Chapter 14: Akane's Activity, Nekomaru's Nobility

Hope's Peak Academy

General School Grounds

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Early Afternoon

Hajime was in the middle of class when he received an unexpected notice that he was excused from the rest of his classes for the day. This had been the first time he had been called out of school this early before the day ended. As far as he knew, he wasn't in any sort of trouble, but he was cautious all the same. The last thing he wanted was to get caught off guard.

The teenage boy, with his bag neatly organized, made his way to the faculty room where he had been called. Expecting to speak with his homeroom teacher, he was surprised to see the face of a different homeroom teacher.

"Miss Yukizome." Hajime greeted her. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk with you." The former Ultimate smiled at him. "Let's step outside. We can talk in the courtyard."

So student and teacher made their way to the place where they had first met. Although it had been almost a week since they had last spoken one-on-one, the atmosphere between them seemed a lot more natural.

"I assume that all's going well?" Chisa posed her question while peering at him.

"I'd be lying if I said it was all sunshine and rainbows, but I'm busy at least." Hajime's face switched from annoyance to satisfaction in that order. "It keeps me from thinking too much."

"It's for the better that you keep on doing things." Chisa placed her hands behind her back. "As long as you keep trying new things, eventually you're bound to find something that you're good at."

"Maybe." Hajime liked that idea.

While the Reserve Course boy spoke casually of his recent going-ons which included some negatives, he was happy with the way his time at Hope's Peak Academy was going. In a short time, he had been making friends with the Ultimates and he was learning a great deal. It was a far different experience than sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture and if he was being honest, it was this type of learning that was more interesting to him.

Still, it was important that he do well at his classes. Whether he liked it or not, traditional school provided him with foundational skills that he used to this day. Reading, writing, and math were just three subjects he learned in a classroom, but he used them to this day and while not every subject would be useful in the future, knowing them at least on a basic level seemed reasonable enough.

"You didn't call me out here just to ask me how my day's going, did you?" Hajime's inquiry came after a moment of thought. "Aren't you busy with your homeroom?"

"Right now, they're doing just fine without me." Chisa laughed off his concern. "That bunch sticks together real close despite their stark differences in personalities."

"Really?" Hajime had his doubts. "I mean, based on what I've seen, it's hard to imagine all of them getting together to do stuff."

"Well, I can't take all the credit for that." Chisa looked up at the sky. "Miss Nanami is certainly doing her best as the class representative."

"Chiaki?" Hajime found that ever more hard to believe. "The Ultimate Gamer? The shy and aloof girl?"

"Don't underestimate her." Chisa stood face-to-face with him. "That girl's got a lot of heart and spirit."

"Um, right. Sure." Hajime agreed, albeit halfheartedly.

"Don't take my word for it." Miss Yukizome noticed his uncertainty. "You have permission to be on the main campus grounds. If you've got the time, come see the homeroom. You'll see a side to Chiaki that you never thought possible."

"I already know what Chiaki's up to." Hajime waved his hands. "She's told me herself. It's not about whether or not I believe you. It's just hard to imagine the Super High School Level Gamer being a class rep, you know?"

"Well, reality can be stranger than fiction sometimes. Our gamer girl's been really at it." Miss Yukizome gave a thumbs up. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting her to do this much and I'm her homeroom teacher."

The last time that he had seen Chiaki, he had more or less brushed her off, using his own personal issues as an excuse. He needed to apologize to her as soon as possible. He liked to think that his fellow student wouldn't hold a grudge, but he didn't want to risk losing a friendship either. Plus, making up for his attitude only seemed like the right thing to do. Admitting to making a mistake, while hard, ultimately was for the better.

But how was he going to do that?

The brunette wasn't exactly a social butterfly. Logically, he knew what should and shouldn't work in a conversation, but on the other hand, applying them in real life was a hit and miss. Sometimes, he felt proud for getting through a conversation while other times, he cringed mentally. Quite frankly, the fact that he had gotten a nice flow with prettu much all of Class 77-B was amazing.

