Five Times Hinata Punched Komaeda and the One Time He Didn't, a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

A/N: PLEASE LET ME GIVE YOU CONTEXT BEFORE YOU READ otherwise you'll probably hate me lol

So I had an idea for a fic immediately after I read the first chapter of SDR2, and when I started writing it, I decided I wanted to completely finish writing it BEFORE I continued reading SDR2, so that I wouldn't get discouraged if my characterizations and stuff were totally off the mark.

SO I apologize, but this fic is probably quite OOC, and also it's like half-parody too, so PLEASE take it with a huge grain of salt if you read it. (I also apologize to the Komahina fandom for the punching part - after being on the sidelines of the SDR2 fandom for a while, I now understand that Komahina is frequently misinterpreted as abusive, so I'm really sorry about that… but I promise it's generally in the spirit of parody!)

That being said, please do read it and let me know how you think I did, considering that, when I wrote it, I had only read one chapter of SDR2!

Five Times Hinata Punched Komaeda and the One Time He Didn't

- - -

Knock, knock.

Hinata jumped at the sound, looking around at the door warily. It had been about an hour since the group of Hope's Peak students had dispersed following the first school trial. If his own feelings were anything to go by, Hinata was sure everyone was still shell-shocked by Hanamura's fate, and by the entire trial's proceedings in general…

So who could be at his door? …and why?

Knock, knock. Knock.

Hinata really didn't care to find out. He remained where he was on his bed, staring at the door in a mild panic, silently willing whoever it was to give up and go away.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

"Hinata-kuuuuun!" called the voice of the very last person he wanted to see right now.

He ran to the door and opened it, and with no prelude whatsoever –

BAM.

Komaeda fell to the ground, clutching his face in pain. Hinata slammed the door shut, locked it, and then cradled his hand gently, swearing under his breath. He listened at the door until Komaeda's insane giggling slowly faded away into the distance.

- - -

Knock, knock.

So who could be at his door? …and why?

Knock, knock. Knock.

He walked to the door slowly, and opened it to reveal possibly the last person he wanted to see right then.

"…What do you want, Komaeda?" he said, not trying too terribly hard to keep the bite out of his voice, and keeping a tight hold on the doorknob, ready to slam it shut at any moment.

Komaeda smiled that sweet little smile that he had introduced himself with. "Now, now, Hinata-kun… that's a rather despair-inducing greeting. You should – "

BAM.

- - -

Knock, knock.

So who could be at his door? …and why?

Knock, knock. Knock.

He walked to the door slowly, and opened it to reveal possibly the last person he wanted to see right then.

"…What do you want, Komaeda?" he said, not trying too terribly hard to keep the bite out of his voice, and keeping a tight hold on the doorknob, ready to slam it shut at any moment.

Komaeda smiled that sweet little smile he'd worn when he first introduced himself. "I just wanted to talk, Hinata-kun."

Hinata's raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. "…Talk? About what?"

Ignoring the question, Komaeda kept smiling and asked, "May I come in?"

"…No," Hinata said, slowly beginning to inch the door shut. Komaeda stepped forward anyway, which made Hinata panic and do the first thing that came to mind:

BAM.

- - -

Knock, knock.

So who could be at his door? …and why?

Knock, knock. Knock.

He walked to the door slowly, and opened it to reveal possibly the last person he wanted to see right then.

"…What do you want, Komaeda?" he said, not trying too terribly hard to keep the bite out of his voice, and keeping a tight hold on the doorknob, ready to slam it shut at any moment.

Komaeda smiled that sweet little smile he'd worn when he first introduced himself. "I just wanted to talk, Hinata-kun."

Hinata raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. "…Talk? About what?"

The cheer faded from Komaeda's face, but the smile remained, leaving a rather empty expression. His gaze flickered down to his feet. "The… events at the trial, of course."

Images of eyes gone several layers of crazy and a maniacal grin disguised with polite words filled Hinata's head. So it was a bit of a shock when Komaeda looked up at him again with blue-grey eyes as clear as could be, and asked softly, "May I come in?"

What the hell is he playing at? Hinata wondered, eyes narrowed in suspicion, standing his ground in the doorway. There was a small, hopeful part of him that wanted to trust Komaeda, but the majority of his brain was fervently reminding him that last night this kid had attempted to commit murder.

Komaeda broke the silence by leaning forward shamelessly into Hinata's personal space and saying in a sing-song voice, "Pretty please?" The madness was leaking back into his eyes.

Hinata's eyes widened and he took a frantic step back into his room.

Komaeda followed.

