"Good morning, Hajime." Hinata's parents greeted him.
"Hi, dad." Hinata climbed down the stairs to get ready for today's round of school. He was so glad grade 9 was almost over…
His dad sat in the living room watching the news calmly while Hinata packed up his supplies for school. 14 year old finds lottery ticket, rakes in a million dollars blared the television. His dad laughed. "Now that's something…"
Hinata wasn't paying much attention to the news, as he only had a couple minutes before he needed to be out the door. He said farewell to his parents, and closed the door.
"Ah, good morning, Hina- I mean, Hajime-kun!" A certain boy with fluffy white hair waved at him. "Heh, just Hajime is fine… Nagito." Hinata smiled warmly. The former giggled at the sound of his first name.
"I have something to show you, Hajime! You won't believe it!" he cheered, reaching for his pocket.
Hinata went wide-eyed. "It's not anything about Hope's Peak, right? Are you still going? Please tell me you are…"
"No worries, of course I am…" Komaeda froze, thinking for a second. "Wait, Hope's… Peak… "
"Yeah, thank goodness. You scared me there. So, what is it?" Hinata inquired further.
"You know know, Hina- Hajime… nevermind. I'll… show you later."
Hinata tilted his head to the side in confusion and gave Komaeda a strange look. "Well… okay, if you say so. I guess I can wait. I have to catch the bus soon anyways. I guess I'll talk to you after school, okay… Nagito?" Hinata loved the way the name felt, just to say. It seemed so right.
"Of course. Have a good day, Hajime."
As Komaeda watched Hinata run off around the corner, he turned around, and approached Hinata's home, and promptly knocked on the door. Hinata's mother answered.
"Oh hello, you must be Hajime's friend, Komaeda."
"That's right… hey, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, dear."
"Haji- I mean, Hinata-kun loves Hope's Peak Academy, right?"
"Heheh… he always has. He always goes on about that school… I feel bad for him, I don't think he'll ever get to go at this rate…"
"Well… I was wondering if… there's something I could do to help. But you can't tell Hinata-kun I did it."
Hinata's mother looked perplexed at the young boy. "Like what?"
Komaeda looked her square in the eyes, and smiled. "Have you heard of… the Hope's Peak Reserve Department?"
"We have… but it's incredibly expensive for entry… I don't think we could afford it for him, so it doesn't present itself as an option."
Komaeda stretched his hands and laughed, as he reached into his pocket once again. "That's rather unfortunate…" His smile grew wider, as he took out a slip of paper.