Notes: When I sent this chapter to my beta, I assured her that there wasn't any special occasion deadline I wanted to have this posted for or anything... but incidentally, November 22 is actually "good married couple day" in Japan! Which is treated like "cute and fluffy ship day" in Japanese fandom circles, so let's just say that's why I'm updating this fic today!

Yeah, so these take place during and directly after the winter mini-arc from last year. Next chapter I'll be back to the main story... I think. The plan might be changing a little bit, but I'll explain more at the end!

Chiaki Nanami and Kyoko Kirigiri

Of all the buildings in Kibougaoka, the police koban was clearly the most recently renovated—just a single glance at the exterior was enough to make that clear. However, sound insulation apparently hadn't been a priority when it was constructed.

Which was fine, really. It made sense that the posted officers should be able to hear any possible disturbance while inside the police station.

Such as the lovers' quarrel raging just outside the door. Really, it had only made the slightest difference when Hinata and his boyfriend had brought it outside; albeit slightly muffled, Nanami could still hear their yells.

Kirigiri sighed, rubbing her temple in exasperation. "I'm this close to arresting them both for disrupting the peace."

"Oh, don't do that," Nanami said with a smile. "Is that even an arrestable offense? Maybe write them a citation instead."

Kirigiri smirked amicably in Nanami's direction before turning back towards the desk where, in his rush to follow Kuzuryu out the door, Hinata had strewn the papers in a disorganized mess. As she sorted through the paperwork, she made small talk to drown out the argument outside. "It's been a while since the last time you visited, Nanami-san. How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Still stuck in QA hell, but a sempai is helping me to hopefully work my way into programming." Nanami tugged her backpack closer to her body, a subconscious action to ensure that her laptop was secure. She'd made some progress on her pet project while on the Shinkansen, and she'd have to back it up as soon as she got home. "How are things going with you, Kirigiri-san?"

"As well as they ever have been, I suppose."

"Hmm..." Nanami cocked her head to the side, thinking. "I'm sorry to hear that... I think? Is that what I should say?"

Kirigiri paused in her movements, then chuckled wryly. "Impressive. I can't imagine Hinata-kun would tell you... You're awfully astute, aren't you?"

"Oh, not at all, I'm just a gamer."

"I see." Kirigiri finished tidying up the paperwork, then stood upwards and crossed her arms over her chest. "But it's fine. I can only be overlooked for so long before—" She cut herself off when the yells from outside began to crescendo again, prompting both women to look back at the door.

"It sounds like it's going well."

Kirigiri shook her head tiredly.

The door opened after another minute, and Hinata slumped back into the building, looking soundly defeated. "...I'm back. Sorry about that," he mumbled.

His apology was punctuated by a sharp rattling noise outside, prompting Hinata to look even more miserable.

"Did he just kick the bike stand," Kirigiri said, more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, probably." Hinata sighed and collapsed into the nearest chair, running his fingers through his hair. "Shit, I just... this sucks. What was I supposed to do?"

"Tell him about your mom," Nanami supplied helpfully.

Kirigiri made an understanding humming noise in the back of her throat. "I see, so that's what you neglected..."

"Wha—" Hinata's head snapped up to look at the women, eyes blazing with residual anger. "Why are you talking like this was such a simple issue?! And Sempai, why were you assuming I must have neglected something? When did you even find out about us?!"

"You clearly skipped a step in your relationship, because it was moving too fast." Kirigiri twirled a stray strand of silvery hair around a gloved finger as she spoke, the very picture of indifference. "I figured it out last week that you were going out, but I've known for ages that the two of you were attracted to each other. Probably since before either of you realized it yourselves."

"Then why—"

"Because you're still weighed down by emotional baggage." Kirigiri dropped her hair and crossed her arms, staring him down. "I didn't think you were ready to initiate a relationship and open yourself up to someone else so intimately. That's why I was surprised to realize you two were already going out, and it's why I concluded that you must have missed something crucial."

Hinata flushed and lowered his gaze. "Yeah, well... once I realized the truth of how I felt, I didn't really want to turn away from that."

"I see." Kirigiri tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose I overlooked that facet of your personality."

