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“H-H-Huh…? C-Can you run that by me again…?” Makoto’s face went beet red, steam coming out his ears as he stared at the confectioner in shock. It was midday, the weather was very pleasant with few clouds in the sky, and the two of them were sitting at one of the girl’s favorite cafes.
… For “lunch”, she said, and yet they were having just milkshakes.
Ruruka’s coy grin never dropped. She leaned on the cheap metal table with one elbow, wagging an index finger in the air as if she was lecturing a three-year-old.
“Sei. Ko. Chan. Loooves. Youuu.” The strawberry blonde senpai obnoxiously pronounced each syllable to get her message across. “There. You understand Japanese, right? Sure you do~… Yukizome-sensei dotes on you all the time. Freaking Cougar waiting to happen.”
Makoto tensely clenched his hands into knuckles in his lap as he averted his gaze down there, steam rolling off his face now as he shook his head slowly. He ignored the jab at Yukizome-sensei – it was a common insult or joke that he never really understood.
“Seiko-senpai can’t like me… Not like that…!”
The strawberry blonde girl quirked an eyebrow curiously at his immediate dismissal.
“Why not?” Not that the confectioner didn’t already know how he’d answer… but still.
“Sh-She’s graduating this year…!” The luckster spluttered as an excuse, his eyes snapping up to Ruruka in mild alarm. “I haven’t even gotten to know her all that much!!! I helped her a few times, sure, but I’ve helped you a few times, too…!!! I… I help everyone…!”
Ruruka rolled her eyes, sipping her milkshake as Makoto kept panicking.
“Yeah, it’s how you introduce yourself to everyone. Makes you seem like a bit of a player at first, but once people get to know you… Yeah, no. You’re a scruffy puppy, not some big dog that knows what he’s doing. Honestly, it’s almost annoying how much we have to break romance down for you, but… It’s one of your selling points, I suppose.”
“She’s graduating this year!” Makoto stressed, face exploding with red again because of Ruruka dismissing his helpful nature as a point of contention.
The confectioner shrugged loosely, again not seeing the problem.
“And me and ‘yoi-chan are, too, by the way, thanks for noticing.” The strawberry blonde girl poked her manicured nail into Makoto’s chest from across the table. “Ultimates have more freedom than any other highschoolers out there, or did you forget? Just ‘cause Seiko-chan is going to wander out into the big, scary lion’s den that is the world, doesn’t mean she’s gonna cut off all contact with Hope’s Peak! I mean seriously, she’s besties with that Ultimate Nurse kid and the short order cook. Seiko-chan will be busy running her own pharmaceutical company, but it’s gonna be this small operation, see? She’s not cut out for the cutthroat corporate world – Seiko-chan’s always been about helping people, not lining the pockets of stuffed shirts, and she’s gonna stay true to herself. Seiko-chan would be a hypocrite if she dropped contact with the few buddies she made at this ivory tower of a school; you of all people should understand how hard she struggles to keep friends. Seiko-chan’s too teeth-rottingly good for this world~!”
Makoto huffed quietly at the points the candy lady was making. He ran a hand through his hair anxiously.
“I… I know she’s a sweet girl… It’s just… It’s like I said, I’ve only known her in passing for the past two years…! I don’t mean to be rude, b-but it’s like having this same waitress for so long, and then she tells you that she l-likes you… K-Kinda like that… y’know?”
“Not really. I don’t swing that way, kiddo.” Ruruka smirked impishly as the luckster’s face exploded in heat at his analogy backfiring on him. She waved him off lazily. “Look, I get it. Seiko-chan’s not the problem, you are. Makoto-chan finds it sooo hard to believe the opposite sex wants anything to do with him, right?”
Despite his flustered expression, the luckster gave her a funny look with how she was approaching this now.
“Wh-What’s your point…? I mean, I’ve got no real life experience crushing on a girl, let alone a senpai…! Like, what am I even supposed to say, if a girl likes me?! I don’t want to hurt them!! I just feel like… like they’re setting themselves up for disappointment, if they try dating me.”
