Made Perfect

6

(JK)

Time made no difference in how I felt. Over 24 hours since Mrs. Hinata suffocated me with her eyes and the air around me resumed it's tensity. It's like she continued to stand at the end of my desk, staring just like before. As if she literally choked me with her hands, my throat stayed painfully sore. A haunting reminder of her worries and my shame. Telling her to go to the police possibly wouldn't get me in trouble. A logical conclusion for her to make on her own, really. Still, this tension in my chest refused to stop.

This entire situation was a boiling point. Why was the Steering Committee lying to me after my constant devotion? What could this Reserve Course student have possibly done? The questions itched under my skin with a pulsating pain. I needed to find the truth. Leaving my detective past behind didn't stop the urge to uncover it. Different than before since it wasn't being forced upon me. Either way, I needed a lead. A confirmation from someone who actually knew Hinata Hajime. Someone to say if he was the type to do something drastic would be enough to snap me back to my previous unquestioning dedication to Hope's Peak Academy. Well, his mother said he wouldn't run away, but parents are often in denial about such things.

A perfectly timed meek knock on my door startled me out of my spiraling thoughts. "Come in!" I replied to the knock as I straightened up. A main course student opened the door. Convience store bag swayed in her left hand as she stepped in. Light mauve hair in more disarray than the last time I saw her. "Sorry for showing up without any notice, Mr. Kirigiri." Each word had a melancholic ring to it as she stopped in front of the desk.

In a normal school, it wouldn't be typical for a student to simply walk into the headmaster's office like this. For Hope's Peak, it wouldn't be either unless it's after classes while I was still here. The secretary left much earlier than I ever would. "Not a problem, Nanami. Please, take a seat. What seems to be the problem?" I motioned toward the coach. Calmly, she smoothed down her skirt as she seated herself. The bag next to her. Suppose my search for a clue would have to wait. As the representative of class 77-B, I assumed this unscheduled meeting would relate to that. Yesterday, however, taught me that assumption falls through.

"Um, well, I'm really worried about my friend. I haven't seen him for a while and he hasn't answered my messages. I know it's probably nothing, but I wanted to know if he's sick or something." The Ultimate Gamer's hands continuously squeezed at her backpack straps as she expressed her concerns. Hm. Another example of my assumptions being wrong. My mind immediately jumped to conclusions on who this friend was. That would be too well timed. "I think it's great that you're looking out for your friend, Nanami. I can see why your classmates chose you to represent them." I gave a smile as I attempted to mentally cool that itching unease creeping it's way back under my skin. All the girl did in response was return the gesture.

"I can let you know if he called in sick or got in any trouble, but I couldn't tell you personal details about another student. Who's this friend of yours?" 

"Hinata Hajime. Maybe I'm overreacting. I usually see him out by the fountain and it's been over a week now, so I don't know if he's just busy or what. He used to answer my messages back so fast too. I don't know. It's just weird."

Did the Ultimate Lucky student rub off some talent on me? This was simply too convenient! In the short silence, I must have made a face. Luckily, she didn't view this as rude. "Hey, I know it's kinda weird for a main course and reserve course student to be friends, but is it THAT surprising?" Her smile lit words didn't do much for the ideas wrestling in my mind. I had to think of what to say. My undoubted dedication to this school had me cover up worse things just a couple weeks ago. The guilt of staying quiet gnawed at me in an unending nightmare. Still, I gave everything to work here. My family legacy, my parental relationship, a role in my daughter's life. Throwing my job away to hunt for the truth would be like spitting in the face of everyone I left.

So, I decided to play both sides. Not fully giving in to what they want, but not completely disobeying either. Right in the neutral to find the truth. God, I sounded like my father. I thought for another second on what to say exactly. Sitting right where Mrs. Hinata sat the day before. A gentle, nonconfrontational face staring back eased my nerves ever so slightly. "I apologize. I didn't mean to make a face. There's been a situation with him that I'm admittedly unsure about." I knew I had to choose my words carefully. Asking a question about his behavior before his disappearance wouldn't give me difficulties from the higher ups. In fact, it's what a decent headmaster would do if this story turned out to be true.

