Author's Note: Holy Shit! Another chapter? Who would have guessed? That's right everyone, this story is not dead. I'm sorry for the wait, but writers block and final exams chose to double team poor ol' me, delaying the development of any new chapters. But, seeing as I'm on summer break, I'll be updating this story, as well as my other one, 'Soldier of Hope.' I'm even going to post an new story soon (it's about Persona 4 though, so I'm not sure how many of you will actually read it). Finally, this chapter is a bit short and lacks Hinamiki, but that's because the next chapter will be a long one, filled with this beautiful pair (aka: class 77 will be taking a field trip to the beach). Anyways, review and enjoy :-).
PS: This story is now officially 1 year old. Thank you to all of those who showed support for this story, whether it has been by favoriting/following this story, leaving a review, or simply reading past the first chapter. It's thanks to you guys that I'm able to find the motivation to keep writing this story, despite the large amount of days between chapters.
0000
It's been two weeks since Hinata and Tsumiki first interacted with those in Hopes Peak Elementary. After the first visit, the two teens decided to keep doing so, seeing as the five young children probably did not receive any attention from those involved with their lives. As such, Hinata decided to keep them company, hoping to substitute for those who refused to give them the affection they needed.
During the two weeks, Hinata had realized that the amount of pain they were in was much more than he initially thought. For example, it was clear to him that Masaru was physically abused, seeing as the boy came in with a new set of bruises each day. It was also noticeable that Monaca and Jataro were both mentally destroyed by their families. However, both their situations varied differently. Jataro's problem involved mostly verbal abuse while Monaca's problems came from neglect. Sadly, both Kotoko's and Nagisa's issues were still a mystery to him. Sure he was able to analyze a situation with ease, but he was still learning how to effectively use his abilities. Neither child gave any additional insight into their lives, though Nagisa was always studying whenever he entered the room. Perhaps he suffers from an inferiority complex?
Thankfully, he seemed like his efforts were producing some kind of positive effect on the children. Whenever he entered the room, he was always greeted with cheers and smiles. Whenever he hung out with them, they were never afraid to be themselves and whenever he left, their moods seemed to dampen. Even stoic Nagisa seemed to have a good time. Heck, Monaca even started calling him 'big bro Hinata.' One may think that they were faking, not wanting to hurt their feelings, but to one as analytical as Hinata, he knew that they were not. What they expressed was true emotion, coming straight from the heart. Them doing this made Hinata feel good himself, seeing as he was accomplishing his goal.
However, Hinata made sure to keep an eye out for Monaca at all times. Something seemed off about her…as if she was hiding an entirely different side of her from him. Granted, she was just a kid, but underestimating anyone no matter their age is a bad idea. After all, upon meeting Owari, Hinata didn't expect her to leap from building to building, causing him to be taken by surprise during the chase scene that took place between the two students.
0000
"Hey dude. I heard you were helping out at the elementary school down the block," Souda said as he approached Hinata after school. Normally he would walk with Tsumiki home, but the nurse had some important business she needed to take care of in the clinic. He offered to help her out, but she refused, saying that she would feel bad 'wasting any of his time with her problems.' If this occurred a few weeks ago, Hinayana would have been worried for her safety. However, stories about his fight against the group who attempted to rob her on school grounds began to spread throughout the school. To Hinata, some of them were clearly exaggerated, such as how he supposedly broke the nose of one of them members with his pinky when Hinata clearly broke it with a simple punch, but he didn't mind. After all, they spread the same message around the school; anyone who picks on Mikan Tsumiki will have to deal with him. Knowing this, no one has picked on Tsumiki since, though he has heard from Souda and Kuzuryuu that Saionji has still been bothering his best friend. He'll have to deal with her later.
"Dude, where have you been for the past two weeks?" Hinata asked his friend, amazed at how little he payed attention to what was going on around him. "That's old news."
"Hey! I was busy…I think…" Souda shouted, only to prove Hinata's point. "But anyways, how is that place? I don't remember ever hearing about an elementary school owned by Hopes Peak before."
"It's okay I guess," Hinata responded with a shrug. "Nothing special really happens there, the kids are nice though."
"Cool. Oh, that's right! Nanami wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go to the arcade with us."
"Uh, I have nothing better to do, so why not," Hinata answered. "Is anyone else coming along?"
"Let's see…Sonia, Hanamura, Koizumi, and Komaeda are also coming," Souda stated. "A pretty strange combination to me seeing as Sonia and Koizumi don't seem like the type to play video games on their own."
"Well, I can see why he's going," Hinata thought to himself. After all, Souda was his second closest friend along with Nanami, so it made sense that Hinata would know the guy well enough to tell what's going on in his head. "I actually have to agree with you. Now that I think about it, Hanamura's probably only going because he'll be hanging around with a group of girls if he does go to the arcade."
"So, are you still interested?"
"Yeah. After all, someone's got to make sure you and Hanamura don't go off scaring every girl you see."
"Sweet!" Souda said before doing a fist pump, glad to have his friend on board. However, his facial expression shifted from happy to surprised when he realized what else Hinata had said. "What!? Hey man, that's just cruel…"
"But it's true. Come on, let's meet up with the others."