"I also encouraged him to confess," Nanami admitted, raising a hand meekly. "In retrospect, that might not have been the best idea, I think..."

Hinata shook his head. "No, it's fine! These past two months with Kuzuryu... I mean..." He paused, cheeks reddening further, and Nanami had to suppress the urge to giggle. Now wasn't the time. "They've been... good? I mean, I'm really happy with him, but I..." He sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Shit. Did I just ruin all that? I can't—"

"I really don't get the sense that either of you wants to break up over this," Nanami quickly assured him. "You just have to talk it out and open up with each other. Your relationship will be stronger after that, too, I think."

"Hinata-kun." Kirigiri had a thoughtful look on her face, but Hinata still didn't look up to see it. "Those days off you requested for this weekend... Were you planning to take a trip with Kuzuryu-kun?"

"A trip?" Nanami gasped, speaking over Hinata as he groaned again. "You mean an overnight trip? How bold, Hinata-kun!"

"That's not—!" Hinata looked up again finally, shaking his hands defensively. "It's not like... I mean..." He sighed. "Well, it probably doesn't even matter now, does it? I'm not sure it's going to happen anymore..."

"Do you not want to go?" Kirigiri asked bluntly.

"I do, but if Kuzuryu doesn't want to go with me..."

"You should tell him that, I think." Nanami mustered up the most encouraging smile she could manage. "If you got into this problem by not talking enough, you should resolve it by clearly telling him what you want. Let him know that you still want to go on that trip with him."

"We've already filed the paperwork for your time off, so you might as well make use of it."

"And you'll have the opportunity while you're alone to talk out your problems, without anyone else bothering you."

"I got it, I got it," Hinata said irritably, visibly a little intimidated by the barrage of advice. He pulled out his cell phone and glared down at its screen. "I'll text him, all right? Is that good enough for now?"

"Be sure to apologize, too," Nanami pressed.

Hinata bristled at the suggestion, pausing as he scrolled through his phone's apps. "Why should I have to do that?" he bit out.

"Because you were in the wrong for not saying anything about your family."

"He's in the wrong for keeping secrets from me, too!"

Kirigiri sighed. "Can you honestly say that that's a surprise? Surely you knew what you were getting into by dating him."

Nanami tilted her head curiously. She didn't understand what the senior officer was driving at, exactly... but judging from Hinata's expression of reluctant acquiescence, he had understood perfectly well, and she supposed that was all that mattered.

"I mean, sure," Hinata said, "but still, there are some things he should tell me anyway..."

"In that case, the both of you need to apologize to each other." Nanami clapped her hands together, pleased at having been able to pick up on that much. "That still means that an apology from you is in order. Okay?"

"Fine, fine..." Hinata ruffled his hand through his hair in frustration, then paused and looked up at the two women, an eyebrow raised. "Hold on, why am I getting relationship advice from you two?"

Nanami and Kirigiri looked at each other. "Is there a problem with that?" Kirigiri asked.

"Well, Nanami has only ever dated me," Hinata began, "and Sempai, you just don't strike me as someone who's that interested in romance."

Nanami laughed lightly. "Hinata-kun, you have it all wrong. This isn't an issue of romance."

Hinata's face contorted in confusion. "Uh... what is it, then?"

The two women glanced at each other again, sly grins growing on their faces, before answering him in unison.

"It's common sense."

Chiaki Nanami

It was a bit of a strange feeling, walking to Nanami's house after so many years. Hinata should have known the route from the train station well enough to walk it with his eyes closed, but it was peppered with unfamiliar landmarks: stores that had changed hands over the years, empty lots that had once been dilapidated apartment buildings, and vending machines that had since been updated with newer models.

It wasn't really the time to be fascinated by his surroundings, though; the sun had set, it was freezing, and he was eager to get inside a warm house and regain feeling in his ears and nose.

He quickly traveled the last half block to Nanami's house, and, swallowing back what residual awkwardness remained over visiting his ex-girlfriend while in a relationship with someone else, he knocked on the door.

He half-expected to be waiting for another minute or two outside the door as Nanami leisurely made her way to the entrance, but mercifully, she swung the door open for him after just a few seconds. "Happy birthday, Hinata-kun!" she announced, exploding a small party popper but not really extending the effort to lift it in his direction.