He wondered if perhaps on a subconscious level, the connections were that well-established; maybe he didn't need to think too much about what he was saying. As far as he could remember, none of the words he exchanged with any of the Ultimates came off to him as forced, awkward, or otherwise unnatural.

"Out of curiosity," Hajime began, "Did Chiaki look sad or disappointed in any way today?"

"Well now that you mention it, I did notice her being a little bit listless." Miss Yukizome lowered her head in thought. "Why? Did something happen?"

"The short version is I was in a mood and I sort of snapped at her." Hajime rustled his hair. "I didn't yell at her, but I cut her off forcefully. I wish I hadn't, but it's too late to take it back now. I just wanted to know if she was in a bad way."

"As far as I can tell, it didn't look like anything serious." Miss Yukizome replied back. "I don't think you need to worry about her being mad at you. If anything, she might be worried about you."

"She's worried?" Hajime pointed at himself. "About me?"

"Is that really surprising?" Miss Yukizome placed her hands on her hips. "She cares about her friends a lot."

"Friends, huh?" Hajime understood the real meaning behind those words.

It was one thing to consider the amazing individuals of the Main Course as his friends, but to hear that the feeling was reciprocate generated a mixture of feelings, some familiar to him, others not so much. He couldn't remember the last person his age that he considered a friend prior to coming to Hope's Peak Academy. Maybe there was never such a person in the entirety of his school life. It made him wonder how much of this was real and how much of this was too good to be true.

His current mindset, he knew, was poisonous to his growth and he needed to do away with it, but years of bad treatment courtesy of his peers had drilled into him the instinct to be cautious around people. Everyone was nice to each other but him all because they didn't believe in his dream. It was perfectly okay to dream about normal things, but the moment that ambition became something more, it became outright disdain. He didn't make the rules; he was merely part of the system that discouraged the pursuit of lofty goals.

"You might not believe it, but that's the truth." Miss Yukizome put a finger to his chest. "And you know that in here."

Hajime's gaze was focused on her hand. "Right. Yeah."

"So what now?" The homeroom teacher possessed a look of anticipation.

"I… I'll work out something." The student decided to dispense of his doubts for now. "I'll talk to her after school today, sort it out. Then we can avoid an awkward phase."

"Now that's what I like to hear!" She patted his hair. "Good boy."

Hajime felt like he was being treated like a child with this gesture. It was more than a little frustrating not to mention a blow to his pride, but then again, his disposition towards life and himself left much to be desired. Even now as he felt more lighthearted with the passing weeks, it would be hard to erase years of unpleasant treatment in a mere few months. He had to remind himself that she wasn't criticizing him in any way. She was just throwing out some words and complimenting him as a teacher should.

Here, they were student and teacher, not friends.

And weren't they going to talk about something?

"Miss Yukizome, weren't we about to talk about something?"

"I think it can wait. You've got something to take care of and between classes, you don't have all that much time to do it, so I'll save you some stress."

He gave her one dubious look before shrugging his shoulders and returning to class.

What did she want to talk about?

Hope - - - Despair

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Mid Afternoon

Nekomaru loved his job as a team manager.

One of the greatest satisfactions that he could derive from his position was watching people rise from humble beginnings and become something truly remarkable. It was the ultimate proof that with enough dedication, hard work, and a bit of luck, anything was possible. More often than not, putting forward great effort was what led to success.

Becoming the Ultimate Team Manager at Hope's Peak Academy didn't change anything about who he was or what he did. It was an augmentation to what he had already accomplished. The way he saw it, when he left this place, he would be able to reach out to more people and help many aspiring athletes to achieve their dreams. His past successes had proven that he was capable of turning around even the worst teams.

So in that respect, his latest project wasn't all that rough around the edges. Hajime Hinata had quite the potential as an athlete. He had excellent bone structure from what he could see and there appeared to be no issues physically. His reflexes and mobility were considerable. He had a calm way of analyzing and judging his surroundings. Starting off with these perks made it much easier to figure out how best to turn this boy into an athlete.

