Big Book of Writing

A Smile Worth a Thousand Words (Kintai, DRA)

Once again, happy birthday to my friend! Have some Kintai.

***

The entrance ceremony had been the beginning of everything. He didn't want to remember it, but it was engraved forever in his mind.

Tsurugi had arrived at the entrance of Hope's Peak Academy early, invitation in hand. His timeliness was a habit that had long-since been drilled into him by his father. He couldn't respect him as a father, but he could commend him for his teachings over the years.

Over the course of the next hour, the rest of the first-year students arrived at the front, who he guessed were all going to be in his class. He had gotten a few calls from the academy while on duty before, and he had noticed that the class sizes tended to vary each year. It seemed that there would only be one class this year. 

Not long after their arrival, a man with orange hair went into the school immediately. Tsurugi was going to wonder what that was about, but he was distracted by the cheerleader and the soccer player's arguing. In the end, he had managed to break up the scuffle with the help of the pilot, who had almost made things worse.

After a few more introductions, Tsurugi sighed and rubbed his forehead. He just knew that this would be an odd bunch to manage, especially since they were all Ultimate students. He went to the steps of the building to sit down for a bit, having been standing since he arrived, and he found himself near a girl in a maid uniform.

"Did you come here to get away from all the excitement too?" the girl asked. With a weary smile and sympathetic eyes, it wasn't hard to tell what kind of person she was. At least, that's what he thought at the time.

"Well, partially. Is it the case for you?" Tsurugi replied, omitting his real reason.

His father's first rule about communication with civilians: keep a calm and friendly appearance, but don't seem weak or quick to anger. It was always a good rule to keep in mind, it had helped him in dealing with the earlier scuffle.

The girl didn't seem deterred by the lack of information, she seemed delighted with just talking to someone. "Yeah, everything's a little loud. And it's our first day here, so I'm a little nervous," she admitted.

"I'm sure the Hope's Peak faculty will arrive and situate us soon enough," Tsurugi assured. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the boy in the white coat - Yamato Kisaragi, he recalled his name being - going into the school. The girl who was standing by him, Mikako Kurokawa, went in after him shortly.

A sudden thought seemed to occur to the girl. "Oh, right. I should probably introduce myself, huh?" she chuckled, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "I'm Akane Taira, the Ultimate Maid."

"Tsurugi Kinjo, Ultimate Police Officer. I'm glad at least you have a level head on your shoulders." He nodded to her in respect before getting up. He checked his watch, realizing that it was about time for the entrance ceremony to begin, and he turned to go into the school.

The next time he had personally talked to her, it was when his mentality was greatly shaken. He had found a place to sit in the staircase leading to the rooftop, someplace where it was quiet and he could be alone. No one would be around at this time.

Of course, fate had a funny way of toying with him. The door to the stairs opened and he could hear footsteps coming closer. When he finally caught sight of the maid, he could see the worried expression on her face.

"Tsurugi? What are you doing here?" she questioned. "You weren't in class and Yamato was getting worried, so I went looking for you..."

He took a deep breath, fighting to keep it steady. "It's nothing you need to worry about. Just head back to class, tell Yamato I'm alright," he responded. Repeating his old instructions, don't show weakness - but how could he follow them now when everything he knew was wrong? No matter how calm he tried to appear, she looked nothing but worried for him.