Chapter 19: Nagito's Notion, Teruteru's Tenacity

Hope's Peak Academy

General School Grounds

September 3rd, 2010

Afternoon

The summer months were over and autumn would soon begin to set in. Although nature didn't yet show signs of the seasons changing, it wouldn't be long. A few more weeks and the changes would start to become more apparent. That would be truly the end of summer this year and another reminder that it was time to get serious about school, serious about all of their talents.

Nagito pondered these thoughts as he walked aimlessly. Unlike his peers, his talent couldn't be controlled, honed, or perfected. He simply had to let his luck decide whether or not good things happened to him or bad things happened to him. That was merely how life was for him and it would be so until the day that he died. It wasn't like he could simply change his luck. It was out of his control to do so.

It was for that reason that he idolized talented people so much. They could actually make changes in their lives, do things that no one else could do, and decide their own futures with their own merits. It was an existence that he would never be able to achieve no matter how hard he tried. As much as he considered himself blessed to be the Ultimate Lucky Student, his talent and title would never be able to compare to those who had actual talents that they could actively control, hone, and perfect.

The best thing that the young man could ever hope to do during his time at Hope's Peak Academy was stick as close to the Ultimates as he could, even though he was trash and unworthy of them. It was his desire to witness the Ultimate Hope be created to ward off all despair. Even better yet, if he could be a stepping stone for that hope, then he would gladly do so, even if it cost his own life. If that happened, then at the very least he would have served a useful purpose, even if the world wouldn't know or care.

But such thoughts were also arrogant to Nagito's senses. If he was ever to achieve such lofty goals, then he would need to become a better friend to his classmates right now. Class 77-B was becoming a very tight-knit group of individuals just brimming with talent and hope. His fortune of being with such distinguished individuals warmed his heart in ways that nothing else could. Truly, it was a feeling that could not be replicated in any other situation or living condition.

It would not last forever, the Ultimate Lucky Student knew as much, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to live every day like it was his last. Just being at Hope's Peak Academy was more than enough to satisfy himself. He was one of the select few high school students in all of Japan that would ever have the honor and privilege of attending this superior institution of higher learning. As painfully average as he was, he could take pride in this place and in being one of its students.

Unfortunately, for all of the good things that did exist in his life at present, there was one problem that really irked him to no end.

Hajime Hinata.

It was nothing more than sheer stupidity and foolishness that the Reserve Course student thought he could even hope to get close to the Ultimates. He was average and they were not; average people had no right to stand beside those that would usher hope into the world. There was a reason why the world was built as it was. Exceptional people were at the top of the world and everyone was there merely to leech off of the successful. That was simply how the world worked no matter where a person was.

That was the logic that should have been reality, yet somehow the true reality of things wasn't nearly as clear-cut.

For one reason or another, Hajime had been able to make contact with every student of Class 77-B and even more astonishing was the fact that all of the Ultimates seemed to have taken a liking to him in one way or another, or at the very least had some interest. It was clear from the way that a few of them talked about the Reserve Course student that he had made his way into their lives.

Just the other day, Mahiru, the Ultimate Photographer, had shown some of her most recent pictures she had taken. Quite a few of them were of Hajime playing the bass, a skill that he was definitely taught by Ibuki. Both the redhead and the Ultimate Musician then got into a discussion about their interactions with the brown-haired boy.

There was also a time where Nagito had caught onto a quiet conversation from Fuyuhiko and Peko about Hajime. Apparently, the two of them spoke of a mutual respect for the talentless boy. There was also mention of someone named Natsumi, whoever that was, but that wasn't important.

And still there was more. Nekomaru and Akane seemed invested in the Reserve Course student as well. They had been planning meals, training regiments, and other various physical health benefits for the student in question. The Ultimate Team Manager and the Ultimate Gymnast were really enthusiastic about it all.

These were just a few conversations of the many that the Ultimate Lucky Student had been hearing regarding the normal boy in question. It was the reality happening all around him that had him confused. It was contradictory to the belief that he held about the world and the people that inhabited it.

Two kinds of people existed in the world: talented people and everyone else. That clear line of distinction should have made things clear. No matter what, the former would always reign supreme over the latter. No matter how close the talentless got to the talented, it wouldn't change the fact that they were average. That should naturally push them away from their betters.

So why wasn't it happening now?

"There must be something more that I'm not seeing." Nagito began to work out the logic. "Perhaps the Ultimates see something that I don't."

The beacons of hope that comprised the main course of Hope's Peak had some amazing gifts. Perhaps those gifts allowed them to see talent in their own way. The only way to explain Hajime's involvement with the Ultimates was because they sensed something in him. How else could he have hoped to stand next to them?