Nekomaru appreciated that Hajime threw himself into his workout with very little in the way of fuss. If anything, the Reserve Course student seemed extremely eager to get moving. This made his job much easier. It was a far cry from the way Akane conducted herself. That girl might be the Ultimate Gymnast, but her mentality when it came to eating and maintaining her physique was spotty at best.

But at the end of the day, the Ultimate Team Manager was just providing his best input in relation to Hajime and his current stature. At the end of the day, it was the student that would choose his path based on what he learned from the teacher. That was what a manager did: coach his players, but never dictate their every move.

"Good pace!" Nekomaru cheered on. "Keep at it!"

"Yeah!" Hajime struggled to say even that as he continued.

When they had first started, the smaller boy had struggled to even perform a proper pushup, but after being trained to do them right, all traces of error in his form had disappeared, replaced by a fluid motion. Endurance would come with time and effort. For now, this would work just fine.

From there, then came the switch to sit-ups. They were going for a certain number of repetitions within a short time. More often than not, doing workouts in short bursts of high intensity could lead to more promising results rather than a long workout with only moderate challenges. By his calculations, they had been at this for about twenty minutes. Another twenty-five minutes of this and that would probably be it for now.

"Laps!" Nekomaru shouted. "FULL SPEED!"

Reacting in less than a second, Hajime got off the ground and began to quickly run some laps around the field. They were going for full sprints rather than jogging. Again, intensity was the key here. It would be hard to keep this up indefinitely, but quick breaks in between exercises were usually par for the course.

Today, Hajime seemed far more motivated than usual. Well, it wasn't that fledgling athlete was lacking in proper motivation, but usually his actions reflected a lot more uncertainty and caution. Today, he was simply going in guns blazing. While this mentality in and of itself was ideal to have, the worst thing to do was to try and keep up this mentality for a long time. The key to true fitness was control and discipline. The human body was an amazing thing, but it did have limits. It needed rest and recuperation.

Nekomaru held his stopwatch in his hand, watching his student as the number of meters he ran increased. So far, his pace was steady, but it looked like in about seven seconds, he would start to slow down. His face was straining and his mouth was trying to take in more oxygen as he pushed to the limits.

"STOP!" Nekomaru announced. "REST!"

Summoning his final breaths, Hajime ran to his coach before soundly collapsing on the ground, panting and groaning, sweat covering him entirely. Despite this less than dignified appearance, it was a satisfying sight for the team manager. It was the sign of an individual working hard to achieve something.

"You're doing well." Nekomaru complimented. "Now we just need to keep doing that several more times."

"Several… more… times?" Hajime managed his words through each ragged breath. "I don't… know… how much… more… I can… take."

"We're pushing the limits that you've set in your mind by doing this routine." Nekomaru explained his logic. "You can't possibly become better if you're not willing to experience some hurt along the way. No pain, no gain as they say."

"Right…" Hajime laid his head on the ground. "I got it."

"Drink this." Nekomaru passed a bottle of ice-cold water. "Hydration is important, especially when you're in the heat of summer doing a workout."

"Thanks." Hajime held out his arm to receive the much-appreciated item.

The lean boy haphazardly removed the cap before taking several large gulps, then gasping as he let air back into his lungs. He coughed twice when a bit of water went down the wrong windpipe and he spent six seconds recovering before settling down. The bulky teenager watched all of this, already planning out the rest of the week while taking into account the nutritional intake necessary to achieve maximum results.

"Are you making sure to eat properly?" Nekomaru asked. "All of this won't matter as much if you don't have the necessary food."

"Already on it." Hajime lifted his right arm with an affirmative gesture. "I'm still getting used to it though."

"You simply need time to adapt." Nekomaru assured with a smile. "It's not easy to adjust to a completely new way of life, but you'll adapt."

"How do you know that I won't quit halfway?" Hajime posed his own question. "What makes you so sure that I'm going to see it all through?"

