(Just as a reminder to all fans, this fanfic does have its own tvtropes page. Additions made to that page really put a smile on my face and make chapters come out faster. Just saying. But about today's chapter. Oh boy, have I been looking forward to this one for the longest time. I think I have been planning this since around the time there was that hiatus during the Virtual World arc. Well then, here we go. Despair Arc Part 1 start!)

It was sundown on a Sunday in November. Chiaki and Hajime were sitting shoulder to shoulder riding the subway together, duel disks packed in their duffle bags after a weekend at a gaming convention, Chiaki's idea and it hadn't been their first one either.

"Is it still weird being around me?" Chiaki asked, blushing, tapping her fingers together.

Hajime ruffled her head. "No. I mean, it was at first." He rubbed his head. "I didn't realize you were so popular."

Chiaki giggled nervously. "You did seem a bit overwhelmed the first time. I know things weren't like that during Battle City."

Hajime smiled nervously, but his nerves dropped in seconds as he put his arm around his girlfriend. "Knowing how popular you've been with gamers and the fact that, despite all your adoring fans, you still want me as a boyfriend…it's comforting you know."

Chiaki snuggled into Hajime. "There's a big difference between fans and friends, you know. You get me in a way that no one else does."

Hajime smiled. "Thanks, Chiaki."

Chiaki sniffed. "I'm so glad we can do things like this. Sometimes, at night, I still think about when I almost lost you. And then we do stuff like this and I…" she wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Sorry, I know I'm being silly."

Hajime rubbed her shoulder. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Chiaki put her head on Hajime's shoulder. "Where do you want to go next weekend?"

"You want to go away again?" Hajime asked, surprised.

Chiaki nodded. "I like going to fun places with you." She smiled. "That's how much I like you."

Hajime laughed. "I'll have to think about that." He poked her stomach. "And maybe you should think about eating a little bit less, okay? You look like you're putting on a little weight."

Chiaki puffed out her cheeks, pouting. "Hey, isn't that a good thing?" She then smiled. "That means I'm finally willing to live, instead of just exist." She then purred and cuddled up to her boyfriend, taking a nap, using his shoulder as a pillow, all the way back to Hope's Peak Academy.

The next morning, Hajime did what he always did when he got ready in the morning: roll out of bed, shower, brush his teeth, get dressed, fix his hair—stubborn cowlick aside—adjust his tie and walk out to class. Today was going to be another exciting day at Hope's Peak Academy. No matter how early he seemed to get to class—though he never arrived any earlier than 15 minutes his usual—he was always the fifth to arrive before class started.

"Morning, Mahiru," He said.

"Morning, Hajime," Mahiru said with a chipper smile.

"Hiyoko," Hajime said, glancing over to the blonde.

"Morning!" Hiyoko exclaimed with sunny cheer that would've been unbecoming of her two months ago.

"Sonia," Hajime said, bowing a little.

"Good morning, Hajime. Lovely morning, is it not?"

"Yeah. It's warm out for November," Hajime responded to her query. He then waved to the last student in the room. "Fuyuhiko."

"Yeah, morning," the Ultimate Yakuza responded, turning his head away, feet up on his desk.

"How was your weekend?" Mahiru then asked, now that pleasantries were over. "Take any good pictures?"

"No, not really. We were too busy playing games," Hajime said, chuckling nervously.

"So, you fuck like rabbits with Yukizome not around to watch you?" Hiyoko asked with a smile, having about as much subtlety as Ibuki.

Pretty sure that's not your business, Hajime thought, not dignifying the question with a proper response. Some things never truly changed with Hiyoko it seemed.

"Would you mind not being so vulgar first thing in the morning?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Hey, you're one to talk!" Hiyoko snapped at him.

"No fighting!" Mahiru exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"She started it," Fuyuhiko responded, turning his head away.

"I don't care who started it," Mahiru said, fussy. "I'm ending it."

By this point, Hajime had taken his seat and checked his watch. In about three to seven minutes, Mikan would trip through the doorway and Chiaki not soon after.

Sonia, being the closest to the door, was the first to help Mikan to her feet, as was typical.