"Thanks," he laughed, shaking the confetti off of his shoe before following her into the front hall. "Though you're a few days late."

"Well, you were spending time with your boyfriend. I'm not a priority."

"Uhh..." Hinata glanced around the house nervously as he slipped off his shoes, then continued in a whisper. "Could you not mention the word 'boyfriend' around your dad? It's kind of..."

"Oh, Dad's not here right now," Nanami responded, waving a hand dismissively. "He's out buying the cake. I won't mention it around him, but you know he won't think any less of you for going out with another man, right?"

Hinata chuckled. "Logically, I'm sure you're right but... I mean, he's the man who taught me how to shave, you know?"

She cocked her head to the side, eyebrows knitted in obvious confusion. "No, I don't know... Boys are weird." With a shake of her head, she turned and padded into the adjoining sitting room. "Come on, let's play games. Oh, how did your trip go, by the way? It seems you patched things up pretty well, judging from my discussion with Kuzuryu-kun."

Hinata flushed as he followed her into the room. "Uh, y-yeah, the trip was really... hold on, that reminds me!"

Nanami turned back towards him, a game case in her hands. "Hmm?"

"Baby pictures? Really?"

"Kuzuryu-kun requested collateral."

Hinata's mouth flapped uselessly for a moment; what in the world did that mean? It certainly sounded like something his boyfriend would say, though, so he put that to the side for the moment. "Why do you even have those baby pictures anyway?"

"You don't remember?" Nanami knelt to the floor to begin fiddling with a game system hooked up to the TV. "When we were cleaning out your mom's place you asked me to hold on to the photo albums for you. They were too important to keep in rented storage, but too painful to keep yourself."

"Ah... really?" Now that she mentioned it, Hinata did vaguely remember such an agreement... that time of his life had been such a monotonous blur that he hadn't even considered thinking back on it until recently. "I guess that did happen. Okay, then."

Nanami paused, then looked up at him inquisitively. "You don't mind that I showed him those pictures, do you?"

Hinata laughed. "No, it's fine."

"Thought so. Now let's play video games."

As he made his way over to the couch, Hinata looked down at the controllers and other accessories strewn about the coffee table. "What's this here?" He picked up a rectangular device with a screen on the front and turned it over in his hands. "Is this a tablet computer? It's kind of big and clunky..."

Nanami gave him a withering look, the sort that she could only manage when particularly unimpressed with someone's knowledge of video games. "It's a GamePad. Haven't you ever seen a Wii U, Hinata-kun?"

"No, I haven't played games in a few years, so I don't really know these new systems..."

"The Wii U has one foot in the grave, though," Nanami muttered, taking the GamePad from his hands. "But you remember Smash Brothers at least, right?"

Hinata brightened at the mention of a familiar title. "Of course I remember. We played that all the time when we were younger, right?"

"Yeah, and you almost beat me a few times! It was impressive."

"You say 'impressive,' but doesn't that just mean I never beat you?"

"That's what we're going to play then," Nanami said, ignoring his retort. "Okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Hinata settled himself on the couch as Nanami inserted the game disc, and picked up a Wii remote from the table. "Is this what I use to play?"

"If you're a normie casual, sure."

Hinata sighed; Nanami could get pretty harsh with her words when it came to games. "What's the alternative, then? That GamePad thing?"

"Yeah, but you can use the remote, don't worry about it."

"Yeah, I'll just go with this, then..." He watched Nanami as she walked around and sat next to him, and noticed that the controller she held was neither a remote nor the GamePad. "Wait, what's that you're holding?"

Nanami looked down as if she hadn't even realized what was in her hands. "Oh right, the pro controller... that's the other alternative. Do you want one?"

Hinata blinked rapidly in the face of so many options. Well, he certainly wasn't a "pro"... and while it had been several years since he played a game on the Wii, he at least vaguely remembered how to use its remote. It was probably best to hope that muscle memory would kick in. "Nah, I'll use the remote."

Nanami gave a small smirk, but said nothing more as she pulled up the character roster.

