Beta-Reader: Zephyrius29 (Ideas)

Chapter 2: Mikan's Misstep, Nagito's Negativity

Hope's Peak Academy

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Afternoon

Hajime paused to take a look back at the building which he had come from. It was hard to believe that said building was part of Hope's Peak Academy. It looked just like any other normal school, albeit more imposing. He was under no illusion that simply having Hope's Peak Academy on a resume was more than enough reason to enroll, but the Reserve Course only had the academy's name to reinforce it, unlike the Main Course which was the heart and soul of this institution. That wasn't enough.

Try as he might to find his best pathway to get into the Main Course, he still had not come to a decision yet. Between being injected with talent, returning to normality, and finding his own abilities, he struggled to figure out which benefitted him the most and which hurt him the least. He was not skilled in clairvoyance. He had no way to know which decision would bring what future; he was just a normal person and he was reacting how any normal human would in his position: overwhelmed. He had to approach each situation logically and with a clear mind. Easy to say, but hard to do.

He needed a break from these thoughts. With his classes done for the day and being caught up with his work, he had time to relax. He needed something, anything to take his mind off of this life business. If he wasn't doing his schoolwork, then he was thinking about the future. That would do a number on his mental health if kept obsessing, or so it made sense to him in his own mind.

Hajime knew that other students were leaving to return to the dorms, but he didn't really look up and see who was around. He didn't have many people that he talked to in this school. He had left all of his friends from his former high school when he had transferred from Kodaka High School to Hope's Peak. It seemed like nobody here had any desire to get into the main course and were just content to be attending the school with the title as the best preparatory school in all of Japan. His attitude with wanting to be a main course student had more or less alienated him from the rest of his classmates.

Now he was sure that the only students that he could possibly be friends with were the Main Course students, but of course the Main Course and the Reserve Course students rarely ever mingled. They had classes on opposite sides of the campus. Thus they were given few chances to interact during the school day. Plus, there was a feeling of disdain from the Reserve Course towards the Main Course. Because there was no evidence to back this feeling up, it remained a feeling, not fact.

It felt like a dream to be able to interact with the Ultimates. Well, a dream turned reality more like considering he'd befriended Chiaki Nanami, the Super High School Level Gamer. It was luck, he thought in this case, but why look a gift horse in the mouth? Good luck should be embraced, not questioned.

Hajime took to the streets and looked left and right. With nothing on-hand to see to, personal or business, the best thing that he could think to do was just take a walk through the streets, see what would happen if anything.

The first few minutes felt disappointing. He just walked through the streets over and over again. He was looping really, not going any further than a block from the school grounds. He figured that if anything interesting were to happen, it would be within a close vicinity of Hope's Peak. It was perhaps asking a bit much, but it was the best thing that he could think of at this time.

Hajime's idea would be prove to be fruitfull, for in his own musings, he failed to see that he was running headlong into another person. It was then too late as he felt someone colliding with him. His momentum was slower than that of whomever he had knocked against and he fell down. The first time pain registered was when he hit the ground. The second time it was felt came when the other person fell on top of him.

"Ow." Hajime hissed as he felt sore spots now.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry." A soft voice said, a girl's voice. "I'm s-s-so sorry. I-I didn't m-mean to r-run into y-you. I was j-just going o-over some t-things in m-my head."

"No, it's fine." He decided to play it off with a light tone. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'm to blame."

Hajime lifted his head to see a sight not to his expectations. The girl that had fell on him had pale white skin, dark purple hair with long and short segments, and eyes that looked purple, but he couldn't tell with such dim sunlight. The moment he met her eyes was when she met his eyes. They stared at each other.

It then occurred to the boy that a girl his age was on top of him, pressed fully against him.

A very cute girl.

No, c'mon man, get your head out of the gutter. Hajime grimaced internally. Now's not the time.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry!" The girl squealed louder. "You h-hate m-me already, don't you?!"

"W-What? No!" Hajime refuted immediately. "That's not it!"

"You c-can h-hit me i-if y-you like!" She almost sounded like she was begging. "I-I deserve it!"

