chapter one – a truly eventful week
The week Hajime's life gets turned upside down (or completely and utterly ruined he'd moan later, face down on his couch), he learns three things.
The first is that no-one uses the word 'foolhardy' anymore.
The second is that Kazuichi Souda will do anything in his power to get free pie, even at the risk of losing all of his vital organs.
The third is that Chiaki Nanami looks just as pretty as she did ten years ago.
Hajime wants to buy a new life, effective immediately.
/
"I'm just saying," says Kazuichi, gesturing wildly with his fork, "That no-one uses the word 'foolhardy' anymore."
Hajime frowns. "That's preposterous." Kazuichi raises his eyebrows in a way that tells Hajime that no-one uses the word 'preposterous' either which just elevates his disbelief to a whole new level. "''Foolhardy' is a beautiful word. Dare I say it, it may be the best word in the English language."
Kazuichi snorts. "Listen brother- "
"What have I said about calling me brother."
"Listen brother, the best word in the English language is…" Kazuichi leans across the counter between them and his voice drops to a whisper. "…boobies."
Hajime turns on his heel and ignores Kazuichi's loud laughter from behind him. "I'm going back to work," he says and heads back into the kitchen. Through the window, he can see Kazuichi waving at him before winking. Hajime grins but distracts himself with stirring a new dough in his mixing bowl.
Covered in flour up to his elbows, Hajime doesn't know that Peko had entered the kitchen until she starts speaking.
"Why did Souda just ask me for free pie because he quote, un-quote 'blew your mind'?"
"Jesus!" Hajime yelps, scrambling to catch his dough before it can roll off the edge of his workbench. He turns to see Peko, standing in the doorway, arms folded and an unimpressed facial expression on her face. "He told me that no-one uses the 'foolhardy' anymore."
Her expression shifts from unimpressed to personally offended. "I used that word last week. In front of him."
Hajime points a victorious finger at her, ignoring the bit of wet dough that dripped off his finger. "Ex-actly!"
"You're both nerds," Kazuichi calls from the diner.
Peko rolls her eyes and heads towards her office. "Tell Souda that the only time he will ever get free pie is when I die," she says to Hajime as she passes him.
"I told him that yesterday," Hajime replies.
"Tell him again," Peko says, and disappears.
/
Here's the thing: Peko is Hajime's boss. She owns the Pie Hole. She's incredibly efficient and hardworking, very no-nonsense.
Nagito is convinced that she's an assassin.
("I'm just saying, have you ever seen her outside of work?" Nagito asks, lying next Hajime at three in the morning when they both should be sleeping.
"Yes," Hajime answers. "Multiple times on multiple occasions."
Nagito hums and doesn't look convinced. "Suspicious..."
"You sound like Kaz."
Nagito snorts and burrows under the duvet. "Well, you're the one dating me so who's the bigger fool here.")
Hajime caught her twirling one of his knifes between her fingers in the kitchen with the ease of someone who had handled a blade often when he came in early one morning.
He never mentioned it to Nagito.
/
Fuyuhiko greets him with a simple and heartfelt, "Come on, dickhead," before exiting the Pie Hole. Hajime thinks the entire thing is a bit counterproductive; entering just to leave. Fuyuhiko needs to invest in a phone.
(Hajime had told him this once and all he had gotten was a look that seemed to say, 'You're a moron' as he said, "I do have a phone." He'd never gotten around to asking why he never used it.)
Hajime unties his apron and after letting Peko know he was taking his break early – a fact she simply nodded at with a raised eyebrow – he joined Fuyuhiko at the entrance of the diner.
"There's a case I need your help with," says Fuyuhiko, bypassing all social niceties.
"I'm working right now," Hajime replies.
Fuyuhiko looks unimpressed (an expression that looks eerily identical to Peko's, Hajime notes). "I'm sure your boss won't mind if you take the rest of the day off."
Hajime tries to not look baffled and fails. "Fuyuhiko, I'm the only baker. If I take the day off then no pies will be made and The Pie Hole will have to shut tomorrow."
"That," Fuyuhiko says, "Is a terrible business model."
Hajime can only agree.
"Fine, I'll come by after you've finished work." Fuyuhiko turns and quickly disappears into the crowd of people walking down the street.
Hajime refuses to admit that he finds the trick cool.
