Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: T his is a work of creative fiction and not meant to be an accurate depiction of any mental conditions and/or illnesses. 

T hese chapter outlines remain as a draft and not the final decisive product that I am happy with. I do not plan to rewrite, revise or publish this fic. If you would like to make any complaints or comments, you may do so in the comments section, but I cannot guarantee I will be making any edits in either the disclaimer/notes section or the body text. There are plenty of personal reasons as to why I am choosing to discontinue this fic and I may not issue any updates. Thank you for understanding.

Refer to Do (Past, Continuous) for further relevant information, disclaimers, tags, warnings and context for this work. 

Chapter 16

- A continuation of the Kyoto class trip from where we left off in the last chapter! (Recap of the plot points: Nanako and Katsuya have thoughts about sharing everything in their lives with their alters, and wonder what it would be like having separate spaces.)

- Gakushuu wakes up during dinner and has fun chatting with his friends. He’s seated with the Virtuotos and they bicker over what to eat for dinner, and he solves the problem by suggesting they do something called share. What a revolutionary concept! (The food comes, and everyone has a great time. Gakushuu offhandedly remarks he’s used to sharing, which elicit a round of questions, because isn’t Gakushuu an only child?) ((Gakushuu stammers through excuses and says yes he is, but, uh, um, well, actually-)) (((Ren cuts in. “I mean, you guys know we were joined at the hip in elementary school. I used to bother him for all his stuff.”))) ((((Gakushuu: haha, yeah…))))

- Gakushuu is very amused by Nanako's bowl, and even more amused by Ren's descriptions of Katsuya's reactions.

- Yukio finally wakes up at night, just before they're due to go to bed. (Yukio has a higher likelihood of fronting when the situation is calmer and less chaotic.) Ren catches him gazing out at the cityscape by the window, head pillowed in his hands. They chat for a bit. Yukio is marginally interested in the art gallery, and he thinks the bowl is funny, but says that a class trip is not the best time to visit a museum since he can't take his time. (Ren offhandedly mentions they should visit a museum by themselves next time.) ((Yukio agrees enthusiastically.)) (((Ren panics.))) 

- The next day, it's pretty much R&R.

- Gakushuu gets to stretch his legs. He and the Virtuosos visit a bookstore. Gakushuu comments that Yukio would probably like a setting like this, but it's too crowded for him to wake up.

- Ren avoids Gakushuu through the bookstore trip. 

- Gakushuu is a little put out, until Ren embarrassedly explains that he wants to find a gift for Yukio. Gakushuu is immediately ecstatic and wants to follow Ren around. Ren says, "this is why I didn't say anything!! I want it to be a surprise and you'll just tell him on accident!!" (Ren doesn't mean to offend.) ((Gakushuu isn't offended.)) (((Ren leaves him laughing to himself between two shelves.))) ((((They lose Gakushuu and the Virtuotos have to go find him.)))) 

- Nanako appears and decimates everyone in UNO. 

- Gakushuu accidentally slips about the gift, Yukio tells Ren, amused. "Good thing you didn't tell him the book title or the whole thing would have been exposed." Ren expected as much. 

- The alters (in their shared headspace) discuss a little about where to put the mental manifestation of Nanako's bowl. Then they discuss a little about having their own spaces where they can decorate to their heart's content.

- They leave "Gakushuu's bedroom" and wander around the rest of the house. The set-up is the same - there are many guest rooms. Yukio suggests just taking a room each, instead of having to figure out a brand new space, to simplify the process. Nanako says she wants a tree in her room, for some reason. Katsuya remarks that she would have thought that would be more of Yukio’s thing, because Nanako doesn’t seem like a plant person. Nanako says that she wants to climb the tree. 

- Nanako: I want to go shopping for furniture

Katsuya: we are in our minds. we can literally just imagine furniture

Nanako: but wouldn't it be more fun to shop??? 

Gakushuu: we can browse an ikea catalogue

Nanako: do you think the old man would let us do this irl?

Katsuya: he might as well. he has no guests.

- Yukio asks Gakushuu to pick a room too. Gakushuu’s room is technically a shared space, but Gakushuu should get a space to himself anyways. Gakushuu is anxiously deciding what his room should be like, and Katsuya scolds Yukio (gently) for making Gakushuu freak out, then scolds Gakushuu (also gently) for freaking out over such a simple decision.

Nanako: Look at him. He’s got anxiety

- They reconvene in Gakushuu's bedroom. Nanako sprawls on the bed and says she still likes it best. Katsuya says that they should keep Gakushuu's bedroom as their main meeting point. (She doesn't admit that she likes the room. Nanako waggles her eyebrows. Katsuya kicks her.)

- The class trip ends, and they reach home. Gakuhou frets a little over them but he tries not to show it. 

- Nanako demands using the guest rooms. Gakuhou is a little confused, but he allows it. Nanako is delighted. 

- (Gakuhou has no idea what's going on, but Gakushuu seems happy, and it's not exactly disrupting his life too much.) 

- (Offscreen, the 3-E kids are going about their day in their own part of the Kyoto trip. Pretty much the same things happen, up until the point where the boys are gathered in their shared room gossiping about girls they like. Someone offhandedly mentions Kayano, and then says that they probably can’t talk about the Principal’s son’s girlfriend like that.) ((Karma corrects that they aren’t dating. The boys don’t ask about how he knows that.)) (((Korosensei is, of course, eavesdropping. He files this information away for later.)))

Chapter 17

- Gakushuu hears about a transfer student in 3-E by the name of Ritsu. Her photograph is of a mild looking girl. Katsuya says it’s suspicious that she is just going by “Ritsu” sans a family name, and a customary internet search/reverse image search doesn’t pull much up. Gakushuu texts Kayano and Karma about it (after Yukio and Katsuya vet his messages).

- Kayano says a new girl came today and she's "interesting". 

- Karma says the new classmate is annoying and he skipped class because she’s “disruptive to lessons”, whatever that means. 

- Unfortunately, they are both quite tight-lipped about it. They don't really elaborate on how the transfer student is, which makes G4 (Katsuya especially) suspicious.

- Katsuya tells Gakushuu to keep it in mind. Maybe if there is an assembly soon, Gakushuu may be able to cut in (on the guise of speaking to his childhood friend Kayano) and speak to the new girl. That opportunity doesn't really come soon, since Kayano dodges his attempts to meet + Gakushuu grows busy with his studies and student council work (for example, baseball match planning). 

- A few times when he sees 3-E walk by on their way down the hill he tries to spot the new girl among them, but there’s just too many students making a crowd + too many trees in the way, so he’s not successful.  

- Very shortly after there is news on a second transfer student by the name of Itona Horibe.

- Gakushuu texts Kayano and Karma about it again. Similar to with Ritsu, they give rather vague cryptic answers. Kayano says he’s kind of weird, and Karma says that he’s “batshit crazy, lmao you’ll love him”. 

- G4 is on high alert and super suspicious of the whole situation. Nanako wants to gatecrash 3-E and just get to the bottom of this once and for all. Katsuya scolds her for being rash, although she herself also wants to gatecrash. Yukio is weary and a little apprehensive, and he kind of wants to leave it alone. Gakushuu is kind of scared about what it all means.

- Katsuya thinks that 3-E is hiding a secret. Something related to the potential murderer in the school. It's a bold claim to make, but Katsuya points out Kayano's involvement in all of this. "Her being in 3E separates her from the main campus. If what she wanted to investigate was here, she wouldn't have gotten herself enrolled there."

- They try to research on Itona Horibe (at least they have a full name), but there are a lot of Horibes out there, and it seems like Itona doesn't really have a social media presence. 

- In the B-plot, Gakuhou takes them shopping and they get started on renovating each of the guest rooms. Gakuhou quietly asks Gakushuu (who is Nanako) on whether this is a new interest, and Nanako flatly says it’s none of his business.

Chapter 18

- The school baseball match is coming up.

- The 3-E boys are slated to play a baseball exhibition match against the baseball club. The 3-E girls are playing basketball.

- Gakushuu isn't slated to play, so in the days leading up to the big event, they're actually rather free. 

- This gives G4 time to investigate deeper into a previous potential lead: finding who Ikeda is. They obviously don't ask Gakuhou (even though Yukio points out that it would just be the fastest option) ((Katsuya thinks they should plant subliminal clues around the house to influence Gakuhou into mentioning Ikeda.)) (((Gakushuu is very nervous about it all, and he says he has a bad feeling about this, although he can’t quite articulate what. In fairness, his memories and emotions from his early childhood are all muddled up and very emotionally turbulent.))) 

- They do quite a bit of digging, but there really isn't much that looks promising, considering the only info they have to go off on is the guy's last name. If he was Gakuhou's old student, he should be a working adult now, right? Man, if only they had more information.

- Kayano complains about basketball and, for some reason, big boobs (?). Gakushuu is embarrassed. Katsuya is confused. Yukio is curious (not about boobs, but about the concept of having a "fear" about it.) Nanako finds it hilarious.

- Karma texts him to prepare for failure in baseball. Gakushuu says he isn't even on the baseball team. Karma gets irrationally upset about it and starts cursing Gakushuu out over text (affectionately), and Gakushuu is confused and terrified. Nanako curses back. 

- Sadly, they don't see any presence of Ritsu or Itona in the groups. Karma and Kayano gracefully sidestep Gakushuu's attempts to ask more about it. 

- 3E wins the baseball match, miraculously. They don't really win because of their brilliance at the sport, but more of their "strategy" (if it can be counted as such). 

- Gakuhou is pissed. Gakushuu braces for impact.

- Gakuhou… doesn’t end up doing anything, really. If you can count sulking around the house for a day as something. (He quickly snaps out of it when he gets home in a foul mood but immediately sees a very skittish Gakushuu hiding from him. Then he feels guilty and tries to be nicer.) 

- Gakushuu is Gakushuu, just a very anxious ball of nerves. (This is, after all, the first public “loss” on Gakuhou’s end.) Gakushuu overthinks himself into waking Yukio, who settles into an odd calm and goes through the rest of the day with a scarily serene demeanour. (Gakuhou is disturbed. He wonders if Gakushuu is taking drugs, but he talks himself out of searching Gakushuu’s room or interrogating the boy.) ((Gakuhou finds “Gakushuu” curled up in the closet with a book and a weighted blanket. He is very concerned.)) (((Yukio is unbothered and he answers very honestly, “what, I spend so much time in closets, I’m used to them.))) ((((Gakuhou had to go sit in his office to calm down.)))) 

Chapter 19

- The Takaoka Arc happens offscreen. (I don't plan to really touch on this because I imagine Takaoka's employment and termination to be wrapped up nicely within 3-E, so G4 wouldn't have touched on it. It happens too quickly for them to notice something is wrong before it comes up.) ((Takaoka’s name appears and disappears in the school system in the span of two days. Gakushuu is too skittish and coming down from the adrenaline of sneaking around his house post-baseball that he doesn’t really think about 3-E for a while. Yukio isn’t invested enough in 3-E by himself to go digging without Katsuya in his ear about it.))

- Finals are coming!! Gakushuu is trying to focus on studying. Yukio is also trying to focus on studying. Katsuya has all her attention devoted to her conspiracy board to figure out 3-E secrets. Nanako is browsing furniture catalogue stores. 

