Truth, Perjury, and Sacrifice

New Students and Doubts

Makoto and Kyoko arranged for cars to come and take the students to the dormitories, while everyone else returned home. Aoi and Sakura had agreed to be the school's gym instructors, with Teru as the cook and Mikan as the school nurse. A few people had applied to be teachers at the academy, which released most of the pressure from the lack of teaching staff. The others had agreed to be available to the students with similar talents, as mentors of sorts, which was Makoto's way of encouraging branching out and finding new ways to use their talents. "Jin would be proud," Byakuya said at the end of the dinner table.

"Definitely!" Karen added, raising her glass of wine. "To Headmaster Naegi and a clean slate for Hope's Peak Academy." Here, here's filled the packed dining room.

"So, you got the Ultimate Inventor, huh?" Kazuichi asked. "What's he like?"

Laughs and chuckles filled the room, "Uh, she's a bit....eccentric," Aoi said.

"Eccentric?" Byakuya scoffed. "That girl is beyond vulgar. I would suggest that someone here teach her manners, but I don't anyone is qualified to do that."

"Except you?" Kyoko asked.

"She'd eat you alive!" Hiyoko said. "Anyway, what's going on them now?"

"Oh, uh, I think they're still adjusting," Makoto said. "They won't speak to Kyoko or me much."

"Really? It's been two weeks!" Mahiru said.

"That's hardly anytime for them to have fully adjusted," Karen said, shaking her head. "Nagisa and Kotoko took longer than that, and even still they hardly say anything."

"We're right here!" Nagisa said from between Akane and Ibuki.

"Maybe a teen thing?" Komaru asked.

Karen and a few others shrugged, "Regardless, we have some things to talk about."

"What's that?" Akane asked, a mouthful of food.

"Akane, really," Hajime said, turning his head away.

"Housing, Future Foundation, and weddings. First, and most importantly, Kyoko, Makoto, have you two finally picked a date? It's killing me, guys, it's been months."

Kyoko rolled her eyes, "Yes, we've settled on the 15th of next month."

Karen's head lulled to the side. "October? It's going to be cold."

"Karen, for the last time, the dress is fine. Please don't make me come back to make more changes," Kyoko said, blushing heavily.

Karen threw up her hands, "Fine." She glanced at Teru, who gave her a thumbs up. She nodded and continued, "Okay, next. Just as a quick update, Hajime, you can move in next week, and Peko, Fuyuhiko, the walls are going up this week, so in the next couple of weeks, you can start picking colors and stuff."

"Alright, Hajime, I hate to ask this of you, but can you handle Future Foundation stuff for the next week or so?"

"Already!? I've only been watching what you do for a week!"

"I know! That's why I've developed a team for you and I will be on-call if you need me," Karen said, clasping her hands together. "Please, Hajime. I will make it up to you, I promise."

Hajime stared at her, "Fine, okay. But can I ask why?" Having her ask this of him in front of everyone wasn't fair, so why should he hold his questions back?

Karen smiled and glanced at Makoto, "I'm going to be making the students' uniforms. And I need time to get everyone's measurements and order the fabric."

"Really? You don't have to do that!" Makoto tried to dissuade Karen, but she immediately shook her head.

"Too late, I already have the designs ready and I already got the okays from the students. So, I will be at the school first thing Monday morning." Soon, the dinner continued on talking about who was going to be mentoring who, moving dates, wedding plans, and so on. Life was continuing on again as normal as possible.

The 79th class lounged about their dorm rooms, enjoying the early fall air. "Something on your mind, Shuichi?" Kirumi asked, peering into the detective's room. His door was wide open, as many of the others were. "You've been distracted lately."

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Well, let me ask you something, Kirumi, the others had a sudden change of attitude, right?"

"You mean regarding the arrangement with Hope's Peak? Yes, I would say so."

Shuichi glanced at his feet, then back out of his window. "I feel as though something bad is about to happen, but I have nothing to prove this feeling."

Kirumi shut the door behind her and stepped closer to Shuichi. "If I may, even though I am no detective by any means, I believe trusting your gut instinct makes you a better detective."

"You think? I don't know. Kirigiri seems so confident and determined, it's hard to tell what makes a good detective."

"Perhaps you could ask her. Headmaster Naegi did say that we could choose who our mentor was."

"She's the vice-principal. I doubt she has time for students like me."

Kirumi frowned, "I believe you are too hard on yourself, Shuichi. Do not predetermine what someone else will say. It's rude to make assumptions."

Shuichi nodded, "You're right, Kirumi. As always," he chuckled. "Thanks for talking about this with me. But, uh, could you not mention any of this to Tsumugi or the others for now?"

"Of course," Kirumi bowed slightly. "Would you like something to ease your mind? Tea, perhaps?"

"Kirumi, you don't need to do these things for us," Shuichi tried to say. He sighed, "But yes, tea sounds nice."