The Day You First Met Her

Background Information:

You are Y/N L/N. You are a student who was accepted into Hope's Peak and a member of the 76th class. Your ultimate talent is the following: Ultimate Marine Biologist. For the last few months since you first arrived at Hope's Peak, you've gotten to know some of the other students attending with you. For example, you met that animal loving dark arts master Gundham Tanaka from Class 77-B, as well as the Ultimate Lucky Student, Nagito Komaeda. You also got to know the rest of the people in class 76. Class 78 was still a bit of a challenge, though.

Among these people, you got to meet up with Sonosuke Izayoi, the Ultimate Blacksmith, with a badass-looking red trench coat, slightly pale skin, and spiky blonde hair. He could probably throw a blade from forty feet away and still perfectly hit his target. He wasn't exactly the social type, and more of a "silent type" of person. Of course, you and him at least got along with each other. Besides you, Sonosuke usually spent most of his time with his girlfriend, Ruruka. She was the Ultimate Confectionist, which meant that she could create all kinds of different delicious candies. He was incredibly protective of her; That cannot be understated. One time you tried to speak to Ruruka by yourself and he literally pulled a knife on you.

Ruruka had a standard brown Hope's Peak Academy uniform with some fur trimmings, thigh high white socks, and pink boots with several straps. She had short, strawberry blonde hair, lilac eyes, and looked very cheerful. She also had a small pink hat, with green ribbons, which looked something like a strawberry. What made her treats so special were how addictive they were. Sure, they were often incredibly delicious, but most of the time, you felt like you couldn't have just one of her treats. Funny enough, Sonosuke told you that at times, she even smelled like strawberries, too. You swore that those two were practically inseparable.

Yet there was someone in your class that always seemed to stay away from the other students. There was always one girl in your class that you never really got to know quite well before. Mostly because she was very shy towards everyone else, except Ruruka for some reason you didn't know. You tried to talk to her during classes, but you barely got the opportunity to do it. Even when you did, she was always busy doing her important work. You wanted to at least get the chance to get to know her better. She seemed to be a bit lonely, so you wanted to see if there was any way you could provide her company. Also, you thought that she looked incredibly adorable, and it wasn't like you had too much on your to-do list at the moment, anyway.

Today was that day. The day you made an effort to go and speak to her yourself. Of course, you didn't know where to look for her, so you went around the school to find Ruruka. If she was the only person you knew that was close to her, then she at least had to know where she might be. You made sure to wait until Sonosuke was with her to approach her. I DO NOT want a repeat of that incident. "Hey, Ruruka, if you have the time, I have something to ask you."

"Better make it quick," Sonosuke said tensely to you. He made sure to give you a long stare. Just because you were friends didn't mean that he trusted you completely.

"Don't worry, Yoi-Yoi, this will only take a moment," Ruruka told him. "Alright, so what do you want to ask? I'm in the middle of coming up with a new sweet recipe, so ask away."

"Do you know where that girl in class is? The one with the facemask, I mean? I'm sorry, I just never got her name. She seemed to be used to you, so I figured you might've known," you told her.

"Oh, Seiko? Of course! She's one of my besties. She's probably working in her chemical lab near the east side of the building. Why are you asking?", she told you.

"Well, I didn't really know where to start. I was just trying to talk to her, but I couldn't find out where she was. Thank you so much for the help, Ruruka." Once you were done speaking to her, you headed straight to the west side of the building. You made sure to find the right time when you could meet up with her before going.

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You find yourself walking down the hallway of the west corridor, following the instructions that you received from a few other students along the way. Thanks a lot, Ruruka, you could've told me on what floor she was on, you know. It wasn't that big of a deal to you, but you were still slightly ticked off by it. You keep walking until you reach a sign that read out the word, "Laboratory". Yep, this is the place, all right. You decided to knock on the door, but nobody responded. Is she not here yet? You tried to open the door to be sure, and it opened up. You went inside of the lab to find the girl you were looking for.

