[ PART 1]
It was something to be ashamed of. They tell him. A reserve student? Ha, what a laugh. If you're truly a student of Kibogugamine, what's your Super High School Talent? They spat. It was the same conversation over and over. Hinata got used to ignoring it, but never fully ignoring it. They same sentences clawed at his heart over and over. He tried his best to look like he didn't care at what the others said, I mean, it was still an achievement and they didn't get in. He tried to convince himself. But however he felt, he knew that it was still true, he was just a ordinary person that paid his way to fame and personal achievement.
It was even worse at Kibogugamine.
Because he was in the Reserve Department, he was separated from the rest of the Super High School Level kids. It was disappointing, he always thought that he would be able to talk and have conversation with them. Instead, he spent is time with other reserve students, jotting down notes and having polite conversation. He had a few friends, no, not even friends, more of the line of acquaintances. He learned that most had the same dream of coming here, but Hinata noticed they were all lacking one thing that separated him from the rest of them.
Hope.
'I still had hope left. Even though the amount of teasing and undirected comments,I still believe in myself. I had no talent, but I'm motivated. I got to where I had always wanted to be, and I'm was going to make the best out of it. There was nothing to be ashamed about.' He forced himself to think that way, even though he was still hiding from the shame that he brought upon himself.
The days fluttered past, his grades dropping, his hope dropping, his courage dropping. His hope was almost all lost The remaining pieces were left in the cold. His spirits were dropping. It was a chore to bring motivatie himself. Hinata grumbled to himself, dropping the pencil from his hand, he didn't have the motivation to study anymore. So when his test results came back, he was surprised, and a bit excited. Maybe he did belong.
His excitement made his spirits soar. He had recently been appointed to carry papers to some of the teachers and actual students of Kibogugamine, being told not to look and just carry out their paperwork and letters.
He sometimes caught himself prying into the stacks of paper, but he constrained himself to not to read them. He was an ordinary person, he shouldn't be involved with them. Gripping the box tightly, Hinata closed his eyes and sighed. He was supposed to deliver this package to the headmaster. As he squinted his eyes, he could see that the sticker said.. 78th batch? Wait, but, wasn't the 77th class recently picked? Were they...choosing already? Hinata's eye's lit up. New rooster…?
He decided to risk his placement and take a peek inside. Looking around the giant corridor, he saw a storage room and quietly moved inside. He carefully examined a letter. The handwriting was fancy as along with the card. He didn't dare open it. Along with all of the letters (Probably to send out), he saw the class roster list along with their Super High School Level. Amongst the many were Super High School Level Idol… Super High School Level Gangster… Super High Schoo-
"What is a reserve doing in the hallway of the talented?"
Hinata turned around. He wasn't exactly sure who he was, but one glance at him, and Hinata immediately knew. He was extremely talented. Everything from his posture, the stare from his eyes, the way his words were formed. His hair was long and gray, and swayed slightly. Hinata opened his mouth to say something, but it was replaced with a line of stuttering. "I-i was supposed to deliver th-this package to the head-"
"Jin Kirigiri? Hmph, why would he want a package from you? And if so, why would you be dwindling in the storage?" He replied coolly, "I propose that you were doing something else.
Hinata couldn't form anything out of his mouth, "I-i…" He tried to respond, sweat dripped from his forehead, "I was, well-" The student grabbed for the package, and in one swift motion grabbed the paper form his hand. "H-hey! Give that back!" Hinata shouted. He payed no attention, but chuckled his red eyes gleaming as he walked away, the package tucked under his arm.
Hinata couldn't form words out of his mouth. It was hazy. Even though it was 5 seconds after the event, Hinata had no idea what just happened. Did he really just… Hinata shook his head. Move on. He thought. Standing up, he lost sight of the mysterious long haired fellow. He clenched his fist and walked the other direction, hoping to forget this conflict.