0000
"Is it too early to say I told you so?" Hinata asked Souda as they watched two security guards drag Hanamura out of the arcade. Upon entering the arcade, Hanamura wasted no time, beginning his search for a partner. Though Nanami wished to find him, Koizumi convinced the group to leave him, saying that now they could have fun without worrying about any 'wardrobe malfunctions.' Unfortunately, by doing so, the group practically gave the chef the ability to do whatever he wanted. Of course, being the pervert he was, he began harassing several of the other arcade inhabitants, resulting in his removal. The guy was a good friend, but he seriously needed to learn how to obey boundaries.
"Shut up. It only happened to him," Souda responded before puffing out his chest. "I've been on my best behavior."
"So far," Koizumi stated before rolling her eyes. "It's only a matter of time before you do something."
"Hey! I'm not a pervert!"
"Souda. You're one of my best friends, but you're undeniably a pervert. Trust me, I know seeing as I've had to listen to several of your speeches about Sonia."
"Well screw you too Hinata," Souda pouted.
"Uh…shouldn't we go after him?" Sonia asked, looking up from the shooter game she was playing with Nanami.
"Yeah…I don't think that's the best idea right now," Koizumi responded. "Seeing as he's probably been banned from the arcade now."
Quickly looking up from her game, Nanami let out a loud yawn before speaking. "Isn't this the third place he's been banned from?"
"I'm pretty sure it is," Souda responded, scratching his cheek, causing Hinata to look at him in surprise.
"Whoa, three places? How the hell does someone get banned from three places while somber?"
"I have no idea," Koizumi responded. "Hanamura' somehow managed to do so while being himself. Trust me, you don't want to know what happened at the other two places."
0000
After spending three hours at the arcade, Souda and Hinata decided to walk home together. The arcade wasn't far from Hopes Peak, allowing the two friends to make the trip together. After all, Souda did dorm in the school while Hinata's house was only a few blocks away from the school. They had originally asked Nanami, Sonia, and Koizumi if they wanted to tag along, seeing as they lived in the dorms as well, but the three girls declined, deciding to stay at the arcade for a little while longer.
"Is it odd that I feel bad for Hanamura?" Souda asked Hinata as they began their walk. "I mean, the poor guy did get banned from the sweetest arcade in town. We also kinda abandoned him afterwards."
"Well, while he shouldn't have been perving on others, I still feel bad for him," Hinata answered. After Hanamura got the boot, the group did check on him to see if he was okay, but he simply dismissed his ban as a minor annoyance. Despite the group's willingness to hang out somewhere where he could join, the chef told them to enjoy the arcade without him. Despite his strange quirks, Hanamura was a very nice person.
"Yeah. Oh shit! I forgot midterms are coming up. Have you been preparing something to show off?"
"Dude, midterms are a month away," Hinata told him. "Wait, what do you mean by 'preparing something?'"
"Oh, you haven't heard?" Souda asked, surprised. "Apparently instead of an actual exam, we have to show off our talents in some ways. The whole thing's kinda strange, seeing as some of the talents people have would be hard to show off. I mean, what the hell are Kuzuryuu and Komaeda supposed to do?"
"I have no idea, but now that I think about it, I'm really worried for Mioda," Hinata stated. Having unfortunately listened to Mioda's recent music, Hinata could only describe such terrible music with one word, horrifying. "I don't think the judges will like her music."
"Dude, I don't think any sane person would willingly listen to her songs," Souda responded before laughing. "However, despite her hate for the genre, her pop songs are actually kick ass."
"Really? Who would have guessed? I'm thinking she's just getting used to playing heavy metal? Or is she just experimenting with a new style of songwriting?"
"Probably the latter. But I'm surprisingly not worried about her. She knows how to play and read music, but her lyrics tend to be…out there, unable to be saved by her amazing voice. As long as she doesn't do anything abstract, she'll easily dominate her exams. So, what are you doing for your exam?"
"I…honestly have no idea," Hinata said truthfully. Despite having researched the school, he had no clue about how Hopes Peak held their exams. This event may pose a problem to him, seeing as he supposedly has multiple talents at his disposal. Would his exam have him display his abilities as the ultimate hope? Will his performance be public? These were questions he needed to ask Mr. Kirigiri as soon as possible.
"I just realized that I have no idea what your talent is," Souda stated, his eyes widening. "Like, I understand that you have to keep it a secret and all, but I don't understand why?"
"Neither do I," Hinata lied. "After being invited to this school, Mr. Kirigiri just told me to keep my mouth shut about my talent. Anyways, what are you going to do for your exam."
"Build a machine."
"Obviously, but what type?"
"I was originally thinking about building a car, but I'm instead going to build an air conditioner," Souda probably exclaimed as the duel approached the school campus. "It's much simpler than a car, meaning that it costs less to build."
"Well, I wish you luck," Hinata exclaimed, the two standing in front of the school's entrance. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Same. Night man," Souda said before walking into the building. Waiting a few seconds, Hinata made his way home himself, pondering about the new problems presented to him.