56Disclaimer: Danganronpa owned by me? Perish the thought :o
Chapter 3 – Chisa Yukizome Does Smile
Chisa Yukizome was in a good mood. No, scratch that, she was in a great mood. Her co-workers, from Jin Kirigiri down, had all noticed the shift into hyper positivity that she had gone through the past two days. As a result of not directly asking the cause for such a positive change, they were all a little… wary. Understandably, so, in their position. Don't get them wrong; they were happy she was feeling the way she was. But still,
"I'm scared, Jin."
The headmaster sighed and laced his fingers together.
"Yeah. Me too."
Currently a five-man meeting between some of Hopes Peak's higherups, was occurring in utmost secrecy. Huddled around the serious man's desk, the coworkers all exchanged looks with one another.
"I really don't see what the problem is here." Kazuo Tengan brought up; reasonably confused. "It's just Yukizome-kun being her usual happy-go-lucky self. As long as I've known her, she's always been happy-"
"I don't think you understand, Tengan." Kyosuke Munakata grunted, a drop of sweat beading down his forehead. "Chisa is never this happy. The last time she was…"
He trailed off, unable to finish his thoughts, the event too traumatic for him to take. Juzo Sakakura put his arm around the man in comfort. Tengan blinked at the emotional outburst.
"Surely it couldn't have been that bad…"
Juzo looked at the older man with the expression of a man returning from war.
"Somehow she got her hands on a literal ton of sticky glue, three sticks of dynamite and a shit-ton of thumbtacks." His eyes gained a dull tinge to them as he relieved the trauma. "So, so many thumbtacks…"
The rest of the group gulped.
"Yes, I see why you called this meeting together, Jin-kun." Tengan concluded.
Kizakura took off his hat in condolence for his coworkers 'trying times' and tipped back a good amount of alcohol down his throat.
"Yes, it is truly concerning." Jin looked down in contemplation. "I can't even begin to speculate what brought this change about, either-"
"Oh, I know that much. It's not hard to put together."
Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Koichi in disbelief. The talent scout sweat dropped at the attention he was getting and attempted to placate them.
"Maa, maa, it's not like it's rocket science or anything." He muttered. "She's obviously just happy spending so much time with Naegi-kun."
"Naegi…?"
The question was brought up by the Ultimate Boxer. He frowned in confusion. Evidently, he had never heard of the name before. Neither had the majority of the room who all looked just as lost.
"Ah, he's the Ultimate Lucky student for my class." Koichi elaborated. "She took him right from under my nose the other day under the guise of him apparently becoming her 'teachers assistant'-"
"SHE DID WHAT!?"
Jin's outburst stopped the man flat as everyone turned in unison to the usually mild-mannered individual who looked to be close to blowing a blood vessel.
"Explain."
His one-word command left everyone feeling on-edge. He certainly commanded a presence.
"R-right." Koichi adjusted his collar nervously. "Well, two days ago she busted into my classroom and took my student from me. She claimed that he was officially her new assistant and wouldn't take no for an answer. Then she threw me to the back of the class, forced the rest of his peers to take an unexpected quiz, and sat beside him as they marked it together." He shrugged. "I will admit. They were rather speedy in their completion. For a first time, their teamwork was admirable."
'Any work is admirable in your eyes, Koichi.' Jin wanted to say. His friends' lack of work ethic always making him depressed. He barely held himself back.
"I see. I had wondered why Yukizome had yet to tell me her choice in assistant up until this point in time. I figured she was struggling to find someone new and so I temporarily stopped the board from stepping in but…"
He hung his head.
"She was just hiding the fact that she chose a student from me!?"
The alcoholic shrugged and took a sip of his drink.
"I can't tell if that was really her reason, or not. Maybe she just forgot? I mean, she certainly hasn't been hiding the fact that he's her assistant. Whenever she's not in the staff room, where you guys ordinarily see her, she's with him. Practically 24/7." He chuckled. "It's kinda cute actually. Now, I don't know whether or not it's a good thing that she is as happy as she is. But, while I miss having him in my class, I can safely say that keeping Naegi-kun as is, is not a bad thing for her. They make a good pair."