"No, really it's fine!" Hajime felt the situation sliding downhill. "Please stop saying things like that."

"B-but I made you f-fall to the g-ground." She stuttered a lot it seemed. "I-I'm such a k-klutz."

She looked away from him with a look of shame adorned on her face.

Hajime's was truly in a bind as to what to do. This was not a sort of situation that he realistically expected to be caught in. Their position could easily be mistaken as something more than it actually was. A boy and a girl laying so close? He could talk to girls just fine, but getting physical with girls like what was happening now? He was far from that.

He felt a rise of panic.

Then he tried to regain control of himself. No, he needed to think about this situation as a perfectly sane person. It might not be the ideal way to go about this matter, but it sure as hell was better than being a jerk and leaving this poor girl alone, and he was no jerk.

"H-hey it's okay." Hajime forced his own self-consciousness down. "I'm not that kind of person. I swear."

"R-really?" The girl turned back to him with a timid yet hopeful expression. "Y-you s-still want t-to a-associate with me?"

"Look, it was just an accident." Hajime put both hands on her shoulders. "Did you or did you not intentionally cause this?"

"N-no!" She shook her head fiercely. "I d-didn't cause this intentionally."

"Then there's nothing to apologize for." He affirmed in his best serious voice. "So let's start over. My name is Hajime Hinata."

"... I'm Mikan Tsumiki." Her voice was fragmented. "I… hope that we can get along."

Hajime felt a bit of of a good feeling swell up in him. Friends for him were in short supply, and coming from a normal person, that wasn't a good thing. Normal people had friends to talk to. Hajime had none of these growing up. There were the occasional acquaintances and friendly faces, but true friends? There were none in his past high school, or his school life in general.

Hope's Peak Academy was turning his life around in so many ways other than his personal talent dilemma.

It was then that he noticed her uniform. She was his age, that much he realized at first glance, but now getting a look at her uniform, he saw that it was the same scheme and color that Chiaki wore. That could only mean…

"You're an Ultimate." Hajime breathed, unsure of what else to say.

"Yes, I am." A bit of pride surfaced in Mikan. "I'm the Super High School Level Nurse."

"That sounds incredibly useful." Hajime said while also trying to comprehend what he'd gotten himself into. "Um, I'm…"

He hesitated. He didn't want to say where he came from. It would be less painful to tell a small lie, but wouldn't that just create problems for him in the future? This was nothing small to lie about, at least not in his opinion.

"I-is that a R-reserve Course outfit?" Mikan asked timidly.

"Y-yeah, it is." Hajime blurted out, feeling more glum. "Small world, isn't it."

"Y-you d-don't look happy." Mikan asserted. "Is t-there something wrong with me?"

"No, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you." Hajime told her, though he wasn't sure mentally about her. "Also, can you get off of me?"

"AAAAAHHH!" Mikan jumped up in terror. "I-I-m sorry!"

"Please stop apologizing." Hajime rubbed himself off as best he could. "It's just bad luck, okay?"

She bowed her head and mumbled something that sounded like acceptance. It suddenly occurred to him that he had little idea what kind of people were in the main course. They were the best at what they did, and that meant that theoretically they should be confident people, sure of themselves, sure around others, nothing at all like what Mikan was showing.

Hajime pushed that to the back of his mind. Trying to be careful with his actions, he moved closer to the nurse. Some remnants of his own physical pain lingered, but for the sake of not breaking the moment, he ignored them.

"Mikan." Hajime spoke her name lightly. "I'm a person, just like you, okay? You can look at me as an equal."

Though her posture showed that she was tense, she dared to take his word for it and lifted her head. Even with her face in a fearful frame, she somehow looked all the more endearing.

Hajime couldn't help but smile.

Mikan could only stare back in awe.

Hope - - - Despair

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Afternoon

Nagito Komaeda's day had been fantastic. Today had been another fun-filled day with the class. All of their hopes had collided into one big singularity. It shined so brightly that it could be seen from outer space, he would say. Truly, there was nothing greater than hopes combining to form an even greater hope.

