as well! Manga is pretty much a book with pictures in it, after all! So they must have a lot of it! ...Right?’Shoving any and all negative thoughts to the back of my head, I got dressed in the outfit I picked out earlier, making sure to stuff the papers I needed in between the side of my thigh and the elastic band that held the skirt together, and applied a light layer of makeup on my face before combing my hair and heading to the door.“Alright Hope’s Peak Academy!” I declared. “I am going to find your library and binge read every manga you have there! I swear on it!”-“I can’t find the library anywhere...”As soon as I got into Hope’s Peak Academy, I found myself lost already. ‘Damn my excitement from yesterday...’ I silently cursed myself. ‘If I was a bit more calm when Makoto and the gay one were touring me around the academy yesterday, I wouldn’t be as lost as I am right now...’The hallways were mostly empty, save for the occasional student or faculty member passing by, so it wasn’t like I was bumping into other people or anything. And after what felt like an eternity and a half - though my phone said it had only been about twenty minutes - I finally found what I was looking for; the library.As I stopped by the front of the door, I took a heavy sigh. ‘Okay Komaru,’ I told myself, ‘this is it. This is the time to find out what exactly qualifies as quality manga in the eyes of Hope’s Peak Academy. Let’s do this!’I swung open the door and scanned the room with my eyes, taking in the leathery smell that filled the room and the sight of rows of books of all shapes and sizes that lined shelf after shelf after shelf of what seemed to be solid dark oak wood that had been sanded and polished to make it as though it gleamed under the lights above.After standing there like a deer in headlights for a solid minute, I pulled myself out of my mesmerized state and focused on the goal; finding all of the manga that they have, and binge reading every last bit of it. And with that, my search began.I scoured through the rows of bookshelves that were lined with some academically challenging pieces - the sheer thickness of some of the book’s spines and the cursive writing on the leathery covers gave it away for me - for a while until I found it. The treasure trove I was looking for, seeping in the essence of triangular heads and cheesy dialogue. The manga section.Squealing to myself in excitement, I made a mad dash over to the section in hopes of finding the best manga there are. And I was not let down with the vast array of manga that Hope’s Peak Academy had to offer; Fruits Basket, Inuyasha, Astro Boy, Nana, and so much more! With a variety of manga like this to read, I could absolutely keep myself busy for weeks on end!“A-A-Are you even going to do anything but take up s-space? You’re hogging up the space in the pathway...”I turned my gaze over to my left to see a hunched over girl with purple hair tied into long braids and thick circular glasses, and immediately realized who it is. “OMG, you’re Toko Fukawa!” I exclaimed. All I was met with was a slightly disturbed “Did you just say ‘OMG’ out loud?”I clasped my hands around one of hers and grinned like an idiot as I bobbed my knees in excitement. “I loved reading your book, ‘So Lingers The Ocean’! It was so good! I remember being obsessed with fishermen for an entire month after our class finished reading it to get an idea of modern romance novels! If I brought my copy, I would’ve loved it if you could’ve signed it!”Toko, looking exasperated down to her very core at the sound of my words being enunciated, pulled her hand out of my own and retracted her arms. “C-Careful, you normie girl! You could’ve- Wait, did you just say your school made you read my book? For a class?” “Huh? Why are you surprised?” I asked. “I mean, it’s a really good book. Even someone like me can enjoy a good book every now and then.” Toko scoffed, and muttered “If you say so...”There was a moment of silence before Toko eyed me with suspicion, looking up and down at me, before finally asking “Do you not go here or something? I d-don’t feel like you’re a student or anything... not in that hideous garb anyway.” Choosing to ignore her insult on my outfit, I nodded in agreement. “Oh, yeah, I’m actually visiting for a week!” I answered. “My brother Makoto actually goes here. I think he’s in your class. You may know him as the Ultimate Lucky Student, if uh... if that helps.”