[PART 2]
"Hinata Hajime. Wake up. We need you to deliver something to someone. Quick."
Hinata yawned and looked up from his seat, his professor was standing in front of him. He looked around, seeing that everyone else had left. Crap. He fell asleep in class again. It was year since the incident, Hinata still hadn't seen him ever since. He still delivered paperwork and other things, but Hinata admit it was getting boring. His years at Kibougamine were slowing down, and he didn't have much to do except graduate now.
"H-huh…? Who do I have to give it to?" Hinata replied, stretching out his arms.
"Chihiro Fujisaki of the 78th batch. Look, all we need you is to give it to her and come back, okay? Don't try to mingle in." He said, looking side to side while handing Hinata a small brown box. "He should be in room 228."
78th...Batch? Hinata nodded, grabbing the packet and dashing out. Chi...Hiro? He remember something along the lines of that...So what was her talent? It must be important for her to get a special packet all by herself… Hinata mused, smiling slightly. Arriving at the room, he opened the door slightly, closing it gently behind him.
Inside, was a room filled with computers, he noticed only a few were on though, most of them showed a programs and codes, a few had other programs running. Hinata could hear the buzz of the computers. He put the box down on a chair and wandered, staring at the electronics around him. There were loudspeakers and metal gears. "F-fujisaki…? Are you there?" Hinata's voice rang through the empty walls, letting the echo fade.
Hinata sighed, turning to open the door, when he heard a small yawn, Hinata turned around, only to see a flickering sirite appear from one of the computer. The image showed a girl, around their age with pale pink hair and a navy hoodie. She also seemed to be wearing a pink bag. Hinata carefully took a step forward towards the computer. Her eyes blinked. He blinked. He noticed that she seemed to be drowsy looking. "W-who are you…? You're not Fujisaki...Are you?" She opened her mouth to speak, but it wasn't until 5 seconds afterwards came her breathy reply.
"...Fujisaki-san programmed me… I'm Nanami Chiaki… I'm an AI that he created for a project…Mmm...But you could say that I'm Super High School Level Gamer..." Each phrase was carefully and lightly spoken. Hinata's heart skipped a beat, her voice was so soft and pure.
"S-super High School Level Gamer…? So...Were you accepted by the the school? And where is your...Programmer, also what project?" It started out slow, but became more rushed over time. Nanami was still looking at him, Hinata could barely hear her delicate breathing.
"No…For a project, he needed two AIs...My High School Level is for my profile...I'm the second...The first is my sister...Usami-chan." Nanami replied, her head tilting forward, "I...Refer to him as Fujisaki-san, but Programmer is fine… She's currently in class, she'll be back soon though…"
Hinata nodded, "But...I'm still not completed, so I still don't know much...But I think the project contains the words 'Field Trip'...I think." Nanami finished, looking downcast.
"O-okay..Hey...Are you okay?" Hinata whispered, pulling up a chair, dragging it to where he was previously standing, sitting down while staring at the screen.
"...Yeah… I just…I'm afraid I won't be able to communicate with you fully yet...Um-" "Hinata." "Hinata-kun… I don't have enough powerups to complete this level of communication...I'm mostly pre programmed to say specific things." Nanami said softly, her arms now crossed.
"Hey now, it's okay, you're doing the best you can...Um...Well I have to go, is there a way we can talk again, Nanami?" Hinata asked warily, he didn't want to be caught again, even if it meant possibly never talking with her again.
"..." Nanami opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Hinata waited nervously, grabbing the end of the chair. Was she not programmed to respond to that.
"Ah!"
Hinata turned around, but there was nobody, but when he turned back to face Nanami, she was still in her previous sprite. Hinata turned to see a green light from one of the computers on the other side. There was a small floating face, looking cute surprised.
"Hello! I'm Alter Ego. I'm a program created by Master, Chihiro Fujisaki! If you type something in, I can respond to you..Uh… I don't think my Master registered you in...So what is your name?"