But surely if he did have a talent, he would have been scouted by the academy by now, yet that didn't appear to be the case.

"Hm." Nagito frowned. "What else could there be?"

It was a mystery to him and it was one he wished to solve, but he didn't have enough to go off of. All he had were his own observations and his interpretations of what he saw. There was no concrete evidence to go off it nor was there anything for him to investigate in the first place.

It looked like luck was not on his side today in that regard.

As he continued down the sidewalk he was traversing, he found himself by a very familiar vending machine. Now that he thought about it, he was thirsty. Then his bad luck came back to bite him even more. He had no money in any of his pockets. His wallet had been stolen by a pickpocket sometime this week.

"Oh, man." Nagito sighed and smiled weakly. "I'm the unluckiest guy in the world."

It was then that he heard the sound of a car coming from his right. Then he heard the sound of sirens as well. His eyes could only turn just in time to see a suspicious-looking black car racing down the street followed by a police car. There was enough dust on the ground to kick up a storm. The Ultimate Lucky Student coughed and tried to shield his face further from any unwanted particles.

"That looked exciting." Nagito muttered while coughing. "I wonder what that was about."

When he was sure that the air surrounding him was clear, he placed his hands by his side and took a look around. It looked like he was once again all alone. That little bit of excitement in his life had all but vanished with the span of less than ten seconds.

"I suppose I should get back to the academy." Nagito spoke to himself. "I wouldn't want to keep our homeroom teacher waiting."

So he began to take a few steps back and then his foot struck something solid. It wasn't enough to stub his toes, but it was enough for him to stop moving and look down. At his feet, standing perfectly straight, was a black suitcase, clean and neat. Unless he was mistaken, it wasn't there a few minutes ago. Curious, he bent down to retrieve the item in question and carefully opened it up to reveal its contents.

"It seems my luck has turned around." Nagito smiled lightly.

He had just acquired a small fortune.

Hope - - - Despair

Main Campus, Cafeteria

September 7th, 2010

Noon

Hajime had just come upon a very startling revelation about himself: he was a very indifferent person.

Perhaps to an outsider or someone who saw what he projected to the outside world, that might not come off as a surprise. His past had been checkered with him pushing people away and shunning others because he couldn't accept his place in life, yet at the same time he constantly spoke to his inability to like anything in way of hobbies like sports, arts and craft, or music for example.

The Reserve Course student's realization of his dangerous mental situation came from the joy that he was now sharing with his friends from Class 77-B. Understanding their reasons for them involving him in their lives was not something he was privy to. He wasn't sure if he would understand or if he was supposed to understand. What he did comprehend was that the Super High School Level students' choice to teach him about their talents and about themselves made his life infinitely more rewarding.

Hajime came to the conclusion that maybe all this time, the reason that he chose not to partake in any hobbies was because in a way, he was subconsciously reflecting an acknowledgement of other people's ridicule of him. Maybe the opinions of the mass had gotten to him more than he had ever known. If he truly was indifferent to or disliked hobbies of all kinds, then how could he feel so many good things whenever he was with the Ultimates? Why did he take these new skills like a fish to water?

These thoughts seemed to just hit him like a brick in the moment. He couldn't quite explain why it was that right now, he was thinking these things. They just seemed to come to him. A culmination of small things leading up to this moment, perhaps? Or it could be that something about the food that he was eating was making him rethink his way of life and what had been doing up to now.

And speaking of the food that he was eating, it was indeed quite delicious and it was atypical of his usual diet. His indifference permeated through virtually all aspects of his life, including the food that he ate; because convenience store food was convenient and cheap, he simply ate that for lunch. If he forgot to get a meal at the convenience store, there was always the cafeteria in the Reserve Course, but it wasn't all that different from the cheap meals.

But this meal? Hajime had never eaten anything outside of true Japanese food. Foreign food was something that he knew about, but never really thought to try out and now he was seriously regretting not doing so earlier.

Apparently, American barbeque and cheeseburgers and fries were really good, but they weren't just made by anyone. They were made by the Ultimate Cook himself.

Although he preferred the Ultimate Chef as a title.

"I trust that the food is to your liking?" Teruteru gave him a confident smirk. "Or maybe you're looking for something more?"

"The food's delicious." Hajime swallowed before answering. "And no, I'm good, but thanks anyway."

"Always a pleasure to serve a satisfied customer." Teruteru beamed. "But do tell me, is there anything in particular that captures your fancy?"