“Ughhh!!! You sound like she’s asking to marry you!!!” Ruruka groaned, lazily flicking Makoto on the forehead before petting his head soothingly. “Makoto-chan, Seiko-chan has no experience, either. This is her first time crushing on a classmate, too! You don’t magically get experience by sitting on the sidelines, bemoaning your lack of skill. Seiko-chan doesn’t want or need a perfect romance – she just wants someone to accept her for who she is. Kinda like you. For crying out loud, Seiko-chan’s nurse buddy is dating a rando from the Reserve department, and that guy’s more ‘average’ than you!!! My point is: Just be yourself, Makoto-chan. It’s the most cliché advice in the book, but there you go. Try taking her out somewhere and see where it goes; if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Just have fun, and you can’t go wrong. It’s Seiko-chan’s birthday, y’know?”
Makoto blinked owlishly for several moments, his brain going haywire at this sudden announcement.
“You could have led with that!!!!!!!!!!!” The luckster screeched, clenching his fists again and gritting his teeth.
“… Oops~?” Ruruka tilted her head innocently, closing her eyes and sticking out her tongue playfully.
Makoto’s right eyebrow twitched violently at the confectioner’s shameless attitude.
~*~
Makoto heaved a deep breath as he stood in front of the Hope’s Peak chemistry/pharmaceutical lab. He was trying to steady his nerves, but it wasn’t… working. Probably because this whole ‘birthday celebration’ thing wasn’t happening on his terms. For one, he was made painfully aware of Seiko possibly having feelings for him – yes, the luckster would still deny it until he saw the truth for himself – and two, the day was already well over halfway done. He only had one itty bitty evening with the pharmacist… And he was following some addlepated plan that Ruruka cobbled together, on the assurance that it would work and the pharmacist would be happy.
‘Ha…! Plan?!?!?!’ The luckster balked in his own mind, shaking his head with wide, spooked eyes. ‘Ruruka didn’t tell me squat!!! Just “recommended” a few places, told me to pick one or two of them out, and be myself. Yeah. Reeeal helpful, Ruruka-senpai!!!!!’
Makoto released another haggard, defeated sigh as he closed his eyes and sucked in another deep breath. He didn’t even have some present to give Seiko-chan. It was too… last minute. And he didn’t want to go out and get something cheap; if he spent too much time gift shopping, puzzling over what Seiko would have liked, the entire day would have slipped away. Ruruka literally left him with no options, coming to him at the last moment.
Still… Makoto eventually got the resolve to reach out toward the sliding metal door. Just as he was about to come into contact with the door, there was a silver blur right in front of him that cut in front, and threw open the door with huge force. The figure paid no mind to the luckster.
“Where did I put it?!?!?! I know I had it in my pocket when I left!!!!!” Seiko squealed as she madly rushed into her own lab, tearing about the place for some misplaced object.
… Probably medicine, or medicine-related if Makoto had to guess as he chuckled weakly, stepping into the lab reluctantly. He sweatdropped as he dearly regretted stepping into this hail storm of objects flying about the room in Seiko’s relentless quest for… whatever she was searching for.
… Yes, a few objects plowed right into his face, but Makoto didn’t mind, they were all light as a feather.
… Well, until the modest-sized beaker smashed into his face, and he scrambled to catch it before the glass object fell to the floor and shattered.
“Wh-Wh-Whoa, senpai!!!!! C-Careful there…!” The luckster spluttered out. A few more lightweight objects flew into his face before the hail inevitably died down, and Seiko turned to stare at him from her crouched position as he carefully set the – still full of liquid – modest-sized beaker down on a table.
Her eyes turned into pinpricks as she registered a few scuffle marks on the luckster’s face from what she’d been doing just a moment ago. She scrambled to face him, still crouching on the floor before bowing deeply in apology.
“N-N-Naegi-kun…! I-I-I-I-I didn’t even see you come in!!!!!” The pharmacist squeaked in a frightening high-pitched voice. … Was her forehead pressing against the floor like the sole of a boot?