“Makoto? Makoto Naegi? Of course I know him, he radiates positivity so often it makes me want to puke half the time. But I suppose I can see the resemblance between you two; after all, you both have some fairly generic body shapes, a-almost like you guys are the default builds for a customizable character.” “Hey, you shouldn’t say anything rude to people who aren’t around you, y’know!” I chided her. “Their feelings could be hurt if they heard you say something like that!” “A-And you’re not hurt yourself?” she questioned. “Half of those words were practically aimed at you!”“Yeah, so?”Toko stopped right in her tracks and went wide eyed as she heard me ask that. “I will admit,” I sheepishly began, “both Makoto and I are pretty average people... especially compared to the many extraordinary people who went to Hope’s Peak Academy, or are currently part of Hope’s Peak Academy’s lineup of Ultimates. But in that regard... wouldn’t that make him unique? ‘Ordinary’ is what’s considered ‘normal’, and that’s pretty subjective, don’t you think? So by being part of what would be considered the ‘ordinary’ group of the general populous and thrown into the group of the people that are considered ‘unordinary’, wouldn’t that make the ‘ordinary’ person ‘unordinary’? I think so... and I think that that’s actually pretty extraordinary.”By the time I finished my little spiel, Toko’s mouth was agape and was staring at me in utter shock of what I said. “W-W-What the hell? How did your tiny little b-b-brain come up with something like that?” she questioned me. And then a wry grin spread across her face shortly after, as she said “Oh I get it... you read it all off of a teleprompter behind me, didn’t you?”“Uh... what?” I asked, completely dumbfounded. “There’s no teleprompter behind you.” “Y-Y-Yes there is!” she spat out furiously, pointing at me in an aggressive manner. “Don’t lie to me, you monkey! I know there’s one behind me! I can smell it!” “Wait, you can smell a teleprompter? How do you even know what that smells like?”“My apologies Fukawa-san, but the girl is right. There is indeed no teleprompter behind you that she is reading from.”Upon hearing the new voice behind me, I turned my head around to see a tall male figure looming over me in an almost menacing manner, clad in dark green clothing and a black mask. Yelping in surprise, I fumbled forward before tripping over my own foot and falling face first onto the wooden floor.“Oh, my apologies.” the creepy guy apologized. “It was not my intention to startle you like so. Please, allow me to help you up.” He walked around my body on the floor and crouched down on his knees, sticking his hand out to me. I felt unnerved by the fact it was wrapped in what seemed to be bandages, but feeling as though it would be rude to decline his gesture of kindness, I reached out for his hand and he helped me off the floor.Dusting myself off once I got up, I awkwardly rubbed the side of my arm with my other hand and almost muttered a small “Thank you” as I avoided looking to his eyes. They were almost cat-like, but more importantly, it was as if they were looking into my soul, in search of... something. I didn’t know what, and I didn’t want to know what, so I avoided bringing it up altogether.The guy probably caught on to my awkwardness, and thankfully instead opted to start a new conversation. “Say,” he began, “I do not believe we have met before, nor have I ever seen you in passing. May I ask, do you attend this school?” “O-Oh, no, I don’t.” I responded with slight hesitation. “My brother Makoto goes here though, so I’m visiting Hope’s Peak Academy to see him in the talent exam.”He nodded in understanding, before reaching out his hand. “In that case, please allow me to formerly introduce myself. My name is Korekiyo Shinguji, and I am attending this establishment as the Ultimate Anthropologist. It is a pleasure to be acquainted with you.”Practically fearing for my life with no explicable reason as to why, I cautiously reached out and shook his hand. It felt cold, dry, and bony underneath the bandages, but I opted to not say anything. Instead, I responded to his greeting with “Komaru Naegi. And uh... l-likewise.”Thankfully, it was Toko who decided to get a conversation rolling. “S-So, Shinguji,” she started, “what brings you here to the library? Usually you’re c-c-cooped up in your room reading at some flimsy d-documents, or looking at some m-monkey skulls.”“...Wait, hold on... d-did you just say ‘monkey skulls’?”