Hinata turned to look at Nanami, but she was still frozen, he quickly typed, 'Hinata Hajime'. "Ah! Hinata-kun, its nice to meet you! I don't think I've heard your name before." Hinata gulped, his hands quivering, he typed, "I'm a reserve student.'
"Reserve..? That's okay, I mean, we are all part of this school! Right?" Alter Ego replied back, cheery, Hinata bit his lower lip and typed in, 'Do you know much about Nanami Chiaki?' and looked away.
"Nanami-san? Ah! She's another program made by Master! He's still hard at work programming her! So I guess Nanami-san is technically my sister, right?" He? Did Hinata hear Alter Ego correctly? Maybe it was an error in the program? He decided to ignore it. 'What is the project she is programmed for?'
"Mm, I'm not so sure myself, but I think Master is working on it with 2 other people. It's a very big project and Master has been hard at work on it! He spent a lot of time on Usami-san and Nanami-san!" Just as Hinata was about to type something, he heard a creak, whipping his head, he saw a replica of Alter Ego, standing outside. "Um...Ah! H-have I interrupted something, I-i'm terribly sorry I'll just-" She spoke, looking down.
"No! Um, it's fine, Er, Oh!" Hinata picked up the package and walked towards her, she was noticeably short and quiet timid. "Um..I was supposed to give this packet to you, Um...Fujisaki-kun. Right?"
"Yes, I'm Fujisaki Chihiro, and um…You are…?"
"Hinata Hajime…Um... I'm sorry to have disturbed your programs." Hinata replied, glancing at Nanami.
"Ah, don't worry about it! They haven't really talked to anyone besides me, so it's good for me to see how the variables are working out." Chihiro explained giving a small smile, folding her hands. "If you like, you can come back tomorrow, I need to add a lot more variables into her speech, so it would be good to try it out."
Hinata's eyes lit up, a chance to come back and talk with Nanami? Amazing! "O-of course! So, how long have you been working on Alter Ego and Nanami Chiaki?"
Chihiro looked up, "Um...Alter Ego was something I started a while ago, but I made it more complicated so it would seem more real. Nanami-san is something I started earlier this year, I was asked to do a proje- Oh! But I can't tell you about that, I'm very sorry, the school asked me to keep it a secret…" She said, covering her mouth in shock.
"It's okay, it's partly my fault for accidently opening up both of them." Hinata hastily replied, "I'm sorry, but I have to go, so should I come here tomorrow?"
"if you have time, any time is fine, just open up that," She pointed towards the computer with Nanami on it, "computer and you should be able to talk to Nanami-san. Thank you, Hinata-kun!"
"No problem." Hinata said, as he left the room. Walking out into the open corridor, he thought about Nanami. She was captivating, he didn't know why, but he felt… Like he was being attracted to her, his walking gradually turned into a fast walk , and ultimately a jog.
That night, Hinata thought about Nanami, and her small breathy voice, was he really that desperate? No, Nanami was special, he thought as he rolled over. She was special, not just because she was an AI, but because of the way she talked, acted and moved, everything about her seemed to make Hinata's heart skip.
[ PART 3]
Fujisaki had invited to come every other day to calibrate Usami and Nanami. Sometimes, he would even ask Hinata for advice. It was his secret, no one else knew about Nanami, it felt good to him, something of his own.
Nanami was now more sophisticated and according to Chihiro, ' She can remember details and change it to conversation', which was a big leap for him and possibly the future of programming, Hinata guessed. It was rare that he would talk to Usami, but Usami didn't need a lot of calibration, Fujisaki told him. It was mainly Nanami, since we're trying to make her like a true high schooler gamer.
Over the weeks, Hinata learned more about Nanami Chiaki, sometimes she would be 'asleep' when he arrived, but would almost instantly wake up.
"Hm...Oh...I fell asleep again..Didn't I?" Nanami yawned, rubbing her eyes a little, "How are you doing, Hinata-kun?"
