Beta-Reader: Zephyrius29 (Ideas)

Chapter 8: Akane's Acrobatics, Nekomaru's Nature

Hope's Peak Academy

Main Campus Field

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Noon Time

As it was custom for them to do on a daily basis, the two most athletic people of class 77-B trained in the field out back of the school. The girl had yet to beat her coach, but no matter how many losses she added to her record, the only thing that mattered was that she eventually beat him. He was the strongest opponent that she had faced in her entire life, and that was saying something considering there were a lot of strong people out there in the world.

Akane Owari was doing some stretches to get herself all limbered up, with her anticipation for this fight climbing fast. Her best chance against her opponent depended upon her reflexes, timing, and speed. Her foe wouldn't go down in a straight-up strength contest. She needed to wear him down steadily.

Opposite of her, Nekomaru Nidai did some preparations of his own. With his vastly different build, his stretches were different than his student's, but he was no less diligent about it. Even if he knew his chances in this fight, he would take it seriously. Underestimating his opponents wasn't his style.

"Ready, Coach Nekomaru." Akane got into a fighting stance. "Bring it on!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Nekomaru mirrored her actions. "Last person standing wins!"

They charged at each other at blazing-fast speeds. To the naked human eye, they would be virtually impossible to track. It first started with a simple exchange of fists to test the waters. Getting the basics down was essential to any competent fighter, and a failure at this point would indicate that much work was required.

Akane threw a flurry of punch, all of which Nekomaru dodged, deflected, or reflected back with extreme ease. It would be insulting to his pride if her simple attacks could take her down so easily. Nevertheless, his charge was spirited and persistent, and she continued a relentless barrage of kicks and punch.

Nekomaru retaliated with a swift counterattack, one that caught the girl off guard, albeit she was much faster at responding than the last time he'd tried the same move on her. Her reaction time had shortened by the slightest of seconds, but even that was a major improvement, especially in terms of combat, where even less time could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

Akane flew a few meters before grinding her feet into the ground and charging once again. The Super High School Level Team Manager watched her every move, immediately picking up on the intent to use a kick to the midsection. Instead of moving back, the obvious way to miss the attack, he got himself into position and waited. Once she got within attack range, Nekomaru grabbed the leg of the Super High School Level Gymnast, then used her own momentum to fling her out of the field and into the trees.

"AHAHAHA!" Nekomaru laughed heartily. "I SAW THAT COMING FROM A MILE AWAY! IF YOU WANT TO HIT ME, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT!"

He didn't expect her to remain down for long, and even though he was laughing at her poor choice, he could hear her approaching him once again, eager to get back at him tenfold. Her speed seemed to only increase as she came at him. While she might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, she would make an effort to try and be less predictable. This time, she dashed forward, but her body this time indicated no obvious move. It wasn't until she got within striking distance once again that she attacked. He narrowly avoided an uppercut which would have caused some serious damage had it actually landed.

He responded with a swift right hook which connected with the side of her face, but once again, he saw her rebound, even with a strike as devastating as his own. Her endurance was nothing to laugh off. As chaotic and disorganized and unfocused as she was, she was tenacious like hell. It was just too bad that tenacity wasn't going to be enough to take down the man who had led many athletes to victory.

Nekomaru weaved around a scissor kick and made a single chop towards Akane's neck, something that she deftly avoided before punching him. This was only barely dodged and followed up with a decisive blow to her midsection. She grunted in pain, and it was enough to throw her off for the slightest of moments, more than enough time for the towering man to deliver another blow, which made her fall to the ground. She growled, but still rose, looking a little dirtied, but being who she was, she swung again.

There were many ways to take this fight from here, Nekomaru knew. He could play a war of attrition, he could play a defensive game, he could go all out. Each choice, he knew, presented him with victory. He wasn't necessarily aiming for the fastest method. Speed didn't always mean the difference between a meaningful victory and a meaningless victory. He was here to coach Akane, and that meant using the best methods possible for her to learn, victory or defeat. Each time they fought, she should learn.

Nekomaru grabbed Akane by her right leg as she tried to deliver a kick to the face. While controlling his strength, he began to whirl around at breakneck speeds, becoming a tornado so fast that the human eye would have a hard time trying to keep track. Once he had gained what he felt to be sufficient momentum, he released all of his might and let his student go. To a normal person, this was dangerous, probably borderline suicide, but it was satisfying all the same anyways. She flew far, really far.