However, Chiaki wasn't next to enter the classroom. Nekomaru was. Then Akane, Kazuichi, Nagito, and soon, everyone was in the class…except for Chiaki.

Something's wrong, Hajime thought, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Huh? No Chiaki this morning?" Miss Yukizome asked, looking around the room.

"Hey, now that you mention it. Where is she?" Kazuichi asked.

"It wouldn't be proper to have class without the class rep, don't you think?" The lack of a smile on Nagito's face when he said that showed just how serious the situation was to everyone.

Hajime began furiously texting to his girlfriend. "R U OK?" He texted as quickly as possible, foregoing proper grammar just to get a response.

His only answer, which came within seconds, was a vomit emoji.

Hajime released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Okay, so she was just sick. That was better than what was racing through his head. "It's okay," he said. "She's just sick."

"Sick?!" Mikan exclaimed, bolting from her seat. "Chiaki's sick? I-I should go check on her right away! M-Miss Yukizome, p-permission to leave?"

"Chiaki being sick is quite unusual," Sonia stated.

"We should go check on her, you know, like a social thing," Ibuki suggested.

"I want to make sure she's eating right too. You can't get better if you don't eat," Akane pointed out.

"Why don't we all go check on her?" Yukizome said. "Everyone out the door single file."

Feeling nauseous was one of the last things Chiaki had been expected when she woke up that morning. Actually throwing up was definitely at the bottom of that list. Her throat burned and every scent in the room, from the soap in the bathroom to the unpleasant odor of her laundry, seemed to attack her in greater magnitude than usual.

The Ultimate Gamer currently lay in bed, feeling too exhausted to even fetch her Game Girl Advance, much less play it. She had a cool compress on her head, but that was like a cat purring when it had lung cancer.

When gentle knocking came to her door, to Chiaki it was like she had a hangover and someone was blasting loud music through their speaker as her entire body chilled over, sweat dripping down her face. "C-come in."

"It's locked!" It was Yukizome. "Do I need to use my key?"

"Please," Chiaki called out as best she could.

She was surprised and extremely embarrassed when her entire class just sort of poured into her room. The massive frame of Nekomaru taking up most of her kitchen area.

Hajime, as expected, was at the front of the group alongside Mikan and Yukizome. "S-sorry," he said, sweating, nervous. "Everyone was just…kind of worried."

Chiaki pulled her sheets up over her nose. "I'm okay. Just throwing up. Thank you for worrying about me."

"Man," Kazuichi said, palming his forehead. "This has con funk 101 written all over it."

"Why don't you let Mikan give her a real diagnosis," Mahiru suggested.

Teruteru pushed through to the front of the group, with curry on a plate on top of a rolling cart. Akane placed two freshly unfrozen microwavable burritos on either side of it.

"You eat up, okay?" Akane stated.

"Our class shines less brightly without your beauty in it, Miss Chiaki," Teruteru said with a wink.

"Thank you for the food," Chiaki said, only to cough due to the burning of her throat irritating it enough.

"Stupid," Hiyoko pouted. "It's just a little nausea and everyone acts like it's the end of the world." Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "I was really worried about you, you know! That's not fair! You can't scare me like that!"

"I'm sorry," Chiaki said, trying not to laugh.

Yukizome pat her adopted sister on the head and Hiyoko blew her nose in her teacher's apron.

Many of the students started to file out after that, though not without some parting comments from some of them.

"Get better, okay?" Fuyuhiko told her like he was demanding it out of her, but didn't have the heart to yell at a sick person.

"I will," Chiaki responded.

"I know! Ibuki will sing the get well song!" Ibuki exclaimed, only for Nekomaru to pick her up and carry her out of the dorm room at Mahiru's wordless, gentle prodding.

"Recover fast," Nagito said with a smile. "Class just isn't the same without you. Your hope shines the brightest out of all of us, class rep."

"Thank you, Nagito," Chiaki said.

Soon, only Mikan, Yukizome and Hajime were still in the room.

"You sure you're gonna be all right?" Hajime asked his girlfriend.

"I'll be fine," Chiaki responded. "Maybe it's just Con Funk."