“Indeed, Fukawa-san would be correct in saying I look at monkey skulls.” Korekiyo agreed. “Primate osteology is a subfield to anthropology, after all. But I haven’t been studying that lately... though now that you mention it, I did get a preserved specimen of a baby bonobo I could dissect later...”Choosing to ignore the side note about the baby bonobo out of sheer disgust - and not really knowing what a bonobo actually is - I instead tried to bring up the comment he made right beforehand. “Wait,” I started, “so if you aren’t studying monkey skills right now, what are you studying?”“Ah, I’m glad you asked.” he said, with what I presumed to be a smile on his face. It was hard to tell, what with the mask on his face covering it up and whatnot, but his eyes got slightly bigger, so that had to account for something. “Lately, I have been studying the impact of classical music on the development of early primates, with the help of a former alumni of Hope’s Peak Academy. In fact, I believe her estranged daughter is slated to be enrolled next year at this establishment as the Ultimate Exorcist.”Coming out of the background, Toko scoffed at the sound of the Ultimate title. “Ultimate Exorcist... as if ghosts are real...” she grumbled. “I-I’m pretty sure that your Ultimate Anthropologist senses are t-telling you her talent is a load of bullcrap Shinguji.” All the guy could respond with was “I simply find the practice of exorcism to be fascinating. A human concept as is it is worthy of being investigated someday. I should add that to my to-do list...”Creeped out by the topic of ghosts, I shifted the topic of the conversation back over to what the anthropologist was studying. “So, uh, Shinguji-san,” I began, “what exactly have you done so far for your research?” “Hm? Ah, yes, my research...” he mumbled. “Well, so far we’ve tested various primates such as the aforementioned bonobos and some others like spider monkeys and lemurs with only some songs. We chose songs from the Baroque era musical artist, Johann Pachelbel-““Did somebody say PACHELBEL?”With a loud thud, the singular door that separated the library from the rest of the school fell onto the wooden floor, getting the attention of all three of us immediately. Standing right at the door was a spunky looking girl with piercings and multicolored hair, and behind her was a girl who had shorter pastel pinkish hair and was wearing a dark blue hoodie with a catlike backpack.“Mioda-san, you know you didn’t have to 5A the door, right?” the girl with the hoodie questioned the spunky chick. “Now you’ll probably have to pay for damage repairs and be scrutinized for the acts of vandalism all around the school... I think.” “Ah, don’t worry about it Na-chan!” the spunky chick responded with the apt amount of spunk to add to her spunkiness. “Ibuki will just pay for the door replacement with the money she earned from her DJ session for Jun-chan’s party! Now now now, let’s find the people talking about Pachelbel!”As the girl’s eyes perked up and scanned the room, they almost immediately landed on the three of misfits bumbling about in the back of the library, and made her way over to us in a way that resembled both sprinting and skipping. Her friend followed suit, though lagging behind as she instead chose to walk over. When the upbeat girl arrived, she immediately went “Woah woah woah! Ibuki doesn’t thing she’s seen you around here! Are you perhaps... inspecting the goods around here in an attempt to auction off Hope’s Peak Academy to a bunch of rich guys in suits?!”Perplexed and taken aback by her overly upbeat and lighthearted nature, I offered her a weak smile as I shook my head. “N-No,” I clarified, “I’m just here to support my brother Makoto during his talent exams.” “Oh? Ma-kun has a sister?” Ibuki inquired. “That’s new information! Pleasure to meet you, sister of Ma-kun!”“Oh, uh, the pleasure’s all-“ I stopped in the middle of my thoughts, only now just realizing the nickname she had given Makoto. “Wait... did you just call my brother Ma-kun’?” “Oh, Ibuki likes giving nicknames to people!” she clarified. “It’s something she’s trying out in an attempt to better connect to those around me and those who I care for deeply!”“Well, in that case, I suppose I should probably introduce myself to you two more, er, properly.” I stood my hand up and offered it to Ibuki. “My name’s Komaru Naegi. It’s nice to meet you!” “The pleasure’s all mine Ma-chan!” Ibuki greeted me, finally bestowing upon me a suitable nickname other than ‘sister of Ma-kun’. “Ibuki is Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician!”