"Well… I don't know all that much about cooking, so I really don't know what I could tell you." Hajime was being truthful on that front. "I just know that it's really good. The fact that I've had this kind of stuff before makes all better."

"Well, it's good to know that I'm making an impression." Teruteru kept up his chipper tone. "Although, if you want, I can make an impression in other ways."

The downside to eating this food was that every so often, the chef who had made them was making these comments that were most definitely not of an appropriate nature. The brunette boy was reminded of Fuyuhiko's warning regarding Ultimate Cook. Apparently, this was what the Ultimate Yakuza was talking about.

"I'll pass." Hajime politely declined. "The food is more than enough."

"A shame, but you win some, you lose some." Teruteru didn't appear all that let down. "Eat as much as you like. There's plenty more where that came from."

Hajime nodded. "Will do, although I'll probably limit myself. I'm on a strict diet. Nekomaru is making sure that I eat right so I can get stronger."

"Ah, yes, a fine specimen, that one. Teruteru nodded in approval. "He certainly does do his part to keep his physical body at its maximum and it shows."

There was a little too much enthusiasm about this subject, far too much for the more normal boy. Instead of giving a response, he simply took some more bites of his meal while regarding the chef.

"But if he's training you, then you're not so bad yourself." Teruteru appraised him. "Yes, I can see it now, the man that you will become. You will rise to greatness because of the quality means that I have given you!"

Apparently, daydreaming was part of that equation as well, and it was quite an interesting one occurring at the moment.

"It's not quite that simple." Hajime pointed out. "I need to eat a certain way or I won't reach my maximum potential."

"Most certainly, my boy!" Teruteru didn't argue on that point. "But just because you need to eat a certain way, that doesn't mean that your food can't be delectable as well! Your food should be nutritious and tasty!"

"Okay, fair point." Hajime conceded. "So is it that easy?"

"Actually, it is." Terteru said. "It's just a matter of knowing your material and experience. I'm surprised that Nekomaru didn't tell you about this himself seeing as he's a top athlete."

"I'll be sure to do that." Hajime said.

It made sense that the Ultimate Team Manager and the Ultimate Gymnast would know about this stuff. They probably might know about fitness and food even more than the Ultimate Cook. They were the ones that lived with the results of their diets, something that no doubt took years to learn and hone.

The same could be said for all of Class 77-B. Even now at the top of their game, they all continued to work on all the skills that contributed to the talent that Hope's Peak Academy had named them for. None of them were required to attend classes; their talents were the reason they were here and it was their talent that was going to be put to the test, not their knowledge obtained from a textbook that wouldn't even be remembered after a test.

It must be a blast to not have to go to class and simply invest in one area. Balancing between many different subjects, some of which weren't even useful to most people, was just downright draining on the spirit.

"Oh, might I suggest you try my personally-made mustard?" Teruteru produced a small bottle. "It's got a little bit of a kick to it."

It didn't look like the sort of mustard that a person would buy at a grocery store, but the smell was definitely there. Personally, the Reserve Course student didn't care much for mustard. It was good on occasion, but that was about it. Still, it was made from a reputable cook, so it couldn't hurt to try it.

The boy with olive-green eyes applied a thin grid pattern along the patty of the burger in front of him before carefully placing the top bun. Then, he gingerly took a small bite, enough to get enough mustard to taste it. At first, he was struck by the initial sour taste and it was almost enough to make him grimace, but what came after was strange. It was a very mellow feeling, yet also spicy.

"It's not bad." Hajime commented. "It's got very contrasting sensations. I'm not sure which is more prominent."

"I had a feeling that you'd like it." Teruteru sounded pleased. "It's a little family secret, but those feelings you're getting is part of what makes it appealing. You can't help but want more of it."

"Yeah." Hajime replied. "I do."

"But if you'd like, I could also show you some of my personal feelings." Teruteru's tone instantly switched. "Maybe a little taste of my hot and spicy feelings?"

"I'll pass." Hajime put some distance between them both.

Yeah, he wasn't quite sure about this one. If it weren't for his talent, he would be even more wary of the stocky boy's perverted tendencies. Then again, wasn't a weird quirk or two something to be expected for people with talent that surpassed so many others?

It was reasonably wise not to dwell too much on this particular case.

Despair - - - Hope

Student Dormitory

September 9th, 2010

Late Afternoon

The Ultimate Imposter was doing research, but it was not for himself in order to create the perfect disguise as his talent dictated. Instead, it was merely for his own curiosity as well as a goal completely unrelated to his talent.

