Chapter Text
Hope’s Peak Academy: 4 Months Later
Megumi Aragaki did not have an Ultimate Talent. She never attended the old Hope’s Peak Academy, not even as a reserve course student. She was never even scouted for the opportunity to enroll. She had absolutely zero previous connections to the academy save for the knowledge that it existed. That is, she had zero connections until very recently.
Megumi was a bright young woman and highly determined as well. When she realized her passion for both teaching and counseling, she didn’t just go halfway with it. She completed a dual degree in psychology and sociology with a focus in education and later went on to earn her Master’s in trauma-informed teaching. She was aware the jobs she could be hired for wouldn’t necessarily pay well despite the qualifications she had to offer, but that never mattered to her. All she wanted was to be able to provide children with the help and instruction they needed.
It was for these reasons that the newly rebuilt Hope’s Peak Academy reached out and offered her a position as a teacher.
At first Megumi was confused. She had been under the impression that Ultimate students were taught by former Ultimates, or at least by teachers that knew how to adjust to the academy’s loosely structured curriculum. The academy informed her that, yes, that’s how they usually did things and that the other classes of Ultimate students would be taught in such a manner. However, the reason they wanted her was for one class in particular.
She had heard about them on the news, how one of the pilot classes for the new academy had been kidnapped and their families had been killed. She remembered her heart breaking for these children as she thought of the challenges they’d face moving forward. So, to hear that they wanted her to be their teacher, for her to be the specially trained individual who could help them adjust, she didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.
Although, some days she wondered if she maybe should have hesitated.
Today was one of those days. Megumi sat at her desk waiting for the day to begin, watching as her students slowly trickled into the classroom. She tended to remain silent before class began, only speaking if a student approached her. She liked to give the students a chance to chat and interact, observing them as they did so to gauge the moods for the day.
“I think those reporters have finally stopped trying to get interviews,” Saihara announced as he walked into the classroom, flashing a polite smile towards Megumi as he passed.
There had been mobs of reporters and journalists staked out at the entrance of the academy ever since the students had returned. Everyone wanted the first bit of news from the kidnapped pilot class, so much so that the students were escorted by Future Foundation agents for the first few weeks to ensure their safety. Gradually their numbers had dwindled but a few of the more determined reporters had still been pestering the students.
“Weird,” Yumeno mused from her seat where she was idly flipping a deck of playing cards around. “It’s almost like Maki telling them that she knew twenty-seven different ways to break someone’s bones and make it look like an accident made them not want to come back.”
“Hey now, they should’ve done better research,” Harukawa defended from where she leaned against Momota’s desk. “Then they’d figure out I only know twenty-five ways to break them.”
Saihara stopped briefly by Amami’s seat on the way to his own desk. Oma sat perched on top of Amami’s desk and Saihara leaned in to greet the boy with a quick kiss before he moved on to settle in at his own assigned seat. Megumi had been made aware that some of her students were dating one another ahead of time in a briefing conducted by the academy’s headmaster, Makoto Naegi, and talent scout, Byakuya Togami. She found the young couples quite endearing and rather appreciated Saihara and Harukawa’s abilities to keep their significant others inline and on task during class.
The purpose of the briefing, given when she had accepted the job, was to let her know exactly how her students would differ from the rest of the Hope’s Peak classes. She was brought up to speed on what had happened to the students after they were kidnapped, informed of the traumatic killing game they had been through, and was even given access to redacted versions of their psychological evaluations. She was told that the Future Foundation would occasionally be sending personnel to conduct wellness checks to ensure the students hadn’t fallen into despair.
She was aware that the students were housed on campus in dormitories and that they were essentially wards of the academy. She was also told that the students would be going on scheduled school trips in the future. She was not told where they would be going, who they were seeing, or why they were going but she knew the trips were somehow important to their health and wellbeing and that was enough for her.
Megumi’s gaze drifted as her ears picked up different conversations in the room, settling on one after the other as a silent observer.