- G4 finds out that the rest of the Virtuosos have made a little bet with 3-E. Gakushuu is exasperated. Katsuya is super into it. She is the one that types the really long contract for 3-E to sign (including the clause for 3-E to give all their secrets.) ((She's fuelled mostly by spite over not having found anything out yet.)) (((Nanako thinks this isn’t really fair play, but G4 are getting really good at compromise. She sulks a little but ultimately acquiesces to Katsuya.))) ((((Yukio amends some of Katsuya’s clauses… to make them more watertight against 3-E. He’s not too concerned about 3-E, he just can’t sit by idly while linguistic errors slip by him!))))

- They see Ritsu in the exams. She looks... nothing like her school picture. Well, maybe there's a little resemblance. G4 is very confused. (Katsuya is this close to throwing down the towel.)

- They don’t see Itona in the exams. Katsuya notes that as a point to follow up on. They find out that he’s just marked as absent on the attendance sheet, and Gakushuu points out that he might actually just be absent because of an illness or something like that, and not everything has to be a conspiracy. Katsuya bitterly says that Gakushuu may have a point but she’s not letting up until she knows for sure, damn it!

- They lose the little bet. Katsuya flips her shit.

- 3-E is triumphant. Kayano gloats a little, over pudding. She lets Gakushuu know that 3-E are excitedly planning for the Okinawa trip, and that she herself hasn’t gotten a vacation in ages. (They ask Kayano about Itona. Kayano laughs for a very long time, and then just shrugs and says she has no idea.)

- Gakuhou is pissed about the bet, but at least Gakushuu is still first place. That simmers his anger, at least. He just lectures G4 a little bit about keeping a handle on the Virtuosos. (Katsuya agrees with Gakuhou, as expected.) ((Nanako agrees with Gakuhou, which is not as expected. Her rationale is that bets are silly business and people should rather duke it out in the open.)) (((Yukio doesn’t agree with Gakuhou. “I think the Virtuosos should do what they want,” he says. “It’s funny,” he also says.))) ((((Gakushuu doesn’t think his sanity is worth what Yukio finds funny.))))

- Karma, who apparently didn't study and fell out of his top spots, mopes. Gakushuu feels sympathetic. Nanako is the opposite of sympathetic and loudly proclaims that she doesn't like his lack of motivation and "fighting spirit". (Karma is offended.)

Chapter 20

- This kickstarts the 3-E Okinawa arc, also known as G4’s one week vacation.

- Through the week he gets occasional selfies from Kayano with 3-E dicking around in the background. They look like they’re having tons of fun with water guns and playing volleyball, or whatever it is that kids do on vacation.

- Karma also texts him, but only to complain how boring the class trip is.

- Based on their texts, it just seems like they’re all having a fun time on an ordinary class vacation. Katsuya complains on the lack of progress they’re making.

- In the B-plot, they get a bit more time to decorate their rooms. Gakuhou takes them out shopping again, and then just lets them have free reign of his credit card. G4 bicker about furniture. (Gakuhou watches in fondness/confusion as Gakushuu argues to himself over interior design. At least he’s having fun?)

- In the C-plot, Gakushuu goes out with his friends. 

- The Virtuosos drag Gakushuu out to lunch/dinner. Nanako or Gakushuu are usually fronting and they have a great time. (On one occasion Katsuya appears, and she is very confused and out of her depth, considering the current activity is UNO.) ((She loses. She is also a sore loser, and immediately demands the next game.)) (((Ren, who is ready to swoop in to suggest a new activity to save Katsuya from this social situation, gets glared at and told to sit his ass back down and keep playing. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that he won that round.))) ((((Araki, Koyoma and Seo are very aware of Gakushuu’s sudden mood shift, but they’ve all accepted this as an integral part of the Gakushuu they know and love anyways. And they’re also sore losers and really into the game, so they chain Ren to his chair and demand a new game.))))

- Tsubara and Nanako go to an arcade. They run into some of their schoolmates, who are a little weirded out to see her there, but ultimately join in in multiplayer games (because all Kunugigaoka students are competitive). Gakuhou makes a face when she comes home with arcade toys. For some miraculous reason, Nanako is in a good enough mood over her wins that she launches one of the plushies at Gakuhou’s face at top speed. (She is disappointed that the plush doesn’t take off Gakuhou’s head, and goes off to poke at the rest of her spoils.) ((Gakuhou… holds on to the toy. It may or may not be sitting on the nightstand on his room.))

- Ren and Yukio do go to the art museum. Ren gives him the book, with Yukio appreciates, and says he’ll give Ren a book review once he’s done with it. Ren also doesn’t manage to hold Yukio’s hand, which Nanako is thoroughly disappointed by. (Nanako tells Ren that through dinner.) ((Ren splutters on his drink. “When did you get here?!”)) 

- In the D-plot, they do a bit more digging on Itona, Ritsu and Ikeda. They disappointedly note that Itona and Ritsu don’t appear in the background of any of Kayano’s pictures, although Katsuya isn’t sure if it’s because they’re not present, or if it’s because Kayano’s a cunning and crafty person who would definitely take the time to make sure there are no slip ups. There’s clearly some secret there.

- Nothing else turns up about Ikeda, and Gakushuu tries to look through his old notebooks/diaries to see if he’s written anything. Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t really bring up anything new. However, the gang does take a trip down memory lane as they go through old notes they wrote each other while first trying to communicate + many of Gakushuu’s scribbling that goes from politely cautious greetings to the stranger in the house, eventually dissolving into psychotic ramblings.

- Gakushuu, flipping through the books happily: “Aww, wonderful memories!”

The memories in question: t̶͕͆̀h̶̗̬̔̚͠e̴̞̲̳͛̈́̚r̸̮̈́̽̎é̸̢̳͓͊̈́ ̸̥͉̔ͅi̵̹̓s̷̖̗̆̊͜ ̷̨̢͐s̸͓̊͐͛ǫ̴̛̘̐̒m̵͍͑ė̷̍̒͜o̷̘͐n̷̙̍͑e̸͔̊̈͘ ̷͉͙̠̄ǐ̵͍͉n̶̟̖̏̐͘ ̶̯̥͘͜m̵̡̉ý̴͕̻̄ ̴̭̦͎͋h̸̺͖̓̍̕ę̵̈̊͂ȁ̵̳̝̆ḓ̸̓̈ ̶̼̱̆̅h̴̡̪͒e̸̯̠̭͒l̶̤̬̀̉͝p̷̠̼͚̾̎͠ ̸̪́̓͘m̸̻̞̈́̌̎e̵̢̘͋̈́̚

- It’s all in good fun, don’t worry! (Gakushuu’s not worried at all. He’s genuinely enjoying the nostalgia.) ((Yukio, who is normally unfazed, resolves to pick up more books on psychology.)) (((Nanako considers swaddling Gakushuu in thick blankets and patting his head.))) ((((Katsuya is quiet for a very long time, and at the end of it gives Gakushuu a kiss on the forehead.))))

Chapter Text

Chapter 21

- The holidays end.

- Takebayashi’s transfer to 3A is incoming! Gakushuu and Katsuya figure out that Gakuhou is plotting to ruin 3-E’s morale further with this move, but they aren’t sure where they should stand on this. Katsuya thinks this is a move in favor of main campus, but Gakushuu just thinks that this is unnecessarily petty on his father’s part, + it damages their relationship with 3-E, which is something they need to preserve if they want to keep going with their investigations. Katsuya reasons that this is obviously a move from Gakuhou and if they go with that story, they will be absolved of blame + potentially earn sympathy points from people who think that Gakuhou is trying to make Gakushuu miserable. Gakushuu remains empathetic and unwilling to embarrass 3-E and his new friends. Katsuya continues to argue that they’re a means to an end, the 3-E people who matter will know it’s not his fault, and the 3-E people who don’t matter already hate him anyways. They clash a bit over what to do.

- In the end, Takebayashi smashes the trophy and gets sent back to 3-E, so the argument dissolves. 

- Gakushuu as usual happily looks forward and wants to sweep things under the rug. Katsuya doesn’t bring it up again. (She doesn’t apologise, although she thinks about doing so for a while.) ((To Katsuya’s credit, Gakushuu hasn’t apologised either, but Gakushuu doesn’t think it’s much of an issue and he’s already back in the swing of things.))

- The swing of things refers to being interrogated by Kayano and Karma (separately) on his role in Takebayashi’s stunt. True to Katsuya’s prediction, they believe that Gakushuu wasn’t maliciously involved in the proceedings. Kayano cheerfully moves on and makes Gakushuu buy her pudding. 

- Karma is more lowkey + more suspicious, but he eventually relents and asks Gakushuu why he doesn’t buy pudding for him too. Gakushuu says that Karma’s not his childhood friend. Karma sticks his tongue out at him.

- Gakushuu’s workload grows a little bit more, and he has to begin preparing for the school sports festival.

Chapter 22

- Isogai’s leader time + pole toppling arc is here! Things get fun!

- The Virtuosos drag Gakushuu out to a restaurant (ahem)... and run into 3-E and Isogai at work! And of course, Seo brings up one of the school rules, and everyone starts to look at Gakushuu expecting him to respond.

- Gakushuu immediately panics. Ren notices and decides that yep, no, they’re not doing this now, and steers him to a booth. 

- Then Kayano suddenly abandons her seat with her friends and goes to join her… childhood friends. Kayano and Ren make deliberate eye contact for a beat, telepathically communicate in solidarity, and then are suddenly best friends laughing over each other, Gakushuu squished between them.

- The Virtuosos are lost for words. Isogai, not knowing what to do, cautiously ushers them to take a seat. The Virtuosos, not knowing what to do, sit down.

- Gakushuu: oh my god, I don’t know what to do, Dad’s going to be so mad

Kayano: no one said you had to tell him

Ren: haha, Kayano, you recently reunited with us ;) you must have forgotten what Gakuhou is like. He’d be very mad at Gakushuu if he lets this slide

Gakushuu (mumbles): especially after last time (In reference to the time in year 2 where Yukio finds out about Isogai’s job but doesn’t tell Gakuhou, only to get lectured much later)

- Maehara: dammit, Asano is going to spill the beans again

Okajima: Again? What do you mean?

Maehara: he found out about Isogai’s job last year and told his father, who made Isogai quit!

Nagisa: …that doesn’t seem like something he’d do

Maehara: come on, you’re not defending him now, are you? 

Isogai floating by: he found out about this job at the start of the year, and he hasn’t told yet…

Maehara: …fine, I’ll give you that. But now the other Virtuosos are here too, so what can he do? 

Isogai: (sighing)

- Gakushuu, still panicking: but if I keep it a secret again, then Dad’ll be mad at me… force his hand? What do you mean? Hm… I don’t know if that will work… but Dad’s always- uh huh, uh huh… another bet? Why do you keep making bets?

Kayano: does he always talk to himself like this?

Ren: you get used to it

- Gakushuu and Katsuya’s conflict is over their anticipation of Gakuhou’s reaction. Katsuya thinks that they should just sell Isogai out to protect them, Gakushuu obviously disagrees because Isogai is their friend, dammit, plus that’s a generally impolite thing to do. They’re almost at an impasse… until Katsuya comes up with an idea for another bet. Except this time it revolves around the event that the student council has been working on - the sports festival. Katsuya reasons that Gakuhou is a naturally competitive person as well, and so if Gakushuu keeps a secret on his own accord, he would get in trouble, but if he masks it in the guise of a competition, Gakuhou won’t be (as) mad. So she proposes the canon solution: if 3-E wins the pole toppling competition, Gakushuu will keep their secret.

