A/N: Well, welcome to my longest fanfic yet. Lately I've noticed that there's very little (okay, none), of one of my favorite pairings, Hinata and Nanami. Thus, I've decided to write some. My apologies if there's little humor or Alter Ego; I'm afraid I'm in a "serious" fanfic phase right now.
Flight SQ11 touched down at 1 South Terminal, Narita International Airport, and prepared to disgorge its passengers. The large Singaporean plane was filled with tourists and businessmen coming to Japan for, well, tourism and business, but for one young man on board, he was returning home.
Hajime Hinata left the plane, collected his baggage, and exchanged his dollars for yen. Then he boarded a Narita Express train heading to Shibuya Station, and from there, took a taxi to the Roppongi Hills Residences, his target tonight. The sun was already starting to set as he stepped out of the taxi and made his way with his luggage to the Hyatt Tokyo, the place where his company had already arranged for a room for him.
After graduating from Hope's Peak four years ago, Hinata had joined Kirigiri Detective and Law. At the time, the Kirigiri Detective Agency was only a year old and was not too well known, but it exploded into national recognition after their investigation allowed the arrest of a dozen corrupt politicians shortly after Hinata joined. Before long, the KDA had become its own pseudo-police organization, doing investigations into affairs, helping the police with solving robberies and murders, and especially tackling corporate espionage. Then, after the founder's wedding to an old classmate of hers, the KDA had become KDL, and began hiring lawyers. That had been three years ago, while Hinata was investigating the habits of a prominent businessman's wife, and when an incident had happened that Hinata did not like to recall.
And then, shortly afterwards and despite KDL's dire circumstances, Hinata had been promoted and sent to Osaka to set up the first branch of KDL outside of Tokyo. After a couple of years there, he was sent to Los Angeles to set up the first branch in the United States and was put in charge of hiring new detectives and lawyers, usually ones right out of uni. And it was at that point that he'd been called back to Japan, this time to Minato ward (where KDL was now based), to investigate a shady businessman backing organized crime groups, based out of the Roppongi complex.
Hinata refocused on his task, and, realizing that he probably looked a little suspicious in his black suit and sunglasses while staring up at Residence B, he began walking towards the entrance to the apartment tower. There was a second problem here, though. Before he'd come to the tower, he'd checked out the mailboxes to find out which tower the crook he was looking for lived in. While he had found them, he'd found out that someone else lived here: his, ah, girlfriend from three years ago, Chiaki Nanami. Hopefully the two wouldn't cross paths... it would be too painful for the both of them.
Hinata entered Residence B, avoided the doorman and staff in the lobby, and then found the stairs. And thus he began his investigation...
Hinata woke up. He was tucked into a bed, beneath a thin tan blanket. Slowly, he looked around the room: to his right was what looked like two doors ajar enough to show an empty closet, a thinner door next to the closet, and next to the thin door but further back, was a closed, metallic-white door; to his left, there was a white metal end-table with a radio clock on it, and on the left-most wall was a sliding door looking out at the Tokyo skyline. In front of him, mounted on the wall, was a flat-screen television with a piece of paper taped to it reading "Mikan's". There were no drapes, no blinds, and no decorations in the room.
Hinata got up, letting the blanket fall. He realized that had no shirt on anymore. He stumbled out of bed and winced when his shoulder hit the wall; he touched it gingerly and noticed that it was noticably darker than the rest of his skin. "At least nothing feels broken," he murmured. Then he began staggering towards the sliding door.
He slid the door open and walked onto the balcony outside. The balcony was rather large, and from his new vantage-point (leaning against the railing near a large column) he could see that there were, including his room, two sliding doors, the left door (his own) and the right door. To the right of the right room was a wall; to the left of his own room was another four glass doors, that he'd seen when he first walked outside, but now he couldn't see any of them thanks to the large column in the way. The only light was the bright lights of Tokyo at night and a faint flickering white light emanating from the gaps in the blinds of the right room.