“I suppose I should introduce myself as well, since I’m acquainted with your brother as well,” the other girl spoke up. “I’m Chiaki Nanami... It’s nice to meet you. I’m the Ultimate Gamer.” “And I am Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist.” Korekiyo as to introduce himself. “Mioda-san, I do believe you overheard me discussing to Naegi-san about my primate osteology research when I mentioned Pachelbel.” “Ooh! That might be it!” Ibuki exclaimed. “Now, show Ibuki those manuscripts! Ibuki can’t get enough of that Yummyhan guy!”While Ibuki and Korekiyo became engrossed in the conversation they were having, Chiaki, Toko, and I ended up forming another conversation. “S-So,” Toko began, “what the hell were you guys even doing? Rolecall? Isn’t that for g-g-grade schoolers or something?” Chiaki was silent for a second before nodding and replying with “I can see how that would be the case. In hindsight... I suppose it was a little odd to do something like that.”“So,” I began, “Nanami-san, what exactly brought you and Mioda-san to the library? I’m sure you guys didn’t come in here just because of hearing Shinguji-san mention Pachelbel.” “Oh, we were actually just about to head over to the nurse’s office.” Chiaki answered. “Mioda-san ended up spraining her ankle during a stunt performance earlier today, so I was just taking her to the office as a guide.”“Yepperskippididoodle! I’m doing A-okay!” Ibuki affirmed her state of well being. “So you don’t have to worry about me! Especially not you, Fu-chan!” Toko seemed taken by surprise and was silent for a solid minute, before screaming at the top of her lungs “F-F-F-F-F-FU-CHAN?!” in sheer anger.Gritting her teeth in anger, she buried her hands into her head as she exclaimed with complete and utter frustration “Gah, I can’t do this! I’m leaving!” Toko made her way over to the entryway of the library before I shouted at her “Wait! Where are you going?” “Anywhere but here, you d-d-d-d-damn troglodyte!” she hissed in retaliation. “You’re all so n-n-noisy! I just wanted some peace and quiet! W-W-Why can’t I get the shit I need to be done over with already?!”With that last fume of anger escaping the novelist’s mouth, she turned around and stomped off. “Wait, Fukawa-san! Come back!” I pleaded. But it was no use; she had already left. I turned my head over to Chiaki. “Nanami-san,” I told her, “I’m going to go to try to find Fukawa-san. Please take care.” She gave me a nod of affirmation, and it was all I needed before I escaped the library in an attempt to try to find Toko.-Despite being the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, Toko was surprisingly nimble in her movements. And because of that ability, she was able to lose me in the corridors of the academy.Sighing in disappointment, I leaned myself against the wall and hung my head in shame. ‘Great going Komaru.’ I scolded myself. ‘You just made the author of a book you read hate you... I should just go use the restroom and head back to Makoto’s dorm.’Looking around, I saw a sign for the girl’s restroom hanging right above the entryway to it not too far from where I was. Figuring as though it wasn’t worth it to go and try to find another one, I sulked over to it and entered the restroom. Inside was what you’d expect of a regular high school girl’s bathroom to look like; multiple stalls, white sinks with metallic handles to it and an accompanying soap dispenser, a small mirror above each sink, and two paper towel dispensers on each side of the row of sinks. ‘Even Ultimates have to use the restroom every now and then, huh...?’ I thought.I noticed that all the stall doors seemed to be closed, so I went over to the nearest one and knocked on it to see if it was open, or if anyone was in there. And then I heard her voice. “Th-The stall’s occupied!” she responded with a twinge of nervousness in her voice. “Go use another stall!”“...Toko-chan? Is that you?”“...Oh, God no.”I could feel malice emanating from the stall as Toko unlocked the door to it and swung it open, revealing her to be curled up on top of the toilet seat and burying her face into her knees. “W-What do you want?” she angrily questioned. “Are you here t-t-to make fun of me? Is that it?” “No, that’s not it!” I exclaimed. “I just wanted to apologize is all.”Toko lifted her face from between her knees and quizzically looked at me before asking “Come again?” I sighed to let go of some anxiety built up inside of me, and began. “I... I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I sort of bombarded you with praise right after you spoke to me, and then that escalated and escalated and escalated until there were five of us talking about prime... something, and that overwhelmed you. I should’ve been more careful to take you into consideration, but I... I didn’t. I’m sorry, Toko-chan.”Toko unfurled herself from the toilet seat, and looked to her side before speaking up. “You don’t have to apologize, y’know.” she told me. “I-It’s not like you intended for that to happen. And you didn’t know me beforehand, s-so I can’t expect you to know what I do and don’t like. A-And besides... I’m not exactly the best at socializing with others.”