Chapter Text
~~~
A part of Kyoko wondered why she had accepted that invitation with her father’s name at the bottom. While she knew that she had the talent that had been described, there was no saying if this was just an attempt of her father to reconnect with her.
Then again, she wouldn’t put it past him to try something so underhanded ad that. Yet despite that, she had accepted it, and here she was, at the one and only Hope’s Peak Academy.
Orientation week had ended now, which meant that the actual classes had started. Most of them had turned out to not be mandatory though, which Kyoko immediately took as a chance to focus on what was important- her detective work. After all, she could study all she needed herself, nor did she feel a need to interact with her classmates.
“Kyoko Kirigiri,” A smooth voice came from behind her, causing her to turn around. Normally, she would be in her room, but she had wanted to see what the school library had to offer. That meant that there were other people around, though none of them had approached her… until him.
Even if Kyoko hadn’t gone to her classes, she still knew all of her classmates, from the shy Chihiro Fujisaki to the brash Mondo Owada.
That also included the boy behind her, Byakuya Togami. It was impossible not to know who he was in this day and age with how incredibly big the Togami Corporation was. The heir of said corporation attending Hope’s Peak Academy wasn’t all that surprising because of that.
Though, Byakuya was far from pleasant. He carried a sense of superiority with him, looking down on everybody who wasn’t as rich or smart as him. It was foolish to determine somebody’s worth based on money or intelligence alone, but it seemed like he wasn’t aware of that yet.
Until now though, he had been leaving her alone. He had been forming a group of his own, which for now seemed to just exist of him and Junko Enoshima- with Toko Fukawa and Mukuro Ikusaba carrying out their orders without a second thought. She had seen him eye Chihiro, like a wolf ready to pounce at its next meal.
Yet now that meal seemed to be her, and not the boy.
She closed her book, lifting her head up to look Byakuya in the eyes. “Yes? Is there something you need of me?” Kyoko asked, even though she would rather not do anything for Byakuya. But she wasn’t an idiot- she wasn’t just going to say that. Not when she still had no idea what his true intentions were.
“Something like that,” The heir responded in a smug tone, lips curling upwards in a satisfied smirk. He gracefully sat down on the chair next to Kyoko, crossing his legs over one another as he did so. “I have a… proposition for you. ”
“Proposition?” Kyoko repeated the word, trying to gauge just what Byakuya meant with that. The gaze in his eyes was satisfied, as though he already got what he wanted. Or maybe thought he would get what he wanted without a doubt. “What kind of proposition?”
That made Byakuya’s smirk grow. “I’m willing to allow you to become my… friend. You’re smart, observant. Somebody like that deserves better company than what most of our… classmates can provide,” He began to explain, as if all of this were plain facts. “Don’t you think?”
He… wanted her to become his ‘friend’?
Kyoko immediately doubted that this was an actual friendship he was talking about, and not just a partnership. Or maybe even something lower than that, with him just wanting to use her. She wouldn’t put it past somebody like Byakuya.
Because of that, she already knew what her answer would be. There was simply no way that Kyoko would associate herself with somebody like the heir, that would mean going against everything she stood for. And that was not something Kyoko was willing to do.
“No,” She responded, her voice curt- maybe even harsh. “Your views on our classmates are misguided. Just because they aren’t the same as you, it doesn’t mean they’re worthless.” She knew that the only way for Byakuya to get her reasoning, she needed to be as direct as possible. If she wasn’t, then he would twist it into something else.
But it was clear that he understood what she had said. His smirk dropped, getting replaced by a deep frown, one that was filled with anger. The satisfactory expression in his eyes had darkened into something else. “You’re… You’re denying my offer?” He asked, his voice filled with both disbelief and simmering rage.
He was less than pleased by her response, that much was obvious. Despite that though, Kyoko wasn’t going to back down.
Instead, she nodded. “Yes. I will not be your ‘friend’ ever.” Her voice was even harsher than before as she looked up at him, a cold look in her eyes.
“How… utterly foolish of you, Kyoko,” Byakuya responded before standing up, sending an icy cold glare her way. “I will make sure you will regret this decision of yours. Nobody says no to me, Kirigiri. And that includes you.” He left immediately after saying those words, hands clasped behind his back.
Hm. Probably just al bark and no bite.
That was what Kyoko had thought at first, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Not in the slightest.
~~~
“Rumours started spreading after that,” Kyoko explained to Makoto, her lips pulled into a thin line, just barely not frowning. “That I had only gotten in due to my relationship with the headmaster… among other things.”
W-what…?
Was Byakuya really the cause of that? Sure, he wasn’t… the friendliest, but spreading rumours about somebody just because they didn’t want to be your friend? That seemed too much, even for him.
Sayaka nodded, “Mhm. With Junko’s help… Kyoko had really just become an outcast. Leon and I didn’t believe those rumours though.”
“We started talking to Kyoko, wanting to know the truth,” Leon began to explain before his expression darkened. “That’s when we started getting targeted too. Chihiro went after me… while Junko tried everything to ruin Sayaka’s life.”
“Really…?” Makoto’s eyes were wide in disbelief. “But that’s not… they wouldn’t…” He trailed off, really unsure of what to say in response to all of this.
It wasn’t as if he could just believe all of this, but… did they have any reason to lie?
“I know it sounds unbelievable…” Sayaka shot him a soft smile while talking, her gaze sympathetic. “But it really is the truth. If you want, Leon and I can tell you what happened to us…”
Leon sat up a bit more straight at that. “Yeah. There’s a lot of stuff we can tell too. To make you believe us and all.”
“That…” Makoto paused, stopping before he would say the wrong thing. Even if he wasn’t sure of any of this yet, getting to know more wouldn’t be bad… If anything, it would mean he had more things to ask Byakuya and the others. Makoto was sure that they had their reasons… probably.
So, he nodded. “Okay… Go ahead.”
“Thank you, Makoto,” Sayaka responded, her smile brightening for a small moment before fading. “I’ll start then.”