Comfortember 2022

School's Out Forever - Children of Utsuro

29. Flowers

Warning: spoilers for members of Void

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"Hurry up, Iroha! We're going to be late!" Nikei demanded, fixing his hair back in a ponytail while Hajime straightened his suit.

"H-Hold on! The zipper's stuck!" the painter wailed, fiddling with her dress. Emma sighed and quickly went behind Iroha to help with her zipper.

Hajime finished tidying up Nikei's suit and stepped back, adjusting his sunglasses. "We really should hurry. A Hope's Peak graduation doesn't wait for anyone," he reminded everyone.

"What do you think I'm trying to say!" the journalist snapped at him. The boxer put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him, knowing that the smaller man had been on edge all day. It was now the evening, and Nikei's nerves were incredibly tense.

"There," Emma let out a breath of relief as Iroha's dress finally zipped up. "Let's go to the car, we've been here for long enough."

Hajime watched as Nikei began pushing them to the car. After three years of being at Hope's Peak Academy, tonight was when they officially would graduate and be 'set for life,' as the academy claims.

Either way, the group of four lived in a house off-campus bought with Hajime and Emma's money, so they didn't need to pack to leave. Ever since they found out that they were all saved by the same man, they had decided to live together, and they had stayed together for years now. 

Hajime was sure that Emma broke several traffic laws while driving, but he didn't care about that much when the biggest issue was Iroha fretting over some details last-minute. Worrying about things like messing up the movements, their parents finding them, or wardrobe malfunctions, her whines were not what they needed right now.

Thankfully for him, Emma didn't crash the car and they got to Hope's Peak Academy safely. The four of them quickly got out of the car, and Emma locked it as they ran into the building to try and find the other graduates. There was a large crowd of mostly paparazzi, so they looked around in confusion.

"The others are over here," a voice called. They looked to the side and saw their classmate, Mikado, gesturing them to come to the door where he was. When they had first met the wizard, they found out that he had been blessed by the same man they were, and was looking for him too. But when Iroha asked if he wanted to join, the wizard had laughed and said that he wasn't that desperate.

The four of them quickly went to the door as Mikado slipped through it, and they managed to follow him backstage. "Good, we're on time," Hajime whispered in relief.

"Come on, we gotta join the line in alphabetical order," Nikei reminded them. "No time to drag your feet." With those words, the journalist went to find his place at the end of the line.

Emma rolled her eyes. "To the point as always, I see. Well, we better find our places too," she agreed, and the boxer and painter followed her to the middle of the line.

The four of them waited with anxiousness as the ceremony began to start, though some were more vocal about their fears than others. Slowly, the students in the line began to move up as they were called onto the stage.

Hajime was behind Emma, though their places were separated by the sniper girl from the other class, and he eventually watched her go through a door that led to the stage. From his position, he could hear a roar of applause from the people in the gymnasium. He was glad that she was getting the attention she deserved from the audience, he couldn't imagine what she was feeling right now.

He didn't have to wait long, because after Kiyoka was brought to the stage, it was his turn. Hajime was brought to the edge of the stage and told to wait. From the centre of the stage, right in front of the audience, he heard Principal Jin Kirigiri announce, "Next to graduate is the Ultimate Boxer, Hajime Makunouchi."

Hajime took that as his cue to come onstage, and the audience roared with cheers and applause once again. He noticed a bunch of different-coloured chairs in the front row filled with the Ultimates that had graduated already, including Emma. He smiled in her direction, then continued walking to the principal.

He shook the man's hand and received his diploma, then stayed onstage for another round of applause before going to sit in the chairs. Thankfully for him, Kiyoka had moved to sit with Ayame, likely reserving two more seats for their friends. He got to sit next to Emma then, and they shared a smile before sitting one seat apart, saving two seats beside them for their friends.

After two more people, it was Iroha's turn to go onto the stage. When she was called up, Hajime and Emma cheered loudly amongst the applause. Iroha was full of nerves as she stepped onto the stage, but she seemed to relax a little when she saw them in the audience. She waved a little to them, then took her diploma and went to sit beside Emma. One seat left.

Nikei was the last one to go onstage out of all the students, but the crowd wasn't quiet for him. Hajime, Emma, and Iroha did their best to make a lot of noise for him when he stepped onto the stage, and Hajime could have sworn that Nikei had a small smile from it when he took his diploma. He probably would deny it to his dying day though.

After Nikei sat down and got welcomed by his group, Jin Kirigiri finished the ceremony with a closing announcement. One more round of applause, and the students were suddenly 'Former Ultimates' and set for life now. Hajime ended up separated from the group as they went off and did their own things.

While he looked around for the others, Hajime ran into his training coach, the one who had taken him in as a teen and taught him how to value his health. The coach smiled and patted Hajime's shoulder, sharing his pride with the boxer. Hajime smiled happily, then hugged his coach in reply.

Half an hour later, Hajime waited by the car with Nikei and Iroha. He had gotten there third after being questioned lots by the paparazzi, now they were just waiting on Emma. She ended up arriving a few minutes later with a bouquet in her arms.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone! Look what I've got!" she exclaimed, showing them the flowers. "We can plant them in the garden and grow more flowers with these!"

"They're not going to grow without roots, idiot," Nikei huffed, and Iroha began reaching up to try and hold the bouquet.

Before a bickering match could break out, Hajime opened the car door. "I'm driving. Everyone get in," he told them, and they quickly entered the car without question. Now free of academic responsibilities, the group of four drove off into the night.

***

Art credit: cemarnpa on twitter