He was the Super High School Level Lucky Student without a doubt; to be able to participate in the hopes that his classmates displayed was beyond amazing. The experience would not be forgotten easily, though he hoped he wasn't overstepping his bounds by indulging too much. After all, they were the talented ones, the true hopes, not complete and utter trash like him. Still, he would be lying if he said that he wanted to stop the feeling. Even better yet, nothing terrible had happened to him today, so that was another win in his book.

To round out the day, he simply just stared at the building of the academy. This place represented hundreds of years of hope and talent. Few institutions in the world could claim to have lasted so long and with such an interesting history to elevate it. That was only just further proof that Hope's Peak Academy was perhaps the absolute symbol of hope in Japan and the world. Merely being able to physically take it in was wonderful.

Classes had ended hours ago. Nagito felt that classes were a bit useless for him. His luck could not be wielded nor could it be controlled. It was just there, something that affected his life in good and bad ways. Frankly, he wasn't sure what his practical exam would entail when the time came, but considering each year a single normal student was selected to be the Super High School Level Lucky Student, the school must have a way to measure luck.

Then all previous events of the day turned sour, forgotten from his mind once he got a good look at something he wished that he hadn't seen.

There was Mikan Tsumiki, the Super High School Level Nurse, a truly worthy student with a truly worthy talent, talking to a boy. Normally, this wouldn't be something worth getting worked up over, yet when it came to normal people, Nagito could only shake his head in pity and in disgust. Normal people clung to talent, hoping that they too could be considered talented and join the ranks of the elite, a fantasy.

The boy looked perfectly average. Average in height, average in looks, average in everything at a glance for that matter, but adding insult to injury was that his school uniform indicated that he was a Reserve Course student, a lowly high school student who had paid his way into the academy, not a Main Course student who had earned the right to come to the school.

The girl and boy parted ways, both of them looking pleased. No, this would not do at all. Ultimates had unique gifts. Any idiot could give money to attend the Reserve Course, and that's what was worrying.

Nagito made up his mind to do something, so he moved to intercept the student that was even more worthless than him.

"Hey, you there." He called out harshly. "The Reserve Course kid."

That seemed to seize up the boy as he slowly turned his gaze to the white-haired boy. Both of them locked eyes, and for a moment, it was a staredown that was their first introduction in place of words.

"Can I help you?" The dark-haired boy asked.

Nagito got up close and personal. He needed to make his point abundantly clear so that it would burn into his target's mind. Invading personal space was a perfect way to leave a more lasting impact.

"What's your name?" Nagito demanded fervently.

"It's Hajime Hinata." The boy declared with a guarded expression. "And you are?"

"The name is Nagito Komaeda." Nagito replied curtly, narrowing his eyes. "Let's get one thing straight. You're a nobody, a talentless, worthless person."

"Excuse me?" Hajime questioned with a hint of annoyance.

"You're only here because of money." Nagito laid it all out. "You have no talent, and you never will. Don't think that just because you can talk to Ultimates means that you're even close to their worth. They got here by their own merits. You paid money, and anyone can do that."

"You're an Ultimate." Hajime looked him up and down in understanding. "You're from the Main Course."

"Right on the money." Nagito took care to emphasize the last part. "I'm the Super High School Level Lucky Student."

"Wait, that's a talent?" Hajime looked taken aback.

"It is to the school." Nagito smiled sadly. "But not one that can hold a candle to true talent. I tried to decline. I was just a normal high school student once, but how could I refuse the school?"

"Hypocritical much?" Hajime regarded Nagito. "You jus-"

"The difference between you and me?" The Lucky student cut him off. "I was chosen by this academy. You weren't."

"You don't know a thing about me." Hajime's brow furrowed. "And yet you can claim that I'm worthless?"

"Hope's Peak Academy would've recognized you if you were exceptional." Nagito explained as if it were obvious. "But you're not if you're in the Reserve Course. Accept that fact and know your place."

"And where is my place?" Hajime stared him down. "Who are you to judge me?"

"I'm an Ultimate." Nagito threw back with a sneer. "Although my title is a fickle thing, it was given to me by Hope's Peak, and their acknowledgement makes me far greater than the likes of you."

Two pairs of eyes beamed at each other.