"Huh, I knew that I was strong, but I forgot that I was THAT strong." Nekomaru put a hand to his chin while talking to himself. "HAHAHA!"

Maybe wasn't really a good time to laugh, but sometimes, he forgot his own strength, and today just so happened to be one of those days. Well, it wasn't like Akane was heavy to begin with, but still, she flew like a baseball being hit with a bat and soaring out of the park.

Akane meanwhile felt herself flying, and for a brief moment, she couldn't feel any more free. If this was what it was like to fly, then maybe she would have to thank Coach Nekomaru. With her current feeling, she had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be fighting, a fact that didn't come back to her until she had landed.

The first thing that confused her as she landed was that she could swear that she heard someone else as she landed. The second was that the landing was anything but tough like she expected. It was like she had landed on a somewhat soft surface. She looked down and she found all the answers to her questions.

Below her was a boy her age, but not one that she recognized. His hair was dark brown and he had a face that could easily be passed off as just another face in the crowd.

"Mmmmfff." The boy stirred. "AAHH!"

Akane realized what was going on. While she could see the top part of his head, she couldn't see the bottom part, and that explained why he couldn't speak properly. Her chest was blocking that part of him. Actually he probably couldn't breathe because her chest was essentially cutting him off from ain.

"Whoops, sorry." Akane stood up quickly and brushed herself off. "Didn't see ya there."

"Where did you come from?!" The boy stood up and brushed himself off. "You can't fly, can you?"

"What?! No way!" The Ultimate Gymnast refuted him. "But if I could, I'd be livin' the dream!"

"U-uh, r-right." He seemed shaken up. "So, you're an Ultimate."

"Yep, you got that right." Akana grinned. "Name's Akane Owari. Nice ta meetcha."

"Hajime Hinata." The boy said.

"Gotcha." Akane said this, then she decided to warn him. "Just to let you know, I'm not good with names, so give me lots of food and I'll remember you more easily."

"Oh, okay then." He recovered quickly. "So… why were you flying in the air?"

"No, no, no, it's my turn to ask a question." Akane sized him up. "Hm, do you work out?"

"What? Um, no, not intensely." Hajime answered the question somewhat awkwardly. "I guess sort of."

"Huh, well that's a shame." Akane huffed in annoyance. "Actually, you really ought to eat some more, ya know?"

"Eat more?" Hajime appeared at a loss. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you can't get strong if you don't eat enough." Akane pointed out, perplexed by him not getting it. "You know, so you can get strong and not die?"
"Um, yes, I know that you need to eat to live," He said, "But I'm pretty sure I'm not going to die."

The Ultimate Gymnast couldn't believe what she was hearing. This boy barely had anything on him and he was claiming to be fine? No, that wasn't right. He needed to be shown that it wasn't okay.

"Come with me." She grabbed his arm.

Hope - - - Despair

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Noon Time

Hajime wasn't sure what the heck was going on. One moment, he was going to meet Ibuki for a practice session. Now, he was just trying to make sense of this girl, Akane, who was dragging him along with her.

He wasn't sure what her Ultimate talent was, but it had to be something out there. The fact that she'd literally flown into him had already given him the impression of a girl that wasn't phased easily. Additionally, he had his face buried in her chest and he had gotten away with it. He was sure that he would get a slap or a reprimand or be called a pervert or something that would signal the end of his school days and the beginning of his criminal life. It didn't come, and thankfully, she didn't pursue the topic. Either she didn't care, or she was doing well to hide it.

Or maybe she's dragging me to punish me somewhere. Hajime reeled a bit. I'm not ready to go yet.

He had a feeling that trying to escape her would do little good for him. Her grip was strong. He wasn't lying when he said that he did work out, but that was only on occasion. He couldn't possibly compete with true athletes, and certainly not against someone like this girl. What was her name again?

Akane Owari, that's right.

"Where are you taking me?" Hajime felt less wavering in his words, but he was still intimidated.

"To a friend." Akane said as she held him tight. "We've gotta do something about that body of yours."

"B-but I'm perfectly fine." Hajime tried once again to protest. "Seriously, I eat three meals a day."

"COACH NEKOMARU!" Akane shouted to someone in the distance.