Hinata turned around to watch the city. It was quite noisy outside, with the usual sound of cars and trains filling the night, and it was unusually warm for what seemed to be a tower, although that line of thought was cut off as he was enveloped by a gust of wind. As he folded his arms tightly and shivered, he heard a sliding door open and someone walk out onto the balcony.
A pretty light pink-haired girl dressed in a gray nightgown leaned against the railing next to Hinata. "Looks nice, doesn't it," she said. Hinata gulped. "I see you're awake, Hinata-kun," Chiaki Nanami commented. Hinata nodded stiffly back.
They stared out at Tokyo, watching trains and cars and masses of tourists. Hinata was sure that she was thinking the same thing as him, about that terrible incident three years ago.
"You should've seen Komaeda-kun's face when he found you," Nanami said, although she did not turn to face Hinata. "Beaten up, shirt torn, black eye, the works. Someone had it out for you."
Hinata nodded, then shivered again. "Y-y-your apartment?" he said, shivering.
"Yes. 12th floor of the Roppongi Hills Residence B, paid for by exorbitant salary courtesy of Togami Robotics," Nanami said. She put her hand on Hinata's left shoulder- his good shoulder. "It's cold out here. Come inside."
She lead him through the other sliding room and slid the door shut that she must've left open, plunging Hinata back into warmth. Nanami's room, in contrast to Hinata's spartan room, was lively. She had a rather large bed in the middle of the room, its head against the right wall, with gray sheets and pillows; across from the bed was a television mounted on the wall, much like Hinata's room, though unlike Hinata's room a long shelf had been installed underneath the television sporting all sorts of video game systems and games. Framed pictures and posters covered the walls, reminding Hinata partly of an American cinema, and on the back-right side of the room, he could see two sets of closed closet doors. The floor was spotless, there were two bedside tables based on the lamps, and to his immediate left was a stuffed pink rabbit that he knew she'd had for as long as he could remember.
"Better than your room, right?" Nanami said, passing Hinata and jumping onto the bed. Hinata nodded. "That was Mikan- you remember her, right, Mikan Tsumiki-'s old room. She moved out two days ago to live with her new boyfriend, Teruteru Hanamura." She paused. "That's when we found you, by the way."
"What?" Hinata said, and he staggered forward and went careening onto the end of the bed. Then he picked himself up off of it and resumed, "Why didn't I go to the hospital!?"
"Because nothing was broken, and when we called your boss about you she suggested that you stay here until you're well enough to go back to work," Nanami said. She smiled. "Of course, I needed another tenant here, but we decided to wait for you to come to..."
Hinata slumped against the bed and thought. A new tenant? His boss? No hospital? Then he stood up again, lost his balance, and collapsed onto the bed (again), just behind Nanami. He apologized and said, "Why do you want your ex-lover from high school-"
"Hope's Peak functioned as a college too, you know," Nanami interjected.
"-high school and college to live in your apartment?" Hinata finished.
"Because this thing is expensive and I need someone I know will actually work to be my tenant?" Nanami said. She turned around and pushed Hinata off the bed. "You're not allowed in here either, by the way." Once Hinata was off the bed (again), she continued, "besides, as far as Nagito-kun and I could tell, the only reason why you were beat up was because you were lurking around Residence B without actually living here. So, if you live here, you can investigate in peace."
"But how would you know-"
"Nagito-kun overheard the whole exchange."
"Oh."
"And in any case, consider this a 'reset' to our relationship," Nanami said. She stood up. "Go out the door over there-" she pointed to the back of the room, by the closet, "-and you'll find two doors. The door to your right is the washroom and laundry room, and if you keep going through the washroom you'll find the shower. If you go right, you'll find your room. Keep going down the hallway, ignore the door into the living room, and you'll find the entrance. The toilet's the first door on your left."
Hinata nodded, but before opening the door, he said, "Thank you, Nanami-san."
She smiled, again. "Tomorrow's Saturday, and I have work off. We'll go clothing shopping and you can officially accept my offer and collect your stuff from the hotel. Good night."
"Good night."