- Gakushuu: but what if they lose?

Katsuya: then we honour the terms of the bet.

Gakushuu: you want to get back at 3-E. 

Katsuya: I won’t deny that that’s a perk. 

- Gakushuu’s internal battle against maintaining a good relationship with 3-E versus surviving the wrath of his father - Gakuhou wins out by a large margin. Katsuya’s plan is proposed. Isogai accepts. 3-E glare.

- Kayano makes Gakushuu pay for her dessert. “Me being your friend means that 3-E are angry at me, too! You have to make it up to me!”

- Unlike their canon counterpart, G4 does not have strong athletic international friends to participate in the competition. Instead, they have their pick of the sportsmen in the cohort. G4 leaves Nanako to it. Tsubara is part of the team.

- Leading up to the competition, Gakushuu and Katsuya debate over backup plans if (on the off chance) they lose, and deliberate over what to say to Gakuhou. Gakushuu panics even more, and through his ramblings, Katsuya can tell that he’s equally as worried about his friends in 3-E. Katsuya doesn’t know how to respond to that.

- The day of sports festival arrives. Yukio starts off fronting that day because of how nervous Gakushuu is, but Nanako wakes up and takes over later in the day, before the pole toppling tournament. 

- In all the excitement, G4 has forgotten about… Itona. Who they see makes an appearance today, looking exactly like his picture, mingling with the 3-E kids. Katsuya and Nanako are disappointed at the lack of any hidden secret, because he’s just a normal boy.

- In the end… main campus loses the pole-toppling. Nanako isn’t fazed by it, though. She’s exhilarated at a brilliant game, and before anyone can stop her, she’s run across the field and she’s shaking Isogai’s hand to congratulate him. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and even Gakushuu is happy because he doesn’t have to ruin his (admittedly not so great but not the worst) relationship with 3-E.

- Also: Isogai, a strong and capable leader; and Itona, the boy who toppled the pole with a powerful kick? Nanako is getting heart eyes. (Gakushuu is mortified.) ((Yukio is excitedly scribbling things down. He may or may not be writing fanfic.)) (((Gakushuu thinks Ren and Yukio should hang out less.)))

- All seems well!

- That is, until, they get called to the Principal’s office. 

Chapter 23

- Gakuhou isn’t mad about the bet. He thinks it’s an adequate attempt at manipulation. (He says as much, and G4 isn’t sure how to interpret it.) ((That’s as good of a compliment as they can get from Gakuhou.))

- True to Katsuya’s prediction, he honors the terms of the bet and decides not to follow up on Isogai’s part time job. It’s the principle of the matter, apparently.  

- Gakuhou’s mad about the loss. He tries to calm himself down, and reasons privately to himself that 3-E has special training that Gakushuu couldn’t have known and predicted for. Still, it’s another loss against Gakuhou’s system, one made so public because of Gakushuu’s actions, and he’s pissed.

- But the worst offender is watching Gakushuu loudly and happily congratulate 3-E on their win immediately after the tournament, in full view of every single student in Kunugigaoka. As far as Gakuhou is concerned, that’s a slap in the face (hah!) of his own ideologies, by his own son nonetheless.

- Gakuhou isn’t yelling at him, but that somehow makes it worse. He doesn’t hit Gakushuu, but the pressure is overwhelming, and the tension is so high Gakushuu wishes he’d just hit him to get it over with. 

- Gakushuu can’t handle it - he bursts into tears. 

- It shocks Gakuhou out of his monologue, and Gakushuu’s fight-or-flight instincts kick in. And, because it’s Gakushuu, that means flight - he turns tail and runs off.

- And, similar to canon events, bumps into 3-E.

- Isogai: Hey, Asano, I’d like to thank you for- Asano?!

Gakushuu: (just bawling)

Isogai: Asano, what’s wrong?!

Maehara: …hey, dude? You good?

Gakushuu: (sobbing harder)

- The Virtuosos appear, looking for Asano. They run towards him, displacing the 3-E crowd, and Ren hugs Gakushuu. Seo has whirled on the 3-E kids immediately. “What the hell did you guys do?!”

Maehara: It wasn’t us! He just came out of nowhere and he was already crying!

- Kayano comes pushing forth to the front of the crowd and joins Ren in coddling Gakushuu. She has a job to do! Ren is irritated that some imposter childhood best friend is shoving herself into such a delicate situation, but Gakushuu is now clinging onto the both of them, so he relents.

- Offscreen, Gakuhou is watching everything. He’d gone after Gakushuu when he’d run off, afraid that Gakushuu might do something stupid. Now he’s standing in the shadows guiltily watching Ren (and one of the 3-E girls? What? That’s unexpected?) pat his son’s head, and the crowd of students loudly argue over his son’s wellbeing. He’s not sure what to feel about that.

- Eventually Gakushuu calms down enough to articulate that he’s fine, yep, perfectly fine, no nothing’s wrong, shut up Kats, he doesn’t need help, Dad’s just mad at him but it’s fine, it’s totally fine, oh shit did he just say that out loud? (Yes you did, Ren informs him helpfully.) ((God dammit, Gakushuu, Kayano says.)) (((What was that you said about your dad? Isogai buts in.))) 

- 3-E, who had been planning on getting celebratory dessert from Isogai’s cafe, go to do just that… now with 5 additional guests. Seo, Koyama and Araki are uncomfortable squeezed in a booth with a bunch of 3-E students who hate their guts. Ren is significantly less uncomfortable but still annoyed with Gakushuu, Kayano, Karma (who inserted himself in), Nagisa (who got dragged along with Karma), Maehara, and Isogai. It’s a very crowded table.

- By this point, Gakushuu has calmed down significantly, no longer sniffling, almost like he’s been replaced by a completely different person. (Spoiler: Yukio’s here.) 

- Yukio is pleasantly tight-lipped about the whole situation and doesn’t let anything else slip. He reassured everyone that things are fine, he did have an argument with his father about something but it was unrelated to this at all and the incident should no longer be pursued. (He does slip a hand under the table to tap Ren’s knee to let him know that he’ll get the full story later.) ((Ren makes a very odd sound.))

- Eventually the large group disband, and Ren walks Yukio home, stopping at the foreboding entrance of the Asano’s house. Yukio had told him the subject of Gakuhou’s lecture on the way, and told him not to worry. 

- Back home, Gakuhou had been anxiously waiting for Gakushuu to come home. (He’d assumed he’d be in good hands with Ren in the large group, but you can never be too safe.) Gakushuu shows up at the doorstep, none the worse for wear, and Gakuhou hovers. He doesn’t apologise, and Gakushuu (Yukio) doesn’t look like he’s expecting one, instead just quietly heading up the stairs.

Chapter 24

- The next examinations are here!

- This is the one where 3-E are forbidden to study, even though Karma studies in secret. 

- The results come out, and Gakushuu and Karma score high. Concerningly, 3-E do terribly, and Gakushuu is concerned because he didn’t know something was up. He asks Kayano about it, who tells him not to worry and it was an internal class debate, or something like that.

- Then G4 asks Karma, who says that the class did something stupid and got in trouble for it, and it ate into study time. But not for him, obviously, because Karma is naturally smart and intelligent. “Right,” Gakushuu says flatly, Karma grinning at him. 

- Katsuya seems to be happy, because in her eyes this looks like a victory for main campus, plus not reflecting badly on them. Nanako is sour because she feels like this isn’t a fair victory.  

- Gakushuu carefully asks if Kayano needs help studying. Kayano laughs and says that he’s sweet, but no thanks. She has her own troubles and she’s not concerned with her studies. Gakushuu asks about progress with the murderer - no dice, Kayano says. Katsuya is sure she’s lying, because she hasn’t brought up the topic in a long while. If she didn’t have a lead, Katsuya reasons, she’d be bothering Gakushuu about it, so it stands to reason that Kayano has her own investigation ongoing that she doesn’t see the need to involve Gakushuu in.

- Yukio has a lot of thoughts, but a lot of them are frankly ridiculous conspiracy theories. Katsuya wants to spy. Gakushuu wants to respect his friend’s privacy. Nanako wants to give up on the lead entirely. 

- Offscreen, the Reaper arc commences. G4 aren't involved in it, and obviously none of the 3-E kids dare breathe a word about it to an outsider. 

- In the B-plot, Main campus winds down from another exam period. Gakushuu and friends hang out a little bit more. G4’s friends have silently elected to keep Gakushuu out of his house more often, since the news of him crying after leaving the Principal’s office spread. 

- Even classmates and schoolmates who disliked/were ambivalent towards Gakushuu are more sympathetic towards him now. (No one dares to do it outright, but there is a significantly higher frequency of glares directed to the back of Gakuhou’s head.) ((Gakuhou has to repress a shudder when he walks down the hallway.)) 

- Gakushuu himself remains passively oblivious, and he’s honestly a little shy and bashful at the amount of attention he’s suddenly getting. He’s not sure why. Yukio, Nanako and Katsuya have obviously figured it out. Yukio thinks this is terrible and makes up many many excuses to escape and go find Ren when one of their acquaintances catches them. Nanako is having fun. Katsuya thinks this is a strategic networking opportunity, although she herself isn’t a fan of being the person who has to network.

Chapter 25

- Cultural festival arc! Each class has to put up a booth of some kind to raise funds. 

- 3-A, similar to canon, decide to go with a stage performance type setup. Unlike canon, Gakushuu himself isn’t the sole liaison behind the idea - the other classmates chip in to contribute with their contacts and ideas. 

- Also unlike canon, Gakushuu isn’t some kind of musical prodigy who learnt to play like 5 instruments in his childhood. (He was dealing with a lot, okay?) Katsuya can play the violin, but 1. She vehemently protests against performing, 2. It’d be quite disastrous if Katsuya just doesn’t happen to front on the day of and one of the other alters has to play, and 3. The class agrees that a violin doesn’t quite suit the rock/pop concert vibe they are going for with the performance, thank god.

- The Virtuosos still volunteer to play, though, just with Ren as the lead. Gakushuu is very excited to watch the performance. 

- After some deliberation, 3-A pick Gakushuu as their emcee. Since ¾ of G4 can do that job fairly well, they decide to accept. (Yukio decides to hibernate.) ((Nanako teases that Yukio will miss Ren’s show. He ignores her.))

- 3-E, as per canon, decide to come up with their mountaintop nature cafe. 

- Kayano bugs Gakushuu to come stop by, but Gakushuu apologetically says he has to work at his own class’s booth, so he doubts he’d be able to attend. She does save him a bowl of acorn noodles, though, as thanks for all the times she’s stolen pudding off him. (Karma would like to add that he cooked the noodles, thank you very much.)

- 3-E wins by a small margin, because they closed shop halfway and because 3-A obviously isn’t as impressive as last time. (They do come in second, though). G4 panics.

- Gakushuu and the virtuosos get called into the Principal’s office.

- Gakuhou is furious. (As expected). All this while he’s been letting Gakushuu get away with too much, because he’s just finally happy that Gakushuu has friends. But now the school cohort is turning against him (yes, he’s finally figured out why his students were all hostile towards him), and Gakushuu himself is no longer listening to him and being rebellious.