Makoto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he made a nervous, open-mouthed grin and chuckled uncertainly. When senpai was on a mission, she really didn’t do it by halves…
“I was, um… Just coming to check up on you, and asked if you wanted to hang out for a bit? I-If you’re not too busy, I mean…” The luckster trailed off, waiting to see how the pharmacist would respond.
He winced as Seiko raised her head, her forehead indicating how deeply she’d just been bowing as her eyes took on a regretful light and she clasped her hands in front of herself.
“I-I’m sorry, Naegi-kun… I wish I could, but I… I just have so much to do…! I-I-I lost a bottle of my homemade anesthesia that Mikan-chan needed f-for a patient… Um. I probably shouldn’t say more than that, client confidentiality and all that…!” The silver-haired girl clammed right up after she mused that.
Makoto sweatdropped as he fingered a small bottle in his pocket, which Ruruka-senpai handed to him after parting ways. He didn’t entirely understand why the confectioner had that bottle of anesthesia, or what she expected him to do with it, but he did know where she got it… And now that he saw the frazzled, distressed pharmacist, the luckster had to admit that he didn’t approve of the candy woman ‘messing’ with her friend like that…
Well. He assumed she was just messing with Seiko. He didn’t know the full details or anything… But it was clear Ruruka had somehow lifted this off of the frantic silver-haired girl.
“Um, b-beg pardon… B-But is this what you were looking for?” The luckster held out the bottle to Seiko, wincing as she was over by him in an instant, accepting the bottle and inspecting it while nodding impatiently, yet gratefully.
“N-N-Naegi-kun, you’re a lifesaver!!!!!” Seiko squeaked before abruptly glomping the luckster while still clutching the bottle. A few moments later, she backed up from him and started to jog in place, over by the door. It was… interesting to watch. “Um… Can you wait here? I-I-I’ll be right back!!!”
Makoto didn’t get the chance to respond to that unexpected hug, or to the silver-haired girl’s question as she darted out of the room like a woman possessed. His face was flushed from the hug, but the luckster chuckled feebly again before he bent down and started picking things up. That was Seiko-senpai for you… always hard-working. If Seiko had made a small mess of her lab because of some mischief on Ruruka’s part, the least he could do was clean up Ruruka’s mess.
… Turns out he had enough time to clean everything up off the floor that was flung around. Seiko was gone for a good half hour, and when she came back it was with deep, gasping breaths as she stared at him apologetically upon reentering the room.
“I’m so sorry about that, Naegi-kun, I…!” Seiko froze as she registered the tidied up room. “D-D-Did you…? You didn’t have to go through the trouble, Naegi-kun, it was m-my fault the room got messy!!”
Makoto held up his hands peacefully and nervously grinned, trying to settle the poor girl down.
“W-Well, like I said, I wanted to hangout with you, if that was okay…? I know you said you were busy…”
Seiko’s shoulders shrank in on herself as she shifted staring at the luckster to the back doors of the room, where the storage was.
“I… I’m honored you want to spend time with me, Naegi-kun. I just… tonight I was hoping to get around to reorganizing my inventory. I-I’ve been meaning to get to it for a while now, but I’ve been so busy…”
The luckster frowned thoughtfully, a familiar offer tingling on his lips as he opened his mouth, but Makoto stopped himself. A workaholic like himself perfectly understood where Seiko was coming from – if he had the option, he’d probably help others or study on his birthday, too. That’s just the kind of person he was, a hard worker.
… But it never turned out that way, because his family and friends always wanted to spoil him rotten. Throw him parties, drag him out of the house, whatever. And frankly, the more Makoto thought about it… That time shared with people you treasured was more important. Or at least, that’s what the luckster believed.
Nodding sagely to himself, Makoto came to a compromise that should work for both of them.
“How about this? You go out with me tonight for a little fun, and we schedule another day where I can come back and help you with this inventory. Sound fair?” The luckster raised an index finger shrewdly and beamed pleasantly.