“How’s the internship with the Togami Corporation been so far?” She heard Amami ask Oma. He seemed perfectly content that the other boy was sitting on his desk. Megumi liked Amami as he was one of the few other individuals who Oma seemed to actually listen to.
“I’ve already gotten someone fired,” Oma cheerfully informed him.
“Why the hell would you do that?” Momota questioned, arms crossed as he tipped back his chair so it rested on only two legs. Megumi noted that he was still wearing his blazer in an odd fashion, with his left arm properly in a sleeve while his right arm remained outside of it.
The students all wore the standard Hope’s Peak uniform consisting of brown blazers and skirts or trousers. Some students added small personal flares to their uniform like Oma who always wore a checkered scarf around his neck or Iruma who usually donned her brown safety goggles for any potential sudden projects. Megumi always encouraged self-expression in her students but she still hadn’t figured out why Momota wore his blazer that way.
“One of Byakuya’s administrative officers had been leeching funds and sending them to a rival company he was planning to jump ship to,” Oma explained, nonchalantly inspecting his nails as he did so. “It was almost too easy figuring it out and getting him to confess.” A glint of something sadistic flashed in the boy’s eyes as he grinned, a face that reminded Megumi why the boy had earned the title of his talent. “It was fun watching him get dragged out by security.”
Megumi allowed her attention to drift once again, this time settling on Iruma who was scribbling away at her desk, blueprints scattered around and practically spilling off the surface.
“What about this one?” Iruma asked, whipping up one of the blueprints and shoving it in the face of K1-B0 who sat beside her. K1-B0 leaned back, gently pushing the girl’s hands away so he could properly see the schematic.
“Miu, they’re not going to approve this,” K1-B0 told her with a sigh and the start of a weary smile. “You made the generator bases look like-”
“A pair of tits, I know!” Iruma exclaimed. Megumi had to force back her own laughter at hearing the excited outburst. “Do you think I can convince them that this is the only way they can be structured? Kiyo, what do you think?”
Shinguji placed down his book and leaned forward over his desk behind Iruma, peering over her shoulder at the blueprint. His yellow eyes narrowed and he reached up to pluck at the straps of his face mask.
“…Maybe if you get Kokichi to help you pitch the design,” Shinguji tentatively admitted. Iruma grinned and rose from her seat, walking over to shove the blueprint in Oma’s face and get his opinion.
Iruma was an interesting case. While other students may have started internships or were just focusing on classes and improving their talents on their own, she had already managed to patent some of her work. Society was still rebuilding in the wake of the Tragedy and Iruma’s inventions had proved to be incredibly helpful with recovery efforts. Iruma and Makoto Naegi had even organized a deal with those who used her designs so their payment would come in the form of investments and research grants for the academy.
The students didn’t really need to worry about money during their enrollment. They attended the academy for free and had access to its resources at no charge but in addition to that they had trust funds comprised of any assets left behind by their families or guardians. The trust funds were managed by the academy and partially invested on their behalf and with their approval by the Togami Corporation. Portions of the funds were allotted in small increments as stipends for the students’ personal use until they would inherit the sum in full upon graduation.
Megumi took a deep breath and straightened her posture as she prepared to call for attention to begin the day. It was usually a shot in the dark whether or not she managed to keep the class productive or if she ended up losing the bulk of her students as they found interest in something else for the day. Things were already off to a good start considering everyone was in attendance and more or less in their seats so all she had to do was…
The door to the classroom burst open and in walked Kyoko Kirigiri, fiancée of the headmaster and leading detective for the surrounding area. Megumi stared at her classroom’s intruder as the dreaded realization set in that she would not be able to conduct a normal class today.
“Let’s go,” Kirigiri ordered, pointing at Saihara who stared at her with wide eyes. “Grab your stuff.”
“What are we…” Saihara began to ask, though he was already dutifully gathering up his things without much hesitation.
“New case,” Kirigiri answered, flashing a quick smile to the other students who waved at her in greeting. “Thirty-two year old man showed up at the local police station covered in blood. He claims to have amnesia and no one’s been able to find the victim or any evidence of a crime aside from the blood covering him.”