- After berating them on their lacklustre performance, Gakuhou says, “why didn’t you poison 3-E’s food?!” As per canon. G4 and the Virtuosos are horrified. Even Katsuya thinks that is going too far, and she’s aghast.

- Gakuhou then asks Gakushuu to leave so he can speak privately with the Virtuosos. Gakuhou knows that these are Gakushuu’s friends, and he hates to do this, but he has to put his foot down to ensure that his system remains robust. This is all for Gakushuu’s good, after all.

Chapter Text

Chapter 26

- Flashback sequence: Gakushuu’s childhood pre-Kunugigaoka, and the events of chapters 1 through 4 from Gakuhou’s perspective.

(Chapter 1) 

- To recap, Yukio appears around this time. Gakushuu gets locked in the cupboard or kicked out of the house a handful of times.

- Gakuhou is freshly dealing with the loss of his student, Ikeda, and being a single parent. Poor Gakushuu, poor innocent, sweet Gakushuu, who is a very active child and just always happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, who talks too fast and too loud when Gakuhou is trying to get him to calm down, who pushes all his buttons a little too much and doesn’t know the meaning of Stop, keep quiet, go away, shut up. (Gakushuu is five.) 

- Surely a time-out never hurt anybody. Those were normal, right? Gakuhou’s been reprimanded by his parents in the same way when he himself was a child, and he obviously turned out fine.

- It works, sort of. Gakushuu grows into a calmer, more independent kid.

- Until, that is, he gets a call from his elementary school teacher. Who tells him that Gakushuu got pushed in a closet and didn’t know how to get out. Gakuhou panics. Luckily, it seems that Gakushuu hadn’t said anything about the incident - following which, Gakuhou stops doing that. It’s clearly affected Gakushuu to some degree, but Gakuhou hopes Gakushuu will grow out of it.

- Gakushuu then, for some reason, asks about sleepwalking. Gakushuu doesn’t sleepwalk, Gakuhou tells him. He wonders where Gakushuu learns the term. He watches Gakushuu a little bit more carefully, but Gakushuu doesn’t seem to have developed any problems with his sleep.

- Gakushuu makes a friend! Ren Sakakibara. Gakuhou is happy for him.

(Chapter 2)

- After the school closet incident, Gakuhou resolves that he should teach Gakushuu to defend himself. (He reads Ikeda’s last letter to him a few more times to cement that idea.) He decides to start teaching Gakushuu martial arts.

- Gakushuu picks it up fairly quickly, considering he’s six going on seven. The martial arts seem to be helping - Gakushuu begins being a bit more active around the house, so surely something good must be coming out of it, right?

- He hasn’t heard of any further incidents from Gakushuu’s teachers, and he’s busy setting up the next stage of expansion for his new school, now, so he’s quite busy.

- Except, suddenly, one day he gets a call. Gakushuu has gotten into a fight. Gakuhou panics, and then relaxes when he realizes that Gakushuu’s won. Then panics some more when he finds out that the fight started because other children were picking on his son.

- Gakuhou starts a fight with several other parents and snaps at them to keep their own children in line (and threatens to sue with the CCTV footage) before scooping Gakushuu up and bringing him home. Gakushuu clings on to him.

- This incident really only further proves how good of an idea it was for Gakuhou to begin training him. 

- It also lets Gakuhou know that Gakushuu’s fairly competent at martial arts, if it comes down to it. So he enrolls Gakushuu for a competition, and he wins! Gakuhou is very proud of him.

- Still, he worries. It seems that even though the school has neglected to keep him updated, the bullying incidents haven’t really stopped. He panics and gets several terrible memories of Ikeda, and revolves to think of ways to help Gakushuu grow stronger.

- Gakushuu’s elementary school teacher does inform him that Gakushuu has some strange behaviour quirks. Gakuhou doesn’t really know how to explain it. Teacher gently suggests a test for developmental disabilities, although Gakushuu’s grades are fine, plus Gakuhou himself is qualified enough to assess for autism/adhd and it seems that Gakushuu doesn’t have any of those. He reasons that it’s because Gakushuu’s grown up as a fairly isolated child, with Gakuhou being largely unavailable. 

(Chapter 3)

- Gakushuu’s third year in school is by far the worst. Of course, Gakuhou doesn’t realise anything’s wrong for a long time. He’s very busy with his own school, after all.

- He decides that it’d be a good time to further Gakushuu’s education and get him started early on understanding human psychology and how to work people in your favour. After all, Gakushuu’s been shown to be a very bright kid, and he’s been picking up the skills Gakuhou has taught him rather well.

- Gakuhou just wants the best for him, after all. Hopefully this would work in favour of Gakushuu against the bullies.

- Gakuhou also resolves to spend more time with Gakushuu, and starts bringing him to Kunugigaoka. Many of his staff find Gakushuu a cute kid, which of course he is, obviously. His son is the cutest and the best.

- Gakushuu seems to be adapting well. He takes to exploring Kunugigaoka happily, and Gakuhou often gets reports from his employees of having to fish Gakushuu out of odd places. He’s understanding the concepts of human psychology that Gakuhou is trying to teach him, which is good enough for now, even though he has yet to put any into practice. Gakushu hasn’t really made a friend outside of Ren Sakakibara, which is concerning. 

- Gakuhou doubles down on his lessons and teaches Gakushuu some interpersonal skills.

- Then he starts getting better feedback from Gakushuu’s teachers. Gakushuu’s more outspoken in class, and less nervous, and (mostly) stops speaking with stutters. Although they do note a habit of him thinking aloud to himself, which is still somewhat disruptive. But other than that… it’s going well. 

- Gakuhou continues.

- Until: it goes back to shit.

- It’s only been a few weeks of Gakushuu’s good performance when it suddenly takes a nosedive. And Gakuhou’s getting calls left and right about Gakushuu - he’s disrupting class, he’s yelling and shouting and kicking things over, he’s starting fights with his schoolmates and he’s even gotten into an argument with Ren. 

- Gakuhou has no idea what to do. He doesn’t know why, and all the accounts from his teachers just sound like he flipped a switch one day and started behaving erratically. 

- Gakushuu’s mental health visibly gets worse and worse, his grades plummet.

- And then one day, Gakushuu runs away. 

- He had gone to the library, and then he’s gone. The librarian said they saw a kid ran out. Gakushuu just got a phone but he can’t be reached on it, he’s nowhere to be found. 

- Gakuhou panics. He thinks of Ikeda. He calls the Sakakibaras, he calls the cops. He runs out into the street and up and down the rows of buildings and stop strangers in their path to frantically ask them if they’ve seen his kid. He regrets everything he’s ever done, he’s going to find Gakushuu, he’s going to help, he’s going to do something, anything, to get Gakushuu back-

- He finds Gakushuu in the middle of the night. Barefoot, confused, but none the worse for wear. Gakuhou is so relieved.

- Finally, finally, Gakushuu tells him about what’s been going on in the year. Gakuhou realizes Ikeda’s been happening all over again under his nose and he’s been too caught up in tunnel vision to see it again. He’s continuously pushing Gakushuu to do better (which he should), but Gakushuu’s only one part of the problem. Another large percentage of the fault lies with everyone else. Everyone incompetent, like his classmates and his teachers. Gakuhou resolves to fix things immediately - pull Gakushuu out of school, get a new better one. Kunugigaoka should not have any of these problems. 

- The Sakakibaras are horrified, especially when their son corroborates the story. They’re going to transfer schools together - they don’t want Ren with such terrible influences. And Gakushuu is such a sweet kid, isn’t he?

(Chapter 4)

- Gakushuu transfers to a new school, along with his best friend Ren.

- Gakuhou… is relieved. Gakushuu is doing much better.

- Of course Gakuhou threatens his teachers first. He doesn’t want to be an irresponsible parent and have the same thing happen again.

- He resolves to make his system at Kunugigaoka better, more robust. Instil good, quality principles in his students, like academic excellence above all and the need to be strong without discriminating against… odd quirks like introversion or speaking to oneself? (He’s not quite sure how to do that.)

- He reminds Gakushuu on his social skills, but it seems like he didn’t need to be worried, because Gakushuu seems more extraverted and open now that he’s not being bullied and is taking well to his new classmates. Gakuhou is reassured.

- Of course, there’s still a long way to go. Gakushuu’s entering middle school soon. Gakuhou should make preparations.

 Chapter 27 

- Self-defence (aka Katsuya) had kicked in halfway through Gakuhou’s horrifying speech (from chapter 25), which is the only reason why Gakushuu doesn’t burst into tears by the end of it.

- Although, by the time they make it outside to calm down, Gakushuu is back online and he’s just fucking crying again while sitting at the side of the main campus building. 

- Which is how 3-E, coming down from the mountaintop at the end of a tiring day, find him.

- It’s been a really long year. A really long, terrible year for Katsuya, if she’s being honest, because she’s not used to losing and having her expectations subverted so often that she’s pissed and furious. She’s a lot like Gakuhou, in that aspect. However, she’s unlike Gakuhou in that she knows where to draw the line and she knows this has gone too far. And it’s been a long shitty year full of mistakes and errors and trying and failing, and Katsuya’s figured out her mistakes. What works for G4 and what never works for Gakuhou. 

- All that boils down to is one final epiphany: this requires a team effort. 

- And so Katsuya says: let’s give teamwork a shot. (Nanako and Yukio are cheering at the top of their lungs. Gakushuu is just beaming.)

- G4 gives the canon-like spiel where they ask 3-E for help in tearing down Gakuhou’s tinted glasses once and for all. The biggest difference is of course that Gakushuu gives this speech through tears and sniffling and also beaming (Gakushuu can’t stop smiling despite himself - he’s just so proud of Katsuya!) 

- At the end of his speech Gakushuu bows, and immediately gets glomped by Kayano who tackles him to the floor with a hug. 

- A small group of them (Kayano, Karma, Nagisa, Isogai, Maehara) invite him out again, and they go to a different cafe this time (because Isogai’s not on shift today). They don’t talk about his dad, just about random stuff and school things.

- Before they part ways, Karma drags Gakushuu aside and asks if he wants to stay over at his house. He lives alone, you see, his parents are gone often, and Karma’s not sure if Gakushuu wants to continue living with his father.

- Gakushuu… hesitates. But ultimately refuses, because Gakuhou will be worried. His father does care about him after all. (Katsuya and Nanako facepalm at Gakushuu’s decision. Yukio remains quiet.) ((Karma looks extremely skeptical at Gakushuu’s words.))

- Gakuhou seems relieved to see Gakushuu come home. (See, Gakushuu was right, Gakuhou does care.) ((Gakushuu has the faintest feeling of Katsuya and Nanako shaking their heads at him.))

- The next day, similar to canon events, Gakuhou sends Gakushuu home to self-study. Gakuhou’s reasoning is partly because he thinks Gakushuu is smart enough to study, but also partly because he doesn’t think his classmates are the best influence on him anymore. And from past experience he knows that Gakushuu’s mental health tends to be easily affected by his classmates.

- Gakushuu hates this, of course. He sulks in the school library or goes home to sulk some more in one of the four differently-decorated guest rooms.

- And then… he gets a call from Kayano? Turns out, word has spread that she’s one of Gakushuu’s good childhood friends. Since Ren Sakakibara is currently… out of commission, the well-meaning schoolmates from another class (who currently all hate Gakuhou) has taken it upon themselves to try get the word out to her about Gakushuu’s current… suspension? Is he considered suspended if the Principal sent him home? Nevermind that it’s not a disciplinary issue and also the principal is his own father?