/
Here's the thing: Fuyuhiko is a detective. He is quick on his feet, smart in the way that he can read people, in the way that he seems to see the things that no-one else notices.
He also knows Hajime's secret.
("So, you can bring back the dead," Fuyuhiko had stated over a cup of coffee and a banoffee pie.
Hajime tried to forget the cat that he had found in the gutter, the one that he had reached out to touch without thinking and how it had come back to life. Something that would've been completely fine if he hadn't turned around to see Fuyuhiko staring at him as though he had finally found exactly what he was looking for. "Yes," is all he said.
Fuyuhiko blinked and leant forward. "People too?"
It was a question but Hajime knew that he already knew the answer. "Yes."
Fuyuhiko grinned, looking almost like an elated child for a brief moment. "I have a business proposition for you.")
/
At five exactly the entire diner has cleared out and only Hajime and Peko remain. Hajime wipes down the counter of his workbench and unties his apron. He pokes his head into Peko's office to tell her goodnight and finds the room empty, all of her paperwork spread out in an organised mess on her desk.
He frowns. He steps into the room only to let out a yelp when a voice sounds out behind him. Hajime whirls around to see Peko standing behind him, an eyebrow raised. "What?" Hajime asks.
"I said, 'what are you doing?'," Peko repeats, side-stepping Hajime so she could walk towards her desk.
"Oh, I was just going to say goodnight but you weren't here." Peko hums and starts to gather some of the paper she had left scattered. Hajime stares at the back of her head. Her grey hair, usually combed straight to her shoulder without a single strand out of place, was sticking up and looked vaguely windswept. Windswept from her latest assassination, a voice says in his that sounds suspiciously like Nagito. He ignores it. "Um…"
She turns and raises another eyebrow. "Yes, Hajime?"
Hajime shakes his head. "Nothing. Well, goodnight!" He backs out of her office and darts through the kitchen, stopping by the front door to grab his coat and gloves before heading out of the diner.
The November cold greets him and he can see his breath come out in front of him in white puffs. Standing underneath a streetlamp in a long black coat is Fuyuhiko. "You are incredibly overdramatic," Hajime tells him. Fuyuhiko only nods and jerks his head towards his car.
"So, what's the case?" Hajime asks as they drive towards the morgue.
"A twenty-six-year-old girl was strangled to death outside the town's park."
"Damn," says Hajime. "Me and Nagito feed the ducks there."
"Nagito and I," Fuyuhiko corrects. Hajime wonders if this is how Kazuichi feels whenever they hang out.
"You know I'm twenty-six as well, right?" Hajime asks.
Fuyuhiko raises an eyebrow. "And I'm twenty-seven. What does that matter?"
"Well I could know her. This isn't a big town, Fuyuhiko."
Fuyuhiko hums as he makes a turn. "I didn't think about that." He glances at Hajime from the corner of his eye. "Will you be ok, if you do know her?"
Hajime shrugs, not willing to lie to what he considers a friend even if that isn't a mutual title. "I'll try to be," he offers, instead.
Fuyuhiko nods as he brings the car to a stop. He smiles slightly at Hajime before climbing out the car.
They enter the morgue together and Fuyuhiko talks to the man at the desk. Hajime pretends not to see Fuyuhiko blatantly threaten the man with bodily harm whilst the man in question just blinks at him sleepily.
A few minutes later and there's a dead body laid out in front of them.
Hajime knows her.
"This is Mikan Tsumiki," Hajime states blankly. Fuyuhiko is staring at him but Hajime doesn't look over at him.
He reaches a hand out but stops just before his finger can touch the skin of her arm.
He remembers her from high school. Her hair had been longer but it was still the same dark shade of blue. He remembers how clumsy she had been, seemingly tripping over air more often than any human being should physically be able to. She had worn large woollen jumpers over black leggings but even with that, it was hard to miss the bruises that had littered her pale skin.
Now though, there is only bruises around her neck, in the shape of human hands.
Hajime feels like he is going to be sick.
He pushes the feeling down and taps her arm.
The result is instantaneous. Tsumiki lurches up, gasping for breath, both her hands reaching up to clutch her throat. She blinks at Hajime with wide eyes and mouths his name.
Hajime waves.
Fuyuhiko gets right down to business. "So, Tsumiki," he starts, "Do you know who killed you?"
Tsumiki opens her mouth to answer but only formless gasps come out. She can only nod in answer, hands massaging her throat desperately. "Oh god," Hajime says, glancing at his watch. Forty seconds left.
