Author's note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to another chapter of Healing Wounds. This chapter doesn't have too much going on other than some more fluff. I originally wanted to write the entire vacation into one chapter, but I decided to split it into two parts: the arrival (this chapter) and the actual vacation (next chapter). If I didn't do so, this chapter would've taken forever to come out, seeing as I'm still trying to plan some of the activities that'll take place there. Spreading the vacation into two parts will help me think better. Also, someone asked when Enoshima was going to make an appearance, and to that I say that she will make a small appearance relatively soon. Keep in mind that class 77 are still Freshmen at this point of the story. Once they become juniors, Hinata will have to prove to her why he's known as the ultimate hope. Anyways, review and enjoy :-).
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"You've been pushing yourself too much. Eat," Mitarai said as he placed a bag of food next to a boy working on a computer. If one were to witness this scene, they would immediately notice that the other boy appeared to be a carbon copy of Mitarai, except for the fact he was much thinner. The other boy also looked sickly, having large bags under his eyes.
Not looking up, the boy nodded in acknowledgment. "Thanks."
"No problem," Mitarai responded in a tone more serious than the one he normally used. "How's the project coming along?"
"Because of you, it's going better than I expected it to," the boy told him. "I'm already about halfway done. I might actually finish before senior year if everything continues to go smoothly."
"That's good. I can't wait to see the final result. Anyways, as you know, I'll be gone for a few days starting tomorrow. I'll need to know if you're going to be fine without me. You often tend to neglect your health if you're not reminded to keep yourself safe. Just to remind you, I don't mind staying behind if you think you'll still need me around."
"I'll be fine, don't worry," the boy informed him, not taking his eyes off his computer. "I'll be sure to stay safe. With everything you've done for me, you deserve a good break."
"All I've done was impersonate you."
"You've also taken care of me and have given me a decent working space," the real Mitarai told him. "And because you've been attending classes for me, I've been able to focus on making my 'hope video.'"
Hearing this, the imposter gave the boy a small smile. "If you say so. Speaking of breaks, you should take one now and eat. I brought you sushi."
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The next two weeks came and went by quickly with nothing particularly important happening. That is if you don't count the daily shenanigans his classmates stirred up, which Hinata didn't. After nearly two months of interacting with his friends, he knew the type of situations they could cause each day. However, they still didn't manage to bore him, seeing as there would always be a time someone did something unpredictable. Examples include when Komaeda announced he found one thousand yen on his chair or when Pekoyama somehow managed to scare away a mouse who invaded the classroom by letting out a soft sign. The past two weeks lacked those sort of events though, making them a bit boring to the ultimate hope. Well, even with such a unique class, uneventful days were bound to pop up frequently.
As far as his time with the students at Hopes Peak Elementary, Hinata was finally able to get a peek into Kotoko's life, which repulsed him to no end. Apparently, she has been sexually abused for quite a while now, causing her to be triggered by the word 'gentle.' It was obvious that those who preyed on the innocent girl did exactly the opposite. Hinata had tried to get some information about the topic, but the young girl often pushed him away, claiming that the sexual abuse she suffered was in the past. However, Hinata was smart enough to believe she wasn't telling the truth.
The lives these kids lived made him sick. He desperately wanted to do something, but as long as the young kids remained silent about their pasts, then he was powerless to help them. He would have called the police by now, but without any suspects, there was nothing they could do. It was true that he had heightened analytical abilities and he could pinpoint the exact people who took advantage of such innocent children, but gathering proof was another thing. These kids desperately kept themselves silent, fearing for what may happen if they did rat out their families. Monaca had it the worst in that regard, her father owning the very large and powerful Towa industry. He could easily hire a lawyer to escape any consequences for his actions. As such, Hinata had to wait until he's officially earned their trust, which was proving to be pretty hard to achieve. While the kids did enjoy his company, they didn't exactly throw themselves at him and tell him everything that's going on in their lives. Hell, he still didn't know Nagisa's issues, though Hinata highly suspected it had to deal with him being overexerted by his family.
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"Hey dude, what type of swimsuit do you think Sonia will be wearing to the beach?" Souda asked his friend as they rode a train to Yuigahama. After a boring two weeks, it was finally time for class 77 to go on their mini-vacation. Like everyone else, Hinata was quite excited about the trip. This would be his first official outing with his entire class, and if hanging out with a small group of his class proved to be eventful, then this trip will certainly be something special.