- Kayano is furious. She also floats the offer of her own house (apparently she’s living alone now, since… her sister died. Ouch.) ((Gakushuu’s almost forgotten about that little detail, in the mess of everything’s that happened so far. He’s kinda guilty about it.)) (((Kayano doesn’t seem bothered. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay somewhere else?”))) ((((Gakushuu gives her the same explanation he gave Karma. For some reason, he feels judgement radiate through the phone screen.))))

- Kayano comes to find him after school, anyways. Says it’s her job as her self-imposed childhood best friend to meddle, now that Ren’s not around. Other 3-E students come to join in on their after school study sessions, and Gakushuu starts to help them with their homework.

- Gakushuu’s non 3-A friends also start regularly checking up on him as well. Tsubara, Gakushuu and Nanako hang out after school sometimes.

- Things seem to be looking up!

Chapter 28

- I’m joking things never look up

- The time for finals has arrived… and then passes, and then results come out.

- Haha, oopsie.

- Gakushuu comes in… not first place. Not second either… but third. (Behind Karma Akabane and Rio Nakamura, the two top scorers from class 3-E.) Hey, he tried his best! But it’s been a stressful time, and Gakushuu’s not doing well mentally and emotionally to focus. Also, Nanako swapped in halfway through math and stumbled her way through some questions, so they had to make up the difference with the other papers. They don’t blame Nanako, though, because Gakushuu was so stressed it almost felt like he was fighting a real life battle, which was what triggered Nanako in the first place. Who knew middle school examinations were this tough?

- Besides, third place is still a pretty good score, right?

- Right?

- Haha

- Anyways

- After they get back their grades, 3-A snap out of their brainwashing with a rude awakening. Then they all stand up to Gakuhou, and request to be transferred to 3-E. Katsuya and Nanako are active and awake and fuelled and cheering, Gakushuu is nervous but fuelled by the support of their classmates, so he stands up and tells Gakuhou that his methods are wrong,

- and get backhanded into a table for it-

- and then… shuts down.

- Katsuya and Nanako are awake at the same time and they’re both confused and battling to front, and “Gakushuu” is out of commission for a moment. No one makes the “I’m finally seeing your fatherly side” quip to Gakuhou, and 3-A quickly heaves Gakushuu up and bundles him to the nurse’s office, leaving Gakuhou standing there staring at his hands.

- G4 gets checked over by the nurse who deems them physically alright, and then lets them rest awhile by themselves to recuperate. Their worried classmates get shuttered out, giving G4 time to themselves.

- Gakushuu… isn’t here right now. Seems like the shock of things must have put him asleep. Yukio, Nanako and Katsuya are deliberating over what to do, and all three of them agree that they’re furious at Gakuhou.

Intermission

- Before we continue, let’s pause here for a bit and let me talk about some of the main creative decisions and themes that went into writing this fic. (It’s relevant for the next part, don’t worry.)

- In this fic, the four alters (referred to as G4 as a system) are meant to be representations of the main defining characteristics/aspects of Gakushuu as a whole. (This is not meant to be an accurate depiction of why alters manifest in a person with DID.)

- Gakushu: The original personality. He’s the only one of them that remembers Gakuhou before he had a 180 personality switch. Of the four, he is the most empathetic and the most social. He’s meant to represent the connection/love/trust that he has for Gakuhou. He loves spending time with Gakuhou, even though he’s uncomfortable with Gakuhou’s teachings.

- Yukio: The second personality. He was developed to help Gakushuu cope with isolation and rejection (from his father). Of the four, he’s the most calm and independent. He’s the most comfortable in small spaces/being alone/meditating.

- Nanako: The third personality. She first emerged when Gakushuu was dealing with conflicting attachments with Gakuhou, and when Gakushuu was handling physical abuse. She would be considered the most hot-headed of the four, as well as the most passionate. She’s competitive and active, and the most physical.

- Katsuya: The fourth personality. Out of the four, she thinks, acts and behaves the most like Gakuhou Asano… or maybe a serial killer. She is cold, cunning, selfish and ambitious - a reflection of Gakuhou’s attempt in instilling his values. She’s the most comfortable with Gakuhou, in the sense that she’s least bothered by his twisted outlook on life, but she hates his guts.

- Through the fic, they all have their differences and conflicts. Picture their dynamic to be one extended group project that they all have to live through. 

- Each alter’s appearance/contribution at any moment is meant to represent how much each of G4’s character traits come into play for the current situation. Eg. Nanako is the most active during competitions to highlight their competitive spirit, Yukio appears when they are alone/isolated, Katsuya and Gakushuu are usually both awake and present when interacting with Gakuhou because they like Gakuhou/share his mindset. 

- The alters’ interactions with each other can also be interpreted similarly. Nanako and Katsuya are often at odds because as much as Gakushuu wants to win, he doesn’t want victory with underhanded methods. In a similar vein, for the past few chapters, we’ve seen more conflict between Gakushuu and Katsuya - ergo Gakushuu’s trust in Gakuhou’s ideologies has slowly been fracturing, although the poor boy is still largely in denial.

- For context in the previous chapter, and as I’m sure you have guessed, upon the Slap™, Gakushuu loses trust and hope for his father. Every nice thing he’s said about Gakuhou and all the accusations he’s tried to defend were thrown right back at his face (hah!), and he’s so overwhelmed and hurt that he had to go… sit down for a bit outside of consciousness. Disappear, essentially. 

- Knowledge of this is relevant later.

- This intermission break is in account of how different he next chapter continuation would be… because I already wrote part of it out. I wrote this fic in bits and pieces and I jumped to this part to write it, so it’s less of point-form and more of prose. 

Chapter 28 (Continued)

- Yukio looks at Gakushuus’s reflection. The white bandage on his cheek, the bags around his eyes, the fleck of blood on his lip.

He can see the hill that the 3-E classroom rests on. 

Katsuya’s voice, disarmingly sweet, cajoles, “come on.”

Yukio closes his eyes. “Katsuya, no.”

Nanako sounds choked up. “Gakushuu’s going to get mad.”

“Gakushuu’s not here right now,” Katsuya says. “Daddy dearest made him go to sleep.”

Nanako lets out a particularly distressed whine. Yukio’s fists curl. “Can you please,” he grits his teeth, “not say it like that.”

“I’m not the one who hurt him,” Katsuya hisses. “I want to hurt the one who hurt him.”

There is a pause, and then Nanako says, “I want to punch his face in.”

“Gakushuu is not going to want us to-”

“Gakushuu,” Katsuya says again, “is not here right now. Don’t you want to give him a piece of your mind as well? Slap some sense into dear old Dad, for Gakushuu’s sake? He’s not going to do it himself.”

Yukio opens his eyes, and looks at his reflection in the mirror again. He lifts a hand to touch the bandage - it stings. He winces.

“This is something we need to do for Gakushuu, without him,” Katusya says. She sounds surprisingly soft when she says so.

Yukio sighs. “Fine.”

“I knew you two will come around,” Katsuya says.

- They go to Gakuhou’s office first… and he’s not there. Shame.

Katsuya stalks down the hallway towards the Principal’s office. Nanako had suggested getting a pipe from the janitor’s room - a little uncouth for her tastes, and a little inelegant, but Katsuya won’t begrudge that it is a useful tool for getting one’s point across. She doubts that Nanako can win one-on-one if it comes down to it. Yukio had refrained from commenting. 

It is, of course, in her best interest to keep Gakushuu, the main host, in as good-spirits as possible, so it’s mostly diplomatic that she is invested in her wellbeing - although she won’t deny that she is perhaps a little bit sentimental. Gakushuu is a cute kid, he really is, and she likes him plenty well, even though she knows she doesn’t show it as much as Yukio or Nanako do. 

She does have critique on his demeanour and his personality. That is obvious, though, because he is the one that developed a dissociative disorder in the first place, so he would be the one out of the four of them least equipped to deal with this brand of emotional instability. He’s a little bit too soft and he loves his father a little bit too much. Hasn’t he heard of tough love? Sometimes you just need to throw your loved one off the side of a bridge, no?

The hallways are blissfully empty, which is a little odd for Kunugigaoka post-school hours, but she supposes that students wouldn’t want to participate in extracurriculars immediately after the end of examinations, and in the wake of their dear Principal’s breakdown. At least she doesn’t have to explain the pipe.

“Papa dearest,” Katsuya says, and throws the doors of the Principal’s office open.

Oh, it’s empty.

“Break the trophy case,” Nanako says, perhaps a little bit too eagerly.

A symbolic rejection of Gakuhou’s materialistic achievements he obtained in blood, and a not-so-symbolic rejection of property to piss that asshole off - two in the price of one? Yeah, okay. 

Katsuya swings the pipe at the trophy case. 

It shatters - tiny bits of plastic and glass glinting as it sprays everywhere. That feels really satisfying. She’s starting to rethink the pipe.

“Seriously?” Yukio says. “Let’s just go find Gakuhou.”

“Where will that be?” Nanako says. Katsuya sweeps the office, but there isn’t really much of note or anything else to break. Gakuhou really is boring.

“The 3-E classroom,” Yukio says. “Where else would he be?”

- “There is a bulldozer on the 3-E classroom,” Yukio says, in horror. “Is that madman trying to knock it down? Barely an hour after he lost ?”

“What a sore loser,” Nanako says.

Katsuya hums. The machine is empty. She jams her pipe into the back wheel.

She can hear commotion from the building itself, where the activity is no doubt cumulating. Maybe Gakuhou is trying to brainwash them with his fear-mongering ideologies.

The cacophony gets louder the closer that they walk to the classroom. Katsuya wastes no time and throws the door open immediately.

“What the fuck,” she says.

There are the 3-E students in various stages of fear as they’re plastered to the sides of the wall, and the two 3-E teachers. There is Gakuhou. And then there is a giant octopus in a cosplay graduation robe.

“A-Asano?” 

“I have no idea what is happening,” Yukio says to her.

“Smash the table,” Nanako says.

A little too brash for her, but honestly, the trophy case worked out really well, and Katsuya doesn’t quite have her next step planned, so she grabs the bottom of the nearest desk closer to her and flips it.

The 3-E students scream and scatter. The adults (and the octopus) make noises of alarm. The table sails and smashes to the wall, spilling its contents all over the floor-

Katsuya quickly swipes for something. “This is a gun.”

“Um,” Isogai says, “it’s not what you think!”

Does it work?

Gakuhou’s eyes widen. “Asano, put that do-”

Katsuya flicks the safety off and fires it into the window. It shatters into a rain of glass - more people scream.

“It works,” Katsuya gasps in surprise. 

She doesn’t even need to take direction from the other two, but they yell in her head anyways. “Shoot him,” versus, “it better not be lethal!”

She shoots again.

“Fucking hell!” Gakuhou curses, jumping back. 

“What?” Katsuya glares at him, and then at his right leg - which she specifically aimed for. It’s still whole, attached to the rest of his body, and supporting his weight. She looks at the gun, offended. “Is this not real?!”

Gakuhou gapes at her. “Did you just shoot me thinking it was real-”

She swivels to face the chalkboard and fires again, sending chalk dust flying in the air. More people scream, some of the 3-E students duck. Once the dust cloud dissipates, she extricates the bullet that’s embedded in the board.