"Time to play twenty questions," Fuyuhiko says, grimly. "Alright. Was it a man?" Tsumiki shakes her head. "A woman?" A nod. "Was she your age?" Tsumiki points down. "Only a few years younger?" A nod. "Was it only her?" A nod.
Hajime elbows Fuyuhiko and gestures towards his wrist. Ten seconds left. Fuyuhiko narrows his eyes and turns back to Tsumiki. "Did you know her well?" he asks.
The last thing she ever does is nod before Hajime reaches out and pokes her, her body slumping down into stillness once more.
"Well," Hajime says. "I'm traumatised." Fuyuhiko pats him on the shoulder. It doesn't make things any better but it doesn't make them any worse either.
/
Here's the thing: Hajime has powers. And these powers have rules.
He can bring any dead thing back to life with one touch but if it stays alive more than sixty seconds then something else has to die in its place. If he touches something that he brought back to life once more, then it goes back to being dead.
He likes these rules. They are simply and straight-forward, even if they are somewhat annoying.
(He figured out all of these rules when he was twelve, crouched in front of flies that he had swatted, Kazuichi cowering behind him with his hands over his eyes.
"This is so gross," he had moaned, his face pressed into Hajime's shoulder blades.
Hajime had touched one of the flies and watched it come to life, buzzing over the boys' heads and towards the closed window.
"This is so cool," Kazuichi had cried, a hand reaching out to grab Hajime and shake him.
He'd laughed and stretched another hand towards the rest of the flies.)
His parents had both died in a car accident when he was seventeen and they refused to let him see their bodies, despite how much he had begged.
He still doesn't know if it was for the best that they stayed gone.
/
"Holy shit," Kazuichi gasps over his third plate of strawberry pie. "Mikan is dead?!"
Hajime shushes him, glancing around to see if anyone has noticed his friend's outburst. No-one has but the two women in the booth behind him raise their eyebrows at each other. "Yes," Hajime says. "She was strangled outside of Woodgrove Park."
Kazuichi frowns. "Damn. You and Nagito feed the ducks there."
Hajime can't help smiling. "That's what I said!" They grin at each other for a moment before resuming their solemn mood again. "I just can't believe it, you know?"
Kazuichi nods in agreement. "Yeah, I getcha. Still feels like yesterday we were in high school."
Hajime hums. While high school must not seem faraway given how much his life has stayed the same for Kazuichi – he still had the bright pink hair that he'd dyed when they were fifteen and looking for something dumb to do – for Hajime, high school was as distant as anything could get.
He didn't mention this though as the mood was already as down, he didn't need to put a heavier damper on it. Instead he raises a challenging eyebrow. "Aren't you going to demand free pie because you're grieving?"
"Wow Hajime." Kazuichi shakes his head, giving him a disappointed look. "I would never do that. How heartless do you think I am?"
Hajime simply stares at him.
"Peko threatened to cut out all of my vital organs if I asked anymore," Kazuichi confesses.
"Wow," Hajime says.
There is a beat of silence.
"So… can I have a slice of free pie because I am grieving- "
"Kazuichi Souda, I will gut you!" Peko shouts from her office.
Kazuichi's mouth snaps shut. Hajime laughs.
/
Here's the thing: Kazuichi is Hajime's best friend. He works as a mechanic in the garage a few streets down from The Pie Hole and always comes in during his break and barters for free pie until threatened with bodily harm.
They met when they were five and Hajime didn't have any friends.
Hajime remembers sitting in the dirt, alone apart from the toy truck that he rocks back and forth half-heartedly. He remembers a boy with blonde hair falling face-first in front of him and looking up with a tooth missing and a bloody nose. Hajime had dragged him to the school nurse and trying to wipe away the boy's tears with the tissues he kept in his pocket.
The next day, the boy had plopped down next to him and told him proudly that he had broken his nose but it was all right because he got a visit from the tooth fairy last night and look what she got me! Isn't that so cool! My name's Kaz, by the way.
Hajime doesn't remember when Kazuichi became one of the most important people in his life but sometimes he finds he doesn't mind.
/
Nagito works as a waiter at The Pie Hole and all he does according to Kazuichi is cheat people out of their money and ogle at Hajime.
Nagito snorts. Hajime pretends that he isn't blushing. "Yep," Nagito chirps before zooming across the room to serve another customer.
