Gemini
Hinata-kun:
…Did she just fucking wink at me? I have to be seeing things. That shoulder of hers hasn’t gotten any less frigid. I can’t make heads or tails of this girl. Whatever. Never had a grasp on kids my age anyway.
“Considering I only bothered to show up for the entrance ceremony, I’m surprised you recognize me. Then again, I imagine most of your time there is spent wishing you were an elite,” I say, setting my chopsticks down.
I don’t envy her and poor saps like her, but they should know what they’re getting into. Anyone can tell at a glance the Reserve Course is a raw deal. The ludicrously high tuition is in no way justified by the exceedingly average high school education offered. When I first heard about it, I thought the school board had lost their collective minds. Nobody would be willing to pay that much just to go to school within the same square kilometer as a bunch of overspecialized oddballs.
But lo and behold, the Reserve Course has every seat filled every year. People willing to ruin themselves financially for the illusion of status; it’s pathetic. Because the public has failed to save themselves, it’s fallen to me to take the choice out of their hands.
We would never publicly admit as much but, my agency now classifies Hope’s Peak High School as a threat to our nation’s stability. The fact of the matter is that a school shouldn’t have that much goddamned influence on a person’s future. These Super High School Levels essentially get handed a golden ticket when they graduate. It’s not unusual for an elite student to forgo attending university altogether and still be overwhelmingly successful. Hope’s Peak is creating a new upper echelon of society. That kind of affluence is the quickest means of creating domestic terrorists. With the school planning an overseas expansion, this shit could go international and the last thing I need is some snooty Interpol agent asking me in broken Japanese why I didn’t nip this in the bud when I had the chance. No, I’ve got to be the one to shut down Hope’s Peak. With all the contracting work Towa’s done for them, raiding their servers was the best place to start.
“So, Nanami-chan, you’ll have to forgive me, but I need you to at least act like you’re enjoying yourself. A shitty date makes for a much less convincing cover story than a pleasant one.”
I fiddle with the switches of the grill built into the table, preheating it so the meat won’t take half an hour to cook. It won’t be the first meal I’ve shared with someone with ample reason to punch me in the throat, but I didn’t get in this line of work to make friends. Luckily for her, she’ll never have to see me again once I’ve got her sworn to secrecy.
Flipping up my menu and obscuring her from my vision, I scan the listings as I speak. “Order whatever you like when the waiter gets back. The taxpayers’ll pick up the tab.”
She flinches at the accusation, back straight and eyes blinking rapidly. Her mouth opens as if to refute his statement, though she falls short and winds up with her attention towards the ground.
It isn’t for the basic reasons of guaranteed prosperity, a title, none of that. An image comes to mind: her, graceless in everything besides her words (and even then that quality is questionable), alluring in her mannerisms, a person that warms her semblance of a heart; it’s why she wants to be apart of that world, to be able to see her without sneaking around.
The amount of money that pours in is astounding; why do so many people want to have this name on their documents? She doesn’t understand it and, if she’s honest, she probably never will. The funds go to talent research (she thought she overheard her name and ‘talent’ in a discussion yesterday, but she wasn’t entirely sure), something that feels useless in her eyes.
Prying open someone’s brain to find where their talent comes from is the only solution she can think of.
Dates shouldn’t be hard to fake. After all, she has spent quite a bit of time with Junko... those count as dates, right? A smile doesn’t come on her face though, even with an attempt showing through by the twitch of her lips.
Gaze shoots towards the menu before Nanami shakes her head, hands folding into her lap. Her voice is quiet when she speaks, avoiding eye contact with her new companion.
“ ... I can’t eat. ”