Hinata felt a bit dizzy in the face of all the character options, and had to take a moment to look over them even as Nanami quickly located and chose Jigglypuff, as per her usual. Eventually, he located Falco and made his selection, pleased that his old go-to character was still on the roster.

Once their characters and stage were selected, Nanami started up the match, and as it loaded, she suddenly spoke up. "Oh, right. I should probably tell you."

Hinata glanced at her. "What?"

"They nerfed Falco."

"What?!" The countdown was on the screen, and Hinata scrambled to make sure his hands were positioned correctly—it was going to take a bit of experimentation to figure out how to use the character again, especially if he was weaker than before. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I just did."

"Nanami!"

"Don't worry, Jigglypuff was nerfed too," she said, even as she easily landed the first hit.

"That's not going to make any difference for you!"

Indeed, Hinata was kept on the defensive for the most part of the match, only just barely managing to deplete one of Jigglypuff's stock before game was called. They played another match, which went largely the same as the first, and by the third, Hinata had become accustomed enough to Falco's adjustments that he could relax and take the beating from Nanami without expending too much thought—which was how their Smash Brothers games had always gone in the past, come to think of it.

Halfway through another match, with his mind wandering a bit, Hinata had a sudden thought. "Hey, Nanami?"

She didn't take her attention off the game. "Hmm?"

"When we were clearing out Mom's place... Do you remember if I copied down my height chart? The one on the door jamb?"

Nanami was silent for a while, incessant in beating up Falco on the screen. "You didn't," she said finally, during a down period after knocking him off the stage and waiting for him to respawn.

"Oh." Hinata steeled his focus on the game in front of him, determined not to let the disappointment eat at him from the inside. "Okay then."

"I did, though."

It took a second for Hinata to process the words. "Wait, what?"

Nanami paused the game; she never paused video games mid-battle, but apparently this was important enough to put everything else to a stop. Setting down her controller, she stood and began walking across the room, beckoning Hinata to follow suit.

He followed her past the entrance hall and down the hallway, into the room he knew to be her bedroom, and watched as she opened her closet door and began pulling out boxes of limited edition video game boxes. "Give me a second, it's further back," she said. "I think."

"What is?"

As soon as he asked the question, Nanami made a pleased sound in the back of her throat and, in lieu of answering, emerged with a nondescript, medium-sized brown box. She supported it against her old study desk as, with one hand, she opened one of the flaps and pulled a piece of paper from the top. "Here you go," she said, handing it over to Hinata.

As soon as he accepted it, Hinata realized that it wasn't just one piece of paper; it was several sheets of A4-size paper, taped together and folded neatly. He began unraveling it and sucked in a sharp breath as he saw the lines and notes, carefully copied down just as they had been at home. Unfurled to its full length of nearly two meters, Hinata's entire height chart was reproduced in full, albeit in Nanami's loopy handwriting instead of his mother's careful script—but there wasn't really anything that could be done about that.

"Also, I have this," Nanami added, extracting a thumb drive from the box and placing it in Hinata's hand. "I took pictures of it, so you could still have it in your mother's handwriting. There are other photos of the apartment on there too."

Hinata gave a shuddering laugh. "Oh my god. Why did I ever break up with you?"

"Because our relationship wasn't special as 'lovers' the way yours is with Kuzuryu-kun."

"Right, that." Hinata chuckled softly again, twirling the thumb drive between his fingers, then turned his gaze toward the brown box. "What is all that, anyway?"

Nanami shifted the box back into both hands and looked down at it. "Remember the photo albums I mentioned earlier? Those are in here, along with all the other things you wanted me to keep safe." She paused, then looked up at him, and her expression changed almost imperceptibly, as if she had just had a small revelation. "...But maybe you're ready to take it back now, I think. So, here." She held it out. "Do you want it?"

Hinata looked down at the proffered box. A box full of mementos of his mother... It was true that he had been such a wreck after her death that he had needed to focus all of his energy on getting himself back on his feet, on making sure his academics and career were in order... Not that that really worked out anyway, he thought wryly. But now... well, it wasn't like his life was better by any metric he had considered important at the time, but still.

"Yeah," he said breathily. "Yeah, I'll take it back now."

