It was just another ordinary evening spent on Jabberwock Island. Of course, if "ordinary" means spending time on this uninhibited island, trying to kill one of your friends in order to get out of here.

Hinata was gradually getting used to this lifestyle, even if he didn't agree with it at all. He tried not to think about it too much. He had to stay as sane as possible, or he would just fall into the pits of despair, just like some of his classmates.

His routine was pretty much the same every day. Wake up, visit the island, spend some time with the others and try to socialize and then go to bed. Of course, this would always happen, unless a crime occured. Solving the mystery, while knowing that failure might lead you to death was not an easy task. Fortunately, there were always people that he could count on, such as Nanami or Sonia, who were really nice and always helped with the investigation. Souda and Kuzuryuu were also guys that he could have a pretty decent conversation with. But not Komaeda. Never Komaeda. Everytime he spoke with him, he would get chills running down his spine. His whole carefree attitude, his ever-present smile… When he first met Komaeda, Hinata was sure that those were signs of him being a good guy, but the first trial proved him wrong.

Still, Komaeda's tragic backstory made Hinata feel somehow bad for him. No matter how messed up he was, no one deserved something like that. Still, there was no excuse for all the things that he had done. Hinata couldn't help but wonder, would he still be the same if he had a different childhood?

"Guess there's no point in thinking about the past." Hinata thought.

Suddenly, on the monitor in his room appeared none other than Monokuma. 'Ahem, Hope's Peak Academy's School Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make. It is now 10 p.m. Please return to your rooms and relax. Let the sound of the ocean gently rock you to sleep.'

"Can't believe it's already 10 p.m. Just another useless day on this island. Will this nightmare ever end?" Hinata sighed.

He was really tired after visiting the new island, so he decided to head straight to bed.

"At least sleeping will help me forget about everything for a while."

It was about 2 a.m. when Hinata heard a really loud knock on the door. This has never happened before, so he was quite surprised, yet scared at the same time.

"What if someone's here to kill me?" he thought. It wouldn't be impossible after all. Everyone else was probably sleeping, so they wouldn't see or hear anything.

'Who is it?' Hinata shouted. After all, why would anyone bother him at this hour?

'Hinata-kun, it's me. Please open the door, it's something important.'

This voice sounded so familiar. Maybe a little too familiar. Could it be…?

"No. He can't be here."

Yet he was.

The knocking became even louder after a while.

'Hinata-kun, I promise I'm not going to do anything. Just please open the door and I will explain everything.'

"Sure, he says so, but how can I trust him after all he has done?"

Hesitantly, Hinata headed to the door. He opened the door slightly and looked outside. That's when he saw him. The one he disliked the most. The guy capable of anything, just for the sake of his so called "hope".

But there was something he never expected to see. Komaeda was…crying. Or was he? But those tears didn't look fake at all. Plus, his voice did sound a bit shaky.

"What the heck happened to him?" Hinata wondered.

'Hinata-kun, may I come in for a bit? Please.' He said while looking at the ground.

Hinata was really suspicious. After all, he didn't trust the cloud-haired boy at all. But he seemed so harmless. He checked his hands, but they were completely empty.

Komaeda was pretty clever, so he could have a weapon hidden in his jacket. But there was something telling Hinata that maybe he's just overreacting.

"I should be really careful though."

'What do you want?' Hinata asked harshly.

Komaeda raised his head and looked straight into Hinata's eyes. He looked so sad, yet he seemed like he was trying to hide it.

'I just…Can I come inside? It's really cold outside right now. Look-' he showed Hinata the insides of his jacket, 'I'm completely clean, see? I promise I won't hurt you.'

He sounded so sincere, which was quite unlike him.

Hinata sighed. 'Okay, you can come in for a bit.'

Komaeda looked so relieved and happy all of a sudden.

'Really? Thank you so much, Hinata-kun. You're such a great person. Helping someone in such a hopeless situation.'

'Just shut up and come in already.' Hinata said, sounding slightly annoyed.

Every time he heard Komaeda saying something connected to hope, he was reminded about the reason why he didn't like the guy.

'Alright.' Komaeda said as he stepped inside. 'Wow, your room looks amazing compared to mine, Hinata-kun. I mean it isn't that surprising considering that it's yours.'

"This is gonna be a really long night…" Hinata thought, while looking at Komaeda.

'Sooo… Why did you come here, Komaeda?' the brown-haired boy asked.

'Well…um…' Komaeda said while looking at the ground again. Was he embarrassed or something? 'I, uh, I had a really bad nightmare. And I got really scared. That doesn't happen very often, but considering this whole situation that we are in… I felt really alone. After all, no one likes me. No one trusts me and no one cares about me.'

Hinata felt kind of bad for him. Was it really his fault for being the way he is?

'But it's not like I actually deserve anyone's love, right? I mean, I'm just trash. Stupid, worthless, ugly trash that deserves to die. And even if that actually happens, it's not like someone would actually miss me.'

Hinata couldn't stand this. Yeah, Komaeda sure was a weird and messed up guy, but he didn't deserve this. No one really deserved such a fate. Somehow, Hinata could empathize with him. There were also times when he felt alone and worthless. After all, he wasn't special and he always wanted to be better. He wanted to accomplish something meaningful, to be more than just another face in the crowd. But he really hated feeling that way. He could see himself in Komaeda, but the parts that he didn't like about himself. Maybe that's why he felt that way about Komaeda.

