A/N: Here's some good ol' Makoto for you guys.

The Tiger of Shujin, Part I

Nijima Makoto, President of the Student Council, lamented the amount of paperwork she had to handle as always, day in, day out. Each time she thought she made a dent, the mountain only continued to expand. Each time she was about to finish, her torment was only prolonged - defying her expectations.

"Haa..."

Her long, suffering sigh would go unnoticed, her being the only person present in the Student Council Office.

"Every day, it's the same like this..." Said Makoto, "I really need a break."

Deciding to push aside her paperwork, she stood up and stretched her back and arms, relishing the loosening of her stiff muscles from an hour of sitting.

"Alright, might as well take a walk around the school," Said Makoto, "Eh? What's that?"

She then walked over towards the object her eyes caught at the corner of the office, and picking it up, she saw it was a small bottle - small enough to fit into her palm - labeled Staminan X.

"What is this? Staminan X?" Said Makoto, "Who would even bring something like this to school, let along leave it here? It just doesn't make sense."

Inspecting the bottle more carefully, Makoto said, "So it's an energy drink of sorts. But who in this school would ever bring this here? It's definitely not a sports drink, that's for sure."

Feeling her throat slightly dry, Makoto said, "I'm thirsty anyway, and my bottle's empty - I'd have to walk all the way to one end of the school to refill it. Oh well, bottoms up."

And in one gulp, she downed the entire bottle. Soon, student councilors were found desperately carrying Makoto's unconscious form to the Nurse's Office.

IIOII

"So hang on, it wasn't enough that you, Ryuji and Ann got the drink, but somehow Makoto's imbibed it as well?" Said Morgana, "As far as I'm concerned, she's a total stranger."

"Were you expecting such effects to be limited to our group?" Asked Akira.

"Well, yes," Morgana admitted, "Though with this, we'll have to rule out that possibility."

"Still, ain't like we can just turn a blind eye to it, can we?" Said Ann, munching on some curry, "Quite like what happened to the three o' us, we might be having similar chaos happenin' with Makoto in the mix."

"Oh, how astute," Said Morgana, "But you have a point."

"And then there's shit teachers like that Kamoshida," Said Ryuji, "Ain't gonna be long 'fore some heads start t'turn."

"Ryuji, you're forgetting that we're absolutely atrocious at keeping a low profile," Said Akira, "We not only smashed Kamoshida's leg in front of an audience, we even started acting openly like real gangsters."

"Oh, does that mean-"

"Ann, no," Said Akira firmly, "No ambushing me."

"Aww..." Ann said, pouting like a child, "You're no fun."

"Says the one whose notion of 'fun' is twisted beyond imagination," Said Akira.

Morgana sighed, and said, "Please, Ann-dono, please listen to Akira's advice for once."

Though not entirely convinced, Ann said, "Fine. If you say so."

However terrified of the new, psychotic Ann he was, Morgana nonetheless let out a sigh of happiness, as if happy to receive such words from her.

"Still, what're we gonna do 'bout her?" Asked Ryuji, "Makoto, that is."

"I don't know," Said Akira, "For now, I guess we can only wait and see."

"Sounds best," Said Ann, "And let's hope a particularly shitty principal doesn't butt his head into things."

IIOII

The next day...

Gossip among the students was particularly fierce, and a cacophony of whispers could be heard in every corridor and classroom of the academy no matter the location.

"Hey, have you heard?"

"The Student Council President's wearing some strangely stylish outfit to school!"

"Wait, isn't that against the school rules?"

"Well, not exactly, if you count Ann and Ryuji."

"But a winter coat? Seriously? That's quite a change from the school uniform."

Indeed, rather than wear her school uniform, Makoto now wore a deep green heavy jacket - the collar lined with green-coloured padding and the hood lined with light brown-coloured fur - over a long-sleeved black T-shirt and camouflaged pants, and black boots. Where once she walked like a person heavily burdened by her duties, now she walked with the gait of a confident gangster.

"Ah... it's a pain," Said Makoto, her voice carrying a thick kansai-ben accent, "Paperwork on paperwork - am I a glorified clerk or somethin'? Then again, running a Clan ain't without paperwork either. Ah fuck, I'll just get a drink."

She went to a vending machine, but she quickly saw that there were no alcoholic drinks on sale.

"Ah, right. This is a school, ain't no place to buy a can o' beer," Makoto said in frustration, "Oh well."

And so she settled for some oolong tea, the cooling drink quenching her thirst like an oasis in a desert.

"Ah... nothing like good ol' Oolong Tea," Said Makoto.

A loud scream was heard, and Makoto quickly turned to face the direction it came from.

"That sound... it came from the main gate!" Said Makoto in alarm, crumpling her empty can and tossing it into a nearby bin.

As she made a mad dash towards the entrance area, she could hear an announcement playing on the speaker system, saying, "All students, please remain in your classrooms and do not come out under any circumstances - let the teachers handle this. I repeat: All students, please remain in your classrooms and do not come out under any circumstances - let the teachers handle this."

"Ye're shittin' me!?" Cursed Makoto, "Ain't no way I can jus' leave things like this!"

And just as Makoto suspected, there was an entire gang of thugs blockading the entrance and holding a girl hostage, armed to the teeth with bats and other weapons they could get their hands on. Outside, a cluster of motorcycles was parked, blocking the flow of traffic on the road outside. Doing a mental count, Makoto saw as many as twenty punks.

"Alright, you bastards!" Shouted their leader, "We've got one demand! Bring us that shitty fucking excuse of a Principal, and we'll let this girl go!"

"No! Help me!" Shouted the girl!"

"Shut up!" Said the leader, slapping the girl, "You're our hostage until we get what we want, and until then, you ain't going anywhere."

"Oi!" Said Makoto, "Let her go."

"Oh, who's this?" Said Punk One, "Oh, it's that shitty Student Council President. Wait, what the fuck's with her change of fashion?"

"Maybe she got sick of catering to the Principal's demands?" Said Punk Two.

"Heh, or she thinks she's a knight in shining armour!" Punk Three said derisively.

"Well, Miss president, I'm feeling a little gracious," Said the Punk Leader, "I'll give you once chance; leave and do not interfere. Our quarrel's with the president, not you."

"Oh, and why should I listen to you?" Said Makoto, "As far as I'm concerned, ya punks ain't stoppin' at anything t'get what ya want; I've met your type before."

"Is that to say you won't be minding your own business?" Said the Punk Leader, brandishing a knife.

Makoto cracked his knuckles in response, saying, "What else did ya think?"

"Fine then," Said the Punk Leader, "If that's the case, die!"

A/N: Yeah, it's a cliffhanger, I know. Sorry, but there's a lot of noise from renovation works and drilling at my place - not a conducive environment for writing. I'll get to working on the next part.