"And if you think that hard work will get you anywhere, you're wrong. Hard work and effort? It doesn't breed success. That's a lie passed down for generations."

Nagito expected a more angered reaction, yet the only response was a restrained look of indignation along with the clenching of fists. It would seem that this one thought that he was above his kind and could become something more. Nagito's words hadn't set in, so his job wasn't done yet.

"You admire hope and talent, but you can't have either." Nagito commented almost idly. "You cling to the Ultimates, hoping that they will recognize you, hoping that you might gain talent, but the world isn't like that. You're either worthy or you're not. It's decided for you the moment that you're born."

"You saw me and Mikan." Hajime realized what this was about.

"Mikan Tsumiki is my classmate, and someone that is truly laudable." Nagito closed the distance. "To see someone like her associate with someone like you? It makes me sick and reminds me of just how much normal people taint this world. It's a shame that her delicate personality prevented her from pushing you away."

"..." Hajime remained silent, but terse-looking.

"What's this? Have you realized what you're meant to do?" Nagito asked while watching. "You've finally come to your senses about what is and what is not?"

"..." Still no response from the Reserve Course Student.

"I guess I'll take your silence as a sign of acceptance." Nagito straightened up and backed away. "I would say good day, but I think both of us are far from pleasantries. Get on with your life and stop meddling."

Feeling satisfied that his point had been made in full, Nagito decided to head back to the dorms to relax before he got some sleep. He seriously was tired and bothered by having to do this, but it was better that he do it rather than his superiors. Why let the Ultimates do this dirty work when he could?

He took some steps in the opposite direction.

"...I agree with you."

Those four words made the Lucky student stop in his tracks. Did this piece of garbage just affirm what had been told to him?

"Come again?" Nagito glanced from the corner of his eyes. "I didn't hear that."

"I agree with you." Hajime countered with more volume in his voice. "I know that I'm a talentless average person. I've been saying that to myself for years. I've been told that by everyone around me for years. You're not telling me something that I don't already know myself."

Those were just the words that Nagito wanted to hear.

"... but you know what?" Hajime sounded more lighthearted. "Sometimes, I don't want to be talented or gifted."

...

Now that was something novel to hear: a nobody who didn't want talent? Everyone wanted talent. Talent signified superiority, and humans craved superiority. Just what was this student going on about?

"I didn't go up to Mikan because I wanted to mooch off of her status or her talent." Hajime's words poured through confidently. "I didn't even expect to meet her. It was just good luck that I did."

Good luck was it? What a funny joke.

"And yeah we normal people may not have talent, but there's one thing we do share in common with the Ultimates." Hajime adopted a serious look. "We're all Human beings, and thus we're all subject to emotions, feelings, wants, and needs, and that's what I was after. Not talent, not acceptance, just wants, needs, emotions, and feelings."

That was the last thing before the brown-haired teenager turned and walked off, effectively shutting down the conversation, and throughout it all, the white-haired teenager could only sit on what he had heard.

We're all human. Nagito repeated those words in his head. We're all human.

How had this worthless person wormed his way into his head? It didn't matter what all people shared. There was no equality in the world, and there never would be. For scum to claim that they were all equal in any capacity?

That was possibly the worst insult to Hope's Peak Academy and all of the Main Course itself.

Hajime Hinata of the Reserve Course was determined to be a stubborn fool thinking that he would become someone important, someone beyond his capabilities.

Despair - - - Hope

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Noon Time

Chisa took in a breath and let it out. Although the weather could stand to be better, at least it wasn't raining. She had just gotten done doing some preliminary work for the day and was getting ready to see her class.

Chiaki Nanami, despite stating that she didn't want to be the class representative sure did take her job seriously. The gamer girl might not even realize that she had an affinity for leadership that starkly contrasted her calm and seemingly aloof attitude. The new homeroom teacher had no doubt that the sleepy girl was already hard at work coming up with ideas for class events to do.

Perhaps the homeroom teacher ought to have paid attention to the weather and what it might signify for the day's events. Not all days would be great days, though she would try her best. Her first indicator of something bad was when she entered the courtyard, there was Hajime Hinata, standing at the central fountain of the courtyard with a look.

