NO, THAT'S WRONG! ~~Naegami~~

Chapter 3: Entrance Ceremony

Leaving the gym, Makoto ran through everyone he'd met: Ishimaru, Asahina, Ogami, Owada, Fujisaki, Enoshima, Hagakure, Kuwata. It was no good; the names all blended together. Makoto hadn't been good with names at the best of times, so in a nerve-wracking situation like this where he was in a brand new environment? Forget it, it was hopeless. But there was one name that he hadn't forgotten. Togami. That cold, blond boy kept running through Makoto's head for reasons he couldn't, and didn't care to, understand. What was it about him that was so memorable? Makoto reasoned that it must be the way he treated him, after all: bad impressions are far more memorable than good ones. But he suspected that that wasn't the full truth of the matter.

   "Naegi? Are you alright?" said Maizono from beside him. She had decided to walk with him to the gymnasium, where the opening ceremony was supposed to start.

   "Hm? Oh, it's nothing, Maizono. Just a little... lost in thought I guess." he replied absentmindedly.

   "Ok then!" Maizono replied with her usual bubbly energy, as the two fell into a comfortable silence. To be perfectly honest, Makoto was surprised that Maizono actually remembered him. The two had gone to middle school together, but not only were they in different classes, but also whilst Makoto had been something of a non-entity all his life, Maizono was the most popular girl in the school. And that was before she became an international pop idol. Now attending Hope's Peak as the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Maizono was no doubt going to be just as popular here as she had in middle school. All in all, Makoto was shocked that she even knew who he was, let alone wanted to spend time with him.

   The walk to the gym wasn't that far, so before long they had made it to the massive hall. Everybody assembled themselves into a line as the headmaster, Jin Kirigiri walked onto the stage at the front of the room to a huge round of applause. Kirigiri... where had Makoto heard that before? Ah! That's right. It was that mysterious girl he'd talked to. Kyoko, was it? She hadn't shared much about herself beyond her name, but now Makoto was wondering if she was related to the headmaster by any chance. It wouldn't be too hard to imagine. Besides the fact that the headmaster's hair was black where Kirigiri's was lilac, the two looked remarkably similar. The shape of their faces, the small smile, they could feasibly be believed to be related. Then the headmaster began his speech.

   Makoto knew he should have been paying attention, but- as any member
of his family would tell you- his attention span was famously short. And so his consciousness drifted, and his mind began wandering. Whilst the headmaster was talking about dormitories, Makoto's eyes settled on some collar-length blonde hair in front of him. Togami seemed to be listening attentively, with his back turned towards Makoto. Without really knowing why, Makoto's eyes lingered on the back of Togami's head.
  
   He had no idea how much time had passed, but the headmaster was still speaking when Togami turned his head around to catch Makoto staring at him.
  