"Oh, is he in trouble?" I shook my head to that. The expulsion shouldn't be brought up now, it'll distract from what information I needed. "Nothing like that. His mother came in yesterday saying she hasn't seen or heard from him in 8 days - 9 now. No one is sure what happened. She called the police so I'm sure I'll get updated soon." As I told my story, her hand covered her mouth. Pink eyes darted across the floor. Thinking of an answer or explanation, most likely. I shut my mouth for a moment. Allowing her to collect herself. A minute or so later, she took a breath and returned her eyes to me.

"I'm grateful you came in, Nanami. I needed to talk to a friend of his." I realized just how difficult this would be. To get closer, I sat across from her on the other coach. I wanted to talk to her as a person instead of an authority figure. "... Nothing's been confirmed, right?" Her voice forced itself to maintain strong. A face full of distress searching for hope. "Right. As a caution I need to know. I apologize for the harshness of this question, but have you noticed any signs or changes in his behavior that might indicate he was thinking of... taking his own life?"

Nanami's hand returned to her mouth. Eyes darted her lap instead of the floor. The quiet, minute long pause got filled with the sound of sniffling. "H-he was really insecure about not being good at anything. That's how he worded it, anyway... I tried to help but he must've thought I just wasn't listening..." Tears dripped onto her hands and lap. "This is all my fault!" Quickly grabbing some tissues, I regretted my decision on asking. Of course, I still wanted to know what happened, yet making a teenage girl cry felt like a crime. I thought about sitting next to her on the couch, but decided against it. I shouldn't make her more uncomfortable than I already have. Kneeling on the floor by her instead, I moved the small trash can over.

"No, no, no. Don't blame yourself. I can tell you really care about him, I think you helped more than you realize." She tried to wipe her wet cheeks, although the tears didn't stop. "There's a chance it's all some misunderstanding and he ran away from home for a bit." I continued to try and reassure her. Poor thing. I so desperately wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay, but I knew that's overstepping. She shook her head, a shakey breath coming out before her sentence. "Last time I saw him, he said he needed to do s-something important and couldn't miss it. He looked so upset... Oh God, what if he meant-"

She cut herself off with sobbing. Hands hiding her red face. "I'm so sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I apologize for all of this. There's a big chance that he's safe, alright? Let's try to stay positive. I know it's hard. You coming in here today would mean a lot to him." Using her sleeves to clean her face, deep breaths faded in to replace the sobs. Slowly breathing and blowing her nose led to her calming down enough to talk again. Her face still red from the ordeal. "Thank you. I'm sorry you had to see me like that." She threw her tissues away as she spoke.

"Don't apologize. There's no shame in that. Is there anything I can do for you?" A repayment for upsetting her felt like the least I could do. Although, I doubt I could do much to ease her pain. I stood up and offered my hand to help her up. "Just please let me know if you get any updates." She took my offer to help her up. Not giving eye contact for longer than a second, most likely out of embarrassment. "Of course." She flashed a forced grin to my response. "Thank you, Mr. Kirigiri. I should go back and calm down. Bye now." Puffy red eyes and a strained voice. She headed to the door. "Take care. If you need anything, I'll be here." She nodded as she shut the door behind her.

God, that was definitely not what I expected. My time working here has shown me to never expect anything. Today showed me first and foremost that Hinata definitely could've been suicidal. I suppose it's possible, but that didn't answer the strange consequences in the story. Maybe he actually did lie to Mrs. Hinata. Still, the dorm choice is too bizarre. The expulsion was too bizarre. I need to go to the room and see if there's any evidence of him being there. It's probably too late, the Steering Committee might've moved everything since my call... Hm. No, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least look.