Truth, Perjury, and Sacrifice

New Places

The autumn weather quickly turned cold, winter just around the corner. "Alright, you guys ready?" Karen asked, guiding Hajime and Nagito by the hands. The two nodded, albeit somewhat hesitantly, and waited for Karen to remove the blindfolds from over their eyes. "Open your eyes!"

Hajime gave a small gasp, "You didn't just renovate the house, you renovated the whole block!"

"Yup! And the best part is that you already know your neighbors," Karen said, just as two black cars pulled up next to them. Sakura and Yasuhiro guided Peko, Fuyuhiko, Mahiru and Hiyoko out of the vehicles. "Go and explore, while I see how they react," Karen gave them a gentle nudge and rushed off toward Peko and Fuyuhiko.

"You okay?" Hajime asked. Nagito hadn't made a motion to enter their new home.

"She seems like she's ignoring something. There's something wrong," Nagito said as he watched Karen bask in the many thanks of the two other couples. "She's been working at Hope's Peak more often I've noticed."

"Isn't that a good thing? With me helping out at Future Foundation, she doesn't need to be there as often. She's even allocated some resources to help Kyoko and the rest of the justice department." Hajime glanced to where Nagito was staring, but everyone had already gone inside the two houses next to theirs. "Come on, a lot of effort went into making all of this possible."

"And a lot of people got hurt along the way," Nagito said, meeting Hajime on the front step. He pulled the two new sets of keys out of the mailbox, handing one set to Hajime.

"You are right," Sakura said, catching the two off guard. "We are all well aware of that, Komeada. She is simply keeping a watchful eye, as anyone would for their family."

"Like we all do, right?" Nagito asked.

Sakura and Hajime flinched, "What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked.

"I'm just saying that keeping a watchful eye can also mean keeping secrets."

"You're not one to talk," Hajime forced a grin.

"I don't mean to interject, but I believe you should listen to Hinata. Try to not let the bad consume the good we've experienced," Sakura said, returning to Karen and Yasuhiro.

With everyone broken up into three teams, they helped the three couples move into their new homes. "I'm never moving," Toko huffed, setting down the last set of dishes onto the kitchen counter. "Don't even ask me unless you say you're paying for professional movers," she said, pointing at Komaru.

"You'd trust others with your stuff?"

"I'd trust professionals before trusting any of these dolts," Toko said, glancing at Hina and Yasuhiro.

"Hey! Come on, you should trust us a little more after working together all this time!" Yasuhiro said. "Remember that one time?"

"Yeah, yeah who could forget when all you ever bring up when I insult you is the one time you helped us escape that band of Monokumas? It probably was just Makoto's luck anyway!"

Yasuhiro chuckled and carried a small box up the stairs. With the last of the boxes sorted out to the right houses and rooms, the groups reconvened in the middle at the Kuzuryuu household. "I'm glad you like the back patio. I know you had a traditional home for the longest time, so I tried to keep the construction in that direction as much as possible," Karen said, helping Fuyuhiko pour drinks for everyone.

"Yeah, it's great, really. We really appreciate all you've done for us," Fuyuhiko nodded. "Um, so, I gotta question for you. Well, more like a request."

"Of course! What's on your mind?" She asked, glancing at Peko, who was enjoying the conversation in the living room.

"Peko and I decided to, uh, get married in secret. You know, quiet, no fancy show. So, I guess I'm asking if you know how to make the traditional garb."

Karen stared at Fuyuhiko for a moment and smiled. "I'll be honest, I'm not the most familiar, but I will try my best for you both."

"You're not gonna ask why we're going about it this way?"

"No, I fully understand, but I also don't have to understand. What you and Peko have, like many of us here, is your business and I will always respect that," Karen said.

"Thanks for not prying. I know the others will throw a fit when they find out, but we just don't want the headache. Speaking of headaches though, I don't see your man here. Haven't seen him for quite some time actually," Fuyuhiko said, taking a sip of his drink.

Karen sighed, following suit, "Since Makoto and Kyoko's wedding, things got busy. I forgot how much time running the Togami company takes." She took another small sip. "He's never run the company by himself, so he's kind of in a steep learning curve right now. So, he hasn't been home as often as his temper has been a little short lately."

"What do you mean short? Cause if I find out he's put a hand on you, I swear!"

"No, no! Nothing like that, he just gets more frustrated, so he takes more time alone. But I worry about him. Nagisa had started to get close and then Byakuya kind of disappeared, so I've been taking the kids to Hope's Peak with me more often."

"So that's what's been going on," Nagito said in the doorway.

"Don't spy on us like that!"

"What? Nothing you said really was of interest to me anyway."

"Don't worry about me, Nagito. Everything will be fine soon," Karen said. "Let's just enjoy a job well done today."