Chapter Text
“Uhm… excuse me…”
The cafeteria was intensely crowded whenever the Ultimate Cook was on-duty, and for good reason: his meals were beyond exquisite, to the point where the kitchen could hardly keep up with demand. Unfortunately for Chihiro Fujisaki, this also made the cafeteria difficult to navigate despite its size.
“I’m sorry…” she mumbled shyly, after a student brushed past her without even taking notice. Receiving no response, she gripped her tray tighter and looked around in search of a place to sit before she got shuffled about by more bodies. Her eyes lit up for a moment as she saw Leon’s sharp-colored hair at a nearby table, only to become dejected once more as she realized he was with a large group of other men with no seats available.
She was used to this, honestly. Sometimes, she would be spoken over or ignored due to her quiet nature, other times she was so small and silent that she found herself buffeted by those who didn’t even register her existence around them. Still, being used to it didn’t mean that it didn’t make her emotional.
“Are you hurt?”
The voice immediately stifled Chihiro’s welling tears, and as she looked up she found herself being analyzed by two strong, red eyes framed by silver hair.
“Wh… Uhm, no, I’m okay…”
The girl before her tilted her head, puzzled. “Are you certain? You seem troubled.”
“Ah-! No, I’m sorry, really… I’m just trying to find a spot to eat, but I keep getting in people’s way…”
Something shifted in the girl’s expression, and after a moment it turned to a look of firm understanding.
“You can sit with us if you’d like. Stay close to me.”
Before Chihiro could respond, the stranger turned and began walking away. With a quiet yelp, she gripped her tray once again and followed behind obediently. A few moments later, with the girl acting as a buffer between Chihiro and the other students, they arrived at a small two-person table.
“Christ, Peko… Are you pleased with yourself?”
A small, blonde boy with a lean frame glanced up from the table, his eyes shifting deliberately between the both of them. The chopsticks in his hand froze in place as he awaited a response. The girl, whom Chihiro now knew was named Peko, gave a deferential nod.
“She seemed to be in trouble, so I thought I should make sure she was okay. I’m sorry to leave so suddenly.” For a moment Peko sounded as though she were going to end the sentence with a formality, like ‘sir’ or something similar. Without a moment’s hesitation, the boy spoke up again.
“She only seemed that way because she’s basically a frightened rabbit. You can’t help it for the same reason you yearn for all those damned animals. I mean, look at her.”
His eyes cut back to Chihiro, and after a beat the irritation in his voice lightened somewhat.
“Whatever. Sit down, I guess.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to take your spot…” Chihiro began, but Peko raised a hand in objection.
“I’ve already eaten, so it’s no inconvenience. You can have my seat.”
Slowly, Chihiro lowered herself into the open chair, her eyes remaining downcast. She muttered a quiet thank-you, and after a minute or so of painful silence, the boy across from her spoke.
“You got a name, or what?”
The sudden question caught Chihiro off guard, and after taking a moment to swallow the rice she had just popped into her mouth, she bowed her head sheepishly and apologized.
“O-oh… I’m Chihiro Fujisaki, from the 78th class. That was rude of me, wasn’t it?… I’m sorry…”
The boy winced at her sudden display of emotion, letting out a grunt as he replied.
“Nngh… Don’t sweat it. You didn’t do anything wrong. …Name’s Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. This is Peko Pekoyama. She’s a… classmate of mine. We’re in 77.”
Oh! Chihiro knew the 77th class of Hope’s Peak— she had done some work alongside Yasuke Matsuda, the Ultimate Neurologist, after all. The name Fuyuhiko was unfamiliar to her, however.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she replied, composing herself again with a kind smile.
“Yeah, sure thing.”
For the rest of their meal, the blonde boy remained rather quiet. Deciding it best not to press him with questions about himself, Chihiro followed suit and ate in silence. As she finished, she gave a kind smile and stood.