Seiko’s brow furrowed in uncertainty, recoiling slightly as if she was burned by the stove.
“Wh-What? Oh, n-no, no… I couldn’t possibly impose on you like that. Th-This lab is my responsibility.”
Makoto nodded in understanding, walking over and taking one of her hands into his amicably.
“I know. And I’m not taking your lab away from you or anything! I just want to give you a night off. You’re a student, so you shouldn’t hafta stay overnight to reorganize stuff!! That should be a teacher’s job, really. But I know selfless duty compels you, so… I’m offering an olive branch here, to make your work just a teensy bit easier.”
The pharmacist continued to give him an uncertain glance, eyes slightly narrowed as she kept her hand limp in the luckster’s.
“Are you sure you have time for helping me, though? I hear that exams are coming up… and I mean… lucksters unfortunately have to take the normal ones; if it was the talent ones at the end of the year, that’d be a different story, but… you also get pulled in a million different directions before, during, and after school…!”
Makoto nervously chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, in embarrassment.
“Yeah, they don’t go easy on me! But it’s the price for coming to Hope’s Peak through just dumb luck… They want even the lucksters to show the world how amazing this place is, and I guess that’s fair. Can’t get by life on just luck, after all. As for everybody else eating up my time, well… I can work something out. Trust me! When I make a promise, I keep my word! Even with so many friends here, as crazy as that is for a nobody like me to have this many, I find ways to make everything work out. It’s a bit of a rodeo sometimes… But wallflowers like you, me, and Chihiro, we need to stick together! So that’s why I want to help you.”
Seiko wrinkled her nose slightly in bewilderment, yet her shoulders slouched in defeat as she reluctantly gripped Makoto’s hand back. She still oozed uncertainty, but she met his eyes uneasily.
“… Okay. I’m not sure why you want to hang out with me so badly… But if that’s what you want, how can I refuse?”
Makoto nodded sagely as he kept up his cheery grin and slowly guided the pharmacist out of her lab. They only paused so that Seiko could lock up for the evening, and they were on their way.
~*~
Not even five minutes later… Makoto was sweatdropping as he walked alongside Seiko in a park a few blocks away from Hope’s Peak, but doing his best to keep up a semi-decent poker face. Celes had been teaching him, and he had to make use of that knowledge somehow…!
“Um, Naegi-kun…? Not to sound rude, but is there a reason we circled back to the park entrance that we came in?” Seiko tilted her head inquisitively, and Makoto jerked up in the air a tad as he’d been so lost in thought about where they should go after the park, they kinda just did a power walk lap around the place.
The brunet took some nice, deep breaths to compose himself. Celes said that he was an open book at most times, but if he allowed himself to get flustered then there was no hope of him pulling off a poker face to save his life. He needed to control the pacing or the battle was already lost!!
Robotically, Makoto craned his head to look over at Seiko, sweatdropping again as he mustered a hearty grin and pounded his chest slightly in pride as they kept walking, despite the pharmacist already noting they had no particular destination yet.
“O-Oh, don’t worry! I just got sidetracked, thinking about what we should do! I-I just thought we should start out simple, get in a walk before… before dinner.” At this point, the luckster’s stomach groaned in protest, and he laughed meekly at the uncanny coincidental timing. “Um. That wasn’t on purpose. S-Seriously. Uhh… But did you have a favorite restaurant? M-My treat.”
While he did have a few suggestions from Ruruka, they were all surprisingly on the cheaper end – and for Seiko’s birthday, well… that didn’t seem fair. If the pharmacist wanted something fancy, he could afford it. … He got a loan from Byakuya so that he could have spending money tonight, however, and that meant a separate promise of doing some grunt work for the heir on another day. Studying for exams certainly seemed a pipe dream, at this stage.
Seiko’s eyes widened in astonishment as she blushed at the luckster’s offer to cover their meal tonight.
“N-Naegi-kun, I can really pay for mine, I insist…!” The silver-haired girl squeaked out, but Makoto shook his head stubbornly as he looked at her with a singular determination, fist still clenched over his heart.