"Hajime," moans Kazuichi, face planted on the counter. "He's wearing roller-skates."
"Huh. I didn't even notice."
Kazuichi looks up at Hajime in disbelief. Hajime struggles to keep his face straight. "I can't believe you're dating him. He's a menace. He threatened me in Morse code yesterday."
Hajime can't help the laugh that escapes him. "How did he do that?"
"Through blinking."
Hajime howls, hunched over the counter, hands covering his mouth. Kazuichi protests from his stool in front of him. "I'm being serious! The way he blinks isn't normal!"
"What's going on?"
Hajime turns his head to see Peko exiting the kitchen, heading to sit next to Kazuichi. "Kaz is complaining about Nagito again," he explains, wiping away some tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Ah," Peko says. "Could I have a slice of rhubarb pie, please?"
"Of course," Hajime says and turns to grab the pie and a plate.
Kazuichi continues talking but this time to Peko. "Why is Nagito even wearing skates? Surely that's against some kind of policy."
"No," Hajime hears Peko answer. "He asked me and said that it improves his efficiency and I've yet to see an accident of any kind." Hajime remember when Nagito had first bought those skates and had bruised every part of his body on every single corner in their shared apartment before he managed to actually use them properly. He clamps his mouth shut and cuts into the rhubarb pie.
"What are we talking about?" Nagito asks and Hajime turns in time to see him stuff dollar bills into the tip jar before skating around the counter to press a kiss to Hajime's cheek.
"No PDA," Kazuichi groans as Hajime passes Peko her slice of rhubarb pie.
"There's no rule against it," she counters, winking at Hajime and Nagito. They both grin at her in return. Kazuichi flops onto the counter.
("Do you know Morse Code?" Hajime asks Nagito later when they're about to fall asleep.
He can feel Nagito's grin on his collarbone. "Yes," he answers.
Hajime laughs so hard he falls off the bed.)
/
It's a Saturday when it happens. The day so far had been quite unremarkable. He had rolled out of bed before Nagito had even woken up and headed to work to check on his pies. Fuyuhiko had come in around ten and ordered his usual banoffee pie and black coffee and sat on the counter and asked Hajime about Tsumiki. Nagito strolled in around eleven to start working and Kazuichi came in at one to ask for free pie again.
Things went wrong when Hajime was closing up.
Peko had headed out early, something personal that she made clear Hajime wasn't to ask about. Nagito had raised an eyebrow and mouthed 'assassin' to him. Hajime had snorted and rolled his eyes.
Nagito had left before Hajime, saying that he would grab them takeout and that they would meet up at their apartment. Hajime had agreed and was left alone in his diner.
He had cleaned under all the tables and cleaned down his workbench. After covering his pies and turning off all the lights, he grabbed his coat and gloves and stepped outside.
As he's turning the key in the lock, he thinks he hears a voice. Glancing up, he sees a figure heading towards him, their hood pulled up.
"Oh no, please don't be closed," they say.
"I'm sorry," Hajime says, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. To his horror, the figure sniffles and their shoulders start to shake. "Oh god, please don't cry. I'm sorry." He reaches his hands up and lets them hover awkwardly in the space just around them.
"Nothing is going right today," the figure cries. "I had to identify my best friend's dead body and I lost a shoe and I haven't slept in god knows how long and now I just want something to eat and some coffee and this place is shut and I just –"
The figure's hand shoots up and yanks their hood down in frustration and Hajime freezes.
Chiaki Nanami stands in front of him, pink hair a mess and tears wetting her face. Hajime jerks his hands back before he knows what he's doing. He's too busy focused on oh god oh god ohgodohgod that's Chiaki Nanami oh dear god that he doesn't notice her eyes starting to flutter.
"Um ma'am," he starts, his voice high and panicked, "Um maybe you should – oh god!"
Chiaki pitches forward and collapses into his chest. He just catches her, hands scrabbling over her back. "Chiaki?" he asks but she doesn't answer.
/
Here's the thing: Hajime sometimes uses his power when he really shouldn't and he knows he shouldn't but he does anyway.
Here's the thing: Hajime did a lot of dumb things when he was sixteen-year-old with a crush and his parents were still alive and Kazuichi had his back no matter what he was doing.
Here's the thing: Chiaki Nanami died when she was sixteen. And Hajime has never been known for his impulse control.
