To absolutely no one's surprise, i've loosely interpreted the title prompt for this chapter.
Super Hero AU, inspired by a prompt on the internet.
I made Nagito's name "Grey Hope" simply because it amuses me, and also it sort of fits him.
I meant to have this done before christmas, i really did. But then the ending would have been rushed and sloppy, i didn't want to do that to you guys, so it took a few days just to polish it off. And THEN i thought i could make it before New Years, but nope i was so tired and busy… ehehe sorry guys i ended up a bit more delayed
So instead…
Merry late christmas and happy (late) new year!
I hope this makes up for the wait
I own nothing, enjoy :)
START OF CHAPTER:
"Give it up, villain!"
An explosion rocked the building they were in.
Hajime had finally tracked down the villain, who had for some reason called themselves 'Grey Hope'. This particular villain had a penchant for explosions and rambling about hope, which is probably where the name came from.
So here they were, face to face, in yet another battle. The other man had an infuriating habit of disappearing at the last minute.
"AHAHAHAHA! Never! In the name of this world's glorious hope, i will never give up!"
The villain then pulled a round object out of their black coat pockets… what were they…? Oh no.
He barely managed to summon a bat in time, swatting away the grenade seconds before it blew up.
"What do you think you're doing?!" He demanded.
A loud cackle was his only response.
"Just think!" The villain exclaimed. "If you were to die by my worthless hands, the city relies on you, so just imagine how much devastation your demise would bring!"
"Don't you-"
"Additionally!" The other interrupted, apparently not finished. "Just picture how big and bright of a hope they'd need to recover from it!"
That… actually made some sort of sense, in a twisted, weird way. Didn't change what was happening right now though, or how wrong it was.
"And that hope, that… that is what i want to see, which is why…"
He pulled out yet another grenade, this one glowing with a green light.
"… i must kill you right now!"
Barely conjuring a shield in time, Hajime was thrown a few feet back from the force of the blast.
"That's insane! What's wrong with you?"
"Oh…? Something wrong with me? You only think there's something wrong with me, because there's something wrong with you."
He had to end this, and fast.
Just as he'd had that thought, the villain had come running at him, some sort of vial in their hands. A four leaf clover necklace gleaming in the sunlight on his neck.
Right as he'd barely processed some last minute though of 'holy shit how many pockets does this guy have?', but as he'd prepared to defend himself the other was… falling?
There was pink flash of smoke, and now Hajime couldn't see. What was going on? Was this another trick too-
A body fell into him, and Hajime caught it by instinct. The smoke was starting to disappear, and the brunette turned the body to face him. After gently laying the body to the ground, it occurred to Hajime that this might be 'Grey Hope' absurd as it was, so he kept an eye on the body as best he could, and shuffled a few metres backwards.
He had been prepared for a trick, ready for the body to jump up and attack him. But what actually happened…
"H-hello…? Where am i?"
The smoke dissipated, and he was not expecting what he saw.
A pale, thin, boy around his age was lying on the ground. With fluffy white hair and regular clothes. Thankfully this boy was both conscious and fully clothed, but this only raised a bigger question.
Where the hell was Grey Hope? Was he gone? Had he escaped again?
A cough bought his attention back to the boy, and he looked down.
Only to see the same necklace that his opponent had been wearing only minutes before.
"Who are you?" He stalked towards the boy, fully prepared to question. Had Grey Hope attempted to fool him?
To his surprise, the pale boy skittered backwards, looking terrified.
"Who are you, and how did you get here?" Hajime repeated.
"I-i don't know! I don't even remember how i got here!"
At this sentence, Hajime stopped short.
Didn't remember? But why…?
Then, the pieces clicked into place.
The goddamn vial.
Did Grey Hope just seriously erase his own memory? Wait, hadn't he tripped? So that meant… oh, this was too good. He'd never let the other live this down when this was reversed. This had to be the most embarrassing thing to happen to the villain.
He made sure to calm his expression, before approaching the boy again.
"I'm sorry, i… mistook you for someone else. Could you tell me your name?"
The other boy looked slightly wary, but slowly took the extended hand anyway.
"I'm Nagito Komaeda." They were now standing face to face. "How did i get here? And who are you?"
Shit, quick think of something. Wait… bingo!
"The master villain, Grey Hope, kidnapped you and must have assumed your identity."
Probably more then needed to be said, but he thought that was a satisfactory explanation, since he was honestly trying to comprehend it himself.
Here he was, standing in front of his greatest enemy… trying to comfort him because he lost his own goddamn memory, and all of this because he tripped.
Did he mention this was ridiculous? Because it was.
He could only sigh.
"Come on, let's get you home."
[The next day]
Unfortunately, life moved on, and showed absolutely no mercy. So after he'd dealt with the civilian Nagito, he'd had no choice to go back to college the next day.
So here he was, taking notes and trying his best not to fall asleep. Then, silence fell as there was a knock at the door.
"Students, today we have a new transfer student. Please come in."
The door opened, and Hajime's eyes widened.
"Hello, i'm Nagito Komaeda, nice to meet you all."
Oh my god, this could not be happening.
"Go sit by Hajime Hinata please, he's one of our best students and can show you around." The professor pointed to where Hajime was sitting.