Nekomaru? Hajime frowned in confusion. Who is that?

His answer came to him as they both approached what looked to be a very large and bulky man.

"Akane, what's this about?" The man had a deep voice, but sounded pretty chill all the same. "I don't recall that I was training two people."

"This guy…" Akane then paused and turned to him. "Sorry, what was your name again?"

"...it's Hajime Hinata." The Reserve Course turne to the girl.

Did she seriously just forget my name? Hajime wasn't sure what to think about that.

"YOUR VOICE IS TOO SOFT!" The bulky man shouted. "SPEAK UP MORE!"

"My name is Hajime Hinata."

"LOUDER! SHOUT IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"

"MY NAME IS HAJIME HINATA!"

"AND MY NAME IS NEKOMARU NIDAI! I'M THE ULTIMATE TEAM MANAGER!"

Geez, this guy is full of energy. Hajime thought, realizing that he hadn't shouted like that in a long time. And did he say Ultimate Team Manager? I had no idea a talent like that existed.

"Coach Nekomaru!" Akane inserted herself into the conversation. "This guy needs a talk about food! He's not eating enough!"

"Eating enough?" Nekomaru looked him up and down as if appraising him. "Hmm… eating more might not be what he needs."

I might just get out of this one. Hajime was holding his breath. Just maybe-

"What he needs is to run 10 laps around the entire school campus," Nekomaru began to go off, "then do 20 pushups, 20 sit-ups, and then after he's done that 50 times-"

On second thought, I'm going to die. Hajime balked at the thought of doing exercise that much. One time might have been fine, but 50 TIMES?!

"Nah, he needs to eat more!" Akane proclaimed with much more energy. "Look at him! He's needs more food in him if he's gonna be healthy and strong!"

"No, no no, bulk isn't the way to go for him." Nekomaru disagreed immediately. "He's already got the beginning of a good physique."

"He ain't gonna be doing squat if he isn't eating right!" Akane began to sound frustrated. "He couldn't beat me in an arm wrestle even if he tried!"

"Endurance training will help him first!" Nekomaru wasn't having it with her. "Strength will come at a later time!"

Okay, this is getting out of hand fast. Hajime tried to think of a conceivable way to end this argument. But how to do it and make it out alive?

"Guys." He tried to get the attention of both athletes.

"He's weak now!" Akane continued to bicker with her fellow Ultimate. "He's not gonna make it through your training regimen."

"He'll be fine." Nekomaru cracked his hands a bit. "After I do 'it,' he'll be ready for ANYTHING I throw at him!"

...what the hell does 'it' mean? Hajime wanted to know what was meant by 'it,' even if he was scared. No, I'm getting off topic.

"Guys!" He tried again to get their attention.

"But he's so small." Akane sounded almost worried.

"He'll be okay." Nekomaru brushed off her concern. "For his body type, he'll do."

"GUY!" Hajime cried out to get their attention.

"What?!" They both asked him at the same time.

"I don't know what this is, but I can't stick around to eat or do training or anything like that. I'm gonna be late, and Ibuki's going to be on my case about it."

"Ibuki?" Nekomaru perked up at this and snapped his fingers. "That's why your name sounds familiar. You're the one who's been befriending our classmates."

"You guys are part of Miss Yukizome's homeroom class too?" This had to be luck or fate, Hajime was certain of that now.

"Yeah, teach is seriously strong." Akane grinned at that thought. "Seriously, don't mess with her. She's a LOT stronger than she looks."

"Huh…" It appeared there was a LOT to learn about Miss Yukizome. "Well, anyways, I need to get going."

"But what about food?"

"But what about training?"

Both athletes were extremely fervent about what they wanted Hajime to do, and the boy, even if he had grown familiar with the quirks and unusual behaviors of his classmates, he didn't have the means to deal with all of this energy at once. Besides, he had a prior engagement with Ibuki, and even if she could be spontaneous and really disorganized with her own scheduling, he didn't want to keep her waiting.

"Tell you guys what? I've got time tomorrow." Hajime said. "Why don't we meet here tomorrow before lunch? I can't keep Ibuki waiting forever."

"You wouldn't even considering staying for a few minutes?" Nekomaru began to crack his knuckles. "I wouldn't mind doing 'it' for you."

"...maybe next time." Hajime began to sweat at the mention of 'it.' "I really gotta go."

