More Than Friends in a Week

Chapter 1 - Sunday Blues

It was a rainy and dreary Sunday afternoon at Hope Peak's Academy. Fall midterms were this week and many students were stressing out and hitting the books in preparation. Makoto Naegi was among these students as he found himself in the library studying for his algebra midterm. His mind kept drifting as he was looking outside the library window in hopes that the sun would poke out. That would surely give him an excuse not to study.

"Ah, there you are Makoto." a familiar voice said.

Makoto flinched as his mind snapped back to reality. Standing at the opposite end of the table was Kyoko Kirigiri, one of Makoto's friends at the academy. She had brought her own books to study with Makoto. Well, it was more so to tutor Makoto as he struggled with algebra. Kyoko was not in her usual school uniform. She was dressed in a dark purple sweater and black jeans and wore a pair of purple Converse hi-tops.

"Oh hey Kiri!" said Makoto. "Have a seat."

"So, how far have you gotten?" Kyoko asked as she sat down and opened her backpack to take out her notebook.

"I'm doing some practice with the quadratic formula. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it."

"That's good." Kyoko smiled. "I'll check to see if my answers match yours."

"Yeah, good idea."

Makoto and Kyoko became friends almost out of necessity. Most of their classes were together, and they both turned out to be the black sheep of their classes. Makoto was the Ultimate Lucky Student, a.k.a. the talentless, average kid who was randomly selected by chance to attend Hope's Peak. Kyoko was the headmaster's daughter, had a cold, stoic expression on her face, and kept to herself. These factors gave enough reason for most of their classmates to stay away from them. The nature of class work meant they often found themselves leftover to partner up with each other. Makoto, despite his awkwardness, was always nice to Kyoko, so she eventually opted to work with him out of her own free will. They became good friends over time as well, and spent some time together outside of class to study. Kyoko even managed to open some of her personality up to Makoto.

"Any distractions this weekend?" Kyoko asked as she opened her notebook.

"Distractions? What do you mean?" Makoto asked cluelessly.

"You know who I mean." Kyoko said with a subtle smirk on her face.

"Oh, Sayaka." Makoto said with a sigh. Kyoko was bringing up Sayaka Maizono, Makoto's girlfriend. "I actually haven't heard from her this weekend."

"Oh?" Kyoko was surprised. "I didn't think she had concerts this weekend."

"No, she told me she was heading home to her dad's this weekend. Usually I get a text here and there but it's been radio silence this entire time."

"Hmm. Maybe she's busier than expected?" Kyoko said, trying to offer Makoto some words of comfort.

"I don't know, something feels off this time."

The two sat in silence. Makoto knew Sayaka back from middle school, but never actually talked to her at that time. It was hard for him to talk with her since she was the Ultimate Pop Sensation; she was always swarmed by the more popular students at school. It was no surprise to him that Sayaka came to Hope's Peak. What was surprising was that when he showed up, Sayaka knew who he was and was excited that a familiar face was at school. The two had quickly hit it off and spent a lot of time with each other outside of class. Eventually they began dating since they were both practically attached to each other's hips. It was your typical sweet and innocent high school relationship; holding hands and hanging out after class on weekends. The two had only been dating for two months at this point.

However, something changed in the past couple of weeks. Sayaka had become more quiet and distant with Makoto. She gave him no explanation. Makoto would keep asking her if everything was alright and she would say yes and give him the faintest of smiles. Sayaka told him she was going home this weekend to try and clear her mind. Makoto decided it was best to give her some space but the silence from her was worrisome.

"Are you concerned about her safety?" Kyoko asked, interrupting the silence.

"No. I know she's safe. She always has a security detail when she travels." Makoto said.

"Have you guys had a fight recently?"

"No. She just hasn't said a whole lot to me. Or has wanted to spend time with me. I know all relationships have a honeymoon phase that comes to an end, but something just doesn't feel right about this."

"I'm really sorry this is bothering you Makoto." Kyoko began to show some worry on her face. While she would give Makoto small smiles, he had never seen Kyoko look upset. This caught him off guard.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be okay." Makoto assured her. "I'm just happy we have algebra tomorrow so I can get that out of the way since it'll be the toughest."

"Right, that's true."

The two continued to study that afternoon and into the evening. Every time Makoto struggled with a math problem, Kyoko carefully guided him through the process to solve it. Makoto gave her appreciative smiles every time he began to grasp the concepts. While Makoto didn't notice it, Kyoko's face would blush every so slightly after he gave her a smile. After they finished, they departed to the dormitory after grabbing dinner along the way. Kyoko's and Makoto's rooms happened to be right next to each other.

"Well, I hope you can get a good night's sleep at least." Kyoko said as she opened her door.

"Yeah, me too." Makoto said despondently as he fumbled with his keys.

"Makoto." Kyoko said, trying to grab his attention. The boy turned to look at her as she gave him a serious face. "I just want you to know that I'm here for you in case anything happens. If you need to talk to anyone about anything, I'm willing to listen any time."

"Wow. Thanks Kiri. I appreciate it." Makoto was stunned for the moment. This was the first time he realized that he and Kyoko were truly good friends. "Same goes for me. I'm willing to listen to you about any troubles you may have."

"Good." Kyoko gave him a smile. For some reason, her smile made Makoto's heart tinged with warmth ever so slightly.

"Have a good night." Kyoko said as she went into her room.

"You too." replied Makoto.

Makoto retired to his room, feeling a sense of hope. Kyoko's words had certainly comforted him. Then he felt his phone vibrate. It was a text from Sayaka.

Sayaka: Hey babe. Sorry I haven't talked much this weekend. I've been really busy. Just wanted to let you know that you won't see me til tomorrow afternoon. We can talk then. Sweet dreams

Makoto had a sigh of relief finally after hearing from her.

Makoto: No worries babe. I figured as much. I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

Makoto then decided to lay down in bed early and get some rest for his test tomorrow.