'I mean, you hate me too, right, Hinata-kun?'.

Hinata couldn't take it anymore.

'I'm really sorry, Hinata-kun.' Komaeda said, looking away. 'I shouldn't have come here. I'm just troubling you with my own problems. Don't worry, I'm just gonna go back –'

As Komaeda was prepared to walk out the door, Hinata grabbed his arm. When the white-haired boy looked at him, Hinata slapped him right in the face.

Shocked, Komaeda was about to ask what he had done wrong, but before he could say anything, Hinata cupped his face in his hands.

'You need to stop, okay?' Hinata said, looking straight into Komaeda's eyes. 'Stop saying stuff like that about yourself. Sure, you're not the most trustworthy person. You make a lot of mistakes and you always say such weird stuff. But stop underestimating yourself, alright? You're unique in your own way.'

Did Komaeda actually hear that right? Did Hinata really say all those things about him? He really wanted to respond, but the words just wouldn't come out.

'It's true that I didn't have a good opinion about you, but you're not as bad as I thought you were. I'm really sorry for being mean to you all this time, but I'm just starting to understand you. I promise I'm gonna listen to you from now on and I will make you change that opinion about yourself. So stop thinking that no one would care if you were gone, because I would, Komaeda-kun.' Hinata said, shocked by his own words.

If someone had asked Hinata about his opinion on Komaeda the previous day, he would've just said that he's a twisted, messed up, annoying bastard. But something made him change his opinion about this fascinating individual in just one night. Not just that, but he actually started to like him and to observe some things about him that he had never noticed before. For example, the way his hair looks always so messy, but it's probably really fluffy and it suits his face perfectly. Also, the way his emerald green eyes shine when he's happy or excited.

"He's actually really cute, huh." Hinata thought. "God, I never thought I'd say that."

After Hinata's long speech, Komaeda closed his eyes end let out a deep sigh. When he opened them, he smiled softly. This was probably Komaeda's first true smile and it looked so pure and innocent from Hinata's perspective.

Hinata always thought that the boy's smile was a sign of malice, always shown when bad things happened. But right now, Komaeda's smile symbolised peace, relief and acceptance. Hinata really wished to see that smile more often.

'You know, Hinata-kun, this is the most beautiful thing that someone has ever told me.' Komaeda said, crying. But those weren't tears of sorrow like before. They were tears of joy. 'I'm so lucky that I've met you, Hinata-kun. This is probably the first time I've ever felt so good about my talent. Maybe all the bad things that had happened in the past have a meaning. I had to go through all those stuff just to meet you. Iguess I really am lucky after all. Thank you for everything, Hinata-kun.'

Hinata always thought that hearing Komaeda say Hinata-kun all the time was really annoying, but hearing it now seemed really sweet. He liked the way he pronounced the name, making it sound like it was something very important to Komaeda, something that he really believed in.

Komaeda wiped his tears and hugged Hinata, burying his head in the crook of his neck. Although he seemed really cold, Komaeda was actually pretty warm and Hinata found this position really comfortable.

'I think I like you, Hinata-kun.' Komaeda softly whispered in the boy's ear. There was a feeling on uncertainty in those words, probably because Komaeda was unsure of what Hinata felt about him.

Hinata looked deeply in Komaeda's eyes.

'I don't think like you.'

There was a short pause, after that sentence, in which Komaeda felt really disappointed. As he was about to say something, Hinata continued.

'I know I like you, Komaeda-kun.' Hinata said before his lips softly touched Komaeda's warm ones. This was his first kiss ever and it was just how he imagined it to be. As their lips parted ways, he looked at Komaeda and said 'You know, it's pretty late, so how about we go to sleep and continue this in the morning?' Hinata said, smirking.

Komaeda blushed, looking at the ground.

'Is it really okay to sleep together? I mean, you know…"

Hinata giggled, holding Komaeda's hands.

'As long as you're with me, I promise that you'll never have nightmares or feel alone again.'

The two boys headed to bed and turned off the lights. They laid really close to each other, until they were in a hugging position. Before falling asleep, Hinata kissed Komaeda's forehead.

'You're safe now, Komaeda-kun.'

In the morning, the couple overslept, so they were late for breakfast. The others were waiting for them at the restaurant's table.

'Nanami-chan, why don't you go and check up on them? Just to make sure that they're alright.' Sonia suggested.

'Sure.' Nanami said, being a little worried herself.

Nanami decided to check Hinata's room first, since they were pretty close friends. She knocked on the door, but nobody responded. She tried opening the door, and surprisingly, it open.

"Maybe Hinata-kun forgot to lock it last night." Nanami thought. "Still, it's pretty weird."

When she opened the door, she saw something that she wasn't really supposed to see.

The two boys were still in bed, in the same hugging position as last night, Hinata's lips still pressed against Komaeda's forehead.

Nanami gasped, but the gasp soon turned into a sigh.

'I freakin' knew this was gonna happen one day.' Nanami said with her usual sleepy expression. 'Though I have to admit, this was a bit sooner than I expected.'