Hinata looked the tree fort up and down. Sure, it had a few notches and flaws (okay, maybe more than a few), but to be honest, he was exhausted, and really didn't want to build anymore, or really, ever again. A house builder would likely cringe at the barbarous, lazy disgrace of a structure, complete with creaking and dangling pieces of wood and planks both too long and small poorly nailed to the walls, hanging in place by only the sheer mercy of the universe, but hey, he was only nine.
He had built the entire thing himself too, with some help from his parents. Admittedly the parts that looked study and reasonable weren't the parts he built, but all in all Hinata didn't care much. It was done, and it was now his for the taking.
He scampered up the trunk of the tree and reached for the rope feebly, slowly lugging himself up to the fort until he could take hold of the planks to reach the base.
When he did reach the top, the "room" inside seemed small and compact, but just right at the same time. He smiled at the poster of Hope's Peak Academy that was pinned against the wall crookedly, and turned to look out the window. Hinata knew he would be going there someday, and would spend time staring at the poster in admiration. Truthfully, it would probably blow away or get damaged in here, but Hinata didn't really consider that. Again, he was nine.
He looked around the empty tree fort, and sighed, wondering how fun it would be to be in here with a group of friends, socializing and playing games. Hinata wasn't really the best at making friends, and never really had any, or any close ones at least-
Something other than his train of thought stole Hinata's attention. There was a hand grabbing on the window, and the sound of wheezing coming from below. Another hand grabbed on the walls, next to the first. Hinata sort of stared in confusion, unable to surely comprehend how to react. There was clearly someone there, and although he figured he should say something, nothing that worked sprung to mind. The situation as a whole was awfully weird, and he didn't really plan what to do if some person tried to invade his fort.
Hinata settled for helping the individual up, and snatched their hand.
It was probably a bad decision. The person below gasped and flinched from the unexpected touch, and inevitably let go, in what would have resulted in them falling to the ground. The only problem is, Hinata was holding on, and was dragged halfway out the window, releasing a cry of surprise upon the sudden surge forward. He forced all of his might into keeping himself and the stranger from tumbling to the floor, while reeling backwards to bring them both up again.
It wasn't pretty, but eventually the pair both managed to scamper into the tree fort, covered with bruises and cuts. Now was the first time Hinata managed to get an actual look at the person, since he was in a bit of a state of panic before.
The stranger plucked a few twigs from his fluffy mass of marshmallowy hair, and gave Hinata a playful grin. He was about Hinata's age as well. Ashy, grey eyes that glistened with curiosity and amusement gazed at him. Hinata glared back with a tad of cautious hostility, making sure to keep his distance.
"Ah.. sorry about that. I was interested in this fort and wanted to see it, is all." He stated without care, in a raspy, dry tone.
The explanation only made Hinata even more puzzled. Who just intrudes someone else's treefort without asking or even knowing the person?!
"I'm Komaeda, in case you were wondering. May I ask your name?"
Hinata blinked. "U...uh. Hinata." Komaeda smiled warmly and looked about the fort, stopping on the drooping poster. "Ah, Hinata-kun. That is truly a wonderful school… it's completely flooding with hope, isn't it!"
Hinata's stiffened arms relaxed a little upon noticing that Komaeda was talking about Hope's Peak. It was one of his main passions, after all, and it wasn't very common he found someone who had any interest in it. He found it a little calming to chat about it. "Yeah… I really want to go there someday…"
"I know I wouldn't. Someone talentless and useless as me shouldn't even imagine going near such an amazing place. I have no doubt someone like you has potential to go there, though!" Before Hinata had a chance to object to the self-depreciation, the last sentence took away his words. "Really… I have… potential…?" Hinata pondered slowly, allowing himself to take in the full feel of what Komaeda had said. How long ago had anyone told him he had a chance to live up to his dreams and make it to the prestigious school he had loved so much? Had anyone ever, actually…?
"Oh, I'm sorry, Hinata-kun! I should leave, you're probably angry and confused about me invading your lovely fort like this." Komaeda sighed, stepping over the window slowly. "It was certainly nice to meet you!"
Hinata lunged forward all of a sudden on impulse, and grabbed Komaeda's wrist before he jumped (this time not dropping both of them out the window). "Wait! Komaeda…!"
The other boy turned, and looked back at him and cocked his head to the side, looking expectantly. Hinata frowned, unsure why he had stopped him. "Will… you stay just a little longer? Just for a bit at least…?"
When he saw Komaeda beam, and nod enthusiastically, he knew why he had.
"If that's what you would like, certainly."
Hinata had wanted a friend.