Seiko was a bit of a short girl, with pale grey hair that curled together in a partial pig-tail-looking hairstyle. She had very light purple eyes, and her skin was incredibly pale, as well as a purple respirator mask covering her mouth. She was wearing a regular brown Hope's Peak Academy uniform, long black leg stockings, and a pair of purple gloves. You thought that she looked absolutely precious, like you just wanted to give her a big warm hug. At the moment, Seiko was in the middle of working with a handful of different chemicals. She was carefully measuring one chemical using a dropper, trying not to add too much to the experiment. You couldn't tell what she was experimenting with, and frankly, she didn't even notice you had entered the room at all. That's how committed she was to her work.

"Uh...you wouldn't happen to be Seiko, would you?", you tried to ask as calmly as you could. She was a little surprised at your presence, and jumped back scared for a few moments.

"W-What do you think you're doing?! You can't just interrupt my work without permission! Don't scare me like that ever again!," she said to you. Even though she was yelling, her voice was so gentle that her yelling wasn't too loud. But you certainly didn't want to make her mad, either.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry, I was just looking for you, that's all!"

Seiko looked at you, surprised. She put down the dropper on her workspace. She seemed to consider something in her mind before she went over to you. "Alright, you're lucky. You caught me right as my break started. So who are you, and what do you want from me?"

"I'm Y/N L/N. I'm the Ultimate Marine Biologist. We're actually in the same class, you know. I think I saw you in the back several times throughout the semester, right? Do you remember me?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, I do recognize you from a few days ago. My name is Seiko Kimura. You can just call me Seiko. I'm the Ultimate Pharmacist, but that's probably not something you'd be inter-". As she spoke, you interrupted her at one point.

"Oh, you're a pharmacist? So, you're, like, a doctor then? Or a scientist? What kind of things do you do? Please, tell me more," you eagerly told her. She was actually kind of surprised you asked her that. Of course, it was hard for you to tell due to her mask covering her facial expressions. She didn't exactly get many visitors, nor people who seemed to take an interest in what she did, so she looked relieved to finally meet someone interested in her work. Under her mask, she formed a weak smile.

"Me? Oh, well, I, uh, I'm sort of a doctor. I'm no nurse, but I-I-I make medicine. All different kinds of medication, actually. From cold medication, laxatives, healing meds, stimulants, antidepressants, you name it. You could say I, uh, I'm an expert on drugs and medicine. I can even make drugs that can make you stronger and faster. I even work on some food concoctions, too," she said nervously.

"You can do all of that? That's an amazing talent! Most of the time, I struggle to even understand what's going on in Chemistry. How do you even memorize all of that?", you asked her. You could tell she was happy to hear that.

"Oh, uh, it's much harder than you'd probably think. A good memory definitely comes in handy. You have to make sure to remember side effects of different dosage amounts, and you need to keep track of every minute detail so you don't overlook a patient's conditions and give them the wrong dosage by mistake," she told you, as she showed him several vials and prescription cases with different dosage amount as an example. She even took you behind the medical cabinet. You looked in awe at her shelf, and the wide range of different drug medications, most of which you didn't even know existed. Sweet Jesus, this girl is dedicated to her work. Seiko continued speaking to you.

"Patience is another big thing. You also have to be good at multitasking, because you never know when you're going to face different tasks at the same time. I've made lots of trial and error, so I'm patient when it comes to my work. I try to put all of my energy and focus into getting it done efficiently, so that's why I get startled or angered whenever I'm interrupted. Especially if it's unexpected. Don't take it personally, though, Y/N. I only snapped because I was so focused on this latest drug, and I didn't want to screw it up," she said. She slowed down from her rambling to more of a softer, sympathetic tone.

My goodness, the things she has to do for her talent. She must be incredible if she can work like this on an average day. My brain would probably catch on literal fire if I had to work at her rate for a month, or maybe even less. You admired her persistence and prioritization.