They were part of the 79th batch of students attending Hope's Peak Academy. Hinata was the so-called "Ultimate Student", as shown by his status as one of the top students in Japan combined with his raw enthusiasm for an education at Hope's Peak. Nanami was the "Ultimate Gamer" who'd made names for herself in the video game world as a star female gamer and had paid off her family's debts by winning numerous high-profile game tournament. They met on the first day of school, like all members of the 79th batch, and had, at first, gone off to their own worlds.
Hinata was quickly befriended by Ultimate Luck, Nagito Komaeda; Nanami by Ultimate Photographer, Mahiru Koizumi. Months passed, but it was not until the Ultimate Princess Sonia Nevermind arranged for a Halloween celebration that the two actually spent any time together. At Komaeda's suggestion, Hinata and Nanami spent October 31st playing video games in her room, avoiding Sonia's crazy, almost impromptu holiday celebration that was nonetheless still a hit amongst most of the school population.
They spent more time together after that. Hinata enjoyed video games, even if Nanami always beat him. People would cycle in and out as players, but it was always the two of them. With Komaeda's prodding, the two went out on a first date for that year's Valentines, and Nanami chose to give him chocolate; a month later, he reciprocated, as per the tradition (that had been created by the chocolate corporations, but details, details). At the end of the year, they were "officially" a couple, though they had an on-and-off relationship over the next two years. Their relationship issues were further compounded in second year when they had sex for the first time, and despite (or maybe because of) their relative inexperience and the lessons of fanfiction, it only caused more tensions.
By fourth year, when they were both 18, their relationship stabilized, especially thanks to advice from one of the upperclassmen, Makoto Naegi, who'd been in their situation himself. They kept dating, keeping sex sporadic, over the fourth and fifth years. After graduation from Hope's Peak, the two moved into an apartment, where Hinata joined the KDA, and Nanami a robotics testing company (she moved companies in the previous four years).
And then the letter had arrived in the mail. "Brave Soldier of KDA," it read, "We salute you for your service. Tragically, we also feel compelled to make sure that you know the cost of serving hope." Hinata, like the other twenty members of KDA (including the boss, Kyouko Kirigiri), handed the letter over to the police; a week later, the wife of one of the members was assassinated, and soon there were only four people left in KDA: Kirigiri, a former police officer, a fresh-out-of-college Forensics major, and Hinata himself.
"So, this is where KDL's located?" Nanami said, as she walked into Tokyo Midtown tower with Hinata.
He nodded. "Floor 38," he said, "we have the whole floor."
They walked through the grand lobby and took the elevator to the 38th floor, where they were quickly ushered into the office of KDL's founder (and Hinata's boss), Kirigiri. The office was very nice, with handsome wooden bookshelves holding books on all sorts of subjects on the right wall, a beautiful desk with an expensive-looking Mac on it in the middle of the room, another bookshelf filled with legal books and pictures on the left wall, and several office chairs sitting in front of the desk. Behind the desk was Hinata's boss, Kirigiri, and behind her was her husband, who was sitting in an office chair behind Kirigiri and was shuffling through papers.
"Kirigiri-san," Hinata said, bowing. Nanami followed suit. Kirigiri nodded to the two of them.
"Nanami-san," she said, "please discuss the terms of our deal with my husband." Makoto Kirigiri looked up. "I want to discuss something with Hinata-san. Privately."
Nanami left the room with Makoto, leaving Hinata alone with his boss. "You wanted something, Kirigiri-san?"
"Sit down," she ordered. Hinata obeyed. "Hinata-san," she said, "I'm afraid that I did not give you the whole story when I called you in Los Angeles."
"Oh?"
"I did not think that your target, Ryotsa Masaru, would be so well protected," Kirigiri said, and she reddened ever so slightly. "I'm sorry to have put you through that." Hinata opened his mouth. "But before you ask about the hospital-" Hinata closed his mouth, "-we have reason to believe that the same men behind the assassination of Owara-san and the near assassination of my husband are now in control of the hospitals closest to Roppongi Hills," Kirigiri exposited.