“Seiko-senpai, I want to do this for you, okay? Anywhere you want, I can pay. I promise. You’re not a burden, and I want you to spoil yourself, okay? You deserve it…!”
Seiko hung her head, blush deepening the tiniest amount while she puzzled over where to go. Even with the luckster’s insistence, she found herself at a loss of where to go. Seiko wasn’t really all that hungry, but Makoto was, and, well…
The two of them stiffened as they heard something weird nearby – like something had been sailing towards them, but something metallic ‘dinged’, indicating the thing was blocked. Further confuddling them was that shortly after the metallic sound, there was the sound of a bush – either someone moving through a bush or dropping in a bush… Whatever the case, Seiko and Makoto were a little more alert, scanning their surroundings, but spying nothing.
… They did hear more metallic clanging sounds echoing from somewhere nearby, but it was so quiet that you could mistake it for total silence.
Rubbing the back of his neck, unsure what to make of it, Makoto asked the pharmacist again where she wanted to go. Seiko got further flustered when she realized she had stepped closer to Makoto, protectively, without realizing. She shook her head slowly, and decided they could just go for ramen at one of her favorite spots.
Makoto’s shoulders slouched as he followed the silver-haired girl’s request. If the night stayed cheap like this, he’d just be paying out of his own pocket. … Which was fine, but Byakuya would be giving him a ‘why the hell did you waste my time?’ lecture when he returned the heir’s money later. And that was roughly equivalent to doing any favor the heir wanted, really.
“So, um… How’s your final year been, so far?” The luckster asked, once they offered the usual ‘thank you for the food!’ as they sat on stools at a ramen stand.
As expected, Makoto went with a heavier style of ramen, one that was more filling; Seiko went for a lighter variety, yet she did have the smallest of grins between slurps of her meal. The silver-haired girl took a few moments to mull over her feelings on her senior year.
“It’s… okay.” Seiko eventually deflated, not really having much to say, actually. Because what she did have to say about it was… well. He didn’t want to scare Makoto away by venting about the stress involved with setting up her pharmaceutical company. It added a new layer of stress that she didn’t even know was possible, considering all the favors she did for students and faculty at Hope’s Peak. Reorganizing her inventory was more therapeutic than it was taxing; it reminded her that she had developed a lot of miracle drugs, and some of the older ones could use fine-tuning.
… But just telling Makoto that he’d stolen her away from her Happy Place would be a bit rude. And it wasn’t completely true, she was happy with him, too!
Though… that did get into some of her other concerns – this was her final year, and she’d be seeing the kids here a lot less. Ruruka and Sonosuke would always be on her radar, but Teruteru? Nagito? Mikan…? It broke Seiko’s heart slightly, to graduate ahead of everyone… But that’s just how it is. Makoto being a freshman proved to her that three years had come and gone – or would be, at the end of this year.
Seiko’s shoulders slumped further as she stared at the luckster out of the corner of her eye. Makoto would be here for another two years still – meaning that he would make that many more friends without her. Not that Seiko was possessive of the luckster or anything… They’d only gotten to know each other for a few months now. She had a crush on the boy, but was that so uncommon for high school girls? Why, the luckster had no shortage of possible suitors… All of them were infinitely more skilled and more outgoing than the pharmacist, too. Graduating now would probably be a good thing – she wouldn’t get too attached and then get hurt when he chose someone other than her.
Having Makoto as a friend… Restraining her feelings hurt a bit, but it was a good way to live. Makoto’s friendship was precious to her.
… And that is why she didn’t have much to say about her senior year. Because her friend shouldn’t be burdened by her silly depression. Seiko shouldn’t get greedy – she’d still see Makoto and Mikan and Teruteru around.
“Ah… I see…” Makoto chuckled sheepishly, not really understanding what the roadblock was with that topic, but recognizing Seiko didn’t feel up to talking about it. He paused a few minutes as he pondered what else might be a good, casual topic. “… Any fun plans for the holiday coming up in a couple weeks?”