"Well, thanks, I guess. Say, uh, random question, and I don't want to be rude or anything, but what's the point of the mask?", you asked her. "Listen, I don't want you to take this the wrong way. I was only wondering, that's all. I wasn't trying to make you feel-"

"I know you mean well, Y/N. It's not due to that cursed virus whose name we will not speak of. It's for...a couple of reasons. I'm not really comfortable sharing all of them, but to keep it short, one reason is that it hides my face," she said, in a slightly more depressed tone.

"What? Don't talk like that! I'm sure your face is perfectly fine!", you try to reassure her.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that," she replied, with a little chuckle. "I-I-I meant that it hides my expressions. Look, it's...it's complicated to explain, okay? I don't want to talk about it now."

"Oh, okay. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

"If you don't mind me asking, Y/N, why are you here?", she asked you, as you two made your way back to her work desk. She set up her chemistry tools as she spoke. "People usually don't come to me unless they need some medication or other crazy favors. Do you need any prescriptions from me? Wait...now that I mentioned it, how did you know where to find me?"

"Ruruka told me about you. She was the only one that I saw you getting along with in class, so I thought she might've known."

"Ruruka??" She quickly stopped what she was doing and stared directly at you. "What did she tell you about me?"

"All she told me was where to find you and that you two were friends. That's all," you told her. She seemed to act less paranoid once you said that. "I didn't come here to get any drugs from you Seiko. Although, I might want to come back here if I need anything, but that's not why I'm here. I'm here because..." You awkwardly tried to find a way to explain it to her without sounding too mushy. "..., well, I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Huh?" Seiko looked confused. "Okay? W-W-Why did you want to do that? You barely even knew I existed, didn't you?"

"Look, Seiko. Since the time I started here at Hope's Peak, I never got a chance to talk to you like this before. Every other chance I get to catch a glimpse of you during the day, you're either in a hurry, in the middle of doing important work, staying away from the other students, or talking to Ruruka. To me, it looked like you were overworked. I, uh, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help. I wasn't sure if you were depressed or not, but I usually see you acting very anxious in class." You gave out a sigh as you tried to explain it as best you could. "I just wanted to know if you were doing alright, or if you needed any help, and I also wanted to get to know you a little better, too. I mean, I don't have much on my plate today, so I figured I should use my free time wisely."

For a moment, you swear you could see Seiko's eyes light up, and started acting much more nervous. Not the usual nervous, no, more like a surprised nervous. She even slightly giggled, as she began twitching her fingers uncontrollably. "Oh, oh, uh...I mean, well", she repeatedly mumbled, blushing under her mask. She was at a loss for words. What is this I'm feeling, she thought. She didn't even know how to describe it. Suddenly, she realized that her break time was going to end in a few minutes, so she tried to snap out. "Oh no! My break time's about to end in a couple minutes, Y/N. I-I-I should probably try to set up my lab again," she said nervously.

"I see. I understand. Don't worry, Seiko. I won't interrupt your work if you don't want me to. Anyways, it was very nice to meet you today, Seiko. I'll see you tomorrow. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the day!", you told her. But right as you were about to exit the lab, you felt a firm hand grasp on your right shoulder. You were pulled away from the door and back into the room.

"NO!", Seiko yelled, as she aggressively pulled you back. You were startled by her tone of voice, and wondering what she still needed you for.

Seiko looked like she was more scared than angry. No, scared wasn't the right word. More like...desperate, in a way. "I-I m-mean, p-please don't go, Y/N. I can always get back to my work at another time."

"Wait, why do you want me to stay? Don't you have to get your work done?"

"Because...". She placed her hands in a folded position, fidgeting them anxiously. "B-Because it's... nice to have someone else to talk to, you know? You don't know how long it's been since someone's been interested in my work. It's...refreshing. Aside from Ruruka, Yoi-Yoi, and my family, it's also nice to know that you asked me how I was doing. These days, not many people really speak to me." She sounded much sweeter and compassionate than before. "It feels good. B-Besides, it wouldn't hurt to try and make more fr-", she immediately tried to avoid that word like poison, "-uh, acquaintances! Yes, that's the word!" She giggled nervously. Good save, she thought.