"I'm doing okay, and you?"
"Mm...My battery died just as I was on the second to last level...So I...ZZzzzz…."
"Na-? Nanami-san, you fell asleep again, are you getting enough sleep lately?" Fujisaki told Hinata by treated Nanami like a normal person would give more casual responses, it was strange though, talking to a computer program, but most of the time, Hinata felt at ease talking to her though, he could talk about his troubles and then have Nanami give some advice. But he guessed it was nice just to be talking to someone.
"Well...Sometimes I stay up all night to finish my games and I feel really tired..Sometimes I even forget to blink or breathe."
"Thats...Dangerous."
"Mmm, but it's worth it, to finally be able to finish off the Warlock Lord, once and for all. It's annoying..You know, when an NPC keeps regenerating for no reason and they just won't stop..."
"Ah, I get it." He didn't actually get it, but it was better to say that then for Nanami to explain again and possibly fall asleep. "Say, Nanami, are there any games that you're not so good at?"
Nanami shifted, her eyes uneasy, "Well...There's one genre...But you'll have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, do you promise?"
"I promise."
"Well… Lean closer." Hinata did what she said, he could hear the static from the computer, "...Dating sims…"
"R-really?"
"I was never good at figuring what to say or give to other people and that would make me lose the game. I guess thats because I was never really good at talking to people in real life and I didn't know what was the correct thing to say. It's embarrassing to talk about it…"
"Eh? Then I won't bring it up ever again." Hinata promised. Nanami gave a small smile, "Thank you Hinata-kun. Talking to you has helped me improve, maybe I'll be able to get through one game."
"Well...I you would like, maybe I could help you with your dating sim games?" Hinata muttered, blushing a little bit.
Nanami's eyes sparkled, 'R-really? You would?" Hinata nodded. Nanami smiled, "That would be great."
Thump thump went Hinata's heart and beet red went his face.
"Y-yeah…"
[ PART 3 ½]
"Happy Christmas Hinata-kun!"
Hinata walked into the all so familiar room once again. His parents were on a business trip, which means he had to stay with some of his friends.
It was the last day before winter break. All of his fellow reserve were talking to each other and all of the Super High School Levels were out having a snowball fight. He was sitting alone in the classroom with the letter in his hand. It was the same rules and guidelines he had read over and over again. The process would happen right after Winter Break, he was given the break time to bond with friends and family. What a joke. The least he could do was talk to Nanami.
When he stepped inside, he saw that all of the computers were decorated and the screens had snowy backgrounds. Fujisaki must've been out with his class.
"It isn't even Christmas yet, Nanami." He chuckled, sitting down in the chair by her. "Anyways, it's Merry Christmas. How are you doing?"
"Mhm, I'm doing okay, I think. Ah! Did you know that Fujisaki-san is getting me the new Elfquest game this year? I'm still not sure what to get Usami and Alter Ego though…"
"Hrm, I think Usami might like it if you give her a Magical Girl's game, um...What was it called aga-"
"Pink Princess Warrior of Little Neo Tokyo: The Game."
"Yes, that, and maybe you could give Alter Ego…Sorry, I'm drawing a blank."
"It's okay. You tried your best, but thank you for that advice!" Nanami replied, tilting her head to the side, "Anyways, what are you doing for the holidays?"
"Nothing much, my parents are out, so I'm going to be staying with a friend. I guess Christmas will be okay this year, I'm sort of looking more forward to after break."
"Is that so? What is it that you're looking forward to so much, Hinata-kun?"
"Well… The school asked me to do a project for them, to transfer talents to me. So I'm pretty sure that it'll be simple brain surgery, but I'll be the same Hinata, just with talent!" He blurted, making sure that it was clear to Nanami he'll be the same."
That's great for you, I'm very happy for you!" Nanami said, giving a sincere smile. "But I'm just wondering, do you know why the school is doing this?"