Shrugging his shoulders, Hinata answered his friend's question truthfully. "I honestly have no idea, nor do I care."
"Hm…she wore a wetsuit last time out of curiosity, so maybe she'll finally wear something more skimpy? Please let this be so!"
"S-sorry Souda, but she's wearing a wetsuit again," Tsumiki meekly told the mechanic. "She said it was so comfortable that she was going to keep wearing one."
Souda gave the nurse a disappointed look upon hearing the news. "Damnit! There goes some of my excitement for this trip."
Speaking of the nurse, Hinata felt that she's been acting strange recently. For the past two weeks, it felt as she never left his side. They were close before, but now it seemed she constantly wished to be around him. It should also be noted that whenever she spoke with him, her face seemed to turn a bright red. Was there something she wanted to tell him? For someone with multiple talents, he honestly had no idea what was wrong with his friend. He constantly asked her if she was alright, only for her to say that she 'couldn't be any better.' Her stuttering had also seemed to decrease as well whenever she was around him, which was a good thing, but it was still there whenever she spoke to anyone else. Hinata found it quite strange, surly she would be more comfortable around her classmates by now?
Then again, she wasn't the only one who's behavior changed solely around him. Pekoyama often seemed more agitated whenever he spoke to her. Whenever he approached her, she would grab the hilt of her bamboo sword as if she was expecting him to attack her. She also kept conversations brief, only giving one word answers before walking away from the boy. He honestly didn't understand where her distaste for him came from, perhaps she felt he was a dangerous individual? But if that were true, then she should be treating Owari, Nidai, and Hanamura the same way. After all, the former two were professional athletes who could rival her in physical combat while Hanamura was unpredictable. But she didn't, acting a bit more civil to them. He'll have to get some answers later.
Lastly, there was Komaeda. While not as noticeable as the two females, he did act differently around him than he did with anyone else. However, his motivation for doing so was obvious. He wanted to learn about Hinata's talent, anyone could see that. Whenever he spoke with Komaeda, the lucky student seemed to be analyzing him, looking for anything that could tell him more about Hinata. Though Komaeda was a bit strange, he didn't seem to be a bad person. As long as Hinata kept his guard up around him, he had nothing to fear.
"If it makes you feel better, at least she's wearing some sort of swimsuit," Hinata said to Souda as an attempt to cheer him up. The last thing Hinata needed was to babysit a depressed Souda. As another attempt to raise his friend's mood, Hinata decided to make a small joke. "If you really want to get her into something else, why not have Komaeda do something about it? Knowing him and his luck, you're bound to get some results."
Swinging his arm around Hinata, Souda gave him a sly smile. "That's a wonderful idea. Man, this is why you're my soul brother! Well if you excuse me, I'm off to speak with a certain hope maniac."
Watching Souda leave, Hinata looked at Tsumiki before letting out a loud sigh. "What have I done?"
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"Yukizome…how were you able to afford this place?" Mitarai asked his teacher a question all of class 77 shared. The hotel they were going to be staying at appeared to have leaped out of a movie, having the appearance of a stereotypical five star hotel. With the entire walls being made of expensive looking stone and the hotel being in a location where a wonderful view of the beach was present, it seemed drastically out of what a teacher could afford. Apparently, Yukizome had some secrets…perhaps she was connected with this place somehow? To Hinata, it didn't matter seeing as it felt as if he were in paradise. He was honestly expecting Yukizome to let them know this was the wrong hotel and then take them to a run down one. Thankfully, that never happened.
"I may have pulled some strings, but that stuff doesn't matter," Yukizome answered with a smile before handing out a key to eight of her students. "Anyways, there's sixteen of you and I've purchased eight rooms. As such, you'll each have to get into groups of two. I'll let you pick out the groups yourselves."
"So what you're saying is that we can even sleep with someone the opposite gender?" Hanamura asked, clearly excited by the sheer thought of doing so. As everyone else began to glare at the chef, Hinata could have sworn he saw Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu sneak away from the others and head into a room. While he had figured out they knew each other during his first week at the main course, he didn't think they were close enough to be comfortable sharing a room with one another.
"Yep! However, if I even suspect that any of you are up to no good, I won't hesitate on taking 'disciplinary actions.'" Yukizome responded as she gave everyone a threatening smile, scaring everyone but Hanamura, who appeared to be getting more aroused each millisecond. "Other than that, knock yourselves out!"