"But I thought the people from three years ago called it off?" Hinata said. For a moment, he remembered being at the wedding and hearing that terrible crack, watching the man who'd helped him and Nanami through their relationship issues collapse while his blood splattered onto his new wife.
"Yes, they had for the moment," Kirigiri replied, bringing Hinata back to reality. She glanced at the bookshelf briefly then back at Hinata. "But they recently sent me a note. I've already handed it to the police, but so far nothing's happened. You were in California, so I didn't have time to discuss what happened, but everyone else has been informed."
"And this Ryotsa Masaru is related to the group from three years ago?" Hinata said. Kirigiri nodded.
"Do you remember any of your underclassmen?" Kirigiri said. Hinata shook his head. "Masaru was a 'Ultimate Investment Banker' who was part of the 81st batch, but he lost almost everything in the financial crisis in 2008," she explained. She pulled a picture out of her desk and put it in front of Hinata: the man in the picture had short black hair, wire-frame glasses, and a perfect white smile, and had a large head, but otherwise was indistinct. "This was him earlier this year, at graduation," Kirigiri said. She put the picture away. "Since then, he's rebuilt his fortune, but we know from... certain sensitive sources... that he's been financing Despair along the way."
"Despair, sir?"
"Yes. The terrorist organization calling itself 'Despair', organized by my former classmates Enoshima and Ikusaba," Kirigiri said, "unknown size but known to be recruiting. And they like to go for the talented ones- the übermensch and the intelligentsia. That's who I want you to investigate- specifically, the comings and goings into his apartment."
"But Nanami-san, what if they go after her again!" Hinata said, standing up quickly.
"Sit down, Hinata-san," Kirigiri replied, her voice steady and her face perfectly still. "She knew and insisted on it. She's not worried about Despair going after her, for whatever reason, and Despair has to act in the shadows right now. If they were powerful enough to defy the police, the two of you would already be dead."
Hinata sat down again, and looked down. The door opened and Makoto and Nanami entered. "Alright, Hinata-kun," Nanami said, "let's go get your stuff from the Hyatt, oh, and go shopping for a little too, okay?" She walked up behind him and grabbed his arm. "Come on?"
"Sure," Hinata said, and he stood up. He bowed, first to Kirigiri, then to her husband.
"Good luck, Hinata-san, Nanami-san," Makoto said.
Nanami walked out the door and Hinata moved to follow. "Hinata-san," Kirigiri added, "be careful. I don't want a repeat of what happened."
"Yes sir," Hinata replied. Then he followed Nanami outside.
The two left the building and got in Nanami's car. "So," Nanami said, "you're going to be taking on some terrorists?"
"Yeah." A pang of fear went through Hinata again. "Nanami-san, these people tried to kill Kirigiri-san-"
"I know," Nanami replied. "But I'm no longer a loved one, Hinata-kun, not like he was to your boss. I'll be fine."
The two were silent, listening only to the radio news, until they reached the Hyatt hotel. After retrieving Hinata's things and checking out of the hotel, they dropped the stuff off at Nanami's apartment and went shopping. They returned to the apartment that night with a new Wii U that Nanami took into her room, leaving Hinata alone in the darkness.
Hinata entered his room, where his stuff had been put, and froze. A thin man was sitting on his bed, his face illuminated by the faint glow of a cigarette, revealing sallow skin and a pointy black goatee. The room smelled like smoke. "Hello, Hajime Hinata," the man said. He stood up, and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth. "Name's Hiroshi Nakejawa," he said, "a member of the 70th batch at Hope's Peak Academy. Graduated eleven years ago. I was called, 'Ultimate Sculptor'."
He dropped the cigarette on the floor and smashed it under his foot. "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you," he said when Hinata lunged for his things. "Your boss knows I'm here, probably wants me t' keep an eye on ya."
"If she did, then she'd have no problem with me getting my weapon, would she?" Hinata countered. Nakejawa nodded and put a hand in his pocket- he was dressed in what looked like a grimy trench coat- and pulled out a taser. Hinata quickly pulled it out of Nakejawa's hand, and Nakejawa made no move to take it back.