"No idea, but I think that it's probably one of the school's long term projects." He replied. "Anyways, what would you like for Christmas?"
"Truth be told, your company would be nice." Nanami began in a whispering tone, stopping for a few seconds, making Hinata's heart beat faster, "But if you can, a new DS bag would be really nice. What do you want?" She added quickly, looking away.
"...To be honest, all I want is just to be by you." Hinata muttered, his face turning red. "Just you and me, we can go shopping or playing games, I don't really care, I just want to be by you."
"Hinata-kun..!" Nanami gasped, her hands over her mouth before softening her glaze.
"So would I…" Nanami quietly replied, looking downwards, 'But...We both know that would be.." She whispered this part, "Impossible.."
"I'll….I'll make it possible!" Hinata proclaimed, standing up, "I'll...I'll figure it out, I promise." Hr managed to choke out.
"...I'm sorry…" Nanami whispered.
"I promise, I'll find a way, I'll make it possible…" He echoed.
[ PART 4 ]
"Hinata? Hinata? Open up! We're going out for Christmas, you can't sit in there all day and mop around, can't you?"
"I promise I'll get you out…" Hinata whispered, covering his face with his blanket, "Promise…"
"Face it Koizumi, there is possibly no way we're getting Hinata out this time, you've had your turn, but admit it, he's not comin'. He's still moping about Nana-"
"Souda-san! Don't you dare repeat that name! last time we did, he broke down in tears!"
"Eh? so is Hinata-chan not coming? Aww… Ibuki was looking forward to it!"
"Hush, we cannot speak of the Thoughtful One for we all know that she shall not be returning for us."
He tried to ignore them. It was only a few months since they found a way to bring back the dead kids. Well, all that is except for her. It took a while to explain everything to them and tell them what happened. At the same time, memories began to come back to all of them, memories of their past school life, memories of Super High School Level Despair. They eventually climbed over it and agreed that past was in the past.
Their lifes carried on.
They were constantly visited by the Future Foundation, doing tests on them and asking if they wanted to join. They wanted to make their own futures, they told Future Foundation politely.
Everyone healed at their own pace, some quicker than others. No grudges were held.
"What did ya say you hamster freak?!"
Only foolish behaviors and old rivalries. Hinata mused. People were brought together, now with the pressure of mutual killing off their shoulders and forever away, it was quicker to see everyone bonding as friends, not suspects of murder. Every now and then, they would make jokes about the murders and everyone laughed. But no one made a joke out of Nanami. It happened once when they went out to dinner. Souda made a lighthearted joke about it which resulted in worried looks at the bawling Hinata.
Hinata remembered his time at the school with Nanami. That and with his time on the island was enough to break his heart spirit and soul. He spent most of his time in his room with his computer, trying to figure out the code for Nanami. He rarely came out anymore.
His friends would come outside of his house just to persuade him, but most of the time it resulted in failure. maybe a few times they got him out, but it was quite rare.
"Hinata, please, come out, it's Christmas and we want to have a party-"
"That won't end in Togami dying."
"Shut up Souda! Anyways, is this what she would've wanted? For you to be moping around in your house? I know that Nanami is a much more respectable woman then to let YOU sit and do nothing. She would want you to come out, talk with your friends, do what makes you happy. Not to try to go through a life that asn't suited towards you." Koizumi's words echoed through Hinata's room. All he could do was grip his blanket tighter, covering it over his head. 'I won't listen… I'll get her out…"
"Hinata? Hinata? We'll give you 10 seconds. Please, think of what she would have wanted, do it for her."
Images of her flew threw his mind, her laugh, her snore, her giggle, 'Thank you, Hinata-kun, talking to you has helped me improve...'
Hinata got up, he didn't bother to comb his hair, he reached for his bag and coat. Sighing, he opened the door to be greeted by the faces of Koizumi, Souda, Sonia, Gundam and Ibuki.