"What a joke."
Koichi turned to the one who interrupted him with a lidded eye.
"Something you care to share with the rest of us, Munakata?"
The white-haired man sat up straight with a condescending look in his eye.
"If he was an exceptional student with an extraordinary talent, I could see him being of assistance to Chisa." Munakata admitted. "But the Ultimate Lucky student? Don't make me laugh. I'm surprised that talent division still exists at this academy at all."
"Munakata-kun." Tengan addressed him with a piercing stare. "Your inability to separate a man from their talent is the reason for why you have yet to be promoted. If Koichi-kun says that Naegi-san is right for the job, then it must be so. Don't tell me you distrust his reasoning…?"
"Tch." The white-haired man scoffed. "Whatever."
There was a tense silence for a brief second before Jin brought his hands forward again.
"Naegi-kun's abilities aside, the main focus of this meeting was to determine what factors had led to Yukizome's current emotional state. Now that we have been made aware of said factor, we should move in and talk to her." The headmaster motioned to the talent scout. "Koichi, do you happen to know where they might be?"
He tipped his hat with a grin.
"As a matter of fact…"
Meanwhile:
"Say ahhh~ Koto-kun!"
"Um, this is embarrassing and-*mlph*…"
Makoto began chewing on the force-fed chicken cutlet with a red hue to his cheeks. Chisa's smile brightened as he swallowed the piece of food.
"Is it good, Koto-kun?"
The boy nodded with a nervous smile.
"H-hai… it's very delicious. Thank you Yukizome-" she gave him a look that promised immediate pain. He gulped and quickly amended his statement. "Ah, I mean… Chisa… chan."
She suddenly put her food down and wrapped her arms around him tightly, his face buried in her robust chest.
"Yay! You said my name again!" The teacher exclaimed excitedly. "I missed hearing it in class today. But now that we're all alone you can say it all you want! In fact, please do."
Makoto felt his blood travel all around his body rather erratically. Going through his brain and down to places he would rather not discuss, he did his best to worm out of her admittedly wonderful hold, to no avail. He was stuck.
"Chisa-chan…?" He murmured into her breasts. "Do you think you could let go of me…? You can feed me more if you want?"
She instantly let go.
"Of course, Koto-kun!" She chirped. Shoveling more of her homemade lunch onto the fork, she blew on the food gently before guiding it towards his mouth. "Say ahhh~!"..
He did so, albeit reluctantly.
"Ah…*gulp*"
Makoto chewed on the delicious food with a sheepish smile on his face. His newest… friend? Stared at him expectantly. Much like the chicken, the accompanying rice and vegetables had been delicious. He said as much, leading to her offering him another helping.
The boy closed his eyes in delight as she fed him, a soft humming escaping her lips. He was becoming more and more used to her overly affectionate attitude towards him. Whether that was a good thing or not, he wasn't sure. But spending nearly two days straight with her had caused him to look at her differently.
As he realized rather quickly, she had been serious about having him over for dinner every night. Granted, it had only been two days, but he had a strong feeling that this was going to continue into the foreseeable future. The food, and the tutoring.
"You've almost got it, Koto-kun!" She would squeal excitedly when he finally managed to put something on the paper. "Just make sure to show your work here, and here. If you carry the number from this part, then you can arrive at the answer here…"
Her explanations were clear, concise, and full of positive reinforcement. He had never met a teacher quite like her before, (and he probably never would), but that was a good thing. She was unique, as is; and really, really sweet. Against his better judgment, he was really starting to enjoy having her as his own personal tutor and chef.
Though, he still felt unsure about something.
"Ano, Chisa-chan?"
Chisa stopped her humming. Cocking her head to the side, her face took on one of immediate concern at the worried tone the younger man garnered. Gently taking his hands into hers she spoke just as softly.
