Okaaaay, I'll upload this one too so you can have a wider peek and some kind of an insurance.

"Text with apostrophes is being talked"

Text in italics is being thought.


Chapter 2: Talent is not everything

The next day, Hajime and I were back at the Reserve Course. It was break time so both of us were enjoying our meals on our respective tables in class. Hajime was looking to the Main Building through the window deep in thought, which made me remember yesterday's events. To be precise, former Principal Kazuo Tengan showed up while Hajime, Chisa and I were talking by the fountain once classes were dismissed. Kazuo wanted to talk with Hajime about something, and I began to ponder what could it be.

I decided to simply ask him, making him to look at me "Ah, well… He wanted to talk to me about… that project…" Those words caught me by surprise. I knew perfectly what project he was talking about. It was mentioned in the mail I received when my application was accepted.

"You mean… 'Kamukura Project'?" Hajime nodded, which sent a shiver down my spine and made me take a somber expression. 'Kamukura Project'… Apparently, the academy is looking for a volunteer to try an experiment on them. They said that they want to create a person with every talent known. The Ultimate of Ultimates. The Hope of Humanity. "What do you think…?" I asked with worry.

"I… don't know… Tengan-san says that I shouldn't think about it too much. He disagrees with the project, claiming that hope must come from people, not from talent" Hajime said. I nodded in agreement, it seems that Kazuo thinks just like I do.

I saw that Hajime was looking at me like if he was asking for my opinion. I crossed my arms and formulated "I agree with him. What's important is what you do, not what you are… Besides, create a person with every talent known? In other words, to play God, and you know perfectly that we can't play God" I looked at him seriously in order to make him come to his senses and realize that that project is up to no good.

My answer seemed to suffice him as he simply nodded and looked down at his food "Anyway… what about you? What were you talking with Sensei after I left?"

That made me replay yesterday's events in my head. I was still astonished that Chisa was able to pinpoint what was wrong when we barely knew each other… and I wasn't even able to realize it until she told it. It made me wonder about her and the Main Course.

"Well, we kind of had a therapy session back then" I chuckled "She somehow found a way to encourage me to go and look for something I could be good at, find out what my talent could be. It was… surprising to say the least. Nobody has ever done that before" I looked down with a smile, which made Hajime smirk. "And I think that I'm a little more interested in the Main Course thanks to that"

Hajime raised his eyebrow "Are you telling me that you have a crush on Yukizome-sensei?" He chuckled. He almost made me spit the juice I was drinking at the moment "Don't be ridiculous! How could I hit on a woman just like that?!" I coughed.

"Aw, come on. She's not THAT old!"

"I know! But she is a teacher, and I am a student! That's so wrong at so many levels…" Oh Hajime… You are taking revenge after I teased you with Nanami, are you?

"So you like her!" I looked at him murderously as I groaned.

"Hey, cut it out you lovebirds" A female voice interrupted us. We both looked at the blonde girl who was standing by our tables with her arms crossed "So, you said you were interested in the Main Course, uh?" She asked.

"Who are you?" Hajime asked.

"Ah, I know you. You were transferred a couple of days ago, right?" I asked her "I still remember what you said when you came here: 'I can't understand why they put me with people like you, but it's a pleasure nonetheless', right?"

"Hmm, I see you've made your homework" The girl said proudly "I meant what I said. After all, I'm the Ultimate Little Sister student!" Hajime and I looked at each other in confusion Is that even a talent? The girl went on with her speech "You must have heard of us. A criminal group formed by 300 thousand members, the Kuzuryu group"

"'Kuzuryu'? Wait does that mean…?" Hajime said.

"Precisely, Kuzuryu group is my family. My big brother is the heir of my family, The Ultimate Yakuza student!"

"R-Really?"

"With such an amazing brother I must be the Ultimate Little Sister student! That makes sense, right?" She concluded with a proud smile. I stared lazily at her, that reasoning wasn't really logical but I decided to ignore it.

"But… You're here at the Reserve Course" Hajime pointed.

"That doesn't mean that I don't have talent!" She said annoyed "Maybe you two have already given up, but I'll do whatever it takes to make it to the Main Course!" She was a determined one, not gonna lie. "I'm sure that if someone from the Main Course leaves I could fill up the gap" She said with a somewhat evil smirk "Like a certain girl with freckles that I hate" I don't think I liked that.

Another girl came from behind me and slammed her hand on my desk, startling us three "Natsumi, I hope you are not planning anything weird"

"Oh, if it isn't Sato-san! Long time no see!" Natsumi said with mocking joy. "What? Are you spying on us?"

"Answer me!" Sato said impatiently "You will not try anything, will you?!"

"What are you talking about?" Natsumi said innocently, which only served to make the other girl to grumble.

"Do you… know each other…?" Hajime asked nervously. I simply looked at them, I could feel a tension building up so it was best to stay calm and intervene if it was necessary.

"We were in the same Photography club in school" Natsumi said without giving him more attention.

"If you dare to do something to Mahiru, I won't let you get away with it!" Sato yelled. I was already feeling that this will go down eventually.

"Just who do you think you are coming here and accusing me!"