"How about lunch?" Akane chimed in. "It's about that time."

"I'm not hungry either." Hajime shook his head. "We'll eat together, I promise."

"Alright, fine." Akane relented without a second thought.

Wow that was quick. I guess that means she likes food a LOT.

With a quick nod of goodbye, the Reserve Course student began to make his way to the main building. While he did appreciate meeting new Ultimates, this wasn't planned and he certainly wasn't expecting two of them at that, both with energy that he had never seen in any single person. It was a little bit beyond what he could handle. His brief but unforgettable time with Ibuki was already trying enough.

"And yet the people I want to be with are Ultimates." He couldn't possibly ignore this. "What does that make me?"

The more he thought about it, the more it occurred to him that maybe he wasn't as normal as he had led himself to believe. In one way, that was something that lifted his spirits considerably. Out of all the Reserve Course students, he was the one that was getting attention from the Ultimates as well as from the Headmaster himself. No ordinary person could just do that, or so he would like to believe.

On the other hand though...

"It doesn't change the fact that I don't have talent though." Try as he might, Hajime still couldn't help but think of himself in this way. "Still… all the Ultimates I've met don't seem to care."

His thoughts turned to the Homeroom teacher of Class 77-B. Even though she said that his meeting with her students was first a coincidence, then fate, he couldn't help but suspect that Miss Yukizome was involved somehow. He had no proof, but the fact that it was HER homeroom that he was meeting and no one else struck him as more than a little fishy. That being said, even if that was the case, did it really matter? Even if it was the case that Chisa was setting him up to meet her students, what did it change?

"I'm making new friends." Hajime considered the results of the past weeks. "I'm… happier than I was before all this happened."

The circumstances of how he met weren't really what mattered to him. What did matter was that for the first time in a long time, he could look forward to being in school. All of those memories of boring school days followed by scolding from his fellow students seemed to be less on his mind. He now had something to look forward to, something that could give him hope for a better future.

"I guess things are looking up." Hajime grinned. "Chiaki, you were right. Having friends to share experiences and memories with are great."

Despair - - - Hope

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Noon Time

"Hajime, you're late." Ibuki pouted when she finally saw him enter the music room. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, Ibuki. I got caught up meeting some new Ultimates." Hajime said immediately to her question.

"Yeah, I KNOW." Ibuki smiled with a cheerful tone. "Nekomaru and Akane."

"Wait… you saw me." Hajime realized.

"Give me a 'Y!' Give me an 'E!' Give me a 'S!'" Ibuki began to cheer. "Put'em together and whaddya got?! YES!"

"So… you're not mad at me?" Hajime sounded hopeful as he dropped his belongings into a nearby chair.

"Ah, ah ah!" Ibuki wagged a finger. "You're not off the hook. As punishment, you'll be running laps around the school with yours truly!"

"... what?" He sounded almost exasperated at her words.

"You'll be running laps around the school!" She repeated herself enthusiastically. "With Ibuki!"

"No, I heard you the first time, but… I don't understand why we're doing this." The Reserve Course boy frowned. "I don't see-"

"Less talking, more running!" The Ultimate Musician pushed him to the door. "Let's FLY LIKE THE WIND!"

Ibuki began to drag Hajime around with her as she began her favorite hobby besides playing music. She did enjoy being able to do these things with someone else. All by her lonesome self had proven to be a bit more lonely that she cared for, and in hindsight, she wondered why she hadn't bothered to find a partner sooner. It didn't have to be someone that played music with her; just a running partner would have been cool. The fact that Hajime was an empty cup when it came to playing music was a just a bonus, but there was still a lot of work to be done.

She let go of his hand and began to run at her own pace, only slowly down every so often so that her bandmate didn't fall too far behind. He certainly didn't have her own energy levels. She could tell that much just by looking at his normal expression. He tried WAY to hard sometimes, almost like he wasn't doing this for himself, but for someone else. If that was the case, than it wasn't right. If anyone was to do anything, it should be because they did so out of their own free will.

This was reaching into rather bleak territory. Better not think too much about it.

"HAJIME!" Ibuki cried out, stopping to see his own progress.

She found herself disappointed when he came lagging in, trying in vain to catch his own breath. Clearly he wasn't used to exercise, or at least not her own hobby of running. They had more to do, it would seem.