"Like Mahiru said, you should get a proper diagnosis," Yukizome said. "People like you don't just throw up."

"Actually, con funk, while not an official term, has been a catch all laymen's term for someone falling ill due to airborne bacteria or a virus contracted during a large social gathering like a convention," Mikan pointed out. "Still, I would normally think Chiaki's immune system is better than that given she goes to them all the time."

"Hey, it only takes one person having something you never had to ruin it, right?" Hajime asked. "You know, like the start of an epidemic?"

"That's not…quite accurate," Mikan responded, "But it's close enough I suppose. If the illness was only contained to one person, that doesn't automatically mean it's contagious. It certainly increases risk, but it's not a guarantee."

"I don't care how she got it," Yukizome stated. "I just want to make sure we're not gonna be visiting her room in a week to get her into an ambulance."

"D-don't worry," Mikan said, startled by the very idea, "I-I'll make sure it doesn't come to that."

"Of course you will, you precious ball of sunshine," Yukizome said, ruffling Mikan's hair. "Come on, Hajime. Let's let the medical professional do her job. Well…the closest thing we have to one, anyone."

"Y-yeah," Hajime said. "Feel better, Chiaki, okay?"

Chiaki nodded and watched her boyfriend and teacher leave.

"Let's start by getting you fed," Mikan said. "And then if you have the strength, I'll take you to the nurse's office."

"Thank you, Mikan," Chiaki said with a smile. "I know I'm in good hands."

Mikan giggled happily. "I'll do my best. I promise. I'll never let anything happen to the best class rep I've ever known."

Chiaki smiled. "Well that, and you already have experience taking care of me. My leg's all healed thanks to you, you know."

Mikan started crying inadvertently, but they were happy tears.

Chiaki blushed, smiling. "Thank you, Mikan. You're a really good friend."

Mikan felt as if she had never been happier.

It was about an hour after lunch when Hajime finally saw Chiaki again. She looked absolutely miserable, and not in the sick to her stomach kind of way. She was staring at the ground, arms wrapped around her body.

"Chiaki? Everything okay?" Hajime asked, approaching her.

"We…need to talk," Chiaki said. "Can we…go by the fountain?"

"Ah…sure…"

Hajime walked behind Chiaki wondering if the worst had come to pass. The words "terminal illness" floated through his mind like a guillotine hanging over his head by no more than a horse hair.

Chiaki stopped in front of the fountain, staring at it, feeling like life had come crashing down around her as the wind distorted her reflection in the water. She hadn't stopped holding herself since the walk from the school building.

Hajime was sweating profusely. He wished Chiaki would say something, anything just to put him out of his misery. Not knowing was worse than whatever the truth was he currently felt.

"So…" Chiaki started, pausing, not sure how to even begin to describe what was going on. "Remember that night a few months ago after that whole thing with the Orichalcos?"

"Of course I do," Hajime said, thinking back quite fondly on the memory. "I…" It didn't take him long to start connecting the dots. Shock filled his face more than anything and he only started to sweat more. "Wait! Are you saying that—"

Chiaki continued to stare into the fountain. "Yeah. Mikan had me run four tests in a row. They all came back positive."

Hajime's jaw refused to close. He couldn't believe it. Chiaki was pregnant. Pregnant! And he was the father.

"What are we going to do?" Chiaki asked, so quietly it was almost a whisper. "I…I know I could probably just get an abortion, but…if my fans found out where I've been…I don't know how I'd…" Chiaki trailed off and just stopped talking, sniffing instead, shaking.

She was terrified and Hajime knew why. It wasn't about the choice of keeping it or not, but Chiaki was the idol singer equivalent to a gamer. Even if people knew she was dating him, if people saw her exiting an abortion clinic, they'd know what the two of them had been getting up to. Her image, her reputation, it would plummet, especially if she was alone. Sure, keeping it would come with its own set of issues, but it would be easier to keep Chiaki on Hope's Peak Academy grounds than make sure none of her fans saw her walking out of an abortion clinic and taking a picture.

Without even thinking too much further about the conundrum, Hajime just said resolutely, "Then let's have it."