Granted, it was more of a stumble than a step, so it could have been completely by accident… but after the "events" of the trial, Hinata was not anywhere near the vicinity of fucking around.

BAM.

- - -

Knock, knock.

So who could be at his door? …and why?

Knock, knock. Knock.

He walked to the door slowly, and opened it to reveal possibly the last person he wanted to see right then.

"…What do you want, Komaeda?" he said, not trying too terribly hard to keep the bite out of his voice, and keeping a tight hold on the doorknob, ready to slam it shut at any moment.

Komaeda smiled that sweet little smile he'd worn when he first introduced himself. "I just wanted to talk, Hinata-kun."

Hinata raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. "…Talk? About what?"

The cheer faded from Komaeda's face, but the smile remained, leaving a rather empty expression. His gaze flickered down to his feet. "The… events at the trial, of course."

Komaeda replied to his silence in kind, a steady gaze staring at Hinata from atop an empty smile.

"Why," Hinata said, decisively breaking the silence, "should I trust you?" He spat the words out more violently than he intended to, but he couldn't help the frustration building up within him – why was he even considering letting Komaeda into his room? As much as he knew that it was a terrible idea… when he looked at Komaeda's dull expression, saw the limp slouch of his shoulders, heard the resignation in his voice… well, Hinata couldn't help but feel bad for him.

Komaeda shrugged. "You shouldn't, really. I mean, you can pat me down if you want," he said with a coy little grin. (Hinata wasn't really sure how to feel about the implications of that grin, so he tried pretending he never saw it.) "I haven't taped any knives to myself though. I just want to talk, promise," Komaeda continued, his hands held open in front of him, a little bit of life returned to the smile on his face.

I'm going to regret this. I'm going to regret this. Hinata sighed deeply. I'm going to regret this. "…Fine. Just… leave your sweatshirt by the door, or something. I don't trust those damn huge-ass pockets." I'm going to regret this. Hinata stepped back from the doorway, not taking his eyes off of Komaeda, except to take a cursory look around the room to make sure he hadn't left anything weapon-like hanging around. I'm going to regret this.

Komaeda stepped over the threshold, slipping easily out of his jacket as he did so and handing it to Hinata, mumbling something about how it was "probably better if you just take it, Hinata-kun". He grabbed it by the hood – it was much softer than he'd expected, and still warm – and hung it on the doorknob as he shut the door behind Komaeda. When he turned back around, the first thing he noticed was that Komaeda looked significantly smaller now, his white t-shirt hanging loosely from still-slumped shoulders.

"So…?" Hinata prompted when the silence stretched into the awkward territory.

Komaeda opened and shut his mouth several times before finally speaking. "I… never lied to you, you know."

Hinata's brow furrowed in bewilderment and he opened his mouth to object –

"…I never lied about who I am," Komaeda clarified. "I never… wore a disguise. I know I was a little different at the trial, but – "

"A little different?" Hinata scoffed, almost laughing in disbelief. A little different? A little different? That's how he would describe the way he completely lost his mind and confessed to attempted murder? …with that goddamn smile on his face, too…

Komaeda did laugh, but he at least had the decency to make it a sheepish chuckle instead of a maniacal giggle. "Sorry, I suppose that was kind of an understatement, huh?" he said. "It's just… I've always admired the students of Hope's Peak Academy, so to be among you all like this is…" He grinned widely and chuckled again. "Well, I'm a bit starstruck!"

His grin then faltered. "And… then I got a little carried away, because I love all of you so much. All I want is to see your hope triumph over your despair!" He sighed happily, and the small, sweet smile returned to his face.

Hinata wasn't sure what to feel, let alone what to say. What does he want from me? The confusion and frustration built up inside of him, until he shook his head and uttered, "I don't understand you." He began to back up and reach behind himself for the doorknob, more than ready for Komaeda to leave him alone with his thoughts.

Upon noticing this gesture, Komaeda's eyes went wide with panic. In the blink of an eye, he went from standing halfway across the room, to being very much in Hinata's personal space, leaning in close to him and murmuring fervently, "But I want you to understand me, Hinata-kun. And I want to – "

BAM.

Komaeda fell to the ground, clutching his face in pain. Hinata dragged him out of his room, slammed the door shut, and locked it. He then cradled his hand gently, swearing under his breath and listening at the door until Komaeda's insane giggling slowly faded away into the distance.

- - -

The One Time He Didn't

Knock, knock.

So who could be at his door? …and why?

Knock, knock. Knock.

He walked to the door slowly, and opened it to reveal possibly the last person he wanted to see right then.