“Well, how about we fix that?” I offered. “I was granted special permission to eat the food from the cafeteria, so long as I don’t actually eat at the cafeteria itself, so let’s get lunch together! You can pick where we eat lunch... so long as it isn’t the cafeteria, that is.”Toko gave me a wry grin, and told me “Let’s eat here, on the dirty bathroom floor.” I was taken aback and visibly distraught at the prospect of eating lunch on a bathroom floor, before Toko spoke up once more. “Th-That was just a joke.” she clarified. “I actually know a nice secluded spot outside, just by the bleachers. ...Does that sound okay to you?”I nodded in affirmation. “Yeah! I was actually feeling like I needed a bit of sunshine, to be honest,” I told her, “so that spot sounds great! Let’s go get the food, Toko-chan!” “F-Fine,” she agreed, “but you better stop calling me ‘Toko-chan’. W-We’re not friends... are we?”“Nope! We definitely are!” I confidently said. “So that means I get to call you Toko-chan!” Toko grumbled to herself under her breath, and then finally said to me “A-Alright... but only if I get to call you Komaru.” I nodded to the statement. “Sounds good to me!” I said. “Now then... lunch, here we come!” Grabbing her by the hand, I pulled her off the toilet seat she was sitting on, earning a small yelp of surprise from her as a result, and ran off to the cafeteria with her in tow.-Lunch itself was great. After getting our food, we made our way over to the secret spot Toko mentioned, which was surprisingly really nice. It had a makeshift bench and some pillows that Toko herself had put out. We ended up talking about various things like my dream to be a manga artist, why she became an author in the first place, and other miscellaneous things. But all things had to come to end, and the lunch bell signaled that Toko had to return to class. Before she left though, we quickly exchanged numbers and made our ways to where we needed to go. In my case, Makoto’s dorm room.Walking back through the hallways of Hope’s Peak Academy, I made my way over to the library once more. The door had already been replaced with another identical one - I was only able to tell the difference because it had a lighter color and the doorknob was silver instead of gold - and I figured that Ibuki had already managed to pay off the repair costs... or didn’t need to pay didn’t them in the first place. Checking out all the manga I could physically carry wasn’t too big of a hassle, since the librarian was kind and very understanding of my situation. And when I finished doing everything I wanted to do at the library, I carried all of the volumes of manga I had borrowed over to Makoto’s dorm.I ended up engrossing myself in all of the manga I had borrowed that I didn’t notice the time fly by. By the time I was done with several volumes of Inuyasha and a few other volumes of Cardcaptor Sakura, it was already past 4:00. I only knew this because that was the time Makoto came back from classes.“Oh, good afternoon Komaru.” he greeted me. “I see you got a lot of manga from the library. How are you enjoying them so far?” “I’m loving them!” I exclaimed. “There’s so much to read, so much to indulge myself in... I can’t believe you didn’t read any of them yourself!” Makoto awkwardly chuckled as he set down his school stuff and took off his blazer. “Well, I didn’t really have the time to,” he explained, “ever since Kuwata-kun and I started hanging out.”I already knew the reason why the ever so popular Leon Kuwata wanted to hang out with my average joe of a brother, but I decided to keep it to myself for the time being. I figured that the news would drop when the time was right. “Anyways,” Makoto continued, “I need to focus on a lot of homework tonight, so I can’t really do anything with you. I’m sorry.” “No no, don’t apologize!” I told him. “I have all this manga to get through anyway. Focus on your work!”He smiled, and walked over to his desk to turn on his laptop and begin working on whatever assignment he had to complete for homework. I was about to go back to reading the manga I was on when I got a text from someone. When I checked, it was Toko.Toko-chan!