"Eh?" Chiaki hadn't expected that response. She stared at Hajime, getting misty eyed.

"What?" Hajime asked, giving her a serious stare. "Did you think I'd abandon you? Whatever you want to do Chiaki, I support you all the way."

"Hajime…" Chiaki started to choke up, croaking like a frog. "Hajime…" Chiaki threw her arms around her boyfriend, clutching the back of his shirt with her hands. "I want to do it," she sobbed. "I want to have the baby. Will you please help me take care of it?"

"Of course, Chiaki," Hajime said, patting her back. "I promise." This was nothing. Hajime had to keep repeating that to himself to convince himself that it was true. Their relationship could weather through this. He could be a parent. He could totally be a parent. He totally wasn't freaking out.

"Hajime…" Chiaki sniffed and stood on her tiptoes.

Without even caring who might be watching, the two shared a kiss, locking lips, licking each other's tongues.

Hajime held Chiaki tight. The kiss igniting his passion. We will get through this, he thought. I'm not going to let the girl I love suffer alone. He knew he'd always thought of Chiaki as "the one". Sure, things were going a little fast and a bit out of order, but he'd manage. A Hinata might not be good for anything financially, but we're reliable. Hajime thought, repeating his family motto.

After what felt like a long time holding onto Chiaki, but wasn't even ten minutes, Hajime said, "We need to tell Miss Yukizome about this."

Chiaki nodded.

However, by the time the two of them got to the school's front door, Yukizome was waiting for them, barring the entrance, arms folded. Foot tapping. Hajime didn't know how, but he could tell from the look on her face and the rest of her body language she knew.

"My office," Yukizome said, abruptly. "Now."

No sooner had Hajime and Chiaki settled into Yukizome's office that the red head stated, "I'm only going to ask this once," she said calmly, only to take a deep breath and shout, slapping the table with both hands, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"...video game logic?" Chiaki asked, not even really sure if she was convinced of that answer. Visual novels had failed her yet again. They all cut to credits after sex.

Yukizome sighed and massaged her temples, eyes closed. What am I going to do? The school is going to kill me! I let my class rep get pregnant from the transfer student. She slapped her cheeks. Ugh. No. No. Hajime proved himself. Don't be like that. She took a deep breath, eyes still closed, crossing her legs, putting her hands in her lap. Still this isn't good. Her parents don't even know.

Hajime and Chiaki sat in uncomfortable silence, wondering when their teacher was finally going to say something after Chiaki's rather unconvincing answer as to why they thought it was a good idea to play load the deck in the duel disk.

It felt like an eternity when Yukizome finally spoke again, her eyes still close. "Hajime. Ring. Finger. Two weeks."

"Huh?" Hajime uttered, sweating a little.

"You heard me," Yukizome spoke matter of factly. "You have two weeks to get a ring for Chiaki. I'll plan the wedding."

"But...Miss Yukizome—"

"No buts!" She exclaimed cutting him off. She opened her eyes, leaned forward and rudely jammed a finger in Hajime's face. "I will not allow my class rep to raise a bastard child, do you understand me?"

Hajime shook and shivered, back going rigid. "Y-yes, ma'am."

Yukizome, still not moving her finger away from his face, continued to demand things from Hajime, "And if you don't make Chiaki the happiest woman you can, you'll find out what I really use for the nut blend in my coffee."

Hajime crossed his legs. This woman was terrifying when angered. Now he kind of understood how she took on Dartz one on one.

Yukizome took a deep breath. "Now, you two have left me with the uncomfortable job of explaining this to the staff." She glared at both of them this time. It seemed even Chiaki wasn't to be spared from her underlying rage. "And I swear if you two make another one before you graduate, I'm sterilizing both of you."

Hajime and Chiaki gulped.

"Am I understood?" Yukizome asked.

"Yes, ma'am," They answered, hands gripping the undersides of their chairs. Even Chiaki couldn't help but feel intimidated by her teacher.

"Good," Yukizome said and then emphasized as she said, "Dismissed."

Hajime and Chiaki felt they could not scramble out of that office fast enough.