Seiko internally blanched at the mention of the holiday. There was an exam she had to take, outside of Hope’s Peak, to become an official practicing pharmacist, recognized by the state. It’s not that the exam itself was necessarily a huge problem, but… between everything she has to juggle already, studying for that beast was hard. Made her wish that she could be a freshman all over again.
“I’m, uh… I have plans that day. S-Sorry if you wanted to hang out again…” Seiko mumbled dejectedly, not wanting to shoot him down, but that exam was something she couldn’t avoid taking, and that holiday was the only day she’d be free to take it.
Makoto held his hands up peacefully as he nervously chuckled yet again.
“N-N-No worries…! As long as you have fun.”
“F-Fun… Yeah…” Seiko sweatdropped.
Studying for that monstrosity was not fun…! B-But that isn’t something she would bother Naegi-kun with. He did have his own hands full, after all.
“… How about Ruruka-senpai and Sonosuke-senpai? Have they been well?” Makoto cocked his head curiously. Surely this topic was safe?
Seiko bowed her head and tried to keep herself from snapping or sounding too depressed. They were her best friends, of course they were doing fine… but… but… The pharmacist sighed internally. She wouldn’t judge them – the confectioner and blacksmith professions probably had their own challenges, similar to her own.
It’s just… they made life look so easy…! Sonosuke? Already had this sweet deal lined up with the Ministry of Defense to provide weapons and tools for them; he didn’t even need to take any exams, as far as Seiko knew, the deal was just already settled. And Ruruka…? She already spent the last two years saving up money to build her own café; and would you believe that there were already people applying to work for her…? Because they were. Some bigshot employees and managers, too. Not common people like her and Naegi-kun.
Seiko didn’t resent Ruruka and Sonosuke for having it easy… or at least from her perspective had it easy. They were her best friends, and they helped her out so much. Sonosuke set up a defense system so that no one stole and abused medicine from her lab; and when she remarked about feeling nervous about hurting people with pointy knives and anesthetic needles, he roped Sakakura-sensei and Gozu-sensei into keeping an eye on her lab at nights. And Ruruka… she worked together with Seiko to create a drug for colds and flus that tasted so good that you’d want to take it… Taste had always been a problem area for Seiko, because drugs just taste the way that they do; but Ruruka found solutions for that, and the pharmacist would be lost without her best friend.
… Yet even with all that… she couldn’t help feeling somewhat jealous of Ruruka and Sonosuke. The main issue was that they possessed confidence, whereas Seiko herself still struggled with self-esteem. She really wished she could be even a fraction as well put together as the confectioner and blacksmith.
“They’re doing great!” Seiko forced as big of a smile as she could muster. Because it was the truth. … And anything else she had to say on the matter would just burden Naegi-kun. So…
…
“A-Alright…” Makoto grinned sheepishly as they finished their ramen before it got cold. Talk about ‘three strikes and you’re out’…
He rubbed his chin as he considered their options. The luckster could keep trying to make small talk here, and trip over unknown landmines… Or he could take another approach and hoped that worked better.
“H-How about we go for that walk, after all?” Makoto rubbed the back of his neck anxiously after paying for their meal. Seiko seemed depressed after shooting down the luckster’s attempts at conversation, and didn’t feel it was right to ask about how his life was going if she wasn’t going to be forthcoming, either.
“O-Okay…” Seiko mumbled dejectedly.
The duo blinked owlishly as they heard some nearby scuffle as they exited the noodle stand. But craning their heads in the direction of rapid dragging noises and hissing noises only revealed no one was there; just a nearby dumpster. They furrowed their brows in concern, but just as Makoto moved to go and check the receptacle out, Seiko grabbed his hand and dragged him off, deeming whatever the noise was to be too suspicious. … And possibly dangerous.
So the two trudged on, wrapped up in their own flurry of thoughts.