"Hajime, good morning." Chisa greeted him warmly regardless.

"Miss Yukizome, good morning." Hajime tried his best to smile, although it was strained. "Are you heading to class?"

"I was, although class doesn't start for a bit." Chisa replied while maintaining a friendly face. "What's on your mind today? Did something happen. A dilemma maybe?"

"Is it that obvious?" Hajime chuckled nervously.

"You're not exactly making an effort to hide what you're feeling." Chisa pointed out to him. "So what's on your mind today? It looks like something's got you bogged down real good."

"Well, it's complicated. I honestly don't know what to do." Hajime looked at the ground in thought. "I was just getting some confidence and then it got blown away."

"What blew it away?" Chisa inquired with much interest.

"Yesterday, I unexpectedly met this girl." Hajime struggled to think of her name. "Mikan, was it?"

"Mikan Tsumiki." Chisa instantly caught on. "The Super High School Level Nurse, and my student."

"Your student?" Hajime looked at her strangely. "Amazing coincidence. First Chiaki, now Mikan."

"Who knows?" Chisa shrugged, though not in a nonchalant way. "Coincidence, destiny, it's a bit early to be calling it anything."

"She's nice, if not a bit timid." Hajime recalled the encounter. "I got this feeling that she's been getting the wrong kind of attention, you know?"

"You're not wrong on that part." Chisa felt her smile drop. "That girl has been the subject of much abuse throughout her life, hence her hesitation to meeting new people."

"I don't know what happened in the moment." Hajime rubbed his hair a bit. "I just felt bad for her, so I thought maybe I could be her friend. I said that I wanted to be her friend, but she seemed afraid of me."

"It's a natural response for her, I'm sure." Chisa tried to explain better. "She hasn't had much opportunity to meet people that are true and loyal friends."

"I figured as much. I just hope I haven't committed to something I'm not ready for yet."

"Everyone will do that at one point in their life, Hajime. We're never truly ready for everything, but we've still got to move on in life."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Chisa noted that Hajime was far less gloomy than yesterday, but he was not bright and cheerful either. It was a crude mix of positives and negatives that were adorned on his features. This could only confirm his wavering confidence, the inability to decide what made sense for him and what didn't. That made her ask one question: what would give him the confidence he needed?

"Well, I met Mikan, then I bumped into another Ultimate. Nagito Komaeda, I think he introduced himself." Hajime looked unhappy with that name.

"Nagito." Chisa blew some air out. "Now there's a boy who's a real challenge. Let me guess, he disapproved of you being near the ultimates?"

"That's the nice version." Hajime balled his fist. "I mean, sure I know that I don't have the talents of the Ultimates, but did he really have to rub it in? I felt like I was talking to an elitist snob."

"Well, I wouldn't hold it against him." Chisa gently grasped Hajime's shoulder. "Nagito hasn't exactly had what one would call a stable life."

"It figures as much." Hajime seemed uninterested in knowing more about Nagito. "Still, there's always a weird one in any bunch."

"Maybe you're right on that." Chisa played it off as best she could. "Still, if you can change his mind, you can change anyone's mind."

Again, it was merely bait for him and even though she didn't think he would take the bait, he might still reconsider in the future. It could be considered an underhanded method to use his issues of self-confidence to influence his decisions, but at least she had good intentions in mind, or at least she hoped that was the case.

More importantly, it sounded like that he was at least trying to get a bigger picture and try to make a decision, and in the process of finding himself, she was able to get a better picture of him herself.

Chisa had first associated Hajime with Kyousuke due to their rather no-nonsense attitude, though she could say that the former was more light-hearted than the latter, but then again, she could recall the latter being a bit more optimistic in his youth. However, despite these similarities, the differences between the man of her affection and the boy of her curiosity were coming to light.

Hajime chose to look at the world through the eyes of others. He valued the opinion of others, especially those that he perceived as his better. Kyousuke valued his own judgement due to self-assurance; there were few times where Chisa could say that he had to rely on others to accomplish things.