“It’s rubber,” Katsuya says in disappointment.

Yukio curses.

Katsuya pauses, amused. “Did you want it to be real?”

“I wanted it to be real enough so that he gets hurt too fast for me to question my morals.”

“It’s not real but I bet it still hurts,” Nanako says, wise as ever. “Shoot him again.”

Before she gets to, though, the gun is swiped out of her hands - and then she sees it in the tentacles of the octopus.

Katsuya crosses her arms. “Explain.”

Nobody explains.

Gakuhou says, “you shot me in the leg?!”

That’s not an explanation. Katsuya is sick of his shit. “I’m sorry, would you rather I have shot you in the head?” 

“Asano!” Gakuhou yells.

Katsuya hisses at him. “That’s not my name!”

Yukio yells, “Katsuya!”

“Oh, shut up,” Katsuya snarls. Of course she knows this is a bad idea.

“Asa- Gakushuu?” Gakuhou asks, now looking at them in confusion. 

- Ok honestly that’s as far as I wrote for prose.

- So they decide to take this elsewhere. They make sure Gakushuu hasn't swiped any more weapons, and then they move to a different room. Sit him down, and the two 3-E teachers - no, three 3-E teachers, octopus included, talk him through what he has just walked in on. A classified government secret, apparently.

- Then they ask him (Gakuhou’s not in the room) whether everything is ok at home. They’ve heard accounts from the 3-E students, you see. They’re worried about him. Does Gakushuu need anything? Does Gakushuu want police or government intervention? Karasuma says the government can turn a blind eye to Gakushuu’s actions today, and they have first-hand testimonies of Gakuhou’s ideologies if they require. 

- G4… isn’t sure. Gakushuu still isn’t awake yet, and above all else, Gakuhou is still Gakushuu’s father and he loves him. Katsuya is still fronting, and she says they need time to decide. 

- Gakuhou gets let in the room, and Karasuma remains, apparently unwilling to let them talk alone no matter how many glares Gakuhou sends his way. Gakuhou is now on edge because as far as he’s aware, his son had tried to shoot him with a gun he thought was real just a few minutes ago. 

- Katsuya is on edge, but she’s said enough, and G4 have come to an executive decision to wait for Gakushuu to wake up so they discuss things with him on how to proceed with their relationship. So Katsuya… says nothing at all. 

- It’s a frustrating half-hour for everyone involved, but in the end Gakuhou gives up trying to get his son to talk.

- Of course, not before they go to the 3-E classroom and Katsuya apologizes for the alarm. They’re allies now in the grand scheme, after all. She also congratulates them for the victory, with a sincerity that Nanako appreciates. 

- Then they go home.

Chapter 29

- The aftermath of the slap is… weird.

- Gakushuu doesn’t immediately wake up, so G4 go about their lives. They avoid Gakuhou, and answer phone calls and text messages to reassure everyone that they’re fine. Funnily enough, they get added to a new chat group with 3-E in it, because they’re part of the secret now, apparently. (3-E has a separate full-class chat group without Gakushuu in it, obviously. They made a new one just to… you know. Make sure he’s mentally sound.)

- They get several offers to meet up, and G4 decline all of them, except for the ones from Ren and Tsubara. They tell both of them that Gakushuu’s… not here right now. It’s the longest period of absence they’ve ever gotten from him, especially given that he’s the host, but they’re trying not to panic too much. They’ve done their research, and it’s normal for alters to not appear for a while. They figure the recent stress of it all must be causing this. 

- Ren and Tsubara are worried, of course, and they keep very close tabs on G4.

- Then, Kayano asks them to meet again. She’s already asked them once thus far, and they’ve declined saying they’re not feeling well, but something in her texts this time makes Katsuya suspicious, so they go.

- Kayano tells them that she’s figured out who her sister’s killer is. And she says - now that Gakushuu knows the truth behind 3-E, she can freely discuss it. She wants to tell Gakushuu, because they’ve been friends for a while now, and she considers it a truer friendship than she has with 3-E because she’s not telling a lie with him. Gakushuu knows what she’s truly here for, after all. 

- G4 are… horrified. Especially when she says it’s Koro-sensei, and when she reveals her trump card - the tentacles. And then she makes them swear to secrecy they won’t tell anyone else before her big reveal planned. (Nanako’s heart goes, badump badump.) ((Goddammit, Nanako, says Katsuya.))

- Also, the part about the “truest friendship” is bothering Nanako a lot. Because they’re lying as much as Akari is lying, technically. Even though not really at the same time. Her feelings are also not helping, especially not when Nanako asks breathlessly for a demonstration of the tentacles (are they fast like Koro-sensei’s? Are you super strong?) And all Kayano does is smirk at her before tossing Nanako into the air and catching her (and setting her down slowly). ((Yukio and Katsuya play rock paper scissors. Yukio wins.)) (((Katsuya lets out a long groan and says that fine, once Gakushuu wakes up, they’ll ask him about the possibility of telling Kayano.)))

- A few days later, they get a call from a frantic 3-E, who asks them to meet quickly. Upon arrival, they’re confronted by everyone sans Kayano, and they ask… about Akari Yukimura. “Oh,” Nanako says, “so she already told you?”

- The class bombards her with questions. Nanako sticks to her loyalty and reminds them that she was friends with Kayano - should they call her Akari now? Before being friends with 3-E. (Sort of true, if you don’t count the acquaintanceship they had with the other students before they were transferred to 3-E.) ((This convinces 3-E, including Karma, that Gakushuu and Kayano were actually childhood friends. How else would he know, then?))

- So they invite G4 to Kayano’s proposed meeting place, where they proceed to watch Kayano attack Koro-sensei in a fit of rage, get held down by Koro-sensei, and… the class is asking Nanako to kiss Kayano? What the fuck?

- “Excuse me?” Nanako shrieks.

“Well, she’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?” Okajima says. “We need her to calm down.”

“Um, she is most definitely not my girlfriend!” Nanako protests. “We are friends! Besides, I don’t think it’s really, uh, ethical to kiss her right now? She’s not in her right mind and she can’t consent to it? And also, why is kissing the first thing that comes to you guys’ minds? Are you all nuts?!”

- Katsuya: oh for fucks sake, just smack her out of it or something

Nanako: Yeah ok

- After a smack on the cheek (Gakushuu’s not here to see this) ((Nanako has nothing against slapping, she’s grown up in brutal training sessions with Gakuhou and frankly doesn’t see anything wrong with a bit of hitting someone to get a point across.)) (((Katsuya definitely doesn’t see the problem with slapping - she used to think physical violence is uncouth, but she’s grown to appreciate Nanako’s methods lately.))) ((((Yukio’s personally not quite a fan of physical altercations, but he’s less of a fan of sexual assualt.))))

- Kayano is now gaping at them, one hand to her cheek. “Did you just slap me?” Then she gets her tentacles removed.

- Then they meet Yanagisawa, and they are let into some more lore. G4 finds out about the Reaper incident, and they are horrified. (“Someone worse than Gakuhou exists?” Nanako says incredulously, to the giggles from the 3-E classmates.)

- Then they listen to more Koro-sensei backstory, and everyone looks uncomfortable. 

- Eventually, everyone has to part ways. Kayano passes out from exhaustion and goes to the hospital, and over the next few days she gets multiple visitors, G4 being among them. Kayano thanks them for holding on to the end of their bargain, especially since she knows how terrible Gakushuu is at keeping secrets, and for being a good friend. 

- In the B-plot, G4 steadfastly continues to give Gakuhou the silent treatment. Gakuhou is earnestly trying to connect with them now, obviously battling between concern for his son and trying to respect his space. Unfortunately for him, the most empathetic alter isn’t around, and Yukio is mostly fronting at home. Yukio is very good at ignoring someone.

- G4 does a bit more research. It’s been a week now. They know that alters can go dormant, and honestly… from then on, it’s a mixed bag. There’s the possibility that Gakushuu will just emerge one day, but also… they’re all worried now, and even Yukio the token calm one is starting to get anxious at times from wondering where Gakushuu is. None of them want to think about the worst.

Chapter 30

- Winter break starts. 

- G4 realizes they can’t put off all their commitments forever while waiting for Gakushuu, so they start figuring out how to do things without him. Nanako becomes the main alter when they have to go deal with social situations, but Yukio fronts at home. 

- It’s still obvious they’re not dealing well with it. They’re out of sorts with worry, and Nanako’s still not Gakushuu, so she doesn’t click well with some of their schoolmates, nor is she able to host student council meetings. Katsuya tries, but she ends up snapping at a few juniors too many times.

- Ren suggests: have they considered professional help?

- And here’s the problem: they’re still minors. If they want any form of professional therapy, they need to tell-

- Ren and Tsubara say they’ll be there for support. Tsubara suggests they should tell him at school in the Principal’s office, so they can just run out and be around people at any notice. But it’s the school break, and G4 decide that they should get it over and done with, especially since high school entrance exams are coming up. 

- It’s fine, they decide. Katsuya and Nanako are the most confrontational alters, too. They don’t need backup. (Yukio still convinces them to keep both Ren and Tsubara on speed dial. Ren suggests Tsubara come over, because Ren lives close enough for them to be able to sprint to the Asanos on a short notice.)

- So… G4 tells him. Yukio is the one to do it, because he’s been here the longest. Nanako will just try to fistfight Gakuhou, and Katsuya would try to verbally fight him. 

- Gakuhou… looks at them. Looks at them for a very long time, and then sits down heavily in his chair.

- “How?” He croaks.

Yukio doesn’t smile. “It’s a long story.”

- They go to a psychologist. (I’m not well versed in what assessment and treatment will entail, so I shall skip over the descriptions for this section.) But they get an official diagnosis for DID.

- They tell Gakuhou part of their experiences growing up.

- In return, Gakuhou tells them about who Ikeda is, and Gakuhou’s entire experience and thought process that led them here.

- Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Katsuya is the one who empathizes. She’s the most like Gakuhou, after all. (She still hates his guts, though. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t understand.)

- Gakuhou… waits. And listens. 

- (It takes Gakuhou one week to be able to tell the three different identities of his son apart. It's a long week, and he doesn't spend a lot of time with them in the week, nor do they show an inclination of wanting to spend time with him.

The girl, Katsuya, told Gakuhou that Gakushuu was the only one among them to be partial towards him. 

Gakushuu - uh, Asano? The Asanos? Spend the most of their time when they're at the house locked in his son's bedroom. (Would referring to it as their bedroom be a more appropriate term?) ((The guestrooms they’ve taken to renovating, he finds out, is a way of expressing their individuality. They’re no longer using them at the moment, though, preferring their shared room instead.)) The only time he sees them is breakfast. 

That's how Gakuhou begins telling them apart. 

The girl, Nanako, addresses him either as "Gakuhou" or doesn't address him at all. (All three of them prefer not to greet him at all, but they speak when spoken to, so Gakuhou begins starting conversersations.) The other two - Yukio, Katsuya - greet him as "Sir", the same way that Gakushuu - er, all of them - normally do. 

On the third day of the week, Sakakibara comes into his house. He must register the surprise in Gakuhou’s face when he knocks on the door. “They must not have told you I’m coming,” Sakakibara says, as Gakuhou steps aside to let him in. “I don’t suppose they would have. Hi.”