~*~
It was just Makoto’s rotten luck. That’s all there was to it. They’d been walking aimlessly because the luckster wanted Seiko to pick the next destination; and the pharmacist didn’t feel she was very deserving of further charity. As a result… they eventually stumbled on a dog that was hit by a car, and left on the side of the road to die.
Seiko scrambled to save the poor thing… But patting herself down when she didn’t find the revival drug in its usual pocket, the pharmacist was horrified to learn that she had forgotten to stock up when they’d left her lab, earlier. Makoto grimaced as he eventually had to pull Seiko away, long after the dog had passed away. They’d stayed with the poor thing in its final moments… but not being able to save it was… Oof. Makoto could fully empathize with Seiko here, as they trudged on gloomily. He wanted to save the dog, too, but they were out of options; it was already well on its way to dying, and there wasn’t a nearby vet that was open. Seiko’s drugs would have been the last resort, and unfortunately… Lady Luck just wasn’t with them, tonight.
Soon enough, they were back in the park that Makoto had taken them a lap around, and again really not by choice. Their feet just carried them here, where their final destination was a park bench, illuminated by a single light. Makoto was mindful and kept a space between him and Seiko, but he wound up accepting the pharmacist’s hand when she numbly reached out to him.
“… What… What have I been doing…? I-I-I’m the Ultimate Pharmacist… Th-There should have been a way… I… I…”
Makoto grinned bitterly as his friend got down on herself. He squeezed her hand comfortably and shook his head, using his free hand to cup her cheek and make the silver-haired girl look straight into his eyes.
“Seiko. We’re only human. I know that was rough… I wanted to do something just as badly as you! But… we already came too late.”
Seiko trembled slightly, shaking her head in denial.
“I-If I only had that medicine on me…!!!” She whispered hoarsely, the tears falling again. Makoto sighed lightly as he used his thumb to wipe away what tears that he could. The luckster clutched her hand tighter as reassurance.
“I know. But as much as we could have done something, as much as you could have, just think about how many cars passed by without a second look at that poor dog…! We’ll never know for sure, but if it was like that for a while, then… there were definitely others that could have stopped, turned around, or come back on-foot… But as far as we know, we were the only ones to stop and try. I know that feels like nothing… But there’s always next time, okay?” The brunet wiped a few more tears away before deeming it pointless; Seiko was too broken up about this, so he did the best he could… and scooted over, gathering the silver-haired girl up in a tight, warm hug. She sobbed into his shoulder softly, and he rubbed her back gently, whispering into her ear. “We’re always swimming upstream in life, Seiko-senpai! It’s not just day-to-day struggles, but tragedies like this, too… Sometimes, the hits keep on coming. But when hardship prevails, we just have to say, ‘That’s life!’ and marshal our dignity towards navigating the disappointment as best as possible. When things get tough… we should ask ourselves: Do we stay the course, or find another way? Attending Hope’s Peak has at least taught me one thing: we don’t have to face hardships head-on…! We can run, we can hide, we can launch a sneak attack… Avail yourself of unconventional methods! Above all else, stay determined. Don’t give frustration the last word. The beauty of trial and error is that there’s always hope…! The past can never be undone or regained, but if we attend carefully… It can show us how to move forward!!”
Seiko silently cried into Makoto’s shoulder as he gave his small pep talk. The weight of failure was hard for her… That she hadn’t done more for that poor dog… But the luckster was right. They were only human, Ultimate titles be damned. Her failure was so heavy… But she could use this to be more prepared next time. Seiko became a pharmacist in the interest of saving lives; yet as thoroughly as she worked towards that goal, some circumstances simply wouldn’t allow her to save every life…
That was just human nature. They made mistakes. They never stopped growing.
The silver-haired girl heaved a ragged sigh and just held Makoto close, rubbing his back in turn. In thanks for his comfort. They stayed like that for a while, it was thankfully nice and peaceful out. Summer was still here, so it wasn’t cold and it wasn’t too hot.
Eventually, however, they got up to leave, and to return to the dorms. As they reached the point where they would part ways to their respective rooms, Makoto rubbed the back of his neck and offered a bittersweet grin.