"What's wrong, Koto-kun…?" The woman slowly rubbed circles into the back of his hand. "You can tell me, no matter what. Okay?"
Taking a deep breath to try and settle his nerves he looked down at their interlocked fingers with a conflicted stare.
He turned away and spoke. "I was just wondering if you're really okay with someone like me being your teaching assistant. You are taking so much time out of your day to be with me and teach me and everything. I can't imagine it's much fun for you. I'm sure you have a lot of friends and I just don't want to keep you from them…"
Immediately after saying that he internally cursed his indecisive nature. Alongside his severe lack of self-esteem. He was expecting to be reprimanded for his inferiority complex, or at least a stern look.
The hug he received was neither.
"Koto-kun, never ever think that you're a bother, or anything of what you just said." She tightened her hold slightly and began petting his hair lightly much to his immediate embarrassment. "I chose you for a reason, okay? You're smart, smarter than you think, and most importantly you're a kind person. The kindest I've ever come across. You truly care about what others think and you genuinely want to help them. That's something I haven't found in anyone else, and I'm so, so happy I've found someone who embodies all that."
Makoto felt tears gather in the corner of his eyes. He had never felt so… special, to anyone before. He never thought of those things as a strength, only as a weakness. To her, they were practically the greatest thing she'd ever come across.
Then he felt something velvety, and so very soft press against his forehead.
"Ch-Ch-Chisa-chan!?"
He stammered as the lady pulled her lips back a few seconds later. The most radiant smile adorned her face as she gently poked him in the spot she kissed him.
"That, Koto-kun, is a promise that I care for you." She giggled at his blush. "So no more mopping around, okay? Can you do that for me…?"
He wiped the corner of his eyes to reduce the misty build-up and returned her smile.
"Yes! Thank you, Chisa-chan."
The excitable teacher nodded happily.
"Of course. Now then…" She picked the fork back up. "Say, ahhhh~!"
Makoto felt her endearing nature rub off on him. So he returned it.
"Ahhhh~!"
Meanwhile:
The group of Hope's Peak's higher-ups had finally made their way down to the bottom floor. Jin looked at the one leading them with a raised eyebrow.
"You sure they'll be in Yukizome's on-site bedroom?" The whole thing seemed… questionable.
"Yeah, I'm certain of it." Koichi shrugged. "I heard her talking about it with the little guy. Saying something about tutoring him over dinner at her place?"
The group nearly choked at that. It sounded like the start to some awful adult film.
But surely, they were just overreacting-
Then they stopped. And stared. In stunned unison.
"Chisa-chan, why do you always do this…"
The lot of them watched with disbelieving eyes as Chisa picked her student up in a bridal carry, the softest smile ever present on her face. Hugging his head as close to her chest as humanely possible, she began walking down the hall; a happy hum echoing off the walls.
The group stared at the retreating duo with blank looks in their eyes. No one said a word for what seemed like an eternity.
"I'd like to retract my statement about them being good together." Koichi said with a sip of much needed alcohol. "They are too good together. Uncomfortably, so."
Kyosuke felt his eye twitch at the comment as Juzo did his best to calm his friend down.
Jin felt his strength leave him. Not for the first time he asked himself this question,
Did this school not hire anyone normal!?
Side Note (About the Timeline): Generally wouldn't "spoil" something like this, but I'll say that next chapter will be going over the two days that were mentioned but not fully highlighted in this chapter x). Though still not fully focused on it. Classes will start to get involved soon though ;D
Side Note (About Chisa): No one has complained about this yet, but I figured I'd make a mention of it anyway: my version of Chisa is not the most typical one I've seen on fanfiction. Not uncommon to make her chipper and a little ditzy but most people seem to prefer writing her as a far more serious individual. Nothing wrong with that of course! She'll have her moments in this story :D. But I just find writing her happier side to be a bit easier.
A/N: Here's the next chapter!:P Some setup with the other members of staff this episode x). They will be appearing throughout the story, (unless plans change), so stay tuned for that ;D.