"Ibuki… slow… down." Hajime gulped hard, which caused him to cough. "I… can't… keep up… with you."

"You won't be able to be Ibuki's bandmate if you can't keep up." She pouted and crossed her arms. "So GET FASTER!"

"I… don't have… your energy." His breathing began to return to normal. "I need to… get more training in."

"Wait, didn't you say that you were with Akane and Nekomaru?" A great idea sprung to the mind of the musician. "They can help you A LOT!"

"I promised... that I would see them tomorrow." The Reserve Course student managed to regain his breath. "Today, I said I would join you."

"Aww, you care! Hajime cares about Ibuki!"

"Of course I do. I take my commitments and promises seriously, especially to my friends."

Ibuki stopped talking to get a good look at her newly-recruited bandmate. He was a somewhat uptight, a bit of a letdown. He wasn't familiar with more lively and active scenes in the world. It was probably because he wasn't allowed to do things like that as part of the Reserve Course. Well, if that was the case, then she felt that he ought to be exposed to the brighter aspects of life, and it would start right here.

Wait, did he just call her a friend? They didn't know each other that well and he was already proclaiming such a thing? Was he really eager to move things forward? No, he didn't seem like that kind of guy. She was in total control when it came to their interactions. She gave him things to do and he more or less followed her, albeit reluctantly quite often.

"Hajime!" Ibuki patted him on the head. "You need to lighten up more! Turn that frown upside down!"

"Sorry, do I really look that down?" Hajime looked very bashful. "I guess there's a lot going on, more than what I'm used to."

"Well don't think too much! Think too much and you'll be old before you know it, and we're too young to be old!"

"Um, sure thing."

They continued to run some more, and as expected, Ibuki always managed to be ahead of Hajime, but he still made great efforts to keep her within his sight if nothing else. He seemed to adjust himself to be able to remain going for a longer period of time, and their breaks became less frequent for a time. Students of the Main Course occasionally saw them, but nobody really stopped to question them.

Time for them began to speed up as the sun, which was once at its peak, began to slowly set as the night sky began to dominate the landscape. By the time they had both realized what was going on, the first stars could be seen. Even though the view wasn't from a high vantage point or anywhere with particular splendor, it was still a nice sight to witness regardless of where they were.

"Okay, that's enough running for Ibuki! How is Hajime feeling?"

"Really tired, yet… I feel really good."

"That's the idea! Exercise really does make you feel like you've done something!"

"You're right. It does."

It was bright enough for Ibuki to see Hajime letting a small smile grace his lips. It made her happy to see him like this. She got the feeling that he didn't smile enough like this, like he had forgotten how to smile.

"Well, as fun as this was, I need to get going." Hajime checked the time. "I've got to finish up some homework and study for a bit."

"Okay! Call Ibuki if you wanna play!"

"I hope we get to play actual instruments soon, though."

"Do not disrespect the word of the master, young one!"

"Alright, alright, Ibuki. I'll trust your word."

"That's my boy."

Any further objections that her disciple had were instantly put to rest, though it felt like he just wanted to avoid a rather long speil rather than talk with her in detail. For someone so dedicated to being awesome, he did lack the patience needed to get through the most basic of basic stuff in music.

The two of them made their way back to the music room. Again, they received some looks from other students, but as with their running, quick glances were all that the pair received before the looks turned away from them.

"Now remember to get some practice in." Ibuki began to lecture him like a teacher. "Play the sheet music I gave you, and be sure that the bass you borrowed has some wear and tear. I need to know that you've been practicing."

"I'll give it my best shot." Hajime acknowledged her with his belongings in his hands. "Catch ya later then."

"See ya later, alligator!" Ibuki waved at him.

Ibuki settled in with her guitar at the ready and began to string some notes together. First a G chord, then she switched to C chord, then to A and B. By itself, this was not a noteworthy behavior of the Ultimate Musician. She possessed acute irregular behaviors that almost everyone couldn't understand. What they could understand was that she was a conversationalist, if a bit unorthodox in general. Most people just attributed it to her mouth running a lot faster than her brain.

Her strumming wasn't a product of her energy or her unpredictability. The more she strummed, the more she felt a mental block. It was like her usual behaviors weren't evoking a sense of creativity that she wanted to have. Surprisingly, she felt frustration, irritation, things that didn't come to her easily.