They found themselves back at the fountain, the jitters of Yukizome's wrath wearing off and the reality of the situation crushing down on Chiaki like a 10-ton boulder. The sun was starting to set on the school. Yukizome had forced a lot on Hajime. Chiaki couldn't help but feel responsible. She pulled her hood up over her head. She sat down on the bench and let tears silently fall from her face.

Hajime, for his part, had been too busy catching his breath to immediately notice the sad, dejected state his girlfriend was suddenly in. But when he noticed, he looked and felt heartbroken. "Ch-Chiaki?"

Very coldly, without a hint of emotion, Chiaki said, "You should drop out of Hope's Peak Academy and leave, Hajime." She'd ruined his life. She brought something into the world he'd never asked to get involved in. She was the one who initiated their happy moment. She'd been insistent. It was her body. Her fault. Hajime did not deserve to be shackled to her like this. "I could understand…" she said, weakly clutching her fingers, "If you felt like you were being forced to be with me."

Chiaki felt her world fading into a blur again. She'd return to those sad, cold, colorless moments, going through life, barely registering what was going on around her. And yet…why did she feel so warm?

It took her a moment to realize Hajime was hugging her, her head over his shoulder.

"Ha…jime?"

"That's not going to happen. The only person I could ever love is you Chiaki. The only regret I have is that all of this is happening so soon, but ever since Battle City, I've always known, that the person I want to spend the rest of my life with is you."

Chiaki's lip quivered. He wasn't going to leave her. She wasn't going to be alone. She wanted to say something, anything, but the only thing that came out of her were tears. She held onto Hajime for dear life, crying and shaking in his warm, strong embrace. She was terrified she would have to face this alone. She had assumed he'd walk away and take no responsibility, but she now realized how silly that was. That wasn't Hajime. That wasn't the type of man he was.

Hajime brushed back her hood and pet her head, letting her cry uncontrollably. Chiaki wanted to calm down and fall asleep, but the tears…just wouldn't stop.

But as she continued to cry and feel reassured by Hajime's presence, she realized why she was so relieved that he wasn't abandoning her. This wasn't just about the baby. She knew that her life would have its moments of solitude. She always worried that, after Hope's Peak, there would be long periods of time she wouldn't be able to see the person she loved with all her heart. But the fact that he was staying, the fact that he said he wanted to get married, it meant that no matter what came into her life, or left it, or changed it, Hajime would always be a part of it. He'd be a pillar of strength to lean on, a well for her to draw her own strength from.

When her tears finally did stop, she kissed him again, long and passionately. And then, exhausted, she let Hajime carry her back to her room, a smile on her face, eyes closed as her arms hung loosely over his shoulders. "I love you," she said purring.

"I love you too," he said, glancing over his shoulder with a smile.

Chiaki clutched her arms around Hajime's chest. "Mine," she said cutely.

Hajime merely smiled and stroked the back of her hand. Then he tucked her into bed. He smiled as he stood in the doorway, about to shut off the lights and lock it behind him. He watched her sleep soundly in her bed. He smiled. Yeah, he thought, we'll get through this. Because I'm not going anywhere. Sleep tight, Chiaki. I promise you, he thought as he closed the door, I'll make you the happiest mother and wife alive.

After the door closed, Chiaki squirmed in bed, the smile having never left her face. And she slept soundly and completely, not awakening until the next morning.

(A/N: Okay, so I know I mentioned it to a few of you, but for the rest of you, how many of you called that Chiaki was pregnant before this chapter and how many of you called it mid-chapter before the reveal? I'd like to take a poll XD.

I'll do my best to answer questions about this development, but I don't have unlimited knowledge and some questions I'd like to let the narrative speak for itself regarding. So, please be understanding if I don't want to or can't give an answer.

So, let's talk about next time. I think I'm going to combine a couple of chapters given how short this one was. I was going to actually combine next chapter with this one, but I thought it might be best to do some shorter chapters for a while. That and I want the big reveal of Chiaki being pregnant to be such a goddamn WHAM that the scenes that result as a consequence can stand up on their own without the reveal itself not having the impact it deserves.

So until next time, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)