"I've been managing teams and players for years." Nekomaru could remember each and every one of them. "I've seen all sorts of attitudes coming in. Yours is actually among the easiest to adjust to the athletic lifestyle. You say that you're not cut out for all of this, but you're absorbing my knowledge and advice like a sponge."

"Right." Hajime's breathing began to level out. "Yeah, sure."

"You're worried too much." Nekomaru commented with a shake of his head. "You need to do less thinking and more thinking. You never know what you can do unless you just take the plunge."

The coach offered a hand up and the budding athlete slowly took it and stood himself back up, having recovered more or less.

"Do more, huh?" Hajime looked to his side. "Well, here I am then."

"Now that's the spirit!" Nekomaru slapped his companion on the back. "Keep that body moving! There's nothing that good regimen won't fix! So you ready?!"

"One second." Hajime took another large gulp of cold water before placing the bottle on the ground "Okay, ready!"

"Good!" Nekomaru got his timer out. "Now get ready for set two!"

"Ready!" Hajime steadied himself.

"GO! GO! GO!" Nekomaru declared loudly. "ONWARD TO VICTORY!"

And so began another repetition of exercises. They would do many sets like this one. After all, no athlete could become the best by doing this once and calling it quits. This was something that needed constant maintenance and attention. Day in and day out, year after year, the best of the best would hone their bodies to the best version of themselves and then push the limits even more. That was how to always be competitive and relevant in a society where there was an increasing interest in fitness and health.

Nekomaru called Hajime a less difficult person to work with, but that didn't mean that there weren't hurdles to overcome, far from it. If there was one ultimate problem to solve, it would be that sense of doubt, dread, and self-deprecation. Where it came from, how it affected him, and why it even existed mattered. The current state of a person's psyche could affect their performance physically. A healthy body needed to be supplemented with a healthy mind and while the Ultimate Team Manager might be able to shape his fellow student into something more awesome physically speaking, he was no psychologist.

The best thing to do was just provide support and camaraderie, just like a real man would do. That much could be done and maybe that would offer a little relief.

It was time to get out there and show some spirit!

Despair - - - Hope

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Early Evening

Akane Owari wasn't a teacher nor did she ever care to be one. She just wanted to do fun stuff with other people. That was why she was now engaged in hand-to-hand combat with her newest sparring partner.

But she couldn't remember his name. Was it Hank? Howard?

Wait, wasn't that an english name? They were in Japan, so why would he have an english name?

Well, whatever. Foreign languages weren't her strong suit. Hope's Peak Academy named her the Ultimate Gymnast and she was going to excel at that talent alone and what better way to test her mettle than with Coach Nekomaru's newest student?

He dodged her just barely and she followed up with a relentless barrage. He was still a rookie at fighting, that much she could tell from how he moved. Clearly, he had been given only a few fundamental tips when it came to combat, but props to him for even trying.

Akane delivered a few punches to his midsection. She took care not to overdo as per Coach Nekomaru's request. Until this guy got stronger, there wasn't a point trying to hurt him too much. He fell to the ground, defeated, exhausted, and mildly hurt.

"I can't… do this anymore."

"Not bad for a rookie, but you've got a long way to go… eh, Hunter, right?"

"Hajime."

"Right. Yeah. I'll get it down sooner or later."

"You… do that. I'll just… be down here."

Looking down at him, she couldn't help but be worried about his physical condition. While the Super High School Level Team Manager wasn't the least bit concerned about his food intake and overall body condition, the Ultimate Gymnast felt differently on the matter. He could be perfectly healthy and getting all the food he needed, but he just looked so lean, a bit too lean for her tastes.

Frankly speaking, dealing with small fries like this guy was usually out of her scope of attention, but for one reason or another, Coach Nekomaru was convinced that this guy would someday become an amazing physical specimen. She failed to see it, but she was no expert at turning people into athletes, so she had no room to talk. Thus, here she was, now worrying about his sustenance intake because she was always worried about that.

"Hey, you sure you're eating enough?" Akane couldn't help but ask him. "You're looking a bit skinny."

"I eat enough." Hajime pulled himself to a sitting position. "Plus, I'm still getting used to Nekomaru's new routine. I've never eaten like this before."