“Hello,” Gakuhou says. “Would you like some tea?”

“I…” Sakakibara considers him for a moment. “Yes, thank you.”

At the table, he says, “the three don’t want to speak to you, and I understand, but I think you deserve to know a little bit more than you do.”

Gakuhou’s tongue sits heavy in his mouth, and he doesn’t think he is able to reply.

Sakakibara doesn’t seem like he’s looking for one. They move to the dining table, Sakakibara takes a sip of some tea.

“Gakushuu is not awake yet,” Sakakibara says. “None of them can reach him. They usually communicate through co-consciousness, so that’s what they’re trying - meditating, sleeping. They’re trying to write him notes too, but…”

Katsuya, Gakuhou learns, is the one that speaks to him the most. Even then, it’s not a lot of conversation, but her replies tend to be longer than a word. Gakuhou finds out that she’s the instigator behind Gakushuu’s third year of elementary school - that long, terrible terrible year. But how can he blame her for it? He blames himself, most of all.

And Katsuya speaks to him unfiltered, where Yukio and Nanako are guarded and cautious. She’s the most like him, she tells him. “I hate you because of what you’ve done to Gakushuu,” she says, “but I suppose I can’t hate you for your ideals or principles. It’d be quite hypocritical of me, if so.” 

Yukio is the most elusive of the three. He’s most likely to be… in front? Was that the term? But he’s also the most likely to evade Gakuhou. “You can’t blame him,” Katsuya tells him once over a cup of coffee. “He’s the one who you locked in the closet.”

Gakuhou winces at that, but what can he say?)

Chapter Text

Chapter 31

- School starts back up, and they take the high school entrance exams. Gakuhou asks if they’ll sit out, but obviously they won’t. Yukio can study for it just fine.

- They take the entrance exams for several schools, Kunugigaoka included. Gakushuu would have wanted them to take Kunugigaoka’s.

- Valentine’s approaches this year, but Nanako’s not really in the mood for chocolates, or anything like that. Yukio, clutching onto the psychology book, suggests they do it anyways. To step back into normal routine, and to lighten the mood. Gakushuu should come back to a comforting space, of course.

- Nanako loses herself in baking. Or rather she loses herself in stirring very aggressively, and Katsuya smacks her in the mirror. In the end they have a small batch of chocolate, and Nanako says she doesn’t feel like giving it to anyone in particular, so Yukio suggests they just distribute them to whoever they feel like on the day itself.

- They get a significant amount of chocolate this year, more so than last year. Nobody bats an eye over Gakushuu giving out chocolate anymore. They make up the difference with a bulk purchase like last year just to follow routine, and they decide to give their closer friends the handmade chocolate.

- Among the 3-E students, G4 gives the handmade chocolate to: Isogai, Nagisa, Karma, and Kayano. In main campus, the recipients are Ren, Tsubara, and the Virtuosos.

- Kayano exchanges chocolate with G4. “Don’t boys usually give chocolate on white day instead?” She asks. Nanako just shrugs, because explaining gender and sexuality is weird. 3-E seems to be watching their interaction from behind a very inconspicuous wall, for some reason. Kayano seems insistent on ignoring them, so Nanako doesn’t acknowledge them either. Maybe they’re jealous that they got the bulk sale bags instead. (Yukio seems to be insistently scribbling down something.)

- Kayano and G4 go to get pudding, and Kayano tells them about the conflict that 3-E had earlier in the month about whether to save or kill Koro-sensei. They’re surprised to hear that Kayano was in the save team. Kayano just shrugs and says that she has had a change of heart. Clearly her sister saw something in Koro-sensei, and Koro-sensei himself has turned over a new leaf. She needs to let go and move on as well, not let her life be consumed by endless hate and a drive for revenge. It still hurts, and it’s hard to look forward without wanting to turn back to stare at the past, but that’s just how things go, right?

- And G4… thinks. 

- It’s been over a month now, right? Two? Since they last saw Gakushuu. And all this while they’ve been just waiting for him to wake up. Of course they are, but…

- “How did you get over it?” Nanako asks quietly. “About your sister?”

- “You just keep missing them, and you remember they’ll want you to keep going,” says Kayano.

Chapter 32

- The final stages of 3-E’s arc is set in motion. The giant space laser is deployed, and a media storm about Kunugigaoka begins.

- Among that storm are people bringing up bits and pieces of Gakushuu’s past and history with his old elementary school. His terrible attitudes and moods, beating up his fellow classmates, fluctuating grades, etc. They are using it as both evidence of Gakuhou’s child abuse, and proof that he’s raising a monster of a child.

- Several of Gakushuu’s schoolmates come to his defence, although in the end it makes it look worse on Gakuhou. G4 can’t bring themselves to mind very much, and Gakuhou is wholeheartedly accepting the responsibility.

- Yukio, Nanako and Katsuya think about what they want for themselves as a system, and individual people. They go to therapy, which sort of helps, even though they still feel lost without Gakushuu. They’re trying to figure out what they should do next, since there’s a few decisions they’ll have to make without him. 

- The first major decision they make is to decide to stand on Gakuhou’s side. This is partially because of Gakushuu, but of course they have their own thoughts about it. Katsuya sees Gakuhou in herself and wants him to be better for Gakushuu. Nanako, whose had the most tumultuous relationship with Katsuya… remembers how terrible it had been but also remembers how much more it had given her. If she can give Katsuya a second chance, surely she can do the same for Gakuhou? Yukio is the most unmoved and the most detached from Gakuhou, but ultimately he recognizes their relationship with Gakuhou as important for many practical reasons and decides it’d be best to mend bridges. 

- Of course they’re not straight up saying Gakuhou didn’t do anything wrong, because he most definitely did. They’re declining interviews and not outright joining others in bashing his name, which is good enough in their opinion. It’s as much of a show of support by not going against Gakuhou as it is. 

- The second major decision they make is to decide to also stand on 3-E’s side. Koro-sensei is not a monster, and 3-E deserve to have their voice heard. This is an easier-to-make unanimous decision, based on their mutual understanding of the secret and their friendship/allyship over the past year/months. While their word isn’t as credible as they were never part of 3-E, it is at least louder because people want to hear from the controversial Asano family. “Listen to 3-E” isn’t quite the message they were expecting on reporting, but it’s something at least.

- The third major decision comes in a flurry in the middle of all this mess - the acceptance letters to high school. They decide to go to Kunugigaoka. Gakuhou will be stepping down as the Principal, and… well, the four of them grew up there. A lot of their friends will be going back. Neither of the three of them have any high school preferences… and they think Gakushuu will like it. So they accept Kunugigaoka High. 

- In the midst of all this, Gakuhou tells them that he himself will be going to therapy. And that the offer for family therapy together will be open. G4 are… well, they’re pleasantly surprised, actually. They accept.

- They make the small decisions, too. The ones that any one of them used to be able to make without thinking, but now they think too much about it. What are they going to have for dinner? What pair of new shoes do they buy? A lot of questions are, “what would Gakushuu have liked?” But that’s no way to go about life.

- Eventually, the laser beam from heaven (whatever it’s called) is deployed, Koro-sensei passes. They graduate from middle school. The ceremony was terrible. Everyone cried (except for Katsuya and Yukio). But it was a huge sigh of relief.

Chapter 33

- The summer holidays start, which means they have a bit more time to relax before high school begins. G4 forgo studying and decide to rest and recuperate from the hectic year.

- Ren and Tsubara come to visit the Asanos’ residence. Gakuhou awkwardly avoids them. They show them the rooms, and sit down to play UNO. They talk about high school, and time with Gakushuu, and without, and they all write letters to him.

- G4 meet up with Karma, who tells them he’s going to Kunugigaoka High, looking almost expectantly at them. Nanako grins and tells Karma to give them a good fight in studies. (Yukio rolls his eyes and says he’s the one who has to study.) Nanako amends and says good fight, full stop. They talk a little bit about their time in middle school, Karma floats the roommate offer again, and Nanako declines. They’re working on it, she explains. Therapy is great. Karma eyes them doubtfully for a bit… then ultimately smiles and says he’s happy for them. 

- G4 meet Kayano as well, who again thanks them for their help. She’s going to start her acting career again after this, hopefully diversifying into different roles. She’s applied to a different high school other than Kunugigaoka, but she demands to keep in touch. “We’re childhood best friends, remember!” 

- G4 and Gakuhou have their first family therapy session. It goes terribly. Then they have their second. 

- They talk about what they’re going to do, and who they’re going to be.

- G4 start making plans for the start of high school. The big decisions, like who they’re going to keep being friends with, what curriculars they plan to take. They don’t plan on running for student council or taking on any leadership positions again. That’s fine, Gakuhou says. 

- The small decisions start becoming easier, and less about what Gakushuu would have liked. It starts being what they would currently want to happen.

- There is another different story about grief and loss and recovery buried in this fic.

- High school starts.

- G4 go to classes, make their own friends, keep up with their studies. They go to therapy, and talk to Gakuhou.

- Ren finally holds Yukio’s hand. (Surprisingly, it’s Katsuya who makes it happen.) ((Onlookers report Gakushuu Asano marching up to Ren Sakakibara to demand, “are you going to finally do it or not, you coward?” And for them to see the two hand-in-hand the next day.))

- Ren and Yukio talk about Gakushuu, and about many other things between them, like school and books they’re reading and shows they’re watching. It’s weird, and it’s not at the same time. Therapy helps. Ren is friends with all of who makes up the person that is Gakushuu Asano. It doesn’t go further than holding hands, though, That’s fine for now.

- They get closer to Karma, too, who’s also followed them to Kunugigaoka High. Karma is worried at first, because he knows something is wrong, even though he doesn’t know what. He’s their friend again, and he was their friend too, way before this all started. 

- G4 tell him when school’s out for the day, Ren and Tsubara hiding behind the bushes. Karma picks them up and hugs them, then drops them like hot coal when he finds out he’s hugging one of the girls. Nanako kicks him and says it’s not weird if they don’t make it weird, and besides she’s the one who usually fights him. Karma obviously has no idea how to process this. 

- As a result of that, though, he finds out about Gakushuu. Or the fact that he’s dormant. He gets added to the G4 Protection Squad group chat (it was previously just Ren and Tsubara) ((Nanako and Katsuya hate that name, they don’t need to be protected!)) Karma joins Ren and Tsubara in going over to the Asano’s house to stare holes into Gakuhou.

- After Karma, G4 deliberates over it and decide to tell Kayano too. They’ve known her for a comparatively short while, but these past months and the secrets they’ve kept between them have made them close quickly. Their emotions are high when they make this decision, so it’s admittedly not the clearest. (The author would like to say that she herself isn’t sure if this move is a good one, so she has decided to make G4 doubt themselves too). 

- Kayano, much like Karma, pulls them into a hug. She’s a lot more open with her questions than Karma was, about who she was talking to at certain points in their interactions, but ultimately concludes that she wants to be friends with all of them.

- Sakakibara: No offence to you, Katsuya - but just so you know, Kayano, she doesn’t really warm up to people quickly-

Katsuya: No. I like her.

Sakakibara: so if you- wait, what?

Katsuya: She pulled off a year long scam to avenge her sister. I respect that.

Kayano: aww. Thank you. I worked hard on that.

Sakakibara: what?! It took you a whole year to even admit that we’re friends!

Katsuya: …are we friends, though?