"It's nice to see you're still as paranoid as you used to be," Nakejawa said, and he sat back down on the bed. "Back when I was on the committee that selected you for entry. You were going to be Reserve Course, you know. Until we intervened."
"Thank you," Hinata replied stiffly. "Do you have a point in being here?"
"I'm here to warn you," Nakejawa said. He stood back up and stalked over to the door. "I found this door unlocked. See you around." He slid the door open and slammed it, then walked off to the right. Hinata locked the door and left the room, and then rushed into Nanami's room.
Where she was changing into her bedclothes, and as such was only in her underwear, though her back was to the door. "Hinata-kun!" she cried, her voice high-pitched, and she twisted slightly to see him, "I said you can't come in-"
"My door was unlocked," Hinata said. He briefly told her about his encounter with Nakejawa while he carefully edged out of the room to give Nanami back her privacy, his face aflame. "Was anything out of place in your room?"
"No!" she called back. She emerged from her room, dressed in light pink pajamas. "I'll go look. You go check your room."
Hinata nodded and returned to his room. He went through his clothes, his souvenirs, his pictures, and even through his computer, camera, and other electronics. Finally, he rifled through his toiletries. Nothing was out of place. There was no note anywhere in his things. Then he glanced up at the wall, at the television, and noticed that it'd gained a second note: "A Monobear went out to play...". He ripped the note down and ran to find Nanami, his heart beating faster and faster. "Nanami-san!"
She emerged from the kitchen. "Did you find something?" she said. Hinata showed her the note, and based on her eyes widening, she was feeling the same as him.
"Do you want me to leave?" Hinata said.
"I'll call the police," Nanami replied. She pulled out her cell phone, then paused and glanced at Hinata. "You're not going anywhere. I'm not going to let a friend die," she stated. Nanami left the room as she dialed a number, leaving Hinata to stand in the kitchen. It was a nice kitchen, but he could focus on that at a later time.
The police came and went. They investigated the apartment, found a poorly installed sound-recording bug in Hinata's room behind his bed, and took the note from Nanami. Then they left, leaving instructions to Hinata and Nanami on how to make sure the sliding doors wouldn't open (put a block of wood in the groove of the sliding doors. Easily removable from the inside, impossible to open without breaking from the outside) and three blocks of wood, so that they could interview Nakejawa and call it a night.
"Well," Nanami said, emerging from her room where she'd been setting up the block, "should we get your room set-up? It's only nine." Hinata, who'd been waiting in the hallway for her, nodded.
The two entered his room and... stopped. It still smelled like smoke. Nanami sighed and pulled out her phone again. "Let me get someone to clean this place," she said. "Hinata-kun, just take the blankets and sheets and put them in the TV room." She stepped out into the hallway and lead Hinata over to a door to his right, in the hall. "It's in here."
Hinata sighed and grabbed bedclothes and a blanket. The TV room was probably the largest room in the apartment, and had a sliding door on the far left wall, an opening that looked into the kitchen, a couch and chairs along the far wall, bookshelves and a television with a Wii and PS3 on the near wall, to Hinata's left, and a glass coffee-table right in front of the couch. A small table with two chairs shoved against it was in the corner of the room by the opening into the kitchen; pictures hung from the wall, and a lamp stood next to the couch. The sliding door already had the wooden stopper, and also had drapes hiding the light pollution. Hinata spread the blanket onto the couch and began to change into his clothes, stripping his shirt off.
And then the door opened. "Oh!" Nanami squeaked, "sorry!" Hinata's face flared again, and he quickly peeked at Nanami standing in the doorway. Her cheeks were now the color of a tomato. "Sorry!" she closed the door. "They're going to come tomorrow morning to clean your room, Hinata-kun!"
"Hey, Nanami-san!" Hinata called back, "Call me Hajime!"
"Fine, Hajime-san," Nanami replied, still through the door, "but don't think that you can call me Chiaki!" She was silent for a moment. "Not until you've earned it," she said, quieter. Hinata finished changing and retired for the night.