Nanami smiled and placed the box in Hinata's outstretched hands. "Happy birthday, Hinata-kun."

He laughed, and as he took the box fully in his grasp, it felt like he was shedding a weight instead of the opposite.

"Not all of the stuff in there is particularly useful," Nanami noted as Hinata opened the box to explore its contents. "But I didn't want to risk throwing away anything you might regret not having later."

"Yeah, I get that," he said. Among the photo albums were some of his mother's favorite novels, a few pieces of childhood art, and a small file of five-years-outdated coupon clippings—that must have been what Nanami meant by "not particularly useful." But at the same time, seeing the coupons caused a bittersweet sort of emotion to flood his chest—it had been hard to for his mother to support him on her own, but she had still done her best using whatever resources she could. And all things considered... maybe he had turned out pretty well.

Mostly everything in the box was familiar to Hinata, knickknacks that he would have normally overlooked at home but filled him with nostalgia to see again. Then he noticed an item that wasn't familiar—tucked against the side was a thin, white, oblong box.

"What's this?" he muttered, pulling it out to see a single word written on the corner of the lid, in his mother's handwriting.

Hajime

"Ah." Nanami leaned over, bowing her head slightly, and plucked the box back out of Hinata's grasp. "Sorry, that... I don't think you should have that yet."

"What?" Hinata was surprised—at how quickly anger could bubble up inside him for being denied something he never even knew he wanted, and also by the idea that it would be caused by Chiaki Nanami. "Why not?! That's for me, isn't it? It's something Mom left for me?!"

"Yes, but..." Nanami cradled the box close to her chest, almost seeming to shrink inward on herself. "I'm sorry, Hinata-kun. I don't think you're ready to have this yet, so... I'll keep it safe until the time comes, okay?"

Hinata's mind was a whirl, and he had to fight himself not to make a fuss like a toddler who couldn't have his favorite toy. "What do you mean I'm not ready? I'm okay to have the rest of this stuff, but not that?!"

Nanami shook her head. "You've definitely made progress, but this... it would only hurt you more if you saw what's in this right now, I think."

He sighed, frustrated, but the logical part of his mind trusted that Nanami would only act in his best interests. If she said he wasn't ready to take that white box, then it was probably true.

"You'll give it to me once I'm ready?" he asked, trying not to let unease slip into his voice.

"Of course," Nanami confirmed, smiling softly. "Your mother left it for you. I wouldn't keep it any longer than necessary."

As she moved to place the box inside her desk drawer, Hinata heard the front door open down the hall. "I'm home!" came a man's voice.

"Oh, Dad's back." Shutting the desk drawer closed, Nanami called back to him. "Welcome home! We'll be right there!"

As he followed Nanami out the door, Hinata's gaze was drawn to the drawer, feeling the tug of temptation urging him to go and take the box for himself... but with conscious effort, he tore his eyes away and left the room.

It wasn't for forever. He had gone five years without even knowing it existed; he could wait a little longer, until he fulfilled whatever qualifications Nanami deemed necessary to receive it.

In the meantime, he still had all the rest of his mother's treasures right in his arms. He had good friends waiting to celebrate with him just down the hall. And somewhere else in the city, there was the man he loved, who loved him in return.

It had been a bit of a journey to get there, and he still had a ways to go, but in that moment, Hajime Hinata was truly blessed.

Notes: For whatever reason, I tend to like Danganronpa boys better than the girls, but when I write things like this it's like, gosh, these ladies are so good though? They are such treasures...

Thanks as always to CSakuraS for betaing this entire chapter, but I also need to thank my youngest brother for being an extra pair of eyes for the Smash Bros part! (I suck at that game so bad...)

And the next chapter... I had planned to be moving on to the next major storyline, but it's not really panning out yet. I wanted to use NaNoWriMo to force myself to power through it without being restrained by technicalities that can be figured out later, but it's still just nowhere close to being a coherent story.

But I think I can have an update for next month, of some sort. I tried experimenting with a short little plotline that I had previously scrapped, and it's working really well, so I may go with that. If not, there are at least some short stories for On the Streets of Kibougaoka that I wrote to pad out my NaNo word count, heh.

So, I'll see you when I see you!