"Ahhhh! Hinata-chan is awake! Ibuki is glad we can finally come together! Ibuki hasn't seen you out of your room in Ibuki days!"
"So you decided to finally come out your room, eh? That's the spirit!"
As a reluctant Hinata was pulled along by Ibuki and Souda, Sonia informed him about what they were going to do.
"Togami-kun organized a holiday party for all of us! He said that this party is to celebrate the first Christmas between all of us. He also said that there would be a surprise, I wonder what that will be?"
"I bet you it'll be something related to food, maybe a giant cake? Hey! What do you think of that, Sonia-san?"
"Wow! Ibuki bet there will be lots of food! And decoration! Did you know Ibuki even helped Togami-chan decorate and prepare! Doesn't that sound very kind of Ibuki!"
"Right, right. Anyway, I hope I can get some good shots for my collection."
"Mhm, I bet you it'll be great! It's been awhile since I've seen everyone together! What do you think of that, Tanaka-san?"
"Ibuki sees it! Ibuki sees it! We're here! Hell~o? Anyone home? Ibuki is here and she brought Hajime-chan with her!"
Hinata looked up to see a house similar to his, it was painted brown and had a modern look to it. Everyone lived nearly just around the corner, he knew that the house farthest away from his was Tsumiki's. The kids involved with the Field Trip of Mutual Killing were all placed in a village that wasn't destructed by Super High School Level Despair farther away than the other survivors in their area. Tsumiki was deployed to live closer to them due to her Super High School Talent and Future Foundation needing it. Still, it was a 30 minute walk to her home.
"Hm? Well, let's go in already! I bet you were the last ones. Damn..Sure would've wished I was first, I could've put some mistletoe up and get Son- I mean…" Souda's rant was interrupted by a cold stare form Koizumi, "Geez...sorry…"
"Come on everyone! Let's go in already! Ibuki is dying to start!" She shouted, about to kick the door, "Hey! Mioda! Is that really safe?" Hinata shouted. Apparently Ibuki didn't hear it and kicked it open, revealing the faces of his friends standing around.
Togami's- Or, Super High School level imposters house was fairly clean and modern. There were Christmas decorations everywhere (Probably Mioda's doing, Hinata thought), plates of cookies and other food were on the counter and a small Christmas Tree was in the corner. Super High School Level Imposer, once they saw the group, they immediately smiled. Hinata realized how different he looked with his glasses and suit off.
"Welcome, Hinata." The voice of Toga- Super High School Level imposer was quite different than when they was under the name of Togami. When he went out with everyone, everyone still thought they was, well, Togami.
"Um...Hello? What should I call you? I mean, I don't think calling you Togami would be a good idea..?"
"...I'm not sure what my name is either, as far as I know, I do not have an identity, Mioda has been calling me 'Impo-chan', so I'm thinking about it."
"So let's stick with Imposer, how about that?"
Imposer gave a small smile, "For the time."
Hinata widened his eyes. No…It couldn't...For.. Maybe a few seconds..Hinata thought it was Nanami… Her voice… Her way of speaking… He looked up to see Toga- Imposer smiling, "Was my Nanami impression okay?"
[ PART 5 ]
The party was amazing.
For starters, nobody died, so it was deemed successful. Hanamura made a pomegranate platter which looked a lot like Imposer's death, everyone laughed due to the facial of the food Imposer while said person looked startled, "Did I really look that bad when I died?"
Komeada made everyone cookies (half were burned while the other half were okay) in the shape of Hope Shards, giving them a smile. Everyone sighed, but smiled a bit afterwards. Komeada will be Komeada.
Tsumiki fell once more. Koizumi commented that she's getting better at falling, as this time, it was after bumping into a table. Owari obviously won the eating contest, leaving both Nidai and Imposer in the dust. Saionji complained that all of the food goes to her boobs anyways, so whats the point.