As soon as she finished, everyone began to form their groups, some of them being made right away. Saionji and Koizumi were already heading towards a room, the same went for Tanaka and Nidai, which also came as a surprise. Hinata didn't know the two were close. Friends, yes, but he honestly expected them to form a group with Sonia and Owari respectively. Perhaps they didn't feel comfortable sharing a room with someone of the opposite gender?
As Hinata began to find someone who didn't have a key, he felt a slight tug on his shirt. Turning around, he saw Tsumiki giving him a meek smile as she held onto his shirt.
"Umm…" the girl began, seemingly nervous about something. She wasn't about to ask Hinata what he thought she was, was she? "I-I was wondering if y-you wanted to s-share a room."
Watching the nurse attempt to ask this question was the most painful moment Hinata ever witnessed. It seemed she pushed herself to her limits just to form those words. It was also the most shocking thing Hinata's ever witnessed, never expecting such a bold move to come from the normally meek Tsumiki.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hinata asked her. Giving him a curious glance, the nurse nodded at him.
"I do."
"But you know that I'm a guy and you're a girl, right?"
"Y-yeah... but I trust you," Tsumiki said, giving him a shy smile as her face turned red. As hard as he tried, he couldn't hide the blush forming on his face. The fact she trusted him this much was too much for the boy to comprehend right away.
"I-if you're fine with it, then I guess we could share a room, but not a bed, okay? Think of it as a safety measure," Hinata told her as most of the groups finished forming. It seemed Mioda would be bunking with Nanami while Sonia and Owari would be sharing a room, which was unexpected. After all, both groups contained members who were the opposite of the another. Sonia and Nanami were more quiet than the rambunctious Mioda and Owari. Excluding Tsumiki and Hinata, there were only three people left for Mitarai to choose from and seeing how two of them were possibly complete nut-jobs, the animator snagged Souda, leaving the lucky student and chef as the last group. It seemed Hinata and Tsumiki's group was the only co-ed one besides the one formed by Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu.
"I don't see why it'll be a problem," Tsumiki said in an uncharacteristically confident voice, causing the ultimate hope to choke on his own saliva. Though she was certainly less shy than she was when he first met her, he didn't expect her to sound remotely confident until the end of their senior year.
"Who are you and what have you done to the real Tsumiki?" Hinata asked the nurse, only to get a giggle in response. If Hinata had to guess what was happening to his friend, he would say the fact they were on vacation seemed to influence her mood. It felt like the most logical explanation to him. Eventually deciding to go unpack their bags, the two friends went to their room, despite Hinata's nervousness. After all, this would be his first time sleeping in the same room with a female not from his family.
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After hugging Hinata two weeks ago, Tsumiki had done some extensive research to see what had infected her body. First, she looked up symptoms for all known illnesses on the internet, only to find that none of them perfectly matched what she was feeling. However, that didn't stop her, seeing as she continued to repeat the same steps for an entire week. She then went for a checkup at a nearby doctors office, only for the results to show she was completely healthy. Frustrated, the nurse soon turned to asking strangers on a lovely site known as Yahoo Answers for help. It was then she found out what was wrong with her.
She wasn't suffering from an illness or disease…but from something known as love.
At first, the nurse denied the possibility, seeing as Hinata was her friend. You can't fall in love with your friend, right? Well, it turns out you can. As Tsumiki kept trying to deny her feelings, she couldn't help but think about the boy. Though he wasn't a model, he was certainly attractive. But that wasn't what drew her towards him. He was unbelievably kind to her, always making time for the nurse. He was also willing to defend her, having fought off the group of bullies who attempted to steal her money a few months back. How could Tsumiki, someone who originally had no one looking out for her but herself, not fall in love with him.
Unfortunately, this discovery brought a new set of problems. She found it harder to communicate with him now, constantly having to resist the urge of running away in embarrassment or latching onto him, never to let go. It also felt like she would faint every time he smiled at her or expressed worry.
However, unlike all the other times she was presented with a non-nursing related issue, Tsumiki wasn't going to run away. She was face her fears head on for the first time, somehow, which was why she asked him to share a room with her. If she could handle this, then surely she could handle confessing to her friend in the future. After all, Hinata wasn't the type of person who would stop being her friend for such a small issue, right?
Fueled by this, Tsumiki becoming mentally preparing for the next few days she would spend with Hinata, planning to use the vacation to get even closer to him than she already was. Maybe he would like to check out the boardwalk with her later on today...
Man was she nervous...