Sakakibara: I-

Katsuya: I’m just kidding. We are.

Tsubara: Oh, oh! Are we friends?

Katsuya: (stares)

Tsubara: right. 

Karma: how about us-

Katsuya: (stares some more)

Karma: …ok

- The stare-down-Gakuhou squad gains one more member.

Chapter 34

- G4 and Gakuhou go to therapy some more. G4 talk to Gakuhou some more.

- Katsuya and Nanako are already on speaking terms with Gakuhou. But it takes a very long time for Yukio to actually say something meaningful to Gakuhou.

- But that’s only because something happens:

- Nanako calls Gakuhou “dad”.

- It must have been a slip of her tongue. Or something.

- Nanako has always been the most vocal for her dislike of Gakuhou. But she’s also the one who grows attached and loves the easiest. And she loves Gakushuu so much, who loves his dad so much. And hadn’t she grown up the most with Gakuhou, too? Him teaching her how to fight and defend herself. She’s the first one of them to accept a hug from him, too, because she’s used to physical contact with him. 

- One day she just says, “ugh, come on, dad. ” And they both stop, and stare at each other.

- Katsuya doesn’t have anything to say to it. She has a drastically different relationship with Gakuhou than the other four alters. She sees him like a mentor (albeit a terrible one).
- Yukio is suddenly conflicted. Suddenly he’s feeling a lot. It’s always easy to pretend that he’s ambivalent, right? When Nanako and Katsuya are more vocal than him about their feelings about Gakuhou. He’s never had to say much, and he’s always gotten the feeling like they were all on the same page about disliking him… until now.

- Yukio’s the one with the worst relationship with Gakuhou, after all. He’s the one who was always pushed away, locked up, and kicked out of the house. (And he is the representation of the period of time Gakushuu felt the most unloved by Gakuhou.) He’s never needed to say anything before, but now it seems like Nanako and Katsuya are forming different and better relationships with Gakuhou and he’s stuck.

- And he hates it. He doesn’t want to work with Gakuhou, or talk to Gakuhou, or reconcile with Gakuhou. He wants to push it back and never think about it again.

- And then Nanako calls Gakuhou “dad” and he hugs her.

- Yukio finally says something - about how it all hurts and how he hates it. How he gave Katsuya a chance because Gakushuu desperately wanted to connect with the part of Gakuhou he didn’t understand, and he loved Gakushuu too much to make up for the fact that Gakuhou didn’t. How he’s been there the longest, and how Nanako and Katsuya won’t remember how viscerally that Gakuhou hated them in the beginning, and how they’ll never remember what being scared and stuck and alone felt like. 

- And not like he doesn’t like being alone, because he likes it now. And he was never really alone, because he always had Gakushuu with him, didn’t he? Even if Nanako and Katsuya spent time with Gakuhou, Gakushuu always remembered what it was like.

- But… but now Gakushuu’s gone. And it’s just Yukio, right? Left alone again.

- All Gakuhou can say is, “I’m sorry.”

- What does sorry mean? What does it matter now? Sorry doesn’t fix anything!

- Gakuhou can only say, “I know. I’m sorry. I love you so much.”

- This is the first time Yukio cries.

-  Yukio, Nanako and Katsuya talk, much later. Yukio doesn’t know why he’s hidden so much. That’s just what he’s always done. He’s supposed to be the one who hides.

- Nanako and Katsuya reassure him that he’s always a part of them, and they’re all together. No one looked down on Gakushuu or Nanako or Katsuya when they had problems, so no one would look down on Yukio too. 

- Yukio starts opening up a little bit more. Katsuya asks him if he’s ever felt like she hated him. Yukio admits that yes, of course - more times that’d he’d like to admit, honestly. But he’s always able to get over it, because Katsuya has proven time and time again that she cares about them.

- Gakuhou says he’ll try as well. 

- And so, they kept living their lives.

Chapter Text

Chapter 35

- Nah you lot would have murdered me if I ended it like that

- Welcome home, Gakushuu!

- Gakushuu wakes up in the middle of the night, tired. He feels exhausted for some reason, and he drags himself out of bed to check his alarm clock (it’s 3 in the morning) and heads to the bathroom. His alters must be asleep right now. He stretches, and yawns, and…

- …runs into Gakuhou in the hallway. They stare at each other.

- Gakushuu thinks his dad looks strangely different. And is staring at him with such an intense look in his face, that Gakushuu feels panicked. Did he do something? Is there something on his face? Is he in trouble?

- Gakuhou says, “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.”

- Gakushuu is very confused. 1. His dad is apologizing? 2. What does he mean he doesn’t know who Gakushuu is?! Gakushuu just sprints to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror - nope, he still looks like he remembers. Did he fall into another dimension?

- Gakuhou has followed him to the bathroom. “You okay?”

- Gakushuu stares helplessly at him. “I don’t know.”

- Gakuhou: this is definitely not Katsuya…. And I’ve never heard Yukio so casually with me before… “Nanako? Is everything alright?”

- Gakushuu: (shrieking)

Gakuhou: “What?! What?!”

Gakushuu: “What- you- how- huh- what- huh- what?!”

Gakuhou: “wait… are you Gakushuu?!”

Gakushuu: “huh?!”

Gakuhou: “ARE YOU GAKUSHUU?!”

Gakushuu: “I… I think so?!”

Gakuhou: “NO ARE YOU REALLY GAKUSHUU?!”

Gakushuu: (bursting into tears) “I DON’T KNOW!”

Gakuhou: (immediately knowing) “YESSSS!!!”

- Gakushuu: “I’VE BEEN ASLEEP FOR SIX MONTHS?!”

- The alters wake up at the commotion. All five (including Gakuhou) of them scream together.

- They spend the rest of the early morning sobbing over each other and they catch Gakushuu up on the major events that have happened since The Slap™. Aka Korosensei’s death, them graduating middle school and going to high school, them telling Gakuhou… (they may or may not gloss over some details.)   

- Gakushuu is too nervous-excited and he decides to go to school. (High school? He’s a high schooler now?!) 

- When he steps into class, suddenly Karma runs up from behind him and throws an arm over his shoulder. “Hey guys!”

Gakushuu: (bluescreens) “huh? Huh?!”

Nanako: shit we forgot to tell him

Katsuya: ugh

Karma: (who understandably expects Nanako to be fronting when G4 gets to school) “Hey, Nan, you ok?” 

Gakushuu: “HUH????” (panics)

Karma: “…hey Sakakibara? Can you come here for a bit? I think there’s something wrong with-”

Gakushuu: (starts crying again) ((hey leave him alone this is a very emotionally overwhelming time for him))

Karma and Ren: “…Gakushuu?!”

- They immediately call Tsubara over from 1-B, of course

- The cohort is suddenly confused over why Gakushuu’s friends are celebrating (and why Gakushuu is crying, is he ok, did something happen, he hasn’t done that in a while?) But Gakushuu assures them it’s happy tears.

- After school they call Kayano to let her know the good news

- Kayano: Gakushuu’s back? The cute one?

Gakushuu: I, um, uh, I, uh, um, I don’t know how to answer this question?!

Kayano: Aww, yes! I missed you!

- They all go to the Asanos’ house after school. Gakuhou happily lets them in.

- Everyone celebrates and shower Gakushuu with love and all is good and wonderful and fluffy and all ends well

Chapter 36

- sike

- we need some more angst and hurt and comfort (just a bit more)

- After the initial excitement dies down, Gakushuu starts taking in how everything has changed. He feels overwhelmed and confused and he’s wondering what changed 

- Gakushuu starts wondering what the point of himself is, since it seems like everything has settled down and worked out well without him here

- And he’s the original personality that had to rely on the other three, right? What is his purpose? They’re clearly managing without him.

- Luckily for G4, Gakushuu can’t keep these thoughts to himself (unlike Yukio) and blurts it out very quickly, so G4 clamour on him with love and reassurances.

- Gakuhou has his own heart-to-heart with Gakushuu and apologises for everything he’s ever done. 

- They talk about expectations and relationships and trust and love. Gakushuu talks about how hurt he was and Gakuhou talks about how he’s never meant to hurt him and he’ll do better. Gakuhou tells him about Ikeda (even though Gakushuu’s already gotten the gist of the story from the other 3). 

- Gakushuu goes to therapy! Fun stuff.

- G4 and gang continue showing Gakushuu how important he is in their lives. They get into the fine details of what happened immediately post slap (property damage, stealing a gun, shooting it at Dad) and Gakushuu is horrified. “You are our impulse control,” Katsuya says very seriously. “You are the reason Katsuya and Nanako hasn’t landed us in jail,” Yukio says. “Says you, you were on board with it too,” Nanako sniffs at him. 

- Gakushuu finds out that Ren and Yukio held hands once. He’s very excited about it. “Are you guys going to hold hands more?” 

“Maybe,” Yukio says. 

“Maybe indeed,” Katsuya grumbles. 

- Kayano and Karma fill him in on the 3-E antics post-slap. Gakushuu is awed by all the plot twists and wishes that he could have seen the tentacles/met Koro-sensei in real life. 

- “They thought you were my girlfriend?!” Gakushuu is horrified (and blushing very much.)

“They still do, after the selfie you guys took last week,” Karma points out. 

- “Does 3-E think I’m weird?” Gakushuu asks nervously (after hearing that “he” pulled a gun on Dad.

“They’ve always thought you were weird,” Kayano and Karma say affectionately.

- They all need to talk about more feelings and therapy and Gakushuu needs to know that he’s loved

- life is a work in progress (just like this fic) and we’re living it 

- the end

Some notes

- Gakushuu was always going to “disappear” by the end of the Slap. This was one of the earliest scenes I planned for when I first conceptualized this fic. It was thematically important to the story and it was meant to signify the system losing trust/hope for Gakuhou. Of course he comes back after a long time because recovery takes a long time and Gakuhou needed to work for his atonement for it to have a real effect. 

- Yes I am forever bothered by Gakuhou’s lacklustre apology (but that’s just how it goes, right?) 

- This fic was originally going to have some ships but I felt like… it wasn’t the right time to fit any of them in (unless we do a timeskip). Nobody would never have wanted to get with each other in the span of time that Gakushuu wasn’t around (out of respect for him/everyone was grieving/stressed/worried), and when he got back it seemed like there was still so much to do. Furthermore, I think a romance involving someone with DID likely has a lot of different factors that would overwhelm me if I start thinking about it - I already don’t have the mental capacity to write this fic out in full, let alone start thinking about how relationships would work! 

- But just for your curiosity, ships that I potentially considered:

Ren/Yukio (obviously)

Gakushuu/Karma (yes)

Nanako/Karma (I felt like this ended up seeming more platonic and I think it would be cute if they were bffs) (“Want to meet up and beat the shit out of each other like the old times?” “Sure”)

Gakushuu/Kayano (Akarishuu agenda)

Nanako/Kayano (“you’re hot i’m hot we should make out”)

Katsuya/Kayano (but in like a gaslight gatekeep girlboss way) (although I do hc Kats as aroace so) (platonic ship?)

- I'm sure everyone knows by now but the past continuous tense of "do" is "did" lmao (pretty sure it is because i googled it BUT if it's not then I guess there's no changing it now) ((but past, continuous also works to refer to Gakushuu's past + his present/the current events so it's cool either ways)) (((jk it's not cool either ways if I get my grammar wrong, that's on me)))