Hope Peak's 78th class was a weird one. When just looking at them from a distance, no one demonstrated this more than Celestia Ludenberg. While her red eyes and whitened skin alone would have been enough to convince any bystander of the school's oddity, there was one detail that was far more telling. She dresses exclusively in a gothic lolita style, forsaking any sort of school uniform.
It was this detail that caused one Hifumi Yamada to take an interest in her, and it was this detail that convinced him to speak with her alone after school.
"So my fellow otaku, which fandoms do you prefer?" It was this line that caused Celeste to turn around and stare.
"Whatever do you mean? I have little interest in such things."
"Ohoho, Miss Ludenberg, you need not hide your true nature from me. If you are one of the ones who wish to hide their passions out of shame, I will not tell anyone, even if I don't encourage conforming for the sake of your reputation."
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I have done nothing to make you so sure of my "true nature" as you call it."
"Miss Ludenberg, all I must do is take a look at your dress. Your outfit says all I need to know that you are an otaku at heart. Why else would dress in the style of gothic lolita?"
"And if I dress like this not because for love of anime and manga, but only because I like it?"
Hifumi's expression darkened at this.
"Well I am afraid that I would have to ask you to change into a more appropriate outfit. To wear the badge of an otaku, yet not truly understanding its meaning would be an insult. It would be like wearing a shirt with a video game character on it, yet never actually a playing a game that the character starred in!"
"That is quite an interesting outlook, but who are you to tell me how I should dress?"
"I am a crusader of justice! To defend the honor of my sisters-in-arms- the ones who like gothic lolita- I am to ask any non-lovers of the style to refrain from dressing like one. After all, what if I had been a lover of gothic lolita, and you said that to me? I would be heartbroken that you don't actually understand me and my passion while only having a passing interest in what I am truly enamored with, or even that you were mocking me. I would have thought you cruel for bringing my hopes up. So please, do not claim to understand a community that you are not a part of."
Celeste pauses at his words to think for a moment.
"You bring up a very good point. I promise that I will not offend the lovers of gothic lolita any further. Good day, Hifumi." At this, she walked away and returned to her dorm.
When she came into class the next day wearing the same outfit, Hifumi knew he had found a kindred spirit. After all, she was basically admitting to being an otaku, even if it was indirectly and only to one person. That didn't stop Hifumi from being any less excited or any less proud.
A/N: I ship it. I felt that these two would go next because a lot of the other friendships are going to develop from forced situations, and I don't think that Hifumi would've been too shy to ask something like this right off the bat. And that part at the end, I felt was pretty fitting. Hifumi is very obvious about his love for his hobbies, so I bet he feels bad for the people that are too shy or too scared of rejection to admit their "otaku-ness".