"I'm just saying you better not be planning something!"

At that moment I noticed a girl with red hair entering with urgency into the classroom. "You can't do anything without recurring to your parents!" Sato yelled right before the new girl came and stopped her.

"Please, stop it!" She begged.

"Mahiru…" Sato seemed to calm down at the sight of this girl.

"It has been long, Koizumi-san" Natsumi said maliciously. "What is a Main Course student doing here?" Mahiru tried to spoke just before Natsumi cut her "Did you come here to make fun of those without talent?" She said. The rest of the class stared at us and began to whisper between them. I had enough.

"Drop it" I said without losing my temper, if I get aggressive things can get nasty really quickly.

Natsumi laughed a little evilly as she said "I was just joking!"

"Stop this!" Sato said "Your brother is in the same class as Mahiru!"

"Yeah, what about it?" Natsumi said with surprising seriousness, it intimidated the two girls. Even Hajime wasn't moving a muscle "Are you trying to pick on me? I dare you to try. I'll kill you"

"I'd suggest you stop right there" I said with the same tone she used as I stood up to meet her in the eye.

"What do you think you are doing? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?" She said in a smug tone. This girl was picking on my nerves but I was determined to stay calm.

"What I only see is a little girl trying to sound cool by bullying the rest just to make her feel important" This caught the girls and Hajime by surprise, no one seemed to even dare to challenge Natsumi.

"Why you little…! If you talk to me like that I'll…!"

"You'll what? Send your entire family to me? I don't care. I won't let you bully these girls just because you threaten me" I said with impressive impassivity. She widened her eyes in shock "So, go ahead. Send your yakuzas to me, make them cut my limbs off, make me sleep with the fishes. I dare you"

Even I couldn't understand why I was so calm about this. I was challenging a member of a Yakuza family to kill me, it was a suicide. But I couldn't help it, I just didn't want to look away from this unfairness. It was like if my mind got fixed to the idea of making Natsumi to leave the other girls alone, and it seemed as if nothing could make me change my mind.

Mahiru decided to intervene, not liking where this was heading "You haven't changed one bit, did you…?"

"YOU haven't changed since the Photography club!" Natsumi burst out loud "You are still the same bitch who hates everyone in secret!"

"Are you that desperate to get into the Main Course?" Sato said in disbelief "Will you even drag down Mahiru to achieve it?! You are the worst! If the Main Course doesn't recruit you then it means that you have no talent!"

That last statement made Natsumi to lose it "Why you…!" She raised her hand to slap Sato, but I grabbed her wrist to prevent her from doing something stupid. She stared at my deadly gaze as I somberly said "I won't repeat myself. Drop it" She looked stunned for a couple of seconds until she released her hand violently and left the class with a loud bang.

Everyone just looked at us shocked until I spoke like if nothing happened "Quite the nerve she has, don't you think Hinata-san?"

"Uh?" My sudden change of demeanor got Hajime by surprise, but he seemed to let it go nonetheless "Y-Yeah…"

"You two alright?" I asked the girls. Both of them nodded and Mahiru added a 'thank you' before I headed for the door. "I'll be going out to get some fresh air. You coming?" I asked Hajime. He simply shook his head in denial and I opened the door to head outside by myself.


Later that day, once classes were dismissed, Hajime wanted to see this girl he told me about. He said she wanted to play a classic game so I decided to bring my Game Girl to play with the two. This time the girl showed up, her name is Chiaki Nanami and she's the Ultimate Gamer student Hell, I would love to have that talent. Videogames would be much more interesting! I thought to myself while I introduce myself to her. She was kind of cute, I can see why Hajime would be interested in her. It was quite funny how little emotion she could show, like she had a permanent poker face, but once you let her talk about videogames she looks like a whirlwind of emotions. She seems nice, I think I will tag along these two much more often.

We three are currently playing Gala Omega, which was awkwardly similar to Galaga… Must be my imagination… As it was expected from the Ultimate Gamer, she was so absorbed into the game that she wasn't even breathing! It was to be expected considering that we made a bet to see who would be the last one standing. The first one to fall was Hajime, who I noticed that he wasn't really paying attention, he must be thinking about something else. I'll ask him later, right now I have a bet to win! I pressed the console's buttons furiously with determination, if this girl was the Ultimate Gamer then this would be a tough battle! Every once in a while I took quick glances at her to see how was she doing. I was impressed to see that even if her eyes were fixed to the screen she did not falter and it didn't seem like she was losing soon… unlike me, who after returning my gaze to the screen I realized that my ship exploded. I let the console rest in lap as I sighed rather loudly.

"Yay, 500 yens for me" She cheered in an almost unnoticeable joy… yeah, I forgot to mention that only Chiaki and I betted… Curse you, luck!

"No wonder why you are called the Ultimate Gamer!" I said a little exhausted.

"Yeah, you both beat me!" Hajime followed.

"That was because you weren't focused" Chiaki pouted. It seems like she noticed too, which made Hajime to sigh and rest his head on the back of the bench. "Is something wrong?"