“Thank you again for letting me sit here,” she chimed, before turning to the girl who was still standing beside them. “And thank you too, Peko!”
None of the three thought anything further of the meeting; at least, not until a few weeks later when Chihiro was running a personal errand and ran into none other than Fuyuhiko in the process. Given what the errand was, it was beyond unexpected.
After knocking patiently on the door to the chemistry lab, Chihiro waited patiently. She began tapping her fingers idly together before long, wondering to herself if she had actually been heard. Just as she outstretched a delicate fist to knock once more, the door opened and a pale, somewhat anxious-looking girl with a cloth facemask greeted her in a barely audible voice.
“Hello, I’m sorry I didn’t answer the door sooner… I was in the middle of a redox titration and couldn’t step away… I tried to call out to tell you but I guess you didn’t hear me…”
Chihiro seemed just as frazzled in response.
“No, it’s okay, really! I probably just didn’t knock loud enough… I’m sorry as well…”
To keep the battle of low self-esteems from running any longer, Seiko Kimura, the Ultimate Pharmacist, invited the skittish girl in and led her to the table where she had been working.
“Just wait here for a moment… I’ll go and get your medicine from the back.”
As Seiko disappeared into the back, Chihiro eyed the numerous flasks and graduated cylinders and beakers on the table before her. She didn’t know what any of the chemicals were, nor did she know their purpose, but as she looked them over she felt a small sense of awe growing inside her. It must have been the same sort of feeling others had when looking at the AI programs she was constructing; the language of chemistry was as foreign to her as C++ or Python likely was for Seiko. As she turned over the curious thoughts in her mind, finger to her mouth like an inquisitive child, she heard the pharmacist’s voice once more.
“I’m happy to produce more than a month’s worth, if you’d like… I just need some advanced notice if so.”
Seiko had hardly taken two steps out of the storeroom with the paper bag in hand when the chemistry lab’s door swung open, startling the both of them.
“Yo, Kimura. You done?”
In the doorway stood the same blonde boy Chihiro had met a few weeks prior. Almost immediately, the pharmacist’s demeanor became more timid.
“A-ah, yes, I am… give me just a moment, I have something for another… client…” Seiko’s voice dropped on the final word as she handed Chihiro her medicine, then mumbled further.
“If you need anything else, please let me know. I’ll keep it between the two of us as always.”
She had taken a liking to the girl, for several reasons— they were both rather poor at asserting themselves around others… and, of course, there was the secret that they both shared. Seiko Kimura didn’t have many friends, but there was a definite hope that she and Fujisaki could grow closer. In any case, their business was done for the time being, and she turned to the Kuzuryu heir.
“If you’ll give me just a moment, I’ll retrieve it from the back…”
She was only gone briefly, but when she returned Seiko was holding a small, barely-translucent brown bottle with a white cap. Holding it gingerly, she crossed the room and set it in the boy’s hand, who gripped it as though it were a grenade he planned to use. He glanced down at it, then looked up at the pharmacist, who had been just about to deliver a warning.
“So, ah… how much of this do I use?”
As Seiko answered there was a lilt to her voice, as though she were hesitant to instruct him.
“So, sodium fluoroacetate is actually extremely toxic to humans, and should be handled with gloves? Uhm, you should really only use a few milligrams dissolved in water at a time… otherwise, the damage could be, uhm, severe.”
Fuyuhiko inspected the bottle as she spoke. As she finished, he squeezed it and gave a small affirming nod before turning on his heel to walk toward the door.
“Sure thing. ‘Preciate it, Kimura.”
“R-remember, just a few milligrams! Wear gloves!” the pharmacist feebly called out as he left, then dropped her head.
“It’s really strong for a pesticide… I should maybe have declined, but…”
Chihiro understood. She didn't really know the boy, but he was certainly intimidating despite his smaller stature. Regardless, she thanked Seiko kindly and trotted out of the lab in a hurry.
She had only made it a few steps past the doors, when his voice stopped her.