“S-Sorry it wasn’t the outing I was hoping for…! I… I wanted to make it special for you, and I don’t even have a gift. I-I’m sorry.”
Seiko heated up again as her brow furrowed in bewilderment.
“N… N… Naegi-kun…? Wh-What is that supposed to mean…?”
The luckster scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“I-It’s a bit late, but, um… H-Happy Birthday! There. I can at least do that right!” The brunet nodded sagely to himself, scratching the side of his head anxiously.
Seiko stared at Makoto for a while after that… and then burst out giggling. She couldn’t help herself.
“N-Naegi-kun…! I-I appreciate the effort, b-but my birthday is June 8…! Y-You’re a couple months off…!” The pharmacist tried smothering her laughs, feeling bad for the poor boy who blinked owlishly before facepalming.
“S-S-Seriously?!?! R-Ruruka-senpai told me I had to spoil you today and everything!! Argh…! What is wrong with her head?!?!” The brunet was blushing up a storm as-is, but the silver-haired girl made him a hot mess as she hugged him… and then planted a light kiss on his cheek in gratitude. She pulled back with vulnerable eyes, trembling like a leaf.
“U-Um… Th-That was for... t-t-trying…” Seiko’s hands fidgeted in front of her waist. Her gaze was trained on the ground, her cheeks burning. “Ruruka-chan p-probably didn’t mean anything b-by it… Sh-She probably noticed I’ve been stressed out lately… So… Thanks for caring, Naegi-kun. Thank you both.”
Seiko would die before she opened up more than that, though. The luckster of Class 78 didn’t need to worry about her, he needed to stay focused…! Seiko could thank him without complicating things.
She’d definitely do something nice for Ruruka-chan later.
“O-Okay…” Makoto rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly, and then cocked his head curiously. “U-Um… Is it okay if I still come by at a later date? H-Help you with that reorganization thing?”
“S-Sure… I’d like that.” Seiko bowed in thanks, and they parted ways on that high note.
Makoto massaged his cheek where the pharmacist kissed him, and softly smiled as he entered his room. Yeah… even if tonight didn’t go exactly as planned, he was glad he could cheer Seiko up, if even just a little. Tonight was a success… all things considered.
~*~
“’yoi-chan!!!!! A little help over here!!!” Ruruka squealed out, running around like a chicken with its’ head cut off.
That two-faced Gothic Lolita she could handle… She managed to wrangle that hussy out of sight before she could confront Seiko at the ramen stand, breaking up the date with Naegi. But that soldier had called in reinforcements from Class 78, as troublesome as that was for her own mission. She was literally running around, dodging what was – hopefully – just nerf darts as Junko shot away at her like a madwoman. Celes, Sayaka, Aoi, Ryoko, Monaca, Kotoko, and Kyoko had all her exits blocked off, however, so Ruruka was rather outnumbered and outgunned…
… Not that Sonosuke was doing much better.
“In a minute, Ruruka-chan.” The blacksmith tiredly responded as he deflected another sword strike from Peko, who had also raced to the soldier’s aide. Keeping an eye on Mukuro was the real key; she was searching for the one strike to take him out from a distance – those tranquilizer darts she was using would put down an elephant for three days; Sonosuke himself would be out for much longer than that, if Mukuro ever nailed him.
Ruruka sobbed at the injustice of this all. What the hell kind of fangirls was Makoto-kun attracting these days?!?!?! They worked like a pack of wolves!!!!!!!
“You get in the way of hubby, you die, Seeenpaaaiii~!” Junko chirped brightly, still standing on the roof and unloading a Gatling gun’s worth… of hopefully Nerf darts!!!!!
Ruruka bawled as the other girls got closer to apprehending her, inching closer and closer… She really, really didn’t want to ignite an inter-Class war for one itty-bitty date night… But if she didn’t call in the last resort backup, Ruruka was going to be humiliated.
Huffing, Ruruka made the call.
… To the Student Council.
Oh yes, tonight was going to be a looong night…