Hajime didn't respond, he just looked at the sky without looking at us. Giving him some space, Chiaki restarted her game and played serenely. I was about to speak until Hajime broke the silence. "Hey, Nanami… If you hadn't the talent to play videogames, what would you be doing?" He asked with melancholy. Back with that issue, uh? It seems that Hajime still has doubts… Actually, I'm quite interested in what this girl thinks about it, so I simply listened closely.

"If I had no talent?" She asked.

"Like if you kept losing no matter how hard you tried… or if they were too hard to beat… Would you have fun playing games despite that?" Hajime asked.

Chiaki seemed to think about it for a second until she smiled a little and answered "I think it would still be fun in its own way. I just love videogames"

"Even if it there was somebody with more talent than you? Someone you can't defeat?"

"There is more in life than talent" She concluded. Hajime looked at her surprised. "It is something Chisa-sensei said, but…" She admitted "your life is not interesting enough just from talent. By involving yourself with the others and creating memories, hope is born, which is much more important than talent" Wow… Now I can understand why Hajime seems so interested in her. Those were… really powerful words, and coming from a person who doesn't have to worry about things like that makes it even more impactful.

"Playing with you is fun…" Chiaki continued, a blush forming in her cheeks and making Hajime blush in consequence.

"Yeah… me too…" Welp, this is getting awkward for me, being there in such a romantic tension… Should I go and let them be by themselves?

"Uh… I think I'll be going now, excuse me!" I laughed nervously as I stood up. Hajime grabbed my wrist to stop me. "Where are you going? We can still playing!" He said joyfully.

"Yeah, let's play again, Blank-san!" She agreed with him.

"Again?! Why don't we play another game instead?" Hajime groaned.

"Nope. Now we'll be playing co-op" She stated, not accepting a 'no' for an answer. I couldn't help but laugh, seeing how Hajime seemed so happy around this girl. And if they really wanted me to play with them once again, then I guess I can't refuse "Okay, you got me!" I laughed as I took out the console again.


Hajime Hinata's P.O.V.

It was already late in the afternoon, we came back to the classroom to pick up our things. Blank-san left early so he must be on his way home. He's a really nice guy, and he seems to get along Nanami-san well. I think I've got really good friends. I thought about what Nanami-san said earlier and I began to ponder them Even without talent you can still create hope… I think that not having any talent isn't so bad after all… Just as I got out of class I noticed Natsumi Kuzuryu at the end of the hallway, staring at the Main Building from the window. Remembering what happened earlier I decided to talk to her about it. She heard my approaching steps and turned around. She greeted me with a look of disgust and turned back to look at the window "What?" She asked.

"Kuzuryu, back then in the morning, that was intimidation! You can't act like that!"

"Shut up. You're just a reserve student" She said without even looking at me.

"Acting like that won't make you go to the Main Course. You'll just get yourself expelled! Do you really want that?"

"Shut up!" She yelled now looking at me. I noticed that tears began to form on her eyelids "Didn't I tell you before?! I'll definitely make it to the Main Course! Definitely! Definitely…" She lost strength at the last word. I looked at her with pity as she wiped out her tears and looked back to the window.

"Why are you so obsessed with the Main Course?"

"My brother is the Ultimate Yakuza student. If I don't be the Ultimate Little Sister student I'll be left behind. I don't want that!" She said irritated. I remembered the words that Nanami said 'There is more in life that talent'… It was true… yet I can relate to what Kuzuryu was feeling… It's just like the way I feel…

"I understand… Being left behind feels lonely… But, I believe there are more important things in life than just talent!"

"What are you talking about? There is nothing more important than talent" She said.

"You love your brother, right?" Maybe referring to him would make her understand "Even if you don't have talent you can still be with him and make memories"

"People without talent have no right to be with my brother!" She burst angered and made me jump from the surprise "I want something to be proud of… and not being look down upon. I want to be with him! And if they acknowledge me as the Ultimate Little Sister, then I can be by his side…" Those words were pretty saddening. Did she really think like that? Is it even true…? If I have no talent… could I still be with Nanami…?


Next morning I was walking by the academy, ready to begin today's classes… or so I thought… I couldn't stop thinking about what Kuzuryu said yesterday… People without talent can't be with those who have it… I could never stand the thought of not being able to see Nanami ever again… But then, where does this leave me? What can I do…?

My thoughts were never responded as a quick flash of red caught my eyes and made me look up to the main entrance. There were two or three police cars parked there and the doors to the academy were sealed off. Students were gathered at the entrance, talking with each other with noticeable worry. What could have happened…? Between the commotion, I could distinguish Blank's figure rushing towards me "Blank-san? What's wrong?"

"Hinata! There has been a murder!" He yelled with urgency,

"What…?"

"Listen! Natsumi Kuzuryu! She has been murdered! She's dead!" I couldn't believe what he was saying, it just couldn't be true… I dropped my bag from the shock while I just looked at him unable to speak. What…?

To be continued…


Quite the cliffhanger here… Not really tho, everyone who has seen the anime already knew this was happening eventually. If you didn't then what the hell are you doin' here?! Haven't you figured that this will have spoilers even if it is an alternative universe?! (Sorry for the spoiler nonetheless :( ).

Leave a review if you liked it and see ya next chapter!