"Sure, Seiko. All you had to do was ask me," you told her.

"You know, all this time, I've been telling you about what I do," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't stop to ask you about what you like, Y/N. So please, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Perhaps, your interests? Hobbies? Favorite subject? Music? TV show?" She started acting more interested and excited than before. She unknowingly was almost invading your personal space, so you backed up slightly.

"I mean, with my talent, I'm very interested in studying all kinds of wildlife, not just sea creatures. In fact, I actually do a little bit of bird watching in my free time. I even have a special book of all kinds of different bird species that live around here. My favorite sea creature would probably either be a whale shark or a manatee. I actually swam alongside a few manatees in the Gulf of Mexico. I haven't gotten to see a whale shark, but it's on my bucket list," you told her. You didn't notice that she was writing this down in a little notebook of hers.

"I'm a bit more of a history and reading guy, to be honest. Some things in chemistry interest me, but it really does a number on my brain cells whenever I try to learn it. Believe me, I've had several hard nights trying to figure it out."

"Now that you mention that, I think I could help you with chemistry, and you could help me with history. I'm still trying to figure out the early 1800s," she told you. She continued to write what you said down in her notebook.

"Sure, I would really appreciate that. I'm also interested in films and musicals, too, you know. I enjoy Broadway musicals once in a while. Do you have any film interests, or not really?"

"Uh...to be honest, I'm so used to being focused on my work that I don't really have much time to watch a lot of that stuff. I mean, I like Jojo, but there's not a lot out there that I really enjoy," Seiko told you. "Although, I'm glad you enjoy them."

"Thanks, Seiko. It's nice to see you happy. It was also interesting to hear how many different drugs you can make with your talent."

"Same here with yours. Maybe next time we meet, you could tell me a bit more about your work with sea life. I would be more than welcome to hear about it." Suddenly, an idea popped in Seiko's head. An opportunity had appeared. "Uh, Y/N, c-can I ask you another question?"

"Sure, of course, Seiko."

"Do you... uh, do you have any freetime this weekend?" She showed him a calendar where she organized her day-planner. "I'm f-free on Saturday, if you want to meet up somewhere."

You stared at her, confused for a few moments. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I don't have much on my plate on Saturday. I think I could find-". You stopped and thought about it for a moment. "Wait, Seiko, are you asking me-"

Seiko realized what you were about to say, and blushed with embarrassment. "N-No, not like that, Y/N! I just wanted to invite you along with me on Saturday. Sonosuke, Ruruka and I are going to be hanging out together. I thought you might want to come along with us, if that's okay. I'm sure Ruruka wouldn't mind if I explained it to her."

Oh. You started to understand it better. "In that case, I'd love to come along with you guys. I wouldn't mind it at all."

You couldn't tell, but on the inside, Seiko was bursting with happiness. "Wonderful! I'll be sure to give you the right time after I talk to Ruruka. Then we can figure out a time to meet up at." A big smile formed underneath her mask.

"Sounds like a plan to me," you told her. "I should probably head back to my dorm now. I gotta work on the rest of my homework for tomorrow. I'll just let you do your work in peace, alright? It was great meeting you, Seiko! Have a wonderful day!"

With that, you headed out of the chemical lab and went on your way back to your dorm. Right before you left, you heard Seiko say goodbye to you, and wished you a good rest of the day. By the time you were back in your room and went to work on your studies, you couldn't help but think about Seiko as you worked. Calm down, you told yourself. It's not a date. It's just a hangout together, right? Just a good time. Right? You weren't sure what to think about it.

To be continued in Chapter 2...

(Comment below if you would like to see some fluff or some smut later on in this story, because I'm not sure if you want that or not. Also, comment below if you want to see any other Danganronpa characters make an appearance later on in the story.)