How are all of those manga you checked out?I giggled. ‘She probably figured that it was me who rented out the books.’ I rationalized.Me
theyre great! loving them so far!Toko-chan!
The fact that you don’t type with capital letters or apostrophes irks me to no end.Me
well, youre the writer, not me!Toko-chan!
I suddenly dread reading the essays you’ve submitted for grades at your school.Toko-chan!
Anyway, I wanted to ask you something.Toko-chan!
Would you be interested in eating lunch with me tomorrow as well?Toko-chan!
I’ll understand if you don’t though.Toko-chan!
I’m just a smelly ugly nobody, after all.Me
hey, dont put yourself down like that!Me
and yes, ill eat lunch with you tomorrow as well!I giggled. ‘That was sweet of her to ask.’ I thought to myself. ‘I guess that really does mean we’re friends after all!’Toko-chan!
Good.Toko-chan!
I don’t really know who else to ask to lunch.Toko-chan!
Anyways.Toko-chan!
I suppose I’ll see you again when the time comes.Me
yeah! cya then toko-chan!Toko-chan!
See you then, Komaru.Our newly found friendship, to the eye of someone outside of the wild confines of Hope’s Peak Academy, might come off as being a rather weird one. But I didn’t mind. I like my friends, no matter how zany they may be. And not much in the world can really change that.

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Hello everyone! Normally, I wouldn't do this sort of thing, but I felt as though it would be necessary to do in order to ensure that everyone has a proper understanding of what's going on."Makoto Naegi, the Fanfic Writer" (which I shall abbreviate as MNTFW going forward) is currently undergoing a revision to make the quality of writing far better than what it was when the series began.The series was inspired by the My Hero Academia fanfiction, "Izuku Midoriya Writes Fanfiction" by Dude_That_Writes, but as I began to write the story, it began to take on an identity of its own. I was able to explore concepts I hadn't been able to do before, and bring about interactions that I thought to be interesting in my head. It was an exploratory dumping ground of sorts, and it was a way for me to improve upon my skills as a writer.As time went on though, the quality of writing in my fanfics, both within MNTFW and with other stuff I wrote alongside it, began to greatly improve. Pacing and formatting were problems for me when I started out, as was reaching any somewhat high word count (the first iteration of the first chapter was 1000 words exactly, and I thought of that as being a high number count for me at the time). They were highly amateurish, to say the very least. People praised them, yes, but my approval of them began to dissipate as my skills as a writer continued to improve. Eventually, after the publication of the fifteenth chapter, I decided that I needed to take a step back to improve upon the already existing chapters of MNTFW and flesh them out to be up to my current standards than to continue onward with the knowledge that the quality of writing would drastically improve with each chapter, going from 1000 words exactly to over 5000 words with ease.Revising these chapters will take some time. Life for me outside of the fanfiction sphere has become more and more busy than when I started MNTFW, as it does for most people when they get older. But once these chapters are revised, I fully intend to continue writing more chapters for MNTFW and see it come to an end. This may sound cheesy, but MNTFW is far too important to me as a person to just let go of. I'm proud of it, and I'm proud of how far I've come since I began this series. It will be completed in due time. When that is, I cannot say. I wish I could, but I unfortunately can't. But so long as I live, I will do my very best to bring this series to a close in some form.Thank you for taking your time to read this, and I hope you look forward to each revised chapter when they come out.