Class 77-B, in recent days, had been more vibrant and alive than ever, a surprising observation given that Miss Yukizome and Chiaki Nanami both made things quite fun and entertaining. Neither of them were the cause of this elevation in the positive vibe. The cause was someone outside of their class and the Main Course entirely.

Whether his classmates consciously knew it or not, Hajime Hinata was the key to all of it. He was affecting everyone in the class more than probably even he knew it, which actually meant that he was very important to all of them. If he were a man with bad morals, then he could quite handily affect the mental states of the Ultimates given more time and a stronger bond, but by that same token, he had the ability to reach out to 77-B in a way that no one else could at this time.

The Imposter was very sure that the Reserve Course student was most definitely not the type to abuse his power. His past records indicated as much; his main problem was being part of a society that bred complacency and accepted mediocrity. His simple desire to do more with his life than be another face in the crowd was an understandable one and even admirable. It was unfortunate that his idealistic wish conflicted with the world's view on what was realistic and expected.

The reason that the impersonator was doing appreciable research on his fellow Hope's Peak Academy student was because in this seemingly average kid, he saw parts of himself as well. That sense of wanting to belong, the loneliness of being shunned by society in one way or another, and that feeling of not having an identity, he could see all of these things reflected in both of them.

A normal person might scoff at the idea that anyone could pick up on those issues just from one encounter and a bit of research that contained very little in the way of personal details, but all the facts and remarks spoke for themselves. Honestly, any decently intelligent person could figure it out if they put in a little effort.

Returning to the matter at hand, these similarities sparked sympathy from the Ultimate Imposter. He had come in thinking to better understand Hajime and maybe his classmates as an extension. Instead, he felt like he had just found someone who could be his friend, a true friend. Even amongst his homeroom, he was merely being friendly, but in terms of the strict definition of friendship, he would say that he had none with any of the other fourteen. How could he really become friends with any of them when he always came to class wearing a disguise that wasn't his own? It would be a lie and he wanted something genuine.

This research felt complete. He had all that he needed and now he had to figure out what he would do from here on out, if he planned to do anything.

With regards to being at Hope's Peak Academy, there really wasn't much to think about, at least not in terms of developing talent. That was something that all Super High School Level students did on a daily basis. The difference was that in the class 77-B, talents were shared with fellow students. Memories were created, fun times were had, all of that good stuff.

For the Ultimate Imposter, he couldn't share his real talent with the other Ultimates. Even if he did, he wasn't sure how they would react. It could go good or bad either way and he didn't want to risk what he did have to satisfy any greater desires, as much as wished that he could. He didn't have that kind of courage.

Now that he was thinking about it, it could be that when it came to Hajime, he wanted to know more about the normal boy because he was making an effort to try and turn his situation around while everyone around him called his goals and motivational foolish and above his station. Maybe deep down, the master of disguises wanted to understand that feeling himself so that he could find a way to live with who he was inside and out.

Pushing his chair back half a meter, he glanced at his desk, a neat and organized piece of furniture. Lined up on a nearby rack were detailed profiles consisting of information he had collected on all of the people that he had either impersonated or had an interest in. These were important to keep safe as such information might prove useful in different situations that couldn't be predicted easily. A quick reaction time was necessary in such cases. Over the years, one profile had turned into literally dozens and it was getting very close to one hundred. The types of individuals ranged from the most mundane salaryman struggling to make his living all the way up to Byakuya Togami, the most successful child of the Togami Corporations. Rumor even had it that he was enrolling in Hope's Peak Academy.

The Ultimate Imposter printed out some documents, carefully placed them in a binder marked with Hajime's full name, and then placed the binder within his alphabetically-arranged shelf. He had done all that he could with whatever information there was out in the world. The rest he would have to get from the source himself. After he was done with this, he would go see Ryota and make sure he was at least eating and drinking a minimum of two meals. That kid had no common sense whatsoever.

Actually, that could be said for all of class 77-B, but at least they didn't have to dehydrate and starve themselves working on their talent. The Ultimate Animator had no sense of balance in his life nor did he have anyone to confide in, but given his childhood and his lack of parental figures in his life, it wasn't hard to see why he refused to go out and even make an effort to speak to other people.

There was a lot of psychological stuff going on there and honestly, it wasn't anything that the impersonator knew all that much about. Even after having successfully impersonated so many different individuals in the past five years, he wasn't equipped to deal with this and unfortunately, there weren't any Ultimates with talents related to psychology or the mental workings of the human mind. The closest was Mikan and he had concerns about potentially bringing her along.

The Ultimate Imposter sighed as he brought his hand to his face to rub his nose. He was thinking too many things at one. His goals weren't clear and his motivation was losing steam. He needed to take a step back, relax, and reconsider what he had been doing, what he was doing right now, and what he could do for the future.