“Hey, Fujisaki.”
A few meters in the other direction, Fuyuhiko leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Slowly he stood upright, his fingers idly playing with the bottle he had been given, before letting it slip back into his pocket. Chihiro looked at him in mild surprise.
“O-oh, hi, Fuyuhiko… Were you waiting on me?”
“Listen,” he began, ignoring the question entirely, “I need ya to do something for me. Keep quiet about seeing me here, alright?”
“Uhm, okay… but it’s just pesticide, right?” For a moment, Chihiro was puzzled. Then, as a realization struck her, she gasped and stepped forward, clasping her hands together.
“Wait, you’re not going to poison the animals that are bothering you, are you?! They… they don’t deserve that…”
The sudden shift in her mood caused Fuyuhiko to lean away in alarm, looking at her incredulously. In less than five seconds flat, she seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“Wh-what the hell? You’re seriously gonna cry over it?”
Chihiro shook her head and sniffled. “I’m sorry… I know it’s none of my business… I just don’t like thinking about animals being hurt… They probably have families, you know?”
Fuyuhiko stared at her in confusion. This broad really lives in a fairy tale, huh… He glanced around, then raised a hand, speaking firmly in an attempt to calm her.
“It ain’t for pesticide, okay? I’m not gonna… kill any animals. …Alright? So we can drop the whole thing and you can stop crying.”
With a sniffle, Chihiro lifted her gaze. “You’re not?” she inquired. “But then, why…”
“You ask a lot of questions, don’t you? …It’s none of your business. It’s for Yakuza shit, don’t concern yourself with it.”
Chihiro nodded quietly, backing down. It was possible that knowing Fuyuhiko’s true intention would have her in way over her head. Realizing he may have sounded a bit harsh, Fuyuhiko huffed quietly, then glanced down to the small brown bag that Chihiro was holding. Almost immediately, she let out a nervous yelp and tucked it behind her back.
“I-I’m sorry… uhm… can you not tell people I was here either?”
The girl suddenly became much more visibly nervous. For a moment Fuyuhiko stared at her, sizing her up briefly before clicking his tongue. Drugs? Nah, someone like her would probably be sober til death. Besides, I can’t imagine Kimura’d be willing to do that kinda shit.
“ Tch… yeah, fine, I won’t tell anyone. You got a deal.”
“Thank you, Fuyuhiko!”
Before he could say anything, the petite girl threw herself into him with a giddy hug. For a moment he stood there, bewildered by the sudden gesture. He cleared his throat, mumbled a “yeah, yeah”, and composed himself, so that by the time he pushed her away the blush would fade from his cheeks. As he gave her as polite a shove as he could muster, The small bag slipped out of Chihiro’s hand and onto the floor.
Normally, Fuyuhiko wouldn’t have bothered picking up a girl’s belongings. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but it simply had nothing to do with him. This time, however, he felt a sense of obligation. Sure, he felt somewhat responsible for the spill, but the fact that she had agreed to keep quiet about his visit played a major part as well.
Ignoring the worried cry that came from Chihiro’s mouth, Fuyuhiko turned to grab the bag and handed it back to her. As she breathed a sigh of relief, he chided her.
“You gotta be more careful. Can’t go droppin’ shit wherever you go, alright?”
The girl nervously laughed for a moment, then bowed slightly with a warm smile.
“You’re right… Thank you. I’ll see you around, okay?”
Even after Chihiro hurried down the hall and around the corner, Fuyuhiko stood silently. After another few seconds, he scoffed beneath his breath and turned to head the other direction… and felt himself kick something.
Rolling away from him, with as little noise as a solitary marble across the floor, was a small blue container with a white cap. He crouched down and, after picking it up, inspected it carefully.
Must have fallen out of the bag when she dropped it, he thought. As he rolled it between his fingers, he grumbled quietly to himself.
“Fine, guess I gotta track her down… Jesus. ”