   "What are you looking at, plebeian?" he whispered harshly. Makoto blushed and looked at the floor
                               ***
Byakuya knew that that Naegi boy was watching him. He had quickly learned from his siblings to develop a sixth sense for these things. But, as a man of strong willpower, Byakuya determined to ignore him and focus solemnly on Jin Kirigiri's speech. Which wasn't very good, he might add. Although Byakuya had only taken a few public speaking lessons in his youth, he could definitely tell that the headmaster hadn't. He didn't exude enough confidence. He didn't hold the room's attention, that much was clear from just how many people were staring absentmindedly at the walls, floor, anywhere but at the stage. Even the headmaster is a disappointment these days, Byakuya thought to himself. He could still feel Naegi's eyes boring into the back of his skull like a drill, but he was above petty squabbles. He wouldn't turn around to chastise the boy. He wouldn't. He would not. He. Would. Not.
   He.
   Would.
   NOT.
   Finally, Byakuya couldn't take it anymore. He whipped his head around to glare at the boy who'd been distracting him for the whole speech.
   "What are you looking at, plebeian?" he demanded. Naegi just blushed and looked down at the floor. As expected from a kid like him. No backbone. When Naegi finally looked up, face beet-red, he gave Byakuya an apologetic smile and mouthed the word "Sorry" at him. Byakuya's upper lip curled in contempt and he turned his head towards the front again, where the headmaster was finishing up his thoroughly underwhelming speech. Despite Byakuya's best efforts, he didn't actually catch most of what Kirigiri had been saying. It was all because of that damned Naegi boy. When the class was dismissed from the gymnasium, Byakuya walked swiftly out without stopping for anyone.
                             ***
When the class was dismissed from the gymnasium, Togami walked swiftly out without stopping for anyone. Which was a shame. Not because Makoto especially wanted to talk with the blonde, but because he wanted to explain to Togami that he wasn't actually staring at him. And though part of him wondered why he cared so much, most of him was worried that Togami would think Makoto was obsessed with him or something. Which, obviously, Makoto wasn't. Oh well, he supposed he'd have to locate him later.
   Once all of the students arrived at their dorms and began to make themselves at home, Makoto heard a knock on his door. He went over to open it, and deflated only slightly when he saw who it was.
   "NAEGI! Everyone, at my behest, is meeting at the dining hall in five minutes!" shouted Ishimaru.
   "Uhh, Ishimaru? You know it's just us two here, you don't need to shout."
   "And you don't need to eat anything more than a piece of bread and meat a day, but do you? Of course!" Makoto wasn't entirely sure the two were comparable, but made his way over to the dining hall anyway.
   "I call this meeting of class 1A of Hope's Peak Academy to order!" Ishimaru yelled once we had all gathered. Most of us sat at the central table, but a few chose to sit on the surrounding tables as well. Togami, for one, was sitting at a circular table just off the right of the table with a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He seemed to be paying no attention to whatever Ishimaru was saying whatsoever.
   "I propose that every morning we hold a meeting like this in the dining hall before classes start. All in favour, raise your hands!" Makoto wasn't that much of a morning person, but couldn't think of any real reason to object, so he raised his hand, along with several other people. "All opposed, raise your hands!" A few hands went up, Togami being among them, but not as many as those who were in favour.
   "A majority has been reached!" Ishimaru exclaimed. "Then it is decided!"
   The rest of the meeting was very similar, with people (mainly Ishimaru) proposing things and people voting on them. It was barely more interesting than the headmaster's speech, so Makoto found his mind drifting again, as his eyes following suit.
   "Hey Naegi? May I ask why you are staring at me like an imbecile?" Togami's sharp voice brought him back down to earth. He felt heat rise to his cheeks. He couldn't have been looking at him again, could he? But even then, he knew that he was.
   "S-sorry!" Makoto said and looked down to the floor.
                                ***
Byakuya looked down at his phone, wondering why he kept doing this to himself. The meeting was long over at this point, and he was sitting on his bed in his dorm room, reading through messages over and over again. There weren't enough of them. He felt a damp mass land on his hand, and realised that he had shed a tear. The heir apparent to the Togami Corporation? Crying? What would his father say? Byakuya got ahold of himself and went to the bathroom to wash his face when he heard a knock on his door. He checked his watch. 21:48. Who would be stupid enough to disturb him at this time of night? Even so, he walked over to the door opened it, and stopped sharply.
   "Naegi?"

Word count without A/N: 1441
A/N: uhhhh so I'm writing this at midnight because I cannotttttttt sleep so apologies if this is terrible. I've had to correct sooooooooooooo many mistakes and ive still probably made tonnes of themmm. This chapter was hard to write because I had no idea what to put in it. That might show in the actual story; it's very confused, sorrrrrrrry. But on the plus side, I'll probably be able to publish this one tomorrow. OH AND BY THE HECKING WAY: TYSMMMMMMM FOR ALL THE READS AND VOTES IK IT MIGHT NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT BUT IT MEANS THE WORLDDDDD TO ME THAT MORE THAN TWO PEOPLE HAVE READ MY STUPID FIC. Seriously tho, it's kinda crazy. Uhhhh yeah I probably need to go to sleep I have school tomorrow so byeeeeee
— Winter