Also, Kyousuke was a bit more optimistic, more determined. He was a man who set his sights upon ambitious goals and committed to them. Hajime seemed to be far more on the fence about where he stood. There were positives, and there were also negatives. Both carried meaning, and he rejected neither one as a result.

"In any event, I've been wondering." Chisa returned to the conversation. "If you don't care for the Reserve Course much, why stay?"

"I have to know for certain." Hajime said in grim determination. "Is there truly no hope for me here? Is there a chance to turn things around?"

"What things?" She demanded in a soft tone.

"Personal things. Apologies, Miss Yukizome, but I'd rather not talk about them if you don't mind." He turned his head away. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Of course." She decided to agree, but kept in mind to pursue this topic in more subtle ways in the future. "So how are things with Chiaki?"

"Pretty good, which is about the only thing I can say for certain." He finally displayed a true smile. "She's a bit of an odd duck, but she's cool. We went to the arcade a couple of days ago."

"And how did that go?" Chisa had an idea, but she wanted to see what he would say.

"Well, I didn't expect to beat the Super High School Level Gamar at her own game, no pun intended." Hajime's expression remained positive. "Still, it was fun to play with her. I can count on seeing her at least a few times during the week, and having some happiness is a good thing considering everything."

"You seem pleased with spending time with her." Chisa pointed out with a smirk. "Have you finally taken my advice on friends and memories?"

"Would it stop that look on your face?" Hajime lightly jabbed at her. "You may be a teacher Miss Yukizome, but you're also devious when you want to be."

"Whatever do you mean, Mister Hinata?" She played along by acting innocent. "I'm just a homeroom teacher."

"'Just a homeroom teacher.'" He repeated her words with a snort. "I think you're a lot more than that."

Now this was something new to him that the former Ultimate hadn't quite expected, but it was nothing unpleasant. If anything, this could be an opportunity for her to get to know him better. All she had to do was offer an olive branch.

"Well, stick around and I might just tell you a thing or two about me." Chisa offered him, reverting back to a smile. "I don't have to be just a teacher to you."

The sudden guarded look that Hajime gave her had her a bit clueless, but then she realized just what his mind might be thinking, and if she thought about it further, it wasn't that difficult to see why.

"Oh, don't give me that look." She scolded him with hands on her hips. "I was being serious about being friends, you know."

He still retained his look, and this time, the housekeeper began to ask herself if maybe he was giving her that look for a different reason.

"I've got to get to class." He appeared to be in a rush. "Thank you for the talk, Miss Yukizome."

"Before you go, I want to give you this." She grabbed his arm. "Open your hand."

Hajime puzzled at this request, but carried it out. He held out his free hand, and she gave him an official Hope's Peak Academy card. His eyes searched it and his eyes widened in obvious surprise.

"Why would you give me your contact info?"

"Because I want to. I wasn't joking about being friends with you. Just contact me if you feel the need or want. You know I'm here to help, even if you aren't one of my students."

"Um, thank you then." He bowed. "I… should go."

"Then get going, kiddo." She waved him off. "Hope your day goes well."

Yep, the Reserve Course student was taken off guard by this gesture. He must be trying to go through all of the reasons why she would do this for him when she was under no obligation to do so, particularly when they were of two distinct branches of Hope's Peak Academy.

More excitingly, she had him reeled in, hook, line, and sinker.

I got into this story primarily for my own fun, but the support so far has been very uplifting, so thanks to all of you for that.

Writing this chapter was both fun and tough. Nagito's section may be slightly exaggerated, though I believe's it's not out of the realm of possibility. I'm guessing most of you know what his attitude is towards normality, so his relationship with Hajime is going to be far from ideal. If anything, that makes it more interesting to write about.

I got different responses when it came to romance options. All of provide me with something interesting to consider, but nothing is certain right now, so continue to leave your romance choice for Hajime in your review. So far off the top of my head, I got Natsumi Kuzuryu, Mikan Tsumiki, and even Nagito (though I think Hajime leans more towards girls).

If you guys want to see more chapter, please leave a review and hit the favorite and follow buttons too.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading.

"There is nothing permanent except change."

Heraclitus