"AHH, Ibuki can't do this!" She put down her guitar and pick. "I need to think."

She began to pace back and forth, her face furrowed into a look indicating deep thought. As she did this, her eyes caught view of a shelf of her previous work and ideas. Over the years, she had collected quite a bit of material, not all of it worthy enough to be official song material, but they were worth keeping. It was a part of who she was.

Ibuki pulled out one of her first notebooks that she wrote stuff down in. Her previously serious expression melted into a sad smile. These were some of the earliest incarnations of her work with her previous bandmates. Her time with Black Cherry, while brief, had been just what she needed to get her foot in the door. She began to hum the tune of After School Poyoyon Hour with a delicate and soft tone.

Hope - - - Despair

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Late Afternoon/Early Evening

Nagito saw Hajime leave the building, and it did annoy him. More than he cared to admit it, this kid was getting on his nerves; there was no point in denying that fact, yet at the same time, he would be a fool to simply dismiss the Reserve Course student like he did in their previous interaction.

"Hello, Hajime." Nagito addressed his fellow student in a neutral tone.

"Nagito." Hajime looked guarded, but not hostile.

"You remember me." Nagito approached until only there was a meter between them. "I'm surprised."

"I don't forget Ultimate easily." Hajime stood where he was, but he stared at his counterpart with more wariness. "Even the ones that badmouth me."

"I did do that, didn't I." Nagito laughed as if the event had occurred in the past long ago. "If I'm being honestly, my opinion hasn't changed in that respect."

"Then why are you talking to me?" Hajime glared at him, his distaste overtly rapidly growing. "Don't you have something better to do with your time?"

Nagito instantly caught onto that last question that Hajime had spoken. Those words, it was like he viewed himself as not worthy of the time of an Ultimate, even one with such a talent that wasn't quantifiable by scientific means. The words might have been spoken more out of instinct more than consciously, but there they were.

"Perhaps, but you're… interesting." Nagito felt compelled to be straight with this conversation. "The fact that so many Ultimates, my classmates, have taken an interest in you has surprised me. If I had to guess, you didn't actively seek them out. Rather, they found you and decided that for you."

"Yes, that's the case." Hajime, too, wasted no time with subtlety. "What's your point?"

"I guess… it's much too perfect to be coincidence. I would call it luck, but you're not the Ultimate Lucky Student, so it has to be something else."

"You know, I don't have to have luck as a talent to be lucky."

"No, I don't suppose you do."

"... and you do know that people live their lives without any extraordinary talent, right?"

"Sure they do, but that's virtually everyone in the world. Anyone can do anything if they take it slow. It's the Ultimates and those with talent that are able to progress and accelerate at paces that normal people can only dream of doing."

"And that's your excuse for singling out the Reserve Course? We deserve disrespect on account of us not having talent?"

"What is this world besides a place where the best of the best thrive and everyone scrambles for what remains?"

Nagito wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but he hoped that his opponent's next words weren't disappointing. Hajime had managed to get in the last word in their last argument, and although it might be asking a bit much, the Ultimate Lucky Student could only hope that he would be caught off guard again, surprised as he was surprised before. To that end, he watched and waited with baited breath.

"Aren't there other things that we can pursue besides talent?" Hajime posed his own challenge question. " If talent was the only thing that mattered, then why do people continue to fight to the top?"

"Because that's what humans live to do. We fight to be the alpha of the pack, the one that everyone else looks ups to, listens to." Nagito answered as if the question was predicted. "There are only two types of people in this world: those born with worth, and everyone else."

"… do you always talk to people like this?" Hajime's next question came with a tint of… pity, it sounded like.

"Yes, I do. Why do you ask?" Nagito answered almost as if realizing his own answer for the first time.

"I guess for no reason." The Reserve Course boy shook his head. "I honestly can't make heads or tails with you. I understand your classmates better than I understand you."

"Do you?" The Main Course boy chuckled at these words. "I guess I should take those words as a compliment. I suppose there are some things that I am better at than even the other Ultimates."

Against his own principles, Nagito couldn't help but get some joy out of this conversation. It had gone on far longer than any other conversation that had held in the entirety of the school year. He couldn't say that he had ever had a conversation with his homeroom. He wasn't worthy of talking to them, but here, it was a different story. He was the better one here, being a declared Ultimate of Hope's Peak Academy. It wasn't right of him to be thoroughly engrossed in a conversation with someone who didn't have a chance of standing on the same footing as himself… but he still wanted to talk all the same.