For a minute, he halted all thoughts relating to talent and closed his eyes. He took a breath and then held it for ten seconds. He found his mind to be emptied of all nonessential thoughts, leaving him more calm and less prone to agitation.

Much better.

Now to think about what he was originally thinking. The master of disguise's curiosity of Hajime Hinata and his relationship with class 77-B and sparked his interest in the boy and research had been done. From that research, many similarities had come up and now he was more invested. The only thing that wasn't certain was to what extent did Hajime's relationships with the Super High School Level students run. The profile didn't talk about that much. That would have to be learned elsewhere.

He would get his answers tomorrow. It was afternoon, soon to be evening. It would be rude of him to ask Miss Yukizome or any of his classmates to answer such questions this late.

Then the question becomes what to do now. With classes done and everyone either in their dorm rooms or doing their own thing, there wasn't much else to do. There could be some evening and nighttime activities out in downtown Tokyo, but students weren't allowed to be outside any later than 10:00PM anyway, so there was little point in going out, especially not without company.

Then the smell of food came to his nose and he knew instantly what he could do.

The Imposter decided that he needed to get something to eat. A visit to Teruteru seemed in order. There were probably lots of things leftover from the Ultimate Cook's experimental dishes that had gone uneaten. For all of the wishy-washing things in this world, there were two constants that could always be counted on.

Fats and sugars.

And boy, did he need those now.

Hope - - - Despair

Office of the Headmaster

September 9th, 2010

Nighttime

Jin Kirigiri was a patient man. He had to be in order to be the headmaster of the most important academy in all of Japan. As much as he did admire talent and wanted to further his understanding in all of its aspects, the people wielding ranged from rambunctious to controlled. In order to potentially interact with this spectrum of behavioral temperance, he needed to have a calm, collected, and open mind.

However, as of late, his patience was beginning to run thin. The Hope Cultivation Project, while on schedule even with the inclusion of his requested modifications, was taking far too long for his likings. He knew the timelines and the important dates, but he wished they would come sooner. Not even his copious amount of work as headmaster was keeping him completely occupied. He was very eager to get things underway.

That was when the man hit upon an idea.

The project demanded that tabs be kept on its prize subject. Hajime Hinata's time at this academy was being carefully monitored. Every detail of every day was recorded in one form or another in order to give the scientists ample data to configure the final configurations for the surgery. The headmaster himself read every report before he submitted them for further analysis and in each daily report, he had spotted a trend.

The Reserve Course boy had, by sheer chance, gotten to meet and develop relationships with all of class 77-B, the most promising class of the 77th year. Even better yet, the progression of these bonds was moving along quite well. The reports indicated that the Ultimates were showing signs of being open and friendly with him and that applied even to the more reluctant students like the Ultimate Yakuza and the Ultimate Swordswoman.

What Jin saw was an unusual ability to befriend and cooperate with people that would be considered too difficult for the average person to handle. This discovery was made even more perplexing by the fact that by all accounts, the young man didn't possess an outstanding personality himself, yet somehow he was managing to make allies of people that he shouldn't have by all logic.

This all came back to Mister Kirigiri's original theory that Hajime did actually have a hidden talent and that it had not been properly nurtured and trained. Why this supposed talent was only now emerging was on account of the right circumstances and the right time coming into play.

But what exactly was that talent? Could it be related to psychology? Counseling? A feeling or an aura? Something else?

Whatever this ability was, it was getting the Ultimates to trust this normal boy and become closer to him. That was no easy feat considering that even with Chisa Yukizome's arrival, they were still a relatively closed-off, tight-knit group.

The first meetings might have been coincidence, but the followup ones weren't, which begged yet another question.

Could this be applied elsewhere?

Jin got up from his desk to grab a folder containing documentation regarding Hope's Peak Elementary School. It was not all that long ago he had spoken with the principle of the school. If he recalled correctly, she mentioned something about a group of five children who were a part of a class of troublemakers.

He might be able to kill two birds with one stone.

When writing in-depth about so many characters, personal favorites are discovered so easily. I know that for characters I understand better or personally like, writing about them is easier for me.

So the plot moves forward as Hope's Peak tries to forge Hajime into what they want and he has no idea. He never did in the original canon storyline, but this time he may or may not realize something's amiss as well.

On a sidenote, I leave for Army Basic Combat Training on August 4th, so there will be at least two more chapters before all stories are put on hold indefinitely.

Thoughts? Reviews and feedback are appreciated.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

"We must accepte finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

Martin Luther King, Jr.