"…What do you want, Komaeda?" he said, not trying too terribly hard to keep the bite out of his voice, and keeping a tight hold on the doorknob, ready to slam it shut at any moment.

Komaeda smiled that sweet little smile he'd worn when he first introduced himself. "I just wanted to talk, Hinata-kun."

Hinata raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. "…Talk? About what?"

The cheer faded from Komaeda's face, but the smile remained, leaving a rather empty expression. His gaze flickered down to his feet. "The… events at the trial, of course."

Komaeda replied to his silence in kind, a steady gaze staring at Hinata from atop an empty smile.

"Why," Hinata said, decisively breaking the silence, "should I trust you?" He spat the words out more violently than he intended to, but he couldn't help the anger building up within him – anger directed at himself. Because, as much as he knew that letting Komaeda into his room was a terrible idea… when he looked at Komaeda's dull expression, saw the limp slouch of his shoulders, heard the resignation in his voice… well, Hinata couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"So…?" Hinata prompted when the silence stretched into the awkward territory. He crossed his arms and waited.

Komaeda opened and shut his mouth several times before finally speaking. "I… never lied to you, you know."

Hinata's brow furrowed in bewilderment and he opened his mouth to object –

"…I never lied about who I am," Komaeda clarified. "I never… wore a disguise. I know I was a little different at the trial, but – "

Hinata wasn't sure what to feel, let alone what to say. What does he want from me? The confusion and frustration built up inside of him, until his eyebrows angled sharply downwards and he blurted out, "I don't understand you."

They had been standing halfway across the room from each other. With slow, cautious steps (which Hinata monitored with an unblinking stare, entire body tensed), Komaeda halved that distance. Coming to a stop, he replied, "I want you to. That's why I'm here."

The words struck Hinata, almost like a punch to the gut, and suddenly, instead of just watching Komaeda, Hinata was studying him. The Komaeda he saw before him now, though strange, was the Komaeda he had first met and liked, but he found it difficult to reconcile this earnest, wide-eyed vulnerability with the mental instability and twisted affections from the trial. Which one was the truth, and which was the lie?

"I never… wore a disguise."

His words from earlier echoed in Hinata's head. Is… that what he was talking about? Is he trying to say that… both of those are the "real" Komaeda?

Komaeda continued taking slow but steady steps towards Hinata, and Hinata continued studying him. As he got closer, he could see it more and more clearly - the madness from the trial still lurked below the surface, but underneath the comforting clearness in his eyes and the honesty of his smile, it seemed… tame. Not exactly distant - Hinata suspected that one wrong move could potentially ruin Komaeda's equilibrium - but at the very least, Hinata could see that there was truth in Komaeda's claim that, just as he wasn't entirely sane, he wasn't entirely inhuman either.

…And once Hinata accepted that not everything Komaeda did and said was the product of insanity, it cast a whole new light on the expressions of affection on his face and in his words. So when Komaeda took one final step, and they were almost toe-to-toe, Hinata's quickening heartbeat was less due to fear, and more due to uncertainty and anticipation.

"I told you that I love you all," Komaeda said in an undertone. "Especially you, Hinata-kun." He then leaned forward and kissed him.

It was a short and simple kiss but the warmth lingered on Hinata's lips long after Komaeda pulled away. His heart continued pounding as he processed this event and tried to figure out what to say.

Komaeda spoke first, still softly, "Do you understand now, at least a little?"

Hinata would have tried to come up with a noncommittal "I don't know" kind of response, except for the very subtle pleading tone hidden in Komaeda's voice. So he just smiled a little and said, "Yeah, I think so."

Komaeda returned the smile (which was nice to see, Hinata conceded to himself) and said, "Thank you." He then stepped back from Hinata (the warmth from his proximity faded with each step) and spoke again, this time in a more normal volume and tone of voice, "Well, that's about all I wanted to say, so I'll leave you alone for now, Hinata-kun." He headed towards the door, retrieving his sweatshirt from where it was hanging on the doorknob.

There were a few things Hinata would have liked to discuss about everything that had just transpired, but it also wouldn't be a bad idea to be left alone with his thoughts for a little while so he could work out exactly how he felt about all of this. So he just smiled and said, "See you tomorrow."

Komaeda's face positively lit up, and he replied, "Yeah, see you tomorrow!" A moment later, he was gone.

Hinata walked over and locked the door behind him. He still wasn't quite sure if he would be able to handle any kind of relationship with Komaeda, with all his complications, but… as he touched his lips, thinking of the warmth that had lingered there, he thought, it couldn't be all bad.

A/N: THANK YOU FOR READING ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT SORRY IT'S SO BAD~