"Nagito, what do you even do as the Ultimate Lucky Student?"

"What do I do? Hmm, let's see… I suppose as the Ultimate Lucky Student, I'm hoping to find the Ultimate Hope."

"Ultimate… Hope?"

"I think we can save that for a later time, and it'll be better if you can see it for yourself rather than me telling you, and I think you'll understand once you've gotten more familiar with the Ultimates."

"Or are you holding back because you don't like me?"

"Who knows?"

"... you really are a mystery."

"Do you intend to solve the mystery that is myself?"

"… I can't deny that I'm curious."

"I see."

Nagito smiled, though he couldn't classify what for. It wasn't the smile that he was used to projecting when in the presence of his classmates or his teachers. If he had to describe what he was experiencing right now, it would be true happiness. While the words being exchanged weren't ones of friends on any level, it was a conversation that wasn't without any meaning. Both of them had a stake in this argument, each of them giving their own reasons for doing what they were doing and believing in what they believed in. It was a battle of the mind, one that he hadn't had in a long time. That combined with someone just listening to what he had to say and even tolerating it was more than he usually got.

"I don't really know what you want from me, Nagito." Hajime had long-since abandoned any sign of physical wariness. "But you should know that no matter what you say about me, I'm going to keep coming back here."

"I know, and I won't stop you, Hajime." Nagito shrugged his shoulders. "Do what you think is right, but sooner or later, what really is will reign over what you think is."

"We'll see." Hajime turned to leave.

"That we will." Nagito waved him off.

With that conversation over, the white-haired boy took his leave, heading for his own dorm room. He received a few sideways look from others. While it wasn't by his own hand, he had gained a reputation as the kid who had good and bad luck that affected not just himself but everyone around him, and they were very apparent. In response, a good chunk of people took to giving him a wide berth. The headmaster himself had to get involved more than a few times, which he considered an honor in of itself.

"Let's see, what did I do today?" Nagito began to recount the events of the day. "I spent some time my classmates, I took notes perfect notes, then lost them to spilled coffee, Chiaki talked to me, then I fell down the stairs…"

Each and every day of his life could be expected to have these moments of good and bad luck as his talent indicated. It would be a surprise if things like these didn't happen and if they didn't happen frequently. As it was, he could usually expect an average of ten events influenced by good luck and ten events influenced by bad luck, with a margin of error of five events give or take.

"... and finally, I talked with a Reserve Course Student, but it ended up being a good conversation."

That last one was a highlight of the day, more than he expected it to be. Hajime Hinata might be talentless, average, and perfectly normal person, but it would seem that he had grasped onto hope and would not give up, even if the world told him it was impossible. The Ultimate Lucky Student couldn't see what the Reserve Course Student could, and he was glad that he couldn't see this perspective. He had no delusions about who he was and what he could do. Luck was his only true talent, and he couldn't control it. By default, he wasn't worth even a quarter of what a true Ultimate was worth.

"The strong will always rule over the weak." Nagito muttered to himself. "It is the basic law of this world."

No matter what one said, that would always be the way of the world, like it or not.

Okay, it's been some time, and I apologize, so here's a bit more of a chapter.

Akane and Nekomaru make an explosive entrance, and considering how those two get along, it's not too much of a stretch to put them in situations that are absurd or otherwise ludicrous to everyone else. After all, the anime and the game show as much. I may have to fill in some of the gaps in relation to the inner parts of them.

After having written Ibuki's part, I realized how much she was awesome. I only wish that I could march to the beat of my own drum like that girl can. It also occurred to me while doing this part that Ibuki may have more underlying problems than she displays on the outside. Based on everything I know, I think there's a dark side that I can use.

I have mixed feelings about Nagito. I acknowledge him as a great character for Danganronpa, one of the best, but I can't condone his actions and personality. That being said, his relationship with Hajime is one that I intend to explore. After having played through Danganronpa V3, especially the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, I have a good idea of how they will interact with each other.

Anyways, those are some of notes and thoughts. What did you guys think about this chapter? Thoughts, reviews, and feedback is always appreciated.

Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed reading.

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

Vincent Van Gogh