“…human blood?” Saihara questioned after a moment of thought.
“Human blood,” Kirigiri confirmed with a nod.
“Detective Kirigiri,” Megumi spoke with all the authority she could muster as she attempted to retain control of her class. “I’m well aware of your mentor relationship with the young Mr. Saihara here, but with all due respect just because you’re engaged to the headmaster does not mean you can barge in here and steal my students.”
“Oh, I’m not using my engagement to garner some kind of false authority to validate this,” Kirigiri responded. “I’m just taking your student because I want to.” The detective turned on her heel to exit the classroom, waving a hand behind her to guide Saihara out. “Let’s go, Shuichi.”
Megumi pursed her lips and looked pleadingly to Saihara who had already gathered his things and was halfway across the room. He froze under her gaze and for a moment Megumi thought she could still get her student back, but that moment quickly passed as he flashed her an apologetic look and hurried out of the room, pausing only to give Oma another quick kiss on the cheek before he left.
Megumi let out a sigh and looked out at the rest of her students, now silent from the sudden intrusion. She could still make this work. Saihara was a bright student so he’d have no trouble catching up if she continued on with today’s lesson. She just needed to…
“Well if Shuichi’s leaving, I’m not gonna waste this good weather,” Hoshi declared as he pulled a tennis racket from his bag. Megumi felt the final nail get hammered into the coffin. “Tenko, you down for a quick match?”
“A chance to beat a man at his own sport?” Chabashira replied, a fire lighting in her eyes at the offer of a challenge. “How could I say no?”
“Gonta, would you like to catch some pretty insects for me to paint?” Yonaga asked, standing from her seat and pulling a paintbrush out from where it was tucked behind her ear.
“Yes!” Gokuhara excitedly said, standing with her. “Gonta recommend plebejus argyrognomon for beautiful wings.”
“Kaede, you come as well,” Yonaga suggested as she passed by Akamatsu’s desk. The artist took the pianist’s hands in hers and pulled her up. “Art inspires art, yes?”
“Yeah!” Akamatsu agreed as she gathered her belongings. “I’ve been meaning to start composing more. Maybe I’ll get the inspiration I need.”
“Kirumi, would you please model for me?” Shirogane begged, gathering up the costume sketches she had on her desk as she turned to address Tojo. “I’ve almost finished the pleats on the skirt for the Hyakkaou Private Academy uniform but I’d love to see how the flow looks on an actual person.”
“Of course, I’d be happy to help,” Tojo assured her, ever polite and accommodating.
Megumi watched as one by one her students left the room in pursuit of things more applicable to their talents. Don’t misunderstand, she loved seeing her kids passionate about their gifts but their tendency to run off and do as they please made her question her importance as their teacher. She was recruited specifically for them, to help give them the best chance of success after what they had been through, but most days it seemed as though they didn’t need her at all.
“Accept a teaching job at Hope’s Peak, they said. It’ll be a great experience teaching Ultimates, they said,” Megumi bitterly muttered as the last of her students made their way out of the classroom. She slumped in her seat, folding her arms on top of her desk and resting her head on them. “Why do I even try?”
Megumi heard the room fall silent and assumed the last of her students had finally left the room until a small clink made her raise her head. Tojo was still in the room, standing in front of Megumi’s desk as she poured what looked like tea out of a thermos into a waiting teacup she had acquired from who knows where. Tojo finished pouring and gently placed the teacup down in front of Megumi.
“You’re doing a wonderful job, Miss Aragaki,” Tojo assured her with a smile as she screwed the cap back onto the thermos. “I’ll make sure they all show up tomorrow for class.”
With that final promise Tojo gathered her things and made her way out of the room, presumably to catch up with Shirogane. Megumi watched her leave before finally looking back at the cup of tea, steaming and probably at the perfect temperature if Tojo’s talent was anything to go by. She picked up the cup and took a sip, humming as she silently remarked how it tasted like her favorite blend of peppermint tea. She smiled.
Megumi loved her students.