"Coach Nekomaru has the right idea." Akane's reply came. "Anyone who uses their body a lot needs all the energy they can get."

"Then you must eat a lot." Hajime regarded her with a bit of awe. "I didn't know that girls could hit with this much power."

"Just cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't protect myself." Akane gave him a light glare. "And yes, food is important!"

"Y-yeah, you got it!" Hajime chuckled, albeit nervously. "So… what now?"

"We eat!" Akane made her choice. "Now let's go get some food before you starve!"
Before he could issue any further hesitation or worries, she grabbed him by the hand and quickly led him toward the school cafeteria. That place had some of the best food that she had ever tasted. Every time she went there, she filled her stomach to capacity. At times, it was so good that she felt a bit of guilt at being able to eat high-quality food on a daily basis while her siblings were still out there. Then again, once she graduated from this place, she would make lots of money and then she could feed her entire family.

At a certain point, Hajime stopped putting up such a fuss and simply let her lead him. Akane seemed to notice the gesture and tilted her head back to see why his attitude seemed to change so quickly. Based on his expression he seemed happy and unhappy at the same time, like he was trying to figure out what to feel about this entire thing. For a moment, he wasn't a high schooler. He looked more like a lost little boy who was simply trying to find his way around.

It reminded her a bit about her own siblings.

The brunette girl decided not to think too much about it. They had more immediate things to do.

With the time of day, it was not surprising that the cafeteria was practically empty. Dinner wasn't probably for at least another half hour to an hour, but by the time that it did roll around, many of the students in the Main Course would come in. This was actually a pretty good time to get food. Waiting in line was one of the most grueling things ever.

Akane took a breath in, letting her nose guide her. Once she had fully interpreted the smells, she grinned. Whoever was cooking right now was definitely doing a damn good job of it. It was making her mouth water even now.

"Hey, isn't that Teruteru?" Hajime pointed out. "I wonder what he's making. It smells really good."

"When it comes to Teruteru, it's always good." Akane couldn't help but get pumped up.

Without missing a beat, the buxom girl casually waltzed into the kitchen area, taking a look around her to see what exactly was being whipped up by the diminutive boy. It looked like he was whipping up some curry and white rice. It wasn't an uncommon dish, but coming from the Ultimate Cook, he could turn even the most typical foods into something truly spectacular. The gymnast wasn't sure how he did it, but it was amazing all the same.

"Hey, Teruteru, mind if I take a couple of these?" Akane didn't wait for his answer. "Thanks!"

"Huh? Akane? Wait!" Teruteru seemed to be calling out to her. "I was making those for-"

But she couldn't hear him now. She just took the two plates and made her way back to the seats. Finding her sparring buddy, she haphazardly placed the dish in front of him. He jumped a bit as the plate clanked loudly against the table surface. She simply began to dig in.

"Man, I'm starving." Akane began to devour the food in front of her. "It's SO good!"

In hindsight, taking just this small amount wasn't going to satisfy her hunger. In less than a minute, the plate was empty. She had even taken the time to lick the plate clean, not wanting to leave even a little bit left. Once that was done, she began seeking out the nearest source of food.

The boy next to her sat and ate his dish at a far slower pace than herself. He was taking spoonfuls one at a time and slowly eating them. He seemed to be enjoying the curry very much. It was a look of contentment that was kind of interesting to watch.

Akane considered taking his food, but then thought better of it. As ravenous as her appetite could be at times, stealing from others was just plain wrong. To food might as well be the number one sin in the world and she was serious in her belief that the brunette boy wasn't getting enough food into his stomach.

Her fellow student seemed to realize she was staring at him and he met her eyes.

"What?" Hajime asked.

She noticed that his face was kind of messy. It was sort of watching her siblings eat food and her having to clean them up.

"You've got some curry on your lips." Akane grabbed a napkin. "Here, let me take care of it."

"I can do it myself." Hajime leaned back slightly. "I'm not a child."

"Too bad." Akane wiped the corners before he could do anything else.