Oh no…
"Show him around, won't you Hajime?"
Goddammit… he had to hold back the sigh. But even so, he agreed.
This had to be a ploy, right? I mean, his greatest enemy, just so happens to turn up at his college, and conveniently without his memory?
But as the skinny albino boy smiled and made his way to sit next to him, Hajime got a glimpse of his eyes.
Now, over his time as a masked hero, Hajime had learned to read body language and facial expressions (when their faces weren't covered) of those he was fighting. And he had gotten pretty good at it too, which had saved his life and limbs on multiple occasions.
But looking at 'Nagito', he couldn't see a single trace of recognition or hostility in those eyes… nothing that would tell him that the amnesia was bullshit. Only eagerness and curiosity of a boy who wanted nothing more then to make friends at his new school environment.
So, as wary as he was…
"So, Nagito was it? What classes do you have?"
—
Today, there was going to be a prevention on some of the most famous heroes and villains, both modern and recent.
Nagito had taken to sitting next to him. It had been a few weeks since their 'incident', and Nagito showed not one trace of anything hostile. Which led Hajime to another problem…
The other was actually really cute.
It was nothing more then a thought in the back of his mind, but occasionally it surfaced at the weirdest of times. Like when the other smiled when he helped the other understand a lesson, that shy but hesitant laugh when Hajime told a joke.
What was happening?
He was broken out of his thoughts by a pained groan. It was quiet, barely noticeable, but he had definitely heard a muted sound of pain.
He looked across at Nagito, who was rubbing his forehead with a grimace.
"Nagito, are you okay?"
"I….i… what?"
Okay, he was clearly out of it, but what was the problem? Why-
'…and the villain, known as Grey Hope…'
Oh.
Oh no…
Before he could do anything more, Nagito had abruptly stood up, gaining a few puzzled stares, before bolting out of the room, looking pained and slightly scared.
Without a second thought, Hajime bolted after him.
Was this it? Was this where Hajime was proven right, and he and Nagito went back to their old ways? Had this all just been a ploy, and any second he'd get ambushed from around the corner…?
To his surprise, he found none of that, instead…
Curled up in a ball in the hallway, staring ahead into nothing, was Nagito. Looking for all the world a scared child that was all alone.
He approached slowly, unsure what to make of this situation. He crouched down, and slowly reached for the other's shoulder.
"Hey… Nagito?"
The other jumped, startled, and looked at him. Hajime could almost feel the fear that look was radiating.
"H-hajime…?"
"Yeah, it's me." He attempted a reassuring smile. "Are you okay?"
"I… i don't know…?"
He sat down next to the other, placing himself so that there was a small yet comfortable gap between them.
"Nagito?"
The other didnt respond at first, lips thinning as if he was deep in thought about something. Within moments, he nervously focused his gaze on Hajime.
"I… feel like i can trust you. Can i tell you something?"
Was it bad… that he wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about who Grey Hope really was? That's why he cared so much, there couldn't be any other reason… right?
"I've been having… dreams? I guess you could call them."
The albino's hands were shaking.
"I'm… i'm there, but i'm not watching. Instead I-i… i'm Grey Hope."
"You dreamed you were a super villain?"
The other boy shrunk in on himself a bit more, and Hajime regretted his question.
"Hey." He gently put a hand on Nagito's shoulder. "I'm right here, what happened next?"
"Well, just on it's own, i don't think this would be a problem right? People have weird dreams all the time, but…"
"But…?"
"I… i enjoy it." Nagito gave a visible shudder. "I can see through his eyes, agree with his words, and it just seems so real… and… and… and that scares me!"
Nagito's eyes were wide and frightened, and no amount of acting in the world could hide the sheer terror Hajime could see in the other's expression
Without thinking, he pulled the other into an embrace.
"Hey, listen to me." He backed up, instead looking Nagito straight in the eye. "
"No matter how real those dreams may be, no matter how much they scare you… try not to let them influence you too much, okay?"
"But-"
"Even if, god forbid, they turn out to be true… it doesn't matter in the slightest. You choose the you that you want to be… nobody can tell you how to live your life, the only one that can decide your path and happiness… is you."
There was a sudden warmth around his waist, and it took a glance down to compute that it was actual arms wrapped around him, Nagito's, to be specific.
"Uh… Nagito?"
"…. That… that means a lot to me…" Came the whisper. "In the time i've been here, you've been so supportive, and kind… i …don't know how to thank you for that."
As if on instinct, Hajime's own arms wrapped around the other boy. No more words were needed, the brunette could tell. The other just needed someone to be there for him, he couldn't tell if it was pity, but he got the sad impression that the albino didnt exactly have that many (-if any at all-) supporting people in his life.
If his only reason for comforting Nagito was to make sure 'Grey Hope' wasn't a threat ever again…
Then what was this strange warmth in his chest…?
END OF CHAPTER:
My original intent was a kinda Hero Academia sort of magic world, but instead i ended up closer to a magic infused Batman au. Nothing really wrong with that, just took a different direction then i thought, is all.
I tried to make this short, i really did. But then i got past the set-up and was like 'yeah nah, no way i can max this at just 1,000 words' lol.
Hope you liked it anyways :)
Cya next chapter :)
Tairulz