And, of course, mistletoe. Souda was trying to get Sonia to go under one with him, but it backfired as Gundam accidently walked under one while chasing his hamsters. Peko and Kuzuryuu accidently walked under one and Peko gave Kuzuryuu a kiss on the forehead.
Nidai and Owari were caught under the mistletoe near the food station. Komeada had the unfortunate of walking under the mistletoe with Hanamura, or it could go the other way. Tsumiki and a complaining Saionji were caught by the mistletoe. Souda tried once again for the mistletoe, only to be with a groaning Koizumi, which ended up in a kick from Saionji (A dirty hag like you can't touch my Big Sis!). Sonia pulled Tanaka under a mistletoe, with a screaming Soudain the background. An eager Ibuki pulled Imposer under the mistletoe.
As for Hinata? He was pretty good at avoiding mistletoe. However, after accidentally spilling his drink on an angry Saionji, Koizumi gulped and pointed to a mistletoe above their heads. Saionji muttered something along the lines of 'Better than Big Bro Souda' and leaned in for a kiss. Hinata just gulped and could've sworn he heard Souda laugh, he sighed and leaned in. Just as their lips met, Saionji kicked him in the groin. That's for ruining my kimono!" She shouted, laughing as she ran away. A flustered and pained Hinata could only fall over as Souda and the rest of his classmates laughed.
Back in his room once more, Hinata fell onto his bed, his groin pains still raging on. Rolling over, he eyed the lit corner of his room. A small shrub was given to everyone after the party with lights on. Komeda proclaimed it 'As your own light of hope!'. Under it was a small box wrapped with video characters and a badly made bow. Everyone was supposed to meet outside Koizumi' house for pictures and gift exchanges tomorrow evening. Ibuki handed out a paper slip to everyone, 'On the pieces of paper, Ibuki has written down the names of everyone! Ibuki handed out a random person to everyone so everyone can be surprised!'
'Also,' Koizumi added, 'Naegi, Kyouko-chan and Togami will also be there, so we added their names in there. I will send them the none taken ones later.' With this, everyone took theirs, Komeada had the misfortune of picking his own name three times, so Koizumi asked a group of people to give her their paper back to switch it for Komeada. With this, Hinata didn't feel like checking whom he had after the 3rd shuffle.
He remembered getting Gundam the first time, he couldn't remember who he had the second time. Hinata, still on his bed reached inside his pocket, fetching the piece of paper. Closing his eyes, he opened the piece of paper, confirming it was all the way opened. Begging for someone easy, he opened one eye to read the name on it.
Hiyoko Saionji.
Hinata blinked. No way. He folded it in half and re-opened it. The person that just kicked him? He would have to give her a gift?
'I'm still not sure of what to give Usami and Alter Ego though…'
HInata closed his eyes. He pretended he got Nanami. He pretended that he saw her over the waves of people. He imagined her head turn, her smile her mouth forming the words, her hand rea-
Sighing, he got up, limping towards the computer. Turning on the computer, he thought of what to get Saionji. What does she like? Gummy worms? Right, eight, she likes gummies but not the yellow ones. it's funny, Hinata thought, her hair looks like a gummy worm, bouncing up and down, and guess what color is it?
"Hey… Nanami… If you can hear me… I'm reaching forward, to the future you made for us, for all the other… But… It's still hard… I won't ever forget you… Thank you… Thank you for everything you've done… I… I…"
'Want to be by you, Hinata-kun'
"I...Want you to be here...By my side..So I can proclaim…"
'I love you, Hinata-kun'
"I'll buy you the games you would want, we could go fix this messed up world… Just you and me…"
'I'll always be cheering you on'
"We… I… I'll move towards it...The goal that you had created, that we will find one day… I'll get to you… But for now I'll…"
'it doesn't matter how many talents you have, you still won't be able to hold your head up high..."
"It doesn't matter...I'm just a normal guy...But I'll lead it… Hey, Nanami, you can hear me, right?"