Despite his face displaying annoyance, he let her do as she wished.

This small gesture felt very nostalgic for her. All those years of being a big sister, caring for her constantly-growing family, it came back to her. Many of her brothers and sisters were now old enough to start helping around with the younger ones, but never once did the Ultimate Gymnast stop looking after her family. They weren't all related by blood, but they were as thick as thieves. They would always be there for each other no matter what.

Now that she was living by herself in a completely new place, things were just so different. The only thing she needed to worry about here was herself. Hope's Peak Academy had a solid roof, more than enough food, and she didn't have to worry about bad things happening here. This was a place of hope after all.

But Akane did miss her role as the eldest sister. Maybe this was a sign that she needed to remember where she came from. Having someone to fuss over could be lots of work, but she would say that it was a worthy job in its own right.

Hope - - - Despair

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Evening

Hajime had parted ways with Akane feeling awkward. Pretty much the entire time the two of them ate, she had been strangely doting on him. It was like she had morphed into his sister and started worrying so much.

He didn't know what it felt like to have a sibling. He was an only child and that's the way his parents wanted it to be. Being an only child in his family, there were at least several times where he wondered what sort of ways his life would be different if he had a brother or sister or both or many, but he would never know.

If the relationship between siblings was anything like Akane treated him, then Hajime wasn't opposed to such a bond. It certainly would have made his life a little easier if he knew that there was someone his age or close to his age that would be there for him. Being who he was and doing it alone wasn't easy by any measurement.

Be that as it may, that scenario was neither here nor there. He was here now and for whatever reason, the Super High School Level Gymnast decided that he was like a little boy who needed some attention from her. He wouldn't begin to understand what she was concocting in her mind. He would simply let the experience flow and see how it went. After all, he was doing much the same with the rest of class 77-B.

Hajime felt his stomach with a slight bulge. The curry that Teruteru had made was the best he had ever had in his life, but he had made the mistake of eating too much and now he was regretting even moving. By the time he made it back to his dorm room, he would simply collapse and not move until his stomach had digested at least some of his dinner.

The Reserve Course student passed by Main Course student, a boy who looked to be a first year, but he didn't notice much else. He was too busy trying to keep himself from feeling too bloated. It was pure coincidence that he felt something unnatural strike his foot and his eyes fell to the ground to find a mobile device at his feet.

Already preparing himself for this arduous effort, he cautiously leaned down and quickly grabbed the electronic device. He didn't hear anything fall to the ground, but he did recall something hitting the top of his left shoe and not the tip or the sides.

"Excuse me." Hajime called to the boy he passed by. "Is this yours?"

"What?" A head of light brown hair turned and a pair of hazel eyes widened. "That's my student handbook!"

"Yeah, you dropped it." Hajime said. "Here."

"Thanks." The chubby boy regarded him. "Do I know you?"

"I don't think we've met." Hajime shook his head. "But now that we're talking about it, you're a Main Course student. What's your homeroom?"

"77-B." The response was quick.

"This is just too good to be coincidence. I think I've met all of your classmates. I even do stuff with a few of them."

"Then… you're Hajime Hinata."

"The one and only."

"Then I think I'm the last one to meet you. I'm Ryota Mitarai and I'm the Ultimate Animator."

Apologies for such a long delay, but there has been a ton of stuff that I've been getting done these past few months, including updating stories on this site. I haven't forgotten about this story and I want to continue making chapters for it.

Ryota Mitarai is a critical character in Danganronpa. If not for him, things would have played out much differently than it did in canon, so while the real one hasn't met him, the Ultimate Imposter encountering him means big things down the road.

Sorry for the errors in this chapter. Feel free to point out any mistakes as you see fit. Also, please review and leave feedback as well. This is one of the few stories I keep around strictly because I am very invested in Danganronpa. I just like what I'm doing here and I want to continue to do my best.

Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope all of you have a Happy New Year. Here's to end of a new decade and the beginning of a new one. Let's do